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Strikeforce lightweight title contender Billy Evangelista (9-1) defeated Jorge Gurgel (13-6) in a unanimous decision by judges’ scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 once at Strikeforce Challenger Series 4 in Fresno Friday night.
After a close call in the opening minute of his fight, Luke Rockhold (3-1) choked out Nik Theotikos (5-1) with a first-round rear naked at Strikeforce: Destruction Friday night in San Jose.
Rockhold came out with a right punch, which Theotikos immediately evaded, catching Rockhold in what looked like a tight guillotine. Rockhold was able to escape, and landed in Theotikos’s guard. Rockhold reddened Theotikos’s ribs with his fists.
They rolled and Rockhold got Theotikos’s back, first attempting the rear naked choke, then trying some ground and pound, but finally finishing with a rear naked at 3:06 of round one.
Fighters.com was live at the Strikeforce: Destruction weigh-ins Thursday night at the Hotel DeAnza in San Jose.
All fighters made weigh and, despite a delayed start and “Diesel” Joe Riggs’s (28-11) displeasure at having to strip, everything went smoothly.
Riggs was not the only one who had to strip further than his ginch; the California State Athletic Commission requested that each fighter have only one crack at the scale, resulting in several weigh-ins behind towels.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-4) looked cut. He told Fighters.com Thursday afternoon that he had hired a new strength and conditioning coach.
“Everybody’s been commenting on how my physique looks and how I’ve been performing. So we’ll see how I perform tomorrow night,” Southworth said.
Join Fighters.com Friday night for the live results.
Read More About Southworth Shows Off Physique at Strikeforce Weigh-Ins…
Strikeforce has confirmed the full line-up for its Destruction event, which takes place 21 November in San Jose.
Two title fights, between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2-1) and Yves Edwards (34-14-1) and between Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-4) and “Babalu” Renato Sobral (29-8), will headline the event.
Also featured is a welterweight bout between “Diesel” Joe Riggs (28-10) and Luke Stewart (4-1).
The rest of the card includes:
Lemont Davis (1-2) versus Brian Schwartz (0-1) at 175 lbs
Brad Royster (1-1) versus Darren Uyenoyama (4-1) at 135 lbs
Tony Johnson (0-1) versus Eric Lawson (2-2) at 185 lbs
Alvin Cacdac (3-4) versus Jose Palacios (1-1) at 145 lbs
Bobby Stack (2-1) versus Cyrillo Padilha (1-1) at 155 lbs
Zakary Bucia (0-1) versus Jaime Rodriguez (0-0) at 155 lbs
Kurt Osiander (2-0) versus Raul Castillo (2-0) at 185 lbs
Nik Theotikos (5-0) versus Luke Rockhold (2-1) at 185 lbs