| |
 |
|
UNBEATEN HEAVYWEIGHT BOBBY LASHLEY RETURNS
TO THE CAGE TO FACE
ARIZONA'S CHAD GRIGGS IN STRIKEFORCE MMA EVENT IN HOUSTON, AUG. 21,
ON SHOWTIME
Saturday, Aug. 21, LIVE ON SHOWTIME(r) at 10 p.m. ET/PT
From Toyota Center In Houston
SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 16, 2010) - Unbeaten and rising heavyweight
star
Bobby Lashley gets back to business when he takes on Mixed Martial
Arts
veteran and Tucson firefighter Chad Griggs in a featured, televised
bout
during STRIKEFORCE: Houston, on Saturday, Aug. 21 from Houston's
Toyota
Center and live on SHOWTIME (10p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west
coast).
Lashley vs. Griggs will be a prelude to a World Championship
Doubleheader when STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)
Champion "King" Mo Lawal makes the first defense of his belt against
devastating striker Rafael "Feijao'' Cavalcante in the main event.
The
co-main event will feature Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Tim Kennedy in
a
battle for the vacant STRIKEFORCE Middleweight (185 pounds) title.
The former International Fighting League's Griggs, originally from
Phoenix, Ariz., is 32-years-old and currently works for the Tucson
Fire
Department. He has an 8-1 record with some very early finishes,
including six of his eight wins ending in the first round with seven
of
eight coming by way of knockout.
In his last fight on April 25, 2009, he knocked out Jon Alexander
with
elbows in the first round. He fought four times in 2007, the same
year
he suffered his first career loss as a professional. That loss came
on
April 13 in Connecticut he was submitted by Shane Ott in the first
round
at 1:09.
A father of two, Griggs said he's excited about the opportunity to
face
Lashley. "Of course I am. It's really a dream come true," said
Griggs,
who works out with Joey Rivera at APEX MMA gym in Tucson. "MMA is
something I got involved with by walking into a gym. Once I did I
fell
in love with the sport."
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Lashley (5-0) is a former collegiate
wrestling
star for Missouri Valley College and member of The United States
Army.
He made his MMA debut in December of 2008.
In his last fight and STRIKEFORCE debut, Lashley, 33, scored a
first
round TKO over Wes Sims at STRIKEFORCE: Miami on Jan. 30, 2010.
Prior
to that, the former wrestling star pulverized the 6-foot-5, 350-plus
pound goliath Bob Sapp.
Lashley's WWE and TNA wrestling career has helped make him a
well-known
figure in the sports and entertainment world.
Tickets are on sale at
www.ToyotaCenterTix.com
<https://mail.svse.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.toyotacenter
tix.com/> , by phone at 1-866-4-HOU-TIX, at select Houston area
Randalls
locations, and at
www.strikeforce.com. Tickets will also be available
beginning on Monday at the Toyota Center box office.
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(r) 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.
CONTACT: STRIKEFORCE :
Mike Afromowitz (917) 566-8754, mafromowitz@strikeforce.com
Brener Zwikel & Associates:
Steve Pratt (818) 462-5602, SteveP@BZAPR.com
John Beyrooty (562) 233-7477, Johnnybey@aol.com
|
