RANDY COUTURE'S SON RYAN COUTURE WITHDRAWS FROM STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS FIGHT COMPETITION ON NOV. 19

RYAN COUTURE OUT OF STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS
 NOV. 19  IN JACKSON, MISS., LIVE ON SHOWTIME®



NEW YORK (Nov. 1, 2010) – Unbeaten Ryan Couture (1-0) has been forced to withdraw from the  STRIKEFORCE Challengers  event Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., due to a staph infection, STRIKEFORCE announced today.

The son of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend, Randy Couture, is expected be sidelined for three to four weeks.

The 28-year-old Couture, a member of Las Vegas, Nev., based Xtreme Couture, won his STRIKEFORCE and MMA pro debut with a 1:15, first-round submission (triangle choke) over Lucas Stark last Aug. 13 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers.

"I was really looking forward to fighting so this is a big disappointment, but I'll be back" said Couture.  "As soon as I'm cleared, you can bet I'll be back in the gym preparing for my next STRIKEFORCE fight."

In the Nov. 19 main event on SHOWTIME®,  lightweight 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 seeking 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.

The MMA fight card is presented by Rockstar Energy Drink and will mark STRIKEFORCE’s initial foray into the state of Mississippi.

Tickets are 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 www.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.

HARD-HITTING JAN FINNEY TO FIGHT
 UNBEATEN LIZ CARMOUCHE, CAROS FODOR
TO MEET DEREK “THE PRETZEL’’ GETZEL
ON STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS NOV. 19
 IN JACKSON, MISS., LIVE ON SHOWTIME®


NEW YORK (Nov. 1, 2010) – Two fights have been added to an exciting STRIKEFORCE Challengers  event Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., live on SHOWTIME®  at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

STRIKEFORCE formally announced today that 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).

In the main event, lightweight star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-4) will take on Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati. The fifth televised fight will feature former University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince St. Preux (7-4), of Knoxville, Tenn., who will be seeking 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.

The MMA fight card is presented by Rockstar Energy Drink and will mark STRIKEFORCE’s initial foray into the state of Mississippi.

Tickets are 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 www.STRIKEFORCE.com.

The winner in what will be an excellent women’s fight stays alive for a world title shot in STRIKEFORCE’s wide-open, contentious 135-pound division. The STRIKEFORCE champion, Marloes Coenen, is scheduled to make her first defense against No. 1 contender Miesha Tate in 2011.

Finney’s nickname belies her attitude and fighting style. “I'm far from cuddly. I'm more like a bull in a china shop,’’ she said.

This will mark Finney’s return to her natural weight of 135 pounds. In her last start, the strong striker and one of MMA’s most determined practitioners lost a toe-to-toe-slugfest with STRIKEFORCE Middleweight (145 pounds) World Champion and the No. 1 female fighter in MMA, Cris Cyborg, last June 26.

Finney’s record belies her abilities. Aside from Cyborg, her losses have come against top fighters such as Tate, Julie Kedzie and Erin Toughill. All the fights went to the judges’ scorecards. The Cyborg defeat was only the second time she’d been stopped on strikes.

Finney’s most noteworthy victory came on a decision over Adrienna Jenkins (17-2 going in) on March 27, 2010.

Carmouche is coming off a second-round TKO over Valentina Shevchenko on Sept. 30. In her outing before last on Aug. 13, Carmouche went the distance for the only time in her career, scoring a unanimous decision over Colleen Schneider in a “reserve bout” in the STRIKEFORCE single-elimination women’s 135-pound tournament, which was won by Tate.

In the 5-foot-5 Carmouche’s other fights, she won by second-round TKO in her pro debut last May 29 and by second-round submission (armbar) over Margarita de la Cruz the following June 26.

A 25-year-old of Lebanese descent, Carmouche was born in Okinawa, Japan, and currently resides in San Diego. She spent seven years in the Marines during which she toured The Middle East.

Carmouche trains at Undisputed Fitness and Training in San Diego with Manolo Hernandez and Baret Yoshida, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion.

Fodor, a 5-foot-9, 26-year-old who is trained by Matt Hume and fights out of AMC Kickboxing and Pankration, is a well-rounded fighter known for his mental toughness and ability to finish.
A winner in six of his last seven fights, Fodor won via decision for the first time when he earned a unanimous points victory over Thomas Diagne in his last outing last July 23 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers. Afterward, he apologized for letting the fight go to the judges' scorecards.

"I really don't have an excuse, I was a little bit off," said Fodor, who dominated and had Diagne in serious trouble on a few occasions. "I apologize for that. I don’t like decisions. I want to end all my fights.’’

Fodor, whose brother, Ben, also fights MMA, wrestled in high school but entered the Marines six days after graduation. While he was in boot camp, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred and he was sent to Kuwait for the Iraq invasion.  He returned home in 2003 after one tour.

After an extensive, successful amateur career in which he was the Genesis Fights MMA and Muay Thai champion and Revolution submission champion., Fodor turned pro in September 2005.

Outside the cage, Fodor, who once had his sights set on becoming a homicide director, is a trainer at a health club and works with mentally challenged kids while remaining active in the reserves.
Getzel is a 5-foot-7, 23-year-old Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu specialist. He’ll be making his STRIKEFORCE debut and first start since defeating Johnny Case on a career-best first-round TKO last Feb 26.

“I’ve very excited about finally getting this opportunity for STRIKEFORCE,’’ said Getzel, who registered a 4:11, first-round TKO (punches) over Dustin Petron on Nov. 25, 2009.

Getzel turned pro on Sept. 12, 2009.

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.
 

FORMER UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE LINEBACKER
OVINCE ST. PREUX TO BATTLE ANTWAIN BRITT
FRIDAY, NOV. 19, IN JACKSON, MISS.,
 LIVE ON SHOWTIME®

Vitor “Shaolin’’ Ribeiro Meets Justin “The Silverback’’ Wilcox in Main Event;
Ryan Couture, Son Of MMA Legend, Randy, Returns To The STRIKEFORCE Cage

NEW YORK (Oct. 29, 2010) – Streaking former University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince St. Preux (7-4), of Knoxville, Tenn., who is coming off an eight-second knockout victory, 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) bout during a terrific STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on Friday, Nov. 19.  The evening of fights will take place at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT, (delayed on the West Coast).

In the night’s featured fight, lightweight (155 pounds) star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-4) will take on Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati.

Unbeaten 155-pounder Ryan Couture (1-0) will face an opponent to be determined on the televised undercard. The son of legend Randy Couture won his STRIKEFORCE and MMA debut with a 1:15, first-round submission (triangle choke) over Lucas Stark last Aug. 13 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers.

The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card is presented by Rockstar Energy Drink and will mark STRIKEFORCE’s initial foray into the state of Mississippi.

Tickets are 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 www.STRIKEFORCE.com.
St. Preux, who fights out of Knoxville MMA, has won all four of his fights this year in the first round in total elapsed time of 7:10.  He called it a night after demolishing tough UFC veteran, Jason “Dooms’’ Day, with a single punch in just eight seconds in his most recent outing last July 24.

Day came out hard, charging St. Preux at the opening bell and throwing a hard left hook. St. Preux avoided the shot and landed a crushing, thunderous uppercut that floored Day. He immediately followed up with more punches, forcing the referee to step in and halt matters.

The victory was the second in a row for St. Preux since he won his STRIKEFORCE debut with a 0:47, first-round TKO (punches) over Chris Hawk last April 17 in Nashville. Shortly thereafter, St. Preux signed a multi-fight deal with STRIKEFORCE.

St. Preux is a 6-foot-3, 27-year-old who played for the Vols from 2001-2004. After graduating with a degree in Sociology in ’04, he became heavily involved in MMA, utilizing his impressive wrestling skills and natural athletic abilities. He made history on Feb. 20, 2009, by not only competing in Tennessee’s first sanctioned MMA event, but also by recording the first knockout.

“Everything is going good now but, the more I win, the harder I know I have to work,’’ St. Preux said.  “I fought some tough guys early in my career because it didn’t matter to me who I fought. Looking back, I probably should have won all those fights. But I’m not mad because I learned so much from each of them.’’

The 6-foot-1, 32-year-old Britt is making his third consecutive start for STRIKEFORCE, second on SHOWTIME and first since losing to current STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight World Champion Rafael “Feijao’’ Cavalcante last May 15.

After controlling Feijao for most of the standup in the first round, even buckling the Brazilian at one point, Britt got caught with an overhand right. He staggered backwards and Cavalcante followed him into the corner before unleashing a left hook and uppercut that forced the referee to stop the action at 3:45.

A member of Hybrid Academy of Martial Arts, Britt had entered the Cavalcante clash having won four of five, including an impressive, dominant first-round TKO over Scott Lighty on Dec. 19, 2009.

“This is a must-win fight for both of us,’’ said Britt, who has gone more than one full round only three times in a career that began in March 2007. “But I really want this bad. I thought I had Feijao, and would love a rematch with him especially since he now is the STRIKEFORCE champion.’’

Ribeiro is a decorated submission expert who won the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship four times, once as a purple belt in 1996 and three times as a black belt in consecutive years (1999-2001). His 20 victories include 14 stoppages (12 by submission) and he has defeated, among others, such notable fighters as Joachim Hansen, Eiji Mitsuoka and Mitsuhiro “The Endless Fighter” Ishida.

Wilcox, a former NCAA wrestling star and bodybuilder, 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.




About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (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.