UNDEFEATED BILLY EVANGELISTA
TO FACE WAACHIIM SPIRITWOLF,
LAVAR JOHNSON RETURNS TO CAGE
Tickets Go On Sale Friday, Sept. 17; Pre-Sale
Begins
Wednesday, Sept. 15, via “STRIKEFORCE Insider”
SAN
JOSE, CALIF.
(Sept. 13, 2010) – Five months after their initial encounter, an
exciting battle that ended prematurely due to an accidental poke in
the eye, “Relentless” Roger
Bowling will put his
unbeaten record on the line one more time against “Vicious” Bobby
Voelker in a
collision of welterweights (170 pounds) in the main event of a STRIKEFORCE
Challengers Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA) fight card presented by Rockstar
Energy Drink at Save
Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.,
live on SHOWTIME® at 11
p.m. ET/PT (delayed
on the West Coast), on Friday, Oct.
22.
Undefeated prospect and Fresno resident Billy
Evangelista will make
his long-awaited return to the cage when he faces Waachiim
“Native Warrior’’ Spiritwolf in
a 165-pound catch weight bout. Heavyweight
star and Madera, Calif. native Lavar
“Big” Johnson will
continue his miraculous return to the sport in a matchup against an
opponent to be determined.
A
special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for the event will take
place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (
The
5-foot-8, 27-year-old Bowling (8-0), of Columbus, Ohio, won a
unanimous three-round technical decision over the 6-foot,
31-year-old Voelker (22-8), of Kansas City, Kan., during a
STRIKEFORCE Challengers presentation on May 21 in Portland, Ore., on
SHOWTIME.
Bowling, who trains in Cincinnati with, ironically, Team Vision, was
ahead by the scores of 29-28 on the three judges’ scorecards when an
excellent, crowd-pleasing fight was halted at 1:38 of the third
round after he could not continue due to an unintentional poke in
the right eye he had received.
The
talented, aggressive-minded Bowling entered the fight, his
STRIKEFORCE debut, with high expectations and the rising star lived
up to the billing and his nickname as he punished Voelker,
particularly during the majority of the first two rounds.
This
will be the first start since for Bowling, a
pro since June 2007 who
had won his seven previous fights inside the distance, six of which
came in the first round.
Voelker, who was in the midst of a major rally against Bowling when
the bout came to a disappointing end, has maintained a busy schedule
since turning pro in February 2006. He has fought once since the
Bowling match, winning a hard-fought, three-round split decision
over Cory Devela last
July 23 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Everett, Wash.
It was
the eighth victory in 11 starts for the hard-trying, determined
Voelker, who registered a dramatic, come-from-behind second-round
TKO (punches) over Erik
Apple at STRIKEFORCE:
Challengers on Nov. 20, 2009, in Kansas City.
“It
was unfortunate and frustrating my last fight had to finish that
way,’’ Bowling said. “I felt it ruined the first couple rounds that
I worked really hard for. But it was just one of those things that
can happen. If you get poked in the eye, you can’t open it. And if
you can’t open your eye, they’re not going to let you fight.
“Both
Roger and I have great hearts and I’m looking forward to doing it
again with him.’’ said Voelker,
whose left eye was cut in the first. Like he did against Apple,
Voelker showed an incredible chin, heart and remarkable resolve and
resiliency by staging a dramatic comeback in the third stanza after
absorbing an inordinate amount of punishment in the first two
rounds.
At the
end of the second round, a seemingly exhausted Voelker impressively
managed to take down Bowling. It was still going Voelker’s way at
the outset of the third as he rocked Bowling, who had never had a
fight go past two rounds, with combinations.
But
shortly thereafter, moments after the referee had separated the
fighters when they were clinched against the cage, one of the seams
on the outside of Voelker's gloves grazed Bowling's right eye.
Unable to continue, the fight went to the scorecards and Bowling got
a decision based on the strength of the first two rounds.
“It’s
an unfortunate thing,’’ Voelker
said. “We had a great war and we just wanted to end it with a great
war in the last 3:22. Things happen, accidents happen. He wasn’t
able to see and couldn’t continue. He won the first two rounds so he
got the decision. There it is. We can do it again. We’ll both be
back.’’
The start for Evangelista (10-0, 1 No Contest), a Muay Thai
specialist, will be his first since Nov. 6, 2009, when the 5-foot-8,
29-year-old earned a unanimous decision over hard-hitting brawler Jorge
Gurgelat STRIKEFORCE
Challengers at Save Mart Center. An
injury sustained in the bout with Gurgel has kept Evangelista
sidelined.
In his
outing before last on May 15, 2009, on STRIKEFORCE Challengers,
Evangelista fought Mike
Aina. The result was initially ruled a victory by
disqualification for Aina, but it was later overturned and ruled a
no contest by the California State Athletic Commission after
Evangelista appealed. Replays showed Evangelista’s knee struck Aina
in the shoulder, not the head, as the referee originally believed.
Spiritwolf (8-6-1), a resident of San Diego, Calif., will make his
debut for STRIKEFORCE. A
two-fight winning streak and three-fight unbeaten streak (2-0-1) in
2010 ended for the 5-foot-8, four-year pro when he lost a decision
to Delson
Helenoon
Sept. 4.
A Native-American who is of Navajo
and Yaqui descent, Spiritwolf registered an impressive first-round
TKO overCrafton Wallace in
his outing before last on May 22.
Johnson, a second-round TKO (punches) winner over then-undefeated Lolohea
Mahe last March 26 in
the main event of STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Save Mart Center, will
be making his second start since he was
gunned down while attending a family barbeque during the July 4
holiday in 2009.
The
6-foot-2, 33-year-old Johnson survived three gunshot wounds
sustained during the walk-by shooting that led to the death of a
cousin. A father of two
boys, ages eight and five, Johnson spent 30 days in a hospital,
fighting for his life, and several more months rehabilitating.
Taking
all that into consideration, he was pleased with his comeback
performance, “I felt great,” he said. “The whole comeback thing was
rough, but I took baby steps and came along. Now, I’m ready to fight
again.’’
Save Mart Center doors
will open for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at 4:45 p.m. The
first preliminary bout will begin at 5:30 p.m. PT. The first main
card bout will start at 8 p.m.
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