VILLASENOR, CYBORG, THOMPSON, KENNEDY, KAUFMAN, BASZLER, DEVELA, HALLMAN, BEERBOHN, LUDWIG & MORE

-- ShoWare Center

For Immediate Release
June 16, 2009

Thursday, June 18, ShoWare Center (Club Lounge), 6 P.M. PT

WHAT:
All 22 fighters who will compete in the eagerly awaited Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) event Friday, June 19, at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., will weigh in the day before, Thursday, June 18, at ShoWare Center's Club Lounge. The weigh in is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and will start at 6 p.m. PT.

Rugged, determined middleweights "Smokin" Joe Villasenor of Albuquerque, N.M., and Evangelista "Cyborg" of Rondonopolis Mato Grosso, Brazil, will clash in the main event of a five bout telecast on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

Tim Kennedy faces Nick Thompson (middleweights), Cory "The One'' Devela, of Bonney Lake, Wash., will be opposed by Luke Rockhold of Santa Cruz, Calif. (middleweights); Sarah Kaufman of Victoria, Canada, takes on Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D., in a women's fight at 135 pounds and Jorge Gurgel of Cincinnati, Ohio, will collide with Conor Heun of Boulder, Colo., in a 155-pound match.

In addition to Devela and Dennis "Superman'' Hallman of Yelm, Wash, the event is loaded with other popular area fighters. Lyle "Fancy Pants'' Beerbohm, of Spokane, Wash., meets Duane "Bang'' Ludwig of Denver, Colo. (lightweights), Brian Caraway, of Seattle, throws down with Alex Zuniga, Landon Showalter takes on Travis Doerge (middleweights), Len Bentley, fighting out of Olympia, WA., confronts Marques Daniels and Steve Hadsel collides with Taylor Roberts.

Doors for a stacked 11-bout Strikeforce fight card open at 5:30 p.m. PT on Friday, June 19. The first live bout will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets for the Strikeforce Challengers event, priced from $32, are on sale at the ShoWare Center Box Office (253 856-6999 or (877) 840-0457, online at ShoWareCenter.com and at www.strikeforce.com.

Strikeforce's MMA fight card at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 28, 2008, produced the largest live gate in the history of any boxing, MMA, or kickboxing event in Washington State.

WHEN:
Thursday, June 18 at 6 p.m. PT.

WHERE:
ShoWare Center (Club Lounge)
625 W James St. Kent, Wash., 98032, (253) 856-6777

About ShoWare Center

The nation's first LEED® Silver sports & entertainment arena, ShoWare Center is home to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds, as well as concerts, family shows, corporate events, tradeshows and other sporting events. Located just 17 miles from Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, ShoWare Center offers guests complimentary parking and is the crown jewel in a well-designed gathering place for the residents of the Puget Sound region. www.ShoWareCenter.com

About Strikeforce

Strikeforce 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 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 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. www.Strikeforce.com