Tag Archives: Stefan Struve

mixed martial arts, MMA, NBC, World Series of Fighting

WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING: RETURNS TO EVERETT, WASHINGTON WITH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BLOCKBUSTER EVENT ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, LIVE ON NBCSN

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Blagoy Ivanov makes his third heavyweight title defense

Jared Rosholt faces Caio Alencar in a featured heavyweight scrap

Tickets for WSOF35 go on sale tomorrow 

LAS VEGAS (September 22, 2016) – World Series of Fighting (www.WSOF.com) announced today that it will return to Everett, Wash. with a heavyweight championship blockbuster Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at XFINITY Arena at Everett, on Saturday, Dec. 3, live on NBCSN at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

In the main-event, reigning world champion Blagoy Ivanov (14-1) will put his title on the line for the third time against the victor of the WSOF33 bout between knockout artists and contenders Shawn Jordan (18-7) and Ashley Gooch (10-4) on Friday, Oct. 7.

In addition, former UFC standout Jared Rosholt (14-3) will make his much-anticipated promotional debut against fellow World Series of Fighting newcomer and finisher Caio Alencar (9-1) in a featured heavyweight contest.

Tickets for WSOF35 go on sale tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. PT at the XFINITY Arena Box Office, charge by phone 866.332.8499, or online atwww.WSOF.com and www.xfinityarenaeverett.com.

“We are looking forward to bringing another action-packed night of world-class MMA action to the city of Everett, on the heels of what was one of our greatest fight cards to date, from top to bottom, and an arena packed with incredibly passionate fight fans,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

The 5-foot-11, 29-year-old Ivanov of Sofia, Bulgaria fended off a valiant and tenacious Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland for five straight, electrifying rounds of battle in the main event of WSOF31 on June 17 to retain the coveted heavyweight title.

Ivanov is a Judo black belt and was a semi-finalist at the 2008 world Sambo championships where he famously defeated all-time MMA great Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko.

The stocky, heavy-handed Ivanov went on to emerge the runner-up in the 2014 Bellator MMA season-long, heavyweight tournament.  During his seven-fight stint with the league that began in 2013, he notched six consecutive victories, all by way of (T)KO or submission.

The 6-foot-2, 30-year-old Rosholt of Sandpoint, Idaho is coming off a solid run with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he amassed a record of 6-2, defeating the likes of Walt Harris and seven-foot giant Stefan Struve, along the way.

Rosholt was a 2010 NCAA Division I national wrestling championship runner-up and three-time All-American for Oklahoma State University.

Alencar of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil is a 6-foot-4, 37-year-old import who will make his debut in the U.S. as well as his first start in the World Series of Fighting decagon cage.

After beginning his professional career just five years ago, Alencar ran to six consecutive wins and, to date, has earned all but one of his nine career victories by way of (T)KO.

Additional WSOF35 bouts will be announced soon.

Doors at XFINITY Arena at Everett will open for WSOF35 at 3:30 p.m. PT, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 4 p.m.
mixed martial arts, MMA, World Series of Fighting

WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING SIGNS HEAVYWEIGHT SENSATION JARED ROSHOLT TO EXCLUSIVE, MULTI-FIGHT AGREEMENT

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Heavyweight standout Ashley Gooch also inked to exclusive, multi-fight deal
LAS VEGAS (August 24, 2016) – World Series of Fighting (www.WSOF.com) announced today that it has signed seasoned, heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star and former NCAA Division I wrestling sensation Jared “The Big Show” Rosholt (14-3) to an exclusive, multi-fight promotional agreement.

The world championship MMA league also announced that it has inked streaking heavyweight standout Ashley “Gio” Gooch (10-4) to an exclusive, multi-fight deal.  Each athlete’s promotional debut will be announced soon.

“We are excited to welcome one of the sport’s top, free-agent heavyweight stars in Jared Rosholt, as well as veteran Ashley Gooch, who has been on fire of late, to the World Series of Fighting roster and look forward to seeing how each is able to contend in the decagon cage where we have a growing number of exciting and fast-rising stars vying for our coveted championship that is held by Blagoy Ivanov,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

A 2010 NCAA Division I national wrestling championship runner-up and three-time All-American for Oklahoma State University, the 30-year-old, 6-foot-2, 245-pound Rosholt of Arlington, Texas arrives at World Series of Fighting following an eight-fight stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he posted a strong, overall record of 6-2.

During his stretch with the UFC, Rosholt, the younger brother of fellow MMA standout Jake Rosholt, notched a unanimous decision over the league’s tallest fighter, seven-foot giant Stefan Struve, on November 15, 2015.

The hard-hitting, 6-foot-3, 265-pound Gooch of Glendale, Ariz. will enter the decagon cage riding an eight-fight win streak that dates back to September 28, 2013 when the 41-year-old decimated Allan Sullivan with a one-punch KO in the first round (1:30) of battle.

To date, Gooch has earned 7 of his 10 career victories by way of (T)KO and 2 wins via submission.  Five of his eight consecutive victories have come inside of one round.

Gooch is coming off a third round (1:10) TKO (punches) of Greg Rebello in Lincoln, R.I. on August 12.

Live World Series of Fighting action returns to NBCSN on Saturday, Oct. 7, with an unprecedented, three-hour telecast, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m., from Kansas City Memorial Auditorium in Kansas City, Kan.

In the main event of WSOF33: Gaethje vs. Dugulubgov, reigning, undefeated world lightweight (155 pounds) champion Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje(16-0) of Safford, Ariz. will risk his title against number one contender Ozzy Dugulubgov (8-2) of Ridgewood, N.J.

mixed martial arts, UFC

UFC 190 Main Card Preview and Predictions

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By: Rich Bergeron

 

Ronda Rousey (11-0) and Bethe Correia (9-0) will headline UFC 190 in a women’s bantamweight title bout that is guaranteed to deliver fireworks. These two rivals will fight in the challenger’s home country, but Rousey is a worldwide star who is on an epic roll so far in her MMA career. Correia is an underdog in her own country, but she’s also an undefeated striker who could give Rousey trouble if the armbar doesn’t come into play.

 

Correia made some insensitive remarks about Rousey committing suicide leading up to this fight. Suicide is a sore subject for the champ, who saw her father take his own life when she was younger. Rousey’s since promised to “punish” Bethe when they meet in the cage tonight.

 

Rousey is a perfectionist, plain and simple. Just when you think she can’t get any better, she surprises you and does just that. Correia is a tough-talking and confident fighter, but she is just nowhere near Rousey’s level. If she has any chance at all, it is in the first round. Rousey is not looking for a quick submission if we are to believe her admitted intentions of hurting Correia are genuine. Correia could use her reach and power-punching ability to rattle Rousey early and knock her out, but that means going to to toe with a champion who’s shown much-improved striking over the course of her last few fights.

 

Prediction: Look for Rousey to go back on her promise and finish this fight early, as her emotions will take over and stop her from thinking too much about drawing this one out. She will just wade in, throw down and walk out of the first round with another TKO to add to all her submission wins. She will smash Correia’s big nose wide open and judo toss the challenger to the mat where she’ll close the show with effective ground and pound.

 

The co-main event features Mauricio Rua (22-10) versus Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-6) in a rematch of a fight that happened under the PRIDE banner in January of 2005. Rua won the first fight by unanimous decision. This time, both fighters are long past their prime, and Rua enters the cage with just one win in his last four bouts. Nogueira also has a handicap since he’s coming in more than a year after his last fight, which was a one-sided TKO loss to Anthony Johnson that lasted just 44 seconds.

 

Prediction: Rua is not as heavy handed as Johnson, and Nogueira should get his revenge in this fight by knocking out Rua in the second or third round. Nogueira will have better head movement and defense in the rematch, and Rua just doesn’t have any recent wins against any big names. He’s in over his head in this fight, and “Minotouro” is going to send him into retirement.

 

Antonio Rodrgio Nogueira (34-9-1) also fights on the undercard against “The Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (25-7). This should be an exciting bout, and Mark Hunt showed that Struve is susceptible to haymakers. Can Nogueira exploit that weakness, or will Struve show he’s a legend killer this time out?

 

Prediction: Nogueira’s coming in with all the experience in this bout while Struve has the physicality. It’s said that the bigger they are, the harder they fall, but Struve is an exception. He should be able to take advantage of his youth and his long time away from the cage addressing injuries and health concerns. He will out-strike Nogueira and fight tall throughout the first two rounds, finally finishing Nogueira off with a vicious combo early in the third.

 

Other major highlights on this card include a women’s MMA showdown between Jessica Aguilar (19-4) and Claudia Gadelha (12-1) and a heavyweight clash between Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (20-4) and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-7-1). Click Here (http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-190-Rousey-vs-Correia-42221) to check out the full UFC 190 card.