SARAH KAUFMAN, TAKAYO HASHI, TREVOR PRANGLEY,
KARL AMOUSSOU, LUKE ROCKHOLD, PAUL BRADLEY
AND STRIKEFORCE: CHALLENGERS FIGHTERS
SELECTED FINAL QUOTES AND WEIGHTS
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010,
Hilton San Jose, San Jose, California
STRIKEFORCE: Challengers ON SHOWTIME®
Friday, Feb. 26, 2010; Telecast Begins at 11 p.m. ET/PT
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The 24 mixed martial arts fighters all made weight for the historic STRIKEFORCE: Challengers fight card tomorrow/Friday, Feb. 26 on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
In the main event, unbeaten Sarah Kaufman (10-0) of Victoria, British Columbia and Takayo Hashi (12-1) of Tokyo, Japan, will collide in the first-ever STRIKEFORCE women’s world 135-pound (welterweight) championship. The eagerly awaited matchup is scheduled for five, 5-minute rounds.
Other fights on SHOWTIME (all slated for three, 5-minute rounds): Trevor Prangley (22-5) vs. Karl Amoussou (11-2-1) at 185 pounds; Luke Rockhold (6-1) vs. Paul Bradley (12-1) at 185 pounds; James Terry (7-1) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (7-2) at 170 pounds; and Raul Castillo (6-0) vs. Yancy Medeiros (4-0) at 185 pounds.
Tickets for the first STRIKEFORCE Challengers event of 2010, priced from $30, are on sale at The San Jose Civic Auditorium box office, Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) and online at Ticketmaster.com and STRIKEFORCE.com.
Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. PT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m. and the first main card bout will begin at 8 p.m.
What the fighters said at Thursday’s weigh-in:
SARAH KAUFMAN
“I’m excited and honored to fight for STRIKEFORCE’s inaugural 135-pound women’s title. I just want to go out there, have fun, and make it the fight of the night. Don’t miss this fight. It could be over at any moment.’’
TAKAYO HASHI
“I am very honored to fight for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME for the first 135-pound title for STRIKEFORCE. I feel I am representing Japan. I want to win the title for my career path, but I really want to bring this title back to motivate the female fighters of Japan.’’
TREVOR PRANGLEY
“I feel it’s a privilege to be able to do what I do. I thank God every day for blessing me this much.’’
LUKE ROCKHOLD
“I’m happy to be healthy. It was a hard camp and I’m injury prone but my health is great and I’m ready to get out there and show it. I’ve been working on my standup and takedown defense. My kickboxing has gotten really strong. I can’t wait to show it to the world.’’
PAUL BRADLEY
“Fatigue makes cowards out of us all. You won’t see any fatigue out of this guy. I’m ready.’’
TAREC SAFFIEDINE
“I trained hard for this fight. I made a lot of sacrifices for this fight and am excited to showcase my skills and do what I’ve trained so hard for.’’
YANCY MEDEIROS
”I’m proud to be a part of STRIKEFORCE and I’m here to represent Hawaii. I’m dedicating this to my Uncle Martin and Auntie Sheila Buell. A win for them and my family means everything.’’
