| |
 |
|
Strikeforce Returns To Columbus
With Tate vs. Rousey On March 3rd
Las Vegas, Nev. – A highly-anticipated and exciting title fight featuring
two of the world’s elite mixed martial artists will take place when
STRIKEFORCE® returns to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on
Saturday, March 3, when newly-crowned women’s bantamweight champion
Miesha Tate makes her first title defense against undefeated
sensation Ronda Rousey.
STRIKEFORCE®: TATE vs. ROUSEY will air live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m.
ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), while preliminary fights will be
shown live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West
Coast).
The March 3 fight card, which takes place on the same weekend as the
Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, will also feature a battle of
top lightweights when former STRIKEFORCE champ Josh Thomson takes on
the surging KJ Noons. Also on the card, British striker Paul Daley
welcomes Japanese star Kazuo Misaki back to Strikeforce in a
welterweight bout, and another former STRIKEFORCE champ, Sarah
Kaufman, meets top contender Alexis Davis in a women’s bantamweight
contest. Additional fights scheduled for the event are expected to
be released shortly.
“The energy in the city of Columbus is always incredible during the
weekend of the Arnold and we can’t wait to get back there with this
championship fight,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. “Miesha Tate
vs. Ronda Rousey is the title fight fans wanted and we were happy to
give it to them. Miesha made a big statement when she submitted
Marloes Coenen for the title last year. Now she meets one of the
fastest-rising stars in all of mixed martial arts, unbeaten judo ace
Ronda Rousey. Columbus, get ready, because we’re bringing a great
night of fights to your city once again.”
Tickets for STRIKEFORCE®: TATE vs. ROUSEY go on sale Friday, Jan. 20
at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $125, $75, $45 and $25. Tickets will
be available at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster
locations, at ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also
available at the FOX Sports Ohio Blue Line store at The Mall at
Tuttle Crossing and ticket outlets at Chiller Dublin, Chiller
Easton. Applicable service charges may apply.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase
tickets to this event Wednesday, Jan. 18 beginning at 10 a.m. ET via
the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale
will be available to UFC newsletter and STRIKEFORCE Insider
subscribers Thursday, Jan.19, starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this
presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com
and the STRIKEFORCE Insider through STRIKEFORCE.com.
In what many might consider one of the best come-from-behind wins in
MMA last year, Miesha Tate (fighting out of Yakima, Wash.) submitted
then-champ Marloes Coenen in the fourth round to earn the
STRIKEFORCE women’s bantamweight championship last July. Now 12-2,
her path to the top of the division also included notable wins over
Zoila Gurgel, Jan Finney and Hitomi Akano. Once a high school
wrestler who competed on the men’s team, “Takedown” has continued
training to become a complete MMA fighter and silence any critics
who doubted her along the way. On March 3, she wants to end the hype
of Rousey and cement her place as the best women’s bantamweight in
the world.
“I feel like Ronda will definitely be a challenge for me, but not
one that I can’t handle,” said Tate. “Her Olympic experience is
great, but this is MMA and her MMA career has been short. She hasn’t
truly been tested yet and I plan on doing just that when we meet in
Columbus.”
Ronda Rousey (fighting out of Venice, Calif.) has experienced a
meteoric rise to the top of women’s MMA that will ultimately see her
fight for the title within one year of her first professional bout.
Currently undefeated at 4-0, the former U.S. Olympic Judo bronze
medalist has won all four of her bouts in under one minute via
armbar, and she shows no signs of slowing down. A fan-favorite that
has quickly caught the eye of the media and fighters alike, “Rowdy”
is now faced with her most challenging fight to date on the biggest
stage of her MMA career. With a win, she’ll capture her first mixed
martial arts world title, and better yet, the validation that her
rise through the ranks was no fluke.
“Miesha is a seasoned and respectable fighter, but she’s not a
dangerous fighter,” said Rousey. “If she thinks she’s going to
submit me, she’s got another thing coming. She’ll have her chance on
March 3 and we’ll all find out who the best female MMA fighter in
the world is.”
Former STRIKEFORCE lightweight champ and UFC® veteran Josh Thomson
(fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) steps back into the cage looking
to make his way back to the top of the division. With a record 18-4,
1 NC, “The Punk” has defeated top stars such as Gilbert Melendez,
Duane Ludwig, Nam Phan and Pat Healy. He’ll have his work cut out
for him when he takes on KJ Noons (fighting out of San Diego,
Calif.). At 10-3, “King Karl” is fresh off a three-round war with
Billy Evangelista where he took the decision, and he is ready to get
right back in the cage. The former EliteXC® titleholder owns a win
over former STRIKEFORCE champion Nick Diaz and is looking to take
the first step in eventually putting the STRIKEFORCE belt around his
waist.
British bad boy and renowned striker Paul Daley (fighting out of
Nottingham, England) returns to the STRIKEFORCE cage after two
successful international victories hoping to continue his success.
The former UFC welterweight, who currently stands 29-11-2, has
beaten the likes of Martin Kampmann, Jorge Masvidal and Scott Smith,
and he always poses a threat with his one-punch knockout power.
“Semtex” will take on noted Japanese striker and 2006 PRIDE®
Welterweight Grand Prix winner Kazuo Misaki (fighting out of Chiba,
Japan). A veteran of the sport with a 24-11-2, 1 NC professional
record, “Hitman” has had his hand raised against Dan Henderson,
Denis Kang, and Phil Baroni, and he plans on more of the same in
Columbus, where he will return to STRIKEFORCE for the first time
since his 2009 win over veteran Joe Riggs.
At just 26 years old, Sarah Kaufman (fighting out of Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada) has already held the most important title
in her division by defeating Takayo Hashi to win the STRIKEFORCE
women’s bantamweight championship. Plus, she has beaten some of the
best at her weight, including Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche and even
her current opponent along the way. At 14-1, she’s hungrier than
ever to take back the top spot, but will have to get past Alexis
Davis (fighting out of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada) to do so. In
a rematch of their 2007 collision, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown
belt Davis is ready to turn the tables and leave with the victory.
With a record of 11-4, Davis feels that a win over Kaufman would
elevate her to the next title shot.
For more information or the latest STRIKEFORCE news, visit
www.strikeforce.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
About STRIKEFORCE® – www.strikeforce.com
Owned and operated by Forza, LLC, a subsidiary of Zuffa, LLC, which
also owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, STRIKEFORCE® is
a world-class mixed martial arts promotion based in Las Vegas, Nev.
that currently holds live events annually across the United States.
First established as a mixed martial arts entity in 2006,
STRIKEFORCE now broadcasts its events live on Showtime® Networks,
Inc. and has produced two live, primetime events on the CBS
Television Network. With a growing roster featuring the world’s
elite competitors, STRIKEFORCE has cemented its place as a leader in
providing quality mixed martial arts action.
About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS
Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks
SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex
channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®,
SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY
ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE
MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON
DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture
between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers
Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using
Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and
entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view
basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. |
