Strikeforce Challengers

(Del Rosario vs. Cash. Props: mixedmartialartvideos.com. More fights after the jump.)

From last night's show at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California...

MAIN CARD
- Billy Evangelista def. Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
- Shane del Rosario def. Brandon Cash via submission (omoplata), 2:57 of round 1
- Luke Rockhold def. Jesse Taylor via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:42 of round 1
- Merrit Warren def. Ousmane Thomas Diagne via submission (heel hook), 3:49 of round 1
- Zoila Frausto def. Elisha Helsper via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

PRELIMINARY CARD
- Ben Holscher def. Johnny Goh via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
- Casey Olson def. Chris Culley via TKO, 2:32 of round 1
- Cole Escovedo def. Maurice Eazel via TKO, 1:47 of round 1
- Rico Altamirano def. Alex Trevino via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

(It beats the hell out of welfare.)

In case you’ve forgotten, the Strikeforce Challengers event from Kent, Washington is on Showtime tonight, headlined by “Smokin” Joey Villasenor taking on the other “Cyborg” Santos.  You know, the dude one.  That’s all well and good and they even shoved each other at the weigh-in yesterday to add a little easy hype, but the story that’s being overlooked right now is just how much Nick “The Goat” Thompson obviously does not want to fight Army special forces bad-ass Tim Kennedy.  He’s not even pretending that this was his idea, or that he is anything but resigned to his fate at this point.  Just check out these quotes from Thompson, courtesy of Strikeforce:

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

If you’ve ever sat around and wondered whether your favorite MMA fighters would be total bad-asses in prison, or whether the lack of rules and weight classes would relegate them to being someone’s one true love, congratulations, you're a total weirdo with too much time on your hands. 

But if you’d like to hear about how prison fights and MMA bouts are different from someone who has experienced both, you should really check out MMA Fanhouse’s fascinating interview with undefeated Strikeforce fighter/former meth addict and convicted felon Lyle Beerbohm.  He’s fighting Duane “Bang” Ludwig at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers event after having discovered MMA while in prison:

(Cristiane and Evangelista's high school class voted them "Most Likely to Push Your Shit In." Photo courtesy of Showtime Sports.)

No rest for the hardcore MMA fan: Strikeforce’s second "Challengers" event goes down this Friday at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington — a day before the TUF 9 finale in Las Vegas. Headlining the Strikeforce card will be a middleweight matchup between two exciting strikers: Team Jackson product “Smokin’” Joey Villasenor and Chute Boxe veteran Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. Both guys are coming off extended layoffs; Villasenor hasn’t competed since his first-round TKO win over Phil Baroni last May, and Santos is coming back from an elbow injury suffered in a Sengoku fight against Siyar Bahadurzada in September.

Also on the card: Highly-regarded welterweight Nick Thompson takes a middleweight fight against Tim Kennedy out of desperation, UFC vet Jorge Gurgel makes his Strikeforce debut against bully-beater Conor Heun, and Sarah Kaufman and Shayna Baszler will test out Strikeforce's new five-minute-rounds policy in the night's sole women's feature. Not bad for premium cable. The full lineup is after the jump.

(Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina headline tonight's "Challengers" show in Fresno. Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)

The UFC is taking another weekend off, but there's still enough MMA action going on tonight to satisfy your thirst for combat — as long as you have a solid cable TV package. Here's what's happening...

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 1
When+Where: Tonight at the Save Mart Center in Frenso, California, starting at 6 p.m.
How to Watch: Showtime, 11 p.m. ET/PT
Lowdown: Strikeforce's new up-and-comer series kicks off with a lightweight clash between undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista and BJ Penn student Mike Aina in the main event. Elsewhere on the main card, Miesha Tate tangles with Sarah Kaufman, and former Strikeforce #1 light-heavyweight contender Anthony Ruiz takes on ShoXC vet Aaron Rosa. The full lineup can be seen here.