Strikeforce Challengers 4: Evangelista vs. Gurgel Weigh-In Results, Quotes, and Photos
Overshadowed by Saturday’s CBS-televised “Fedor vs. Rogers” event, Strikeforce tonight hosts Strikeforce Challengers 4: Evangelista vs. Gurgel in Fresno, California. The Showtime-televised card is headlined by undefeated lightweight Billy Evangelista vs. UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel.
All 18 fighters scheduled to be in action at the event weighed-in yesterday for their bouts and the weigh-in results were:
MAIN CARD
- Billy Evangelista (159) vs. Jorge Gurgel (159)
- Brandon Cash (256) vs. Shane del Rosario (240)
- Luke Rockhold (185.5) vs. Jesse Taylor (186)
- Thomas Diagne (155.5) vs. Merrit Warren (154)
- Elisha Hellspur (134.5) vs. Zoila Frausto (132.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)
- Johnny Goh (154) vs. Ben Holscher (155.5)
- Chris Culley (148.5) vs. Casey Olson (145.5)
- Cole Escovedo (135.5) vs. Maurice Eazel (133)
- Rico Altamirano (171) vs. Alex Trevino (170.5)
Stop back to MMAFrenzy.com later tonight for results from the event and check out quotes and photos from the main card below.
QUOTES:
BILLY EVANGELISTA:
- “He’s (Gurgel) an explosive, tough guy. He’s aggressive and experienced on the ground.
- “I don’t have much of a game plan. I’ll adjust as I get in there.
- “I need to be focused on the fight and be ready for any openings that come. I’ve trained for every aspect and I’m expecting everything in there. I just have to fight my fight.”
JORGE GURGEL:
- “I respect him (Evangelista) as a fighter. He’s well rounded and he has a lot of heart. He’d not going to give up.
- “He’s well rounded, but I think I’m a better fighter and have more experience.
- “It’s going to be a tough fight. I’m really looking forward to it.
- “I’m excited to be booed for the first time in my career. They’ll boo me when I get in there, but they won’t be booing me when it’s over.”
BRANDON CASH “MONEY”:
- “I don’t think he’s fought someone as hungry as me or as powerful as me. This is my backyard, so he’ll have to do a lot to take me out.
- “I don’t see this going past the first round, not the way I fight. There won’t be much feeling out, we’ll just go out there and fight.
- “As long as I get the win, I’ll be happy.
- “I want him to quit. Once I hit him really hard, he’s not going to want to come back at me.
- “I’m a little more nervous than usual fighting at home, but I think that will keep me on my toes.
- “I’ve trained a lot harder and I’ve gotten a lot better. I can’t wait to show everyone on SHOWTIME how much I’ve progressed.”
SHANE DEL ROSARIO:
- “I don’t think he’s fought anyone like me before.
- “The first round is going to be pretty wild, but I need to stay relaxed in there.
- “I’m not concerned with his size, I’m ready for everything.
- “My cardio is really good right now. I’ve been in the gym since my last fight, so I’ve had a great training camp.”
LUKE ROCKHOLD:
- “I’ll be ready for whatever happens in there. I’m comfortable for any direction the fight goes.
- “I’ll take a KO if I can get it, but I’m ready for anything.
- “I’m in great shape right now. I just need to stay relaxed in there.”
JESSE TAYLOR:
- “I always gauge my opponents as future world champions or current world champs, that way I’m always prepared. But, I’m ready for anything in there.
- “I learned a lot from my last fight. I took it on short notice and it didn’t go my way, but it (the loss) wasn’t a set back.”
- “I want to continue to prove myself in there. A win on Friday night will be huge.”
THOMAS DIAGNE:
- “He’s an explosive fighter, so I know I have to be ready for that.
- “I really want to go to the top; I just want to be No. 1. I’m used to being a champion. I’ve been a champ in San Shou, now I’m ready for MMA.
- “My experience in San Shou has really helped me with starting my career in MMA.”
MERRITT WARREN:
- “I need to stick to my game plan with him.
- “Being in the ring or the cage is like second nature to me. It’s a switch that just goes off for me. I’ll be ready.
- “There’s going to be fireworks in the cage. It’s going to be a great fight.”
ZOILA FRAUSTO:
- “I know she’s (Helsper) going to come out swinging, I just have to be able to weather the storm.
- “I’d love to get a knockout on Friday night. I haven’t had one yet, so it’s about my time.
- “The audience gets me a little nervous. But, as soon as I get in there, the crowd isn’t there.
- “I have to bring it. There are no ifs, ands or buts, have to end this fight.”
ELISHA HELSPER:
- “I’ve been training for two months steady for this fight.
- “I need to give it my all and not give up. I’ve got the skills to win, I just need to put it all together.
- “I think I’ll be able to shake off the cage rust. If anything, I think it will make me more aggressive.”
PHOTOS:
Photos courtesy Tom Casino/Showtime
Tags: Alex Trevino, Ben Holscher, Billy Evangelista, Brandon Cash, Casey Olson, Chris Culley, Cole Escovedo, Elisha Hellspur, Jesse Taylor, Johnny Goh, Jorge Gurgel, Luke Rockhold, Maurice Eazel, Merrit Warren, Rico Altamirano, Shane Del Rosario, Thomas Diagne, Zoila Frausto
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Gurgel
yes Fresno will boo you, that is a given I can almost gaurantee it, well atleast he realizes it, is his tattoo exactly like Huerta’s can someone confirm or deny this……
I’m looking forward to Luke Rockhold v Jesse Taylor fight, Rockhold is rather good and a hell of a nice kid, trains out of AKA but hasn’t called out Hughes (Jcohl)
he has power in his hands is an excellent BJJ artist.. Honestly I’m looking forward to tonight in general, ofcourse I won’t mis a fight and it should be an excellent time, I hope that Fresno doesn’t disapoint (again)
CKDIESEL hit me up man this will be fun……
absolutely MR 702! i didnt sleep a wink… if kos is there supporting his teammate then perhaps the calling out of hughes will happen after all, haha.
they have a 160 weight class? or is it catch weight?
Gurgel had it signed for 160 for some damn reason (thats the rumor) and well Billy just said F~it and they both came in under, Justin H would call this a catch weight bout
Yeah, it’s catch weight.
Not sure why Gurgel wanted it at this weight, I know he is walking around at 185 though (per Marcus Davis)
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=roger%20huerta%20tattoo%20design&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
is his tattoo exactly like Huerta’s can someone confirm or deny this……
looks differnt
awwww dude thats pretty damn close tho
billy vs. jorge should be a great fight,i dont have a favorite though i like both fighters
My boy Cole wins with a devastating knee to da face in the second fight of the night, under two minutes
Surronded by a bit of douchee and mma nerds its well interesting
Casey olsen with a dominating performance gnp baby good stuff Fresno 2~0 tonight
This announcer keeps pumping the EA game no worries right, but he keeps say Gerard Mousasi not Gegard Mousasi, um its extremely annoying!!!!!! And then he goes why pay 50 dollars to see a fight tune into Showtime and CBS interesting stuff!
The teacher should win he dominated the bout fresno 3~0
Josh Thomson just told me he is fighting the 19th
Bummer, missed Rockhold’s fight, talking to my wife who got in late from NY. But I did just catch the Cash v. del Rosario fight which was great.
That’s what you get for being married. Women are such a buzz-kill.
I know one or two that aren’t so bad…
Yeah, but Natalie Portman is unavailable to me. And she’s probably not into video games.
But she is into gourmet cooking, if you watched last week’s Top Chef, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed…
I did see that. And while I can cook well, I do more video game wise. And given that my chances of meeting her are smaller than my chances of winning a beauty contest (I’m one unattractive mofo…), I come back to my point that women are a buzz-kill.
bad stand-ups all night
That ref was terrible.
Wow, two judges had it 30-27?! Should have been 29-28.
Oh my god. Who were the judges? Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Jeff Healy?
George Gurgel won that fight IMO.
THE JUDGES ARE FIXED!!!! THE JUDGES ARE FIXED!!!!!
If I keep it up, I’ll be fixed too.
Well, it was California again.
I think the decision went the right way, but the scores were wrong.
yeah, it was closer then what was given, but the dec went the right way.. sick card overall!
Terrible scoring.
Just terrible.
How can California be the breeding ground for so much MMA [along with Las Vegas] and have judges so damned poor at their jobs?
And I have mentioned previously in several posts that Shane Del Rosario is a real talent, whether he stays at HW or drops to 205 as he’s been rumored to be considering…
I was less persistent about it, but I stated as much before you did. (Though not the 205 part.)