STRIKEFORCE FIGHTERS WEIGH IN FOR FRIDAY’S EVENT IN JACKSON, MISS.
Thursday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m.,
At Mississippi Legends Grill In Flowood, Miss.;
The Public is Invited to Attend
WHO: Lightweight Rising Star Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro
Brandon Heavyweight & Former NFL Player Wes “The Perfect Storm” Shivers
Women’s Exciting, Hard-Hitting Contender Jan Finney
Madison Up-And-Coming Light Heavy Anthony Mitchell
Vicksburg’s Jeremiah “Bigg Rigg” Riggs
Undefeated Jackson Native Ken Dubose
Plus all other main card and undercard fighters will weigh in
WHERE: MISSISSIPPI LEGENDS GRILL, Suite 50, 5352 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, Miss., 39232
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m. CT; (Fighter check-in at 3:30 p.m.)
WHAT: All the athletes will step on the scales one day before the eagerly anticipated STRIKEFORCE Challengers event this Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). The weigh in is open to the
public, free of charge.
* * * * * * * TUNE IN ALERT * * * * * * *
MMA LEGEND FRANK SHAMROCK TO APPEAR ON
LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON
& THE SCOTT FERRALL SHOW THIS WEEK
WHO: MMA Legend & SHOWTIME® Announcer Frank Shamrock
WHAT: Interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC
& The Scott Ferrall Show on SiriusXM (Howard 101)
MMA legend Frank Shamrock will discuss the upcoming STRIKEFORCE mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Saturday, Dec. 4, LIVE on SHOWTIME from Scottrade Center in St. Louis and his anti-bullying campaign, Together We Stand Up.
Shamrock, who was the first STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion as well as the first-ever UFC middleweight champion, is currently a color commentator for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME.
The Dec. 4 event features MMA superstar Dan Henderson taking on former STRIKEFORCE world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral at light heavyweight (205 pounds) in the main event. In a featured fight, football legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will face Scott Carson in a heavyweight bout.
WHERE: NBC Tomorrow/Thursday, Nov. 18 (late night) at 12:35 a.m. ET/PT
SiriusXM Channel 101 Tonight/Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
SIX QUESTIONS WITH JUSTIN “THE SILVERBACK’’ WILCOX FRIDAY, NOV. 19, IN JACKSON, MISS., LIVE ON SHOWTIME®
AKA-Trained Former Bodybuilder Ready to Take on Ribeiro
JACKSON, MISS. (Nov. 16, 2010) – Feeling like he wasn’t getting the competition he craved, former college wrestler turned competitive bodybuilder Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox decided to give Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) a try five years ago. He’s been hooked ever since.
Now, Wilcox finds himself in the biggest fight of his career, taking on lightweight (155 pounds) star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro in the headlining fight of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT, (delayed on the West Coast).
Wilcox (9-3), a 31-year-old former NCAA wrestling star, has won his last four starts. In his most recent outing on March 26, he registered a unanimous decision over Shamar Bailey at STRIKEFORCE Challengers in Fresno, Calif., the city where his family currently resides.
A member of San Jose, Calif.’s Team AKA, one of the most fearsome fight teams in the world that also plays home to STRIKEFORCE superstars Josh Thomson and Cung Le, Wilcox wrestled for Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and is from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Wilcox answered six questions recently.
QUESTION: What do you think about Vitor Ribeiro? He thought he beat Lyle Beerbohm (he lost a split decision May 15) in his last fight. What did you think?
WILCOX: “I think it could have gone either way. I think he looked good. I know he’s a four-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion and he’s 20-4. I’m not underestimating him in the least. I know people think there won’t be a lot of striking; that we’re both going to want to get it to the ground. Wherever he wants to take it is fine by me. I have faith in my ground game and I’m working with Dave Camarillo at AKA, just an incredible Jiu-Jitsu coach.
QUESTION: What’s it like training at the AKA gym in San Jose?
WILCOX: “It’s been awesome. It’s one of the top gyms in the world. I don’t see myself training anywhere else. Going into my fights I don’t get too nervous because I’m training against such high-level guys and some world champions. The gym is so complete. You don’t have to travel to get high-level boxing or high-level wrestling. It’s all right there. That’s why I love it so much.”
QUESTION: Who’s the toughest guy you ever fought?
WILCOX: “Each opponent has had his strong points. They’ve all been tough. I don’t take any of them lightly. If I had to pick one I would say the (Daisuke) Nakamura fight (which Wilcox won by unanimous decision on Dec. 19, 2009). I had to take the fight on two weeks notice. He was such a high-level opponent.”
QUESTION: In your first professional fight in 2006 you beat Bobby Voelker, another Cincinnati fighter (who scored a major victory over previously undefeated Roger Bowling last Oct. 22 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers on SHOWTIME). Does that seem like a long time ago?
WILCOX: “That was also a tough one. I was just a wrestler back then. Everything he could throw at me he did. People after that fight were like, ‘Wow, wait till you get that chin.’ I don’t know. I just want to keep moving forward. That was my first fight. Bobby’s had some success recently with STRIKEFORCE which is great. We’re kind of on the same path. He’s a great kid. I like Bobby a lot.”
QUESTION: Is there any opponent you’d like to face? Where do you see yourself in the sport in a year?
WILCOX: “I see myself wearing that belt. Each fight is one step closer to that belt. That’s what I see myself going after and being a world champion. Whoever they put in front of me is fine. Whoever has the belt at the time is who I want to fight and who I want to beat.”
QUESTION: What do you like to do in your free time?
WILCOX: “I just really like to hang out with my 3-year-old daughter Natalie and being with my family. I’m up here in San Jose training and they are down in Fresno so I go down on weekends and see them a lot. Just being with my little girl and my wife Leslie is what makes me happy. Just hanging out and spending time with the family.”
MARIUS ZAROMSKIS VS. WAACHIIM SPIRITWOLF ADDED TO STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS CARD ON FRIDAY, NOV. 19, IN JACKSON, MISS., LIVE ON SHOWTIME®
New York, NY (Nov. 4, 2010) - An already stacked STRIKEFORCE Challengers card just got that much stronger with the announcement that Dream World Champion Marius "The Whitemare" Zaromskis will take on battle-tested Waachiim Spiritwolf on Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT, (delayed on the West Coast).
The featured welterweight (170 pounds) televised fight will replace the bout in which Ryan Couture could not fight due to a lingering staph infection. The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card presented by Rockstar Energy Drink will mark STRIKEFORCE's initial foray into the state of Mississippi.
Both fighters are coming off losses - Zaromskis (13-5) to Brazil's Evangelista Cyborg on June 16 at STRIKEFORCE LIVE in Los Angeles and Spiritwolf (8-7-1) to Billy Evangelista at a Challengers event in Fresno, Calif. on Oct. 22 - and are eager to return to the win column.
The highly explosive, 30-year-old Zaromskis, who hails from Siauliai, Lithuania, has never shied away from taking on the sport's best as he fell to Nick Diaz on Jan. 30, 2010, in Sunrise, Fla. Prior to that loss, Zaromskis had won three consecutive fights, all by way of head kick in the first round.
Zaromskis won the DREAM 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix and became the Japanese promotion's inaugural Welterweight Champion by defeating Seichi Ikemoto at Dream.8. He conquered both Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and Jason High at Dream.10.
Zaromskis' first love was karate as a child before switching to kickboxing. As an adult, Zaromskis moved to London to train with the London Shootfighters Fight Team. Since signing with STRIKEFORCE, Zaromskis has moved to San Jose and currently is training at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).
Fans will no doubt recall Spiritwolf's STRIKEFORCE debut on Oct. 22 in Fresno when he fell to the unbeaten, comebacking Billy Evangelista in a highly entertaining slugfest by unanimous decision (30-27 twice and 29-28). Spiritwolf, 34, is a Fresno native now fighting out of Poway in the San Diego area. He is the head instructor of his own gym, Spiritwolf MMA.
He said after the fight he should have won. "I come to fight and that's what I did tonight,'' he said. "It is bad enough I thought I deserved the decision, but to not get a round on those scorecards is ridiculous. Honestly, I feel I got ripped off."
Spiritwolf has trained with some of MMA's best, including MMA legends Randy "The Natural" Couture and Dan Henderson.
In the Nov. 19 main event on SHOWTIME, lightweight (155 pounds) star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (20-4) will face Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati. In another televised fight, former University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince St. Preux (7-4), of Knoxville, Tenn. will seek his fifth consecutive conquest inside the distance when he faces Antwain "The Juggernaut'' Britt'' (11-4) of Virginia Beach, Va., in a light heavyweight (205 pounds) scrap.
Power-punching Jan "Cuddles'' Finney (8-8) of Springfield, Ohio, will be opposed by unbeaten Liz "Girl-Rilla'' Carmouche (4-0) of San Diego, Calif., in a key women's match at 135 pounds (welterweight) and Caros "The Future" Fodor (6-2) of Seattle, Wash., will throw down with Derek "The Pretzel'' Getzel (2-1) of Andover, Minn., at lightweight (155 pounds).
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER AND FORMER NFL PLAYER WES SHIVERS
LEADS STRONG GROUP OF LOCAL FIGHTERS ON STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS UNDERCARD FRIDAY, NOV. 19, IN JACKSON, MISS.,
UNDERCARD PRECEDES SIX-FIGHT MAIN CARD
LIVE ON SHOWTIME®
Former NFL player-turned-Mixed Martial Arts fighter, popular heavyweight Wes Shivers, of Brandon, Miss., returns to the cage to face Goldman Butler, of Tupelo, Miss., in the top undercard fight of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event in Jackson, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT, (delayed on the West Coast).
“I’ve been kicking it around for awhile that I wanted to get back in there,” said Shivers, a star offensive tackle at Mississippi State who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans where he saw action in three games. He also played for the Atlanta Falcons before being released and walking away from the game.
“I didn’t really have any motivation to get back to training. I got the phone call from (local promoter) Dave Ferguson who asked me if I wanted to fight again. I thought it was a great opportunity to be able to fight in front of my home crowd. Not to mention it’s a STRIKEFORCE show. I had to take the opportunity.”
In the main event on the first STRIKEFORCE event in Mississippi, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-4) will face Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati in a lightweight (155 pounds) match.
The 33-year-old, 6-foot-8 Shivers (7-1), a Rankin County Deputy Sheriff, will take on Goldman (1-3) during the non-televised portion of a card that will include many fighters from Mississippi and Tennessee.
Shivers said it was a lifelong dream to play in the NFL, but he has no regrets over his short-lived NFL career, which ended in 2001.
“Any kid growing up in America wants to play a pro sport and I accomplished that goal,” he said. “When I got in there I realized what the whole business was about and it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I saw an opportunity to walk away from the game without any regrets and I did it. Looking back, I still don’t have any regrets. It’s a business. Like any sport, if you take the fun out of it, it’s not worth playing anymore.
“I had several opportunities to go other places after I was released. I just decided I could do more with my life than play football.”
Shivers started training for MMA as the sport began to get hugely popular in Mississippi and he had his first professional fight at the end of 2005.
“I just loved the competitiveness of it and testing myself on a daily basis,” he said.
Before Shivers and Butler tangle, Jacob “Pyscho” Noe (3-1) of Memphis, Tenn., will take on Wesley “Pitbull” Little (2-4) of Columbus, Miss.
Other pro bouts will pit four middleweights (185 pounds) against one another: Jeremiah “Bigg Rigg” Riggs (6-5) of Vicksburg, Miss., meets Jason Sharp (7-2) of Biloxi, Miss., while Jamie Houston of Olive Branch, Miss., takes on Dave Martin of Southhaven, Miss., in both fighter’s pro debuts.
Among the scheduled amateur undercard bouts: Anthony Mitchel (4-1), Madison, Miss., vs. Jeffrey Hedgepeth (2-1), Silver Creek, Miss, at a catch weight of 200 pounds; Brian “The Law” Hall (2-1), Memphis, Tenn., vs. Thomas “
Tickets are currently on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Coliseum box office and Be-Bop Record Shops, by phone at 800-745-3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com and STRIKEFORCE.COM.
Doors at Jackson Convention Complex will open at 6:45 p.m. CT. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 7:30 p.m. The first fight on SHOWTIME will begin at 10 p.m.
About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.
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