Controversial Blow Disqualifies Billy Evangelista
From Main Event Matchup With Mike Aina,
 Unbeaten Sarah Kaufman Outpoints Miesha Tate
Heavyweight Lavar Johnson Scores Devastating 18-Second KO; Rosa, Quach Also Win,

 

    May 15, 2009

Save Mart Center

Fresno, California

11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

 

 

FRESNO, Calif. (May 15, 2009) –  Previously unbeaten hometown favorite Billy Evangelista lost by

disputed, controversial second-round disqualification to Mike Aina Friday in the main event of the inaugural

Strikeforce Challengers telecast on SHOWTIME.

 

At the finish, neither fighter was satisfied with the outcome at the Save Mart Center.

 

Evangelista (9-1), of Fresno, was disqualified for “intentionally” kneeing Aina (12-6-1), of Hilo, Hawaii, in the

head while the Hawaiian fighter was down. The rule is a fighter can knee a downed opponent to the body, but

not the head.

 

“I feel bad at what happened, but I am definitely planning to protest,’’ Evangelista said. “Nothing I did was on

purpose. I thought I had timed the knee perfectly and that he was on his feet when it was delivered.’’

 

Said Aina: “No one likes a fight to finish this way. I don’t look at it as a win for me, and he should not look at

it as a loss for him. It should have been a no contest.’’

 

The five-fight telecast aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

 

In other SHOWTIME fights:  Sarah Kaufman (9-0) of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, remained

unbeaten with a hard-fought unanimous decision over determined Miesha Tate (6-2) of Olympia, Wash., in a

women’s match at 135 pounds; Lavar Johnson (12-3) of Fresno scored an 18-second, first-round knockout

over Carl Seumanutafa (4-3), a Samoan based in San Francisco, in a heavyweight fight; San Antonio’s

Aaron Rosa (12-2) registered a 4:29 first-round TKO (choke) over Anthony Ruiz (21-13) of Coarsegold,

Calif., takes on in a light heavyweight bout and Bao Quach (16-9-1) of Huntington Beach, Calif., won a

unanimous decision over Tito Jones (6-3) of Sacramento, Calif., in a featherweight scrap.

 

In an eagerly anticipated women’s bout, Kaufman outlasted Tate in a non-stop, see-saw battle. It was the

first time Kaufman was taken the distance, but she was the stronger fighter at the finish and won by the

scores of 29-28 on all three scorecards.

 

A relentless puncher with good stamina, Kaufman bloodied Tate’s nose, but was taken to the mat twice, the

first times she has ever been down.

 

“I give Miesha credit but I am very happy with my performance,’’ Kaufman said. “I wish I could have done

more in the second round, but three rounds go by so fast. I wish they’d let us fight five-minute rounds like the

guys.

 

Tate took down Kaufman in the closing seconds of the first round and in the first 35 seconds of the second.

She kept Kaufman on her back for much of the second but couldn’t sustain her momentum in the third.’’

 

Johnson, a standout football player as an outside linebacker ay Madera (Calif.) High, caught an off balance

Seumanutafa with a quick, brutal right uppercut that knocked the Samoan unconscious and sent him face

down to the canvas. Seumanutafa tried to shoot with his head down but was nailed flush.

 

“This is exactly what I had practiced. I had watched tapes of Carl and knew he might try that kind of thing.

 

“This was an important win for my. I had my two young sons with me. No way was I going to let them see

their Dad get beat up. No way they’d listen to me after that.’’

 

Rosa rallied after getting caught early. “He got me, but then I rocked him good with a right hand off the

cage,’’ Rosa said. “I feel good. This was a big win and I am grateful for Strikeforce giving me this opportunity.

He was a slick guy but he didn’t do anything that I wasn’t prepared for. did, slammed Ruiz, and was in

control until the referee stopped the bout.

 

The victory was the second in a row for Rosa, who won the first 10 fights of his career.

 

In the telecast’s opening bout, Quach survived two knockdowns in the final round to win by the scores of 29-

28 on the three judges scorecards. Winning for the 10th time in 11 starts, Quach appeared hurt after going

down a second time but Jones didn’t follow up.

 

“I stuck to my game plan, which was to stick (kick) and move, and I did,’’ Quach said. “I know I won the first

two rounds and he definitely got me in the third. I was dazed but he didn’t capitalize. But until the third

round, he didn’t do anything. There was no doubt in my mind that I won the fight.’’

 

Photos: Daisy Rosas/Strikeforce

In a controversial result, Billy Evangelista (right) was disqualified for

kneeing Mike Aina in the head when Aina was down in the main event

on the premiere Friday of Strikeforce Challengers on SHOWTIME.

Sara Kaufman (right) improved to 9-0 with a hard-fought decision over

Miesha Tate in a crowd-pleasing women's bout at Save Mart Center

in Fresno, Calif.

Heavyweight Lavar Johnson (standing) scored a devastating, 18-

second, first-round knockout over Carl Seumanutafa.

Aaron Rosa (right) registered a second-round TKO over Anthony Ruiz

in a battle of light heavyweights.

In a tactical fight for two rounds, Bao Quach (left) withstood a late rally

to score a close, unanimous decision over Tito Jones.

Bao Quach vs. Tito Jones

 

Non-televised results: Ben “The Teacher” Holscher (2-0) of Fresno submitted (rear naked choke) Cody

Cantebury (1-4-1) of Sacramento at 2:47 of the first round (160 pounds); Thomas Diagne (1-0) of San Jose,

Calif., won a decision over Kaleo Kwan (7-10) of Kailua, Hawaii (lightweights); Fabricio “Morango”

Camoes (10-4) of Brazil submitted (rear naked choke) Torrance Taylor (7-6-1) of Cleveland, Ohio at 3:31 of

the first round (155 pounds) and Spencer Herns (1-0) of San Jose won a majority three-round decision over

Chad Sutton (2-2) of Fresno in a  bout at 185 pounds.

 

SHOWTIME will replay Friday’s telecast on Thursday, May 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME TOO. It will

be available ON DEMAND beginning Monday, May 18.

 

Mauro Ranallo called the action from cageside with Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich serving as expert

analysts. The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr., with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick

Phillips directing.

 

UPCOMING on SHOWTIME: Andre Ward, the 2004 Olympic Games gold medalist, will headline in front of

the hometown fans when the undefeated, No. 2 ranked super middleweight faces Edison Miranda

tomorrow/Saturday, May 16, in the main event on a special Saturday primetime edition of ShoBox: The

New Generation (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

 

Mixed martial arts returns to SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT ) on Saturday, June 6, when Robbie Lawler

throws down with Jake Shields in the Strikeforce main event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.  In other

top televised fights, Nick Diaz, fresh off his dominant victory over legendary Frank Shamrock, faces Scott

“Hands of Steel” Smith, who is coming off a dramatic, comeback knockout over Benji Radach, Phil “The

NYBA” Baroni takes on Joe Riggs and Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (17-12) will make his long-

awaited return to MMA against Mike Whitehead (23-7). Middleweight wrecking machines “Smokin” Joey

Villasenor (26-6) and Evangelista Cyborg (16-12) will face off in the main event on Strikeforce Challengers

in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19, at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

 

On Saturday, July 11, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, Vic  Darchinyan (32-1-1, 26 KOs) will

attempt to become a world champion in a third weight class when he challenges IBF bantamweight

champion Joseph Agbeko (26-1-22 KOs) live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

 

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries,

complete telecast info and more, please visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

 

About Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made

history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California

state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record

crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for

ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company

unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions,

the parent company of Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity

created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San

Jose.

 

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the

premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex

channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®,

SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™

XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and

THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between

SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI

markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view

basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

 

Contact:

- Strikeforce

  Mike Afromowitz: mafromowitz@strikeforce.com

 

- Showtime Networks Inc.

  Chris DeBlasio: chris.deblasio@showtime.net

  Annie Van Tornhout: annie.vantornhout@showtime.net

 

- BZA

  John Beyrooty: Johnnybey@aol.com

  Steve Pratt: Stevep@bzapr.com

 

 

- Press Release from Strikeforce with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

- Photos courtesy of Strikeforce / Daisy Rosas

 

 

 

 

 

(5/15/09)