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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.”
The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card presented by Rockstar Energy
Drink will mark STRIKEFORCE’s initial foray into the state of
Mississippi.
Tickets are on sale now to the general public 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 televised main card fight will begin at 10 p.m.
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.
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