‘Billy Evangelista’ Articles at Pro MMA Now, Page 3

Strikeforce Challengers 4 weigh in results

November 6, 2009November 5, 2009 by eddie106

Photo by Tom Casino- Jorge Gurgel vs. Billy Evangelista headline the Strikeforce Challengers Series 4 card which takes place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. and airs live on Showtime Friday, Nov. 6. — Photo by Tom Casino - Jorge Gurgel vs. Billy Evangelista headline the Strikeforce Challengers Series 4 card which takes place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. and airs live on Showtime Friday, Nov. 6.

Fast Eddie is on the scene in Fresno, Calif. for the fourth installment of the Strikeforce Challengers Series. Stay tuned to PROMMA.INFO throughout the weekend for all your Strikeforce coverage from Fresno and Chicago.

ProMMA.info is teaming up with Projekt Label to present Luke Rockhold’s official after-party at Bliss nightclub. EVERYONE WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE!!

MAIN CARD
•Billy Evangelista(159) vs. Jorge Gurgel(159) catch weight of 160 lbs
•Brandon Cash(256) vs. Shane del Rosario(240)
•Luke Rockhold(185.5) vs. Jesse Taylor(186)
•Thomas Diagne(155.5) vs. Warren Merritt(154)
•Elisha Hellspur(134.5) vs. Zoila Frausto(132.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD
•Ben Holscher(155.5) vs. Johnny Goh(154)
•Casey Olson(145.5) vs. Chris Culley(148.5)
•Cole Escovedo(135.5) vs. Maurice Eazel(133)
• Alex Trevino(170.5) vs. Rico Altamirano(171)

Shane Del Rosario vs. Brandon Cash added to Strikeforce Challengers on Nov. 6

October 12, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

Shane Del Rosario will fight Brandon Cash as part of the "Strikeforce - Challengers Series 4" Showtime card.

The SHOWTIME-televised fight card for “Strikeforce – Challengers Series 4,” set for Friday, Nov. 6, at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., is coming together nicely. PROMMA.INFO was notified Monday via press release that a fight between undefeated heavyweight prospects Shane Del Rosario (8-0) and Brandon Cash “Money (5-0) has been added to the card.

Other fights already confirmed for the event include Luke Rockhold (5-1) vs. Jesse “JT Money” Taylor (13-4), and a lightweight main event between Billy Evangelista (9-0) and the always exciting Jorge Gurgel (13-5).

Jorge Gurgel to face Billy Evangelista in Strikeforce Challengers main event on Nov. 6

September 11, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

billy_evangelista-vs-jorge-gurgel — Jorge Gurgel will face Billy Evangelista on Nov. 6 in Fresno, Calif.

NEW YORK (September 11, 2009)—Undefeated lightweight (155-pound. limit) sensation Billy Evangelista (9-0) will square off with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel (13-5) in the main event when the STRIKEFORCE: Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) series returns to Save Mart Center in Fresno, California on Friday, November 6.

Former Fresno State University wrestling star and Fresno native Casey “The Underdog” Olson (11-3) will return to action in the cage in a lightweight (155 pounds) matchup against an opponent that has yet to be determined.

A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity will take place for “Strikeforce Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (www.strikeforce.com/signup.asp) beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, September 16 and ending at midnight on Sunday, September 20. The special pre-sale passcode will be sent out to all subscribers on Monday, September 14. .

Strikeforce Challenger ends in controversy – fighter comments and photos

May 18, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

Friday night’s Strikeforce Challenger event suffered an anticlimactic main event ending when the previously undefeated Billy Evangelista was disqualified for “intentionally” kneeing Mike Aina in the head while the Hilo fighter still had a knee on the ground. Aina was rewarded a “TKO” victory at 3:42 of round two in the lightweight match-up.

Neither fighter left the Save Mart Center in Fresno satisfied with the result. “I feel bad at what happened, but I am definitely planning to protest. Nothing I did was on purpose. I thought I had timed the knee perfectly and that he was on his feet when it was delivered,’’ said Evangelista after the fight.

Although Aina received the victory due to disqualification he took no pride in the win, “No one likes a fight to finish this way. I don’t look at it as a win for me, and he should not look at it as a loss for him. It should have been a no contest.’’

Strikeforce Challengers: Live Play-by-Play

May 15, 2009May 15, 2009 by Matt De La Rosa

PRO MMA’s (promma.info) Matt De La Rosa is live on scene providing up to date commentary for this evening’s Strikeforce Challengers card at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California. The main event is headlined by lightweights Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina, with a co-feature between Miesha Tate and Sarah Kaufman. Stay tuned to PRO MMA for the latest on what is going on at the SaveMart Center.

Main Card
(LW) Billy Evangelista vs. Mike Aina
Rd. 1 – Evangelista and Aina both land a few kicks and jabs that excite the crowd. After a few slow moments Evangelista shoots in for a single leg and drives the Hawaiian up against the fence and lands some knees. Aina pushes off and lands a few shots of his own before Evangelista comes in and puts Aina up against the fence for a second time. The round ends with the two men trading standing elbows and an inadvertent low blow to Aina that does minimal damage.

Strikeforce Challenger Series weigh-in results, photos, & press conference highlights

May 15, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

PRO MMA (promma.info) has received the weigh-in results from the “STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGER SERIES” event taking place Friday May 15th at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California and airing live on SHOWTIME at 11:00 PM ET/PT (delayed on West Coast).

Mike Aina will face Billy Evangelista in the main event. Sarah Kaufman has raised the stakes and level of competition by stepping in for Kim “Sugar Free” Couture to take on Miesha Tate in the lone female bout. Carl Seumanutafa looks to get back on the winning track after losing two straight as he takes on “Big” Lavar Johnson in the lone heavyweight bout.

All 20 fighters successfully made weight according to a Strikeforce press release. Here are the weigh-in results:

Main Card – Televised
BILLY EVANGELISTA 157.5 lbs. vs MIKE AINA 157.2 lbs.
SARAH KAUFMAN 135 lbs. vs MIESHA TATE 135.4 lbs.
LAVAR JOHNSON 246.4 lbs. vs CARL SEUMANUTAFA 250.5 lbs.
ANTHONY RUIZ 205.2 lbs. vs AARON ROSA 205.4 lbs.
BAO QUACH 145.8 lbs. vs TITO JONES 145.6 lbs.
Non-televised Undercard
BEN HOLSCHER 160.2 lbs. vs CODY CANTEBURY 160 lbs.
ZOILA FRAUSTO 129.8 lbs. vs AVERY VILCHE 122.8 lbs.
THOMAS DIAGNE 155.6 lbs. vs KALEO KWAN 155.4 lbs.
FABRICIO CAMOES 156.2 lbs. vs TORRANCE TAYLOR 155.8 lbs.
CHAD SUTTON 184 lbs. vs SPENCER HERNS 180.6 lbs.

A press conference was held on Thursday and the fighters fielded questions from the media. Highlight quotes from the main card fighters at the press conference and weigh-in photos after the jump…

“Strikeforce Challenger Series I” airs live on Showtime Friday May 15

May 13, 2009May 13, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

On May 15th, the “Strikeforce Challenger Series I” under-card fights will begin at 6:00 PM PT from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The main card fights begin and will air live on Showtime at 11:00 PM ET/PT.

Headlining the debut of “Strikeforce: Challengers” will be undefeated Billy Evangelista (9-0) taking on Mike Aina (11-6-1) at lightweight. Also on the main card will be Sarah Kaufman (8-0) fighting Miesha Tate (6-1) at 135-pounds in the lone female fight on the card. Ten fights are scheduled in all with five airing live on Showtime.

Strikeforce Challengers I

Main Card (Beginning at 8:00 PM – PT)
Billy Evangelista (9-0) vs. Mike Aina (11-6-1) – 3X5 – 155Lbs
Sarah Kaufman (8-0) vs. Meisha Tate (6-1) – 3X3 – 135 Lbs
Lavar “Big” Johnson (11-3) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (4-2) – 3X5 – HW
Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz (21-12) vs. Aaron Rosa (11-2) – 3X5 – 205 Lbs
Bao Quach (15-9-1) vs. Tito Jones (7-2) – 3X5 – 145 Lbs
Under-Card (Beginning at approximately 6:00 PM – PT)
Ben Holscher (1-0) vs. Cody Cantebury (1-3-1) – 3X3 – 160lbs
Zoila Frausto (1-0) vs. Avery Vilche (1-0-1) – 3X3 – 125Lbs
Ousmane Thomas Diagne (debut) vs. Kaleo Kwan (7-9) – 3X5 – 155lbs
Fabricio Camoes (9-4) vs. Torrance Taylor (7-5-1) – 3X5 – 155Lbs
Chad Sutton (2-1) vs. Spencer Herns (debut) – 3X3 – 185Lbs

Full “Strikeforce Challenger Series I” breakdown after the jump…

Strikeforce: Challengers Series conference call audio & highlights

May 6, 2009 by Matt De La Rosa

Strikeforce and Showtime held a conference call earlier this afternoon to promote their upcoming Strikeforce: Challengers Series card in Fresno, Calif., at the Savemart Center on May 15.

CEO Scott Coker was on hand with main event fighters Mike Aina, Billy Evangelista, Miesha Tate and Sarah Kaufman. Also on the call was Showtime’s Senior Vice President, Kent Hershman. PRO MMA (http://promma.info) took part in conference call along with other major MMA media outlets.

Below you will find the complete audio from the conference call as well as some of the highlights.

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS conference call audio:
[podcast]http://promma.info/audio/strikeforcecall.mp3[/podcast]

SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challenger series debuts May 15

April 7, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

In addition to the regular events STRIKEFORCE will be airing on Showtime, they will also be airing fights from their developmental league. This will be a “proving ground” of sorts where fighters can not only gain valuable experience but can also earn the chance to fight on one of the big shows and in the future possibly on CBS. PRO MMA (promma.info) received the following information today from STRIKEFORCE regarding their new Challenger series on Showtime:

Undefeated lightweight (155 lb. limit) sensation Billy Evangelista (9-0) will fight hard-hitting brawler and BJ Penn protégé “Iron” Mike Aina (11-6-1) in the main event of the inaugural, newly titled SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers series from leading MMA promoter Strikeforce and premium television network SHOWTIME, on Friday, May 15 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Broken leg forces Josh Thomson out of Strikeforce title defense

April 1, 2009 by Jack Bratcher

PRO MMA (promma.info) received word Wednesday evening from Strikeforce officials that Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) sustained a broken left leg during a sparring session with Billy Evangelista earlier in the day.

Thomson was scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (14-2) at STRIKEFORCE: SHAMROCK vs. DIAZ at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on Saturday, April 11.

Thomson will no longer be able to compete in the fight with Melendez and Strikeforce is seeking a replacement. The injury is severe enough that Thomson must undergo surgery on Friday and is expected to be out of action for two to three months.