» Fighter: Sam Morgan

“Bang” Duane Ludwig  (17-8) tapped “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan with strikes at 2:01 of the first round Friday night in Broomfield, northwest of Denver.

“I’ve got to thank Sam, man,” said a gracious and elated Ludwig who avenged a 2005 knockout with the win.  “He came in and did his job last time.  But, much respect to that warrrior because he gave me a second shot.”

Ludwig staggered Morgan with an uppercut to the body and followed with a right hook that dropped Morgan.

“I’m such a technical striker,” Ludwig said.  “I finally let it go.”

Ludwig hammered strikes until Morgan tapped in pain from the initial body shot.

Fighters.com got a chance to speak briefly with welterweight “Bang” Duane Ludwig (16-8) about his upcoming fight against “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-11) in Denver Friday.

Fighters.com: What are your thoughts as you prepare to step into the cage for the second time against Sam Morgan?

Duane Ludwig: Mostly I’m looking at this as my chance at redemption.

Fighters.com: Does that mean that Strikeforce: Payback is going to live up to its name?

Duane Ludwig: Yeah, hopefully that’s how it turns out.

Fighters.com: You’ve had knockouts against formidable strikers like Jonathan Goulet (22-9) and “Lil Evil” Jens Pulver (22-9-1), are you looking to take out your revenge in the form of a knockout?

Duane Ludwig: No, I’m just looking for a win.  I don’t care how it happens, I’m just want to get the win back.

Fighters.com: Having fought Morgan before, what aspects of your training have changed for this fight?

Read More About Ludwig: “Strikeforce: Payback is my chance at redemption.”…

“I fight to live, I don’t live to fight,” is how welterweight “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-11) summed up his Strikeforce main event versus “Bang” Duane Ludwig (16-8) Friday, 3 October in Broomfield, northwest of Denver.

When Fighters.com spoke to him at Team Bison’s Brunette’s Gym in Minneapolis-St. Paul Friday, Morgan had just returned from a training trip at Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes’s (41-7) new H.I.T. Squad Gym in Granite City, northeast of St. Louis.

“I’ve been saying that I would go down there and train with him for the longest time, since I was on The Ultimate Fighter.  So, I was finally able to make it down there.  I thought, ‘No better time than now to go down there and train for a fight that I have coming up against Duane Ludwig.’   And, uh, you know, I was keeping a promise to an old friend.”

Read More About Morgan: “I fight to live; I don’t live to fight.”…

Strikeforce announced this week that it will hold an event 3 October at the Broomfield Event Center in Denver, CO, titled Payback, to follow up its September show at the Playboy Mansion.

The event will feature a rematch between welterweights “Bang” Duane Ludwig and “Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-10).

Morgan knocked out Ludwig in 52 seconds at Ring of Fire 16 in 2005.

Denver-native Ludwig lost his last fight to Fighters.com’s third-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3).

Morgan is coming off back-to-back TKO losses, first to current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and April’s Fighter of the Month Cung Le (6-0) in November, then to “Semtex” Paul Daley (18-6-2) in January.

Read More About Strikeforce Announces October Event…