Story by Phil Lanides

StrikeForce is bringing MMA back to the Bay Area, as their “Challenger Series” makes its San Jose debut on Friday, February 26th. The Civic Auditorium will play host to a main event that will feature South African middleweight Trevor Prangley (22-5) who trains part-time with American Kickboxing Academy, taking on top French fighter Karl Amoussou (11-2-1). Also showcased will be a women’s bout between undefeated Sarah Kaufman (10-0) and Takayo Hashi (12-1). The winner of that scrap will be awarded the first-ever StrikeForce Women’s Bantamweight Championship belt.

Prangley, a UFC veteran, is riding a five-fight win streak, and has faced notable fighters like Falaniko Vitale, Jorge Santiago, Yuki Kondo, Andrei Semenov, Chael Sonnen, Jeremy Horn, Travis Lutter, Matt Horwich, and “Babalu” Sobral. He will take his top shelf wrestling skills into the StrikeForce cage against Amoussou, a French fighter that has only been to a decision twice in his career. He’s known for his devastating knockout power and unorthodox fighting style, and also possesses strong submission skills. He is on a win streak of his own, with three straight wins.

One of the top female fighters out there, Kaufman has finished eight of her ten opponents by TKO/KO. The 24 year-old is coming off two straight StrikeForce victories over Miesha Tate and Shayna Baszler, and is looking to secure the first StrikeForce Women’s Bantamweight Championship title. Standing in her way will be the 32 year-old Hashi of Honbu, Tokyo, who is a former champion of Japan’s Smackgirl MMA promotion. She is on an eight-fight winning streak, and will be trying to make a splash in the United States.

In other action, rising star Luke Rockhold (6-1) will clash with Paul Bradley (12-1) in a pivotal middleweight matchup. Also, James Terry (7-1) of San Jose will square off with Tarec Saffiedine (7-2) of Temecula, California in a welterweight (170 pounds) bout while Raul Castillo (6-0) of Half Moon Bay, California will face fellow unbeaten middleweight Yancy Medeiros (4-0) of Waianae, Hawaii.

Tickets for the event, priced from $30, went on sale yesterday, and are available at the San Jose Civic Auditorium box office, Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) and online at Ticketmaster.com and http://www.strikeforce.com/

The fight card, as it stands, includes:

• Karl Amoussou vs. Trevor Prangley
• Takayo Hashi vs. Sarah Kaufman
• Paul Bradley vs. Luke Rockhold
• Tarec Saffiedine vs. James Terry
• Raul Castillo vs. Yancy Medeiros

For more from Phil Lanides check out

http://www.examiner.com/x-9970-San-Jose-MMA-Examiner

http://www.fightofyourlife.com/