NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville MMA fighter Dustin Ortiz (1-0) will be facing Justin Pennington (0-0) on the preliminary card of “Strikeforce: Nashville.”
Sources close to the event confirmed to Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) that bout agreements have been signed by at least one of the fighters.
Ortiz recently made his professional debut at “Gameness Fighting Championships VI” back on Feb. 20, in Nashville, with an impressive first round submission victory over Lucas Thomas via an arm triangle just a minute into the bout.
“Strikeforce: Nashville” takes place on April 17 at the Bridgestone Arena, in Nashville, Tenn. The main card features three title fights, including the battle for the 185 lb. Strikeforce crown currently held by Jake Shields. Shields will be facing UFC and Pride veteran and MMA legend, Dan Henderson.
Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will be defending his title in the co-main event against rising star “King Mo” Lawal, while Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will be facing Japanese superstar, and consensus top five world ranked lightweight, Shinya Aoki.
In addition to Ortiz vs. Pennington, ProMMAnow.com has also confirmed Ovince St. Preux vs. Chris Hawk, Dustin West vs. Andy Ulrich, Thomas Campbell vs. Cody Floyd, and Hunter Worsham vs. Zach Underwood for the preliminary card.
The final preliminary card bout will likely be between UFC veterans Josh “The Warhammer” Schockman and Cale Yarbrough at 205 lbs., however, the bout agreements have not yet been signed according to sources close to the camps. Stay close to ProMMAnow.com for confirmation and further main card bout announcements.
So far here’s what the full fight card looks like:
- Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson
- Muhammed Lawal vs. Gegard Mousasi
- Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki
- Thomas Campbell vs. Cody Floyd
- Ovince St. Preux vs. Chris Hawk
- Hunter Worsham vs. Zach Underwood
- Dustin West vs. Andy Ulrich
- Dustin Ortiz vs. Justin Pennington