SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers Preview
A preview of the inaugural SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers series
Strikeforce is giving their young and talented fighters a chance to show their skills on the big stage. With the acquisition of the remaining assets of Elite XC their will be more fighters who need places to demonstrate their game. Showtime will televise the first ShoMMA event on May 15, 2009 at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, CA.
Fighters such as main event'ers Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina have been apart of similar events but many of the night’s fighters haven’t had the opportunity. The fight card features fighters from a variety of weight classes. Fights are currently scheduled for the 125, 145, 155, 160, 205 and 265 lb weight classes.
Zoila Frausto vs. Avery Vilche (125 lb)
Zoila Frausto (1-0) is a muay-thai specialist with above average striking skills. “Warrior Princess” trains out of California-based Team Buhawe MMA. In her only professional fight thus far, Frausto came out on top of a very close split decision against Karina Hallinan at a February 2009 War Gods/Ken Shamrock Productions – “Valentines Eve Massacre” event.
In her fight with Hallinan, “Warrior Princess” maintained an advantage when the fight was in the stand up position able to utilize her kicks and knees. She also showed good ground and pound skills from the top position.
She looked to be uncomfortable when being pressured by her opponent, who kept Frausto on wheels moving from side to side. She also lacked takedown defense as she was taken to the ground at will.
Avery Vilche is a veteran of only 2 career fights in which she has produced a (1-0-1) record. Vilche fought Kristin Niedzulski to a draw at KSP- Xtreme event in 2007 in her MMA debut. She returned to the cage 16 months later, winning a 3 round war, when she executed an armbar in the 3 rd round at a Freestyle Cage Fighting show in Oklahoma.
The 39 year old Eskimo Olympian was a former Golden Gloves amateur boxer as well as a former International Kickboxing Federation Bantamweight champion. With her background in stand up fighting, her strengths are similar to that of her opponents’. She also has practiced wrestling at Chico State where she routinely wrestled men.
Prediction: Women’s fights are usually fast paced with plenty of action. I expect this fight to be very even with Vilche holding a slight advantage in the wrestling department. Look for Vilche to lock in another armbar probably late in the fight to earn her 2 nd win.
Vilche over Frausto via 3 rd round submission (armbar)
Ousmane Thomas Diagne vs. Kaleo Kwan (155 lb)
Thomas Diagne is a former San Shou (Chinese Boxing) champion from Paris, France. He was an accomplished San Shou player both as a junior and with the senior circuit. Diagne also trains in boxing, muay-thai and kickboxing.
The 25 year-old Frenchman is now training for his Mixed Martial Arts debut with another former San Shou practitioner, Cung Le. The current Strikeforce Middleweight champion is trying to help make the transition to MMA a successful one for Diagne. Diagne will enter the cage against 16-fight Hawaiian veteran, Kaleo Kwan.
Kwan (7-9) last fought in November 2008 when he made his much less experienced opponent Zack Rapal, verbally submit 3:20 into the 1 st round. Although many of his fights have taken place in his native Hawaii, Kwan does have experience fighting in some large shows. “Leo Boy” has fought for King of the Cage, ShoXC, and Elite XC.
The 38 year old fighter has experience against some solid competition. He opposed fellow Strikeforce lightweight Mike Aina and UFC lightweight Shane Nelson two times each, only winning 1 of the 4 fights. He also had fights with Harris Sarmiento and Brian Geraghty end up as losses on his record.
Prediction: I think Kwan is a patient fighter with great takedowns and excellent ground and pound skills. He also has been in the cage with some grizzled veterans; however I don’t like his chances against the rookie. Diagne is an accomplished striker who is taking the “ Cung Le Highway” into MMA. It may take Diagne some time to get used to the cage, but when he does it will be too much to defend for Kwan.
Diagne over Kwan via 2nd round TKO
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Ben Holscher vs. Cody Canterbury (160 lb)
Ben Holscher (1-0) brings a wealth of wrestling experience to his second professional MMA fight. In his first fight in November 2008 against Walter Hughes, Holscher took him to the ground at will. He also demonstrated solid skills from the top position. He couldn’t finish Hughes off, instead winning via unanimous decision.
The 28 year old former college wrestler was a 2 time NCAA Division II National Tournament qualifier. While he is set in the wrestling department his stand up game is very limited at this point, with only one fight under his belt. He will have to improve in that area to advance to the top level of MMA.
His opponent is (1-4) Cody Canterbury. He is currently on a streak that has seen him lose his last four fights. His only win came in his pro debut against John Incorvaia at a 2006 Gladiator Challenge event. He has been finished in 3 of his 4 career losses.
Prediction: Ben Holscher is the prospect in this fight. He is being given Canterbury as a warm up bout to make sure that he isn’t a flop. His wrestling skills are already set for big time MMA but the rest of his game isn’t. I still would consider it a major upset if Canterbury finds a way to win. Don’t look for this fight to be full of fireworks.
Holscher over Canterbury via 2nd round TKO
Isaac de Jesus vs. Bao Quach (145 lb)
Isaac de Jesus (8-0) is a young talented fighter that is trying to add another solid veteran to his list of victories. He has shown top notch conditioning skills as well as some adequate ground skills. He has 6 decision wins to go along with his 2 submissions during his 8 fight undefeated streak.
In his last fight against Justin Smiley, de Jesus battered and busted up his opponent on his way to a decision victory less than one month ago. In February of this year, de Jesus outlasted Ashe Bowman in a 9 minute fight promoted by both War Gods and Ken Shamrock Productions.
His fighting resume has included fights for a variety of organizations such as PURECOMBAT, Global KO, and Strikeforce: Young Guns.
Bao Quach (15-9-1) will be appearing in his second fight this year. His last fight was as a late replacement against L.C. Davis during the Affliction: Day of Reckoning show in January. Davis scored a unanimous decision win that snapped a 9 fight win streak for Quach.
“The Taz” is a 29 year-old Team Oyama member who calls “Razor” Rob McCullough, Jared Rollins and Robert Emerson teammates. His last win came in an Icon Sport 140 lb. championship match against Hawaii native Mark Oshiro. He scored points with takedowns and ground and pound to give Oshiro only his second career loss in 13 fights.
Bao has fought for some of the nations most productive promotions such as King of the Cage, Shooto and the WEC. Arguably the most memorable fight of his 8 year career was the February 2006 Shooto fight where he fought ground specialist and Sengoku star Hatsu Hioki to a 15 minute draw. He also has wins over Joe Camacho and Doug Evans.
Prediction: Quach is possibly the Strikeforce “gatekeeper” for the 145 lb. division. He has been in the cage with many recognizable featherweights. We will finally be able to tell what direction de Jesus will go at this point in his career. I’m not sure he is skilled enough to outsmart Quach. I think it will be very close separated by possibly a takedown or two.
Quach over de Jesus via split decision
Anthony Ruiz vs. Aaron Rosa (205 lb)
Anthony “ El Toro” Ruiz (21-12) is a freestyle fighter that has been very busy throughout the past year. He finished 2008 2-2 with wins over UFC vet Brad Imes and Jeremy Freitag and losses to Bobby Southworth and Trevor Prangley, two more fighters with UFC experience.
The 31 year old, part-time California firefighter is trying to bounce back from the September 2008 unanimous decision loss to Prangley. “ El Toro” was basically dominated for three rounds in which almost the entire fight was fought on the canvas with Ruiz on his back. His last four fights have all went to decisions.
Eddie Sanchez (loss), Jimmy Armbriz (win), and Vladamir Matyushenko (loss) have all been in the cage with Ruiz over his six year career. Along with Strikeforce, Ruiz has fought for Elite XC, ShoXC, WEC and King of the Cage to name a few. He began his career fighting for the California based Gladiators Challenge, where he fought 20 times.
Aaron Rosa (11-2) was previously showcased in ShoXC, where he fought three times going 1-2 overall. His last fight was for Monte Cox’s Adrenaline MMA 1 show last June. Fighting for AMMA 1 he earned his 5 th TKO/KO win of his career by overwhelming 54 fight-veteran, Ron Fields.
The 6’3” 205 lb. San Antonio, Texas native began his career fighting for Renegades Extreme Fighting located in his home state. He found success with REF and other small promotions by winning his first 10 fights in his career.
The biggest name opponents to date have been Jaime Fletcher and Jared Hamman, both losses in ShoXC fights. He was to appear on the infamous Elite XC: Heat card opposing Seth Petruzelli. However as history has it, Petruzelli was forced to step up for an injured Ken Shamrock and fight Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson in the main event. I think we all know what role that fight played for the free-spending Elite XC.
Prediction: This fight looks very ordinary on paper but I see an exciting fight in reality. Both Ruiz and Rosa enjoy fighting in the standing position. Ruiz just happens to throw very wild punches and Aaron Rosa is somewhat more technical with his approach. Ruiz has the advantage when it comes to experience but I think everything else favors Rosa. There is always a chance that Ruiz lands one of his sloppy strikes but Ill take my chances that he won’t.
Rosa over Ruiz via unanimous decision
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LaVar Johnson vs. George Bush III (265 lb)
The Heavyweight division of Strikeforce is improving with young stars such as the two that are featured in this one. LaVar “Big” Johnson (11-3) is a former “Toughman” competitor that progressed into MMA. His move to MMA has been very successful since his first professional fight over five years ago.
“Big” is currently on a 4 fight win streak that dates back to August of 2008. All but one of his 11 wins have been via TKO/KO with only 2 fights ever going past the 1st round. Dave Huckaba was Johnsons’ latest TKO victim when his corner stopped the fight after the first round at a PFC event in January.
Other members of “Big” Johnson’s TKO run include Sean Souza, Vince Lucero and Todd Gouwenberg. His three losses have come from some heavy hitters like Doug “Rhino” Marshall, Alijah Remi and Brian Olsen. The loss to Olsen came in a WEC Heavyweight title match which saw Johnson tear his ACL thus putting him out of MMA action for two years.
George Bush III (5-1) is trying to bounce back from his first career loss. Bush lost to former UFC Heavyweight champion, Ricco Rodriguez at the YAMMA - Pit Fighting event in April 2008. Before his loss at YAMMA, Bush won his first five fights including an impressive win over recently released UFC fighter, Vinny Magalhaes.
Bush began fighting almost 4 years ago at the Columbus, Ohio Hammer House Cage Fighting show. He fought three fights at HHCF before graduating to Gracie Proving Ground fights and then to the “one and done” YAMMA Pit Fighting.
Prediction: Johnson has the advantage in the stand up department as well as the size advantage however; Bush is superior with his wrestling. Don’t blink if you plan on watching this one, it may be over before you realize it has started. Both gentleman are known for knockouts and heavy hands. It’s just a matter of who hits who first. I like Lavar to get to Bush first.
Johnson over Bush via 1st round KO (punch)
Billy Evangelista vs. Mike Aina (155 lb)
The Main Event features two lightweights that are at similar stages in their respective careers. Evangelista (9-0) is a Strikeforce veteran who is trying to take the next step as a main event fighter on a legitimate card. Aina (11-6-1), a Hawaiian who has fought many times in his native state, is a seasoned fighter who has been in the cage with the sport’s toughest lightweights.
Billy Evangelista fights and trains out of Team Buhawe along with his brother Jorge Evangelista. The wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu specialist began his fighting career about 3 ½ years ago on a WEC card. He won that night against his opponent Ryan Healy and hasn’t looked back since.
His undefeated record is not full of “tomato can” fighters; instead it includes some solid 155-pounders. While fighting for the Palace FC, Gladiators Challenge and WEC organizations he has big wins over the likes of Harris Sarmiento, Luke Caudillo and Nam Phan.
Mike Aina trains with a rock-solid team in Hawaii at BJ Penn’s MMA. Aina is known mostly as a striker who also is willing to string a fight out for the judges to decide. All six of his career losses have been decided by a decision and 10 of his 18 career fights have been decided the same way.
Aina has been successful in his last two fights, one submission and one decision. His last loss was a tough split decision to Nick Diaz at Elite XC- Uprising in September of 2007. The Spirit MC, Rumble on the Rock, and SuperBrawl veteran also has tough career losses to UFC lightweight Roger Huerta and Ryan Schultz.
Prediction: Billy Evangelista likes to pressure his opponents into making mistakes. If he keeps that strategy he may be in for a long night. I think the longer the fight goes the better the chance for an upset by Aina. Aina doesn’t make a great deal of mistakes however; he still isn’t as skilled as Evangelista. Evangelista’s best chance is to try and take Aina down and work his ground game.
Evangelista over Aina via 1st round TKO (strikes)
By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer