Championship Fighting Alliance has announced a light heavyweight main event between UFC veteran James McSweeney and Strikeforce vet Dion Staring for CFA 10 on Saturday, March 2, at the Bank United Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
CFA 10 will also include the opening round of an eight-woman $20,000 women’s MMA (WMMA) featherweight tournament with Taylor Stratford taking on Kelsey De Santis in the co-main event.
This will mark the pro debut for both ladies. Stratford went 9-1 as an amateur with her only loss coming to UFC champ Ronda Rousey. De Santis fought and won three times as an amateur, most recently scoring a first round KO over Stacy Sneeringer in October 2011.
De Santis, a former Marine, is best known for calling out Justin Timberlake in a Youtube video that went viral in which she asked the pop music superstar to go with her to the Marine Corps Ball (see video below). He in turn invited her to the Guy’s Choice Awards 2012 and the two have remained in contact ever since.
James McSweeney (10-10) was on a four-fight win streak prior to suffering a second round TKO loss to Matti Makela at Superior Challenge 8 this past October. Staring (28-8), a Golden Glory fighter who also splits his time with the Blackzilian camp, was on a six-fight tear prior to his run-in with Strikeforce heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier last month.
Both McSweeney and Staring will be hungry to get back on track after their losses. CFA CEO Jorge de la Noval stated, “I expect this to be an extremely engaging fight. A win for either of them could launch their career again and put them back on the map.”
Here is the full CFA 10 fight card line-up for March 2:
Featherweight WMMA Tournament Bouts:
- Co-Main Event: Taylor Stratford (0-0 Pro; 9-1 Am; 0-0 CFA) vs. Kelsey De Santis (0-0 Pro; 2-0 Am; 0-0 CFA)
- Ashlee Evans-Smith (0-0 Pro; 5-4 Am; 0-0 CFA) vs. Tori Adams (1-0 Pro; 3-0-1 Am; 0-0 CFA)
- Peggy Morgan (1-0 Pro; 2-0 Am; 0-0 CFA) vs. Revelina Berto (3-0 Pro; 0-0 CFA)
- Fallon Fox (1-0 Pro; 1-0 Am; 0-0 CFA) vs. Allanna Jones (1-0 Pro; 8-2 Am; 0-0 CFA)
Main Event:
- James “The Hammer” McSweeney (10-10; 0-0 CFA) vs. Dion “The Soldier” Staring (28-8; 0-0 CFA)
Undercard Bouts:
- Oscar Delgado (5-2; 2-2 CFA) vs. Byron Byrd (4-1; 0-0 CFA)
- Joey “The Real Deal” Rodriguez (5-1; 2-1 CFA) vs. Shah Bobonis (15-7; 0-1 CFA)
- Luke Jackson (0-0) vs. Jake Gombocz (1-1; CFA 0-0)
- Jacob “The Caveman” Brunelle (0-1; CFA 0-1) vs. Guillermo Marin (0-1; CFA 0-1)
Watch MMA fighter and former Marine Kelsey De Santis call out Justin Timberlake:
CFA 10 tickets start at $25.00 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or at www.cfafights.com.