World’s No. 1 Male And Female Fighters –

Fedor And Cris Cyborg – To Fight In Historic MMA Event At

HP Pavilion In San Jose, Calif. June 26 

 

Tickets For STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum

Go On Sale Tomorrow/Friday

June 26, 2010

HP Pavilion

San Jose, California

 

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 13, 2010) – For the first time in the history of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), the No. 1

male and female fighters in the world will step into the cage on the same night as the top men’s heavyweight

and pound-for-pound great, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-1), and STRIKEFORCE

Women’s World Middleweight (145 pounds) Champion Cris Cyborg (9-1) return to action at HP Pavilion here

on Saturday, June 26.

 

Tickets for “STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global:  Fedor vs. Werdum” go on sale to the general public at 10

a.m. PT Tomorrow/Friday, May 14, at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-

3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and www.strikeforce.com. For more information, please

also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com.

 

The 33-year-old Emelianenko, simply referred to as “Fedor” by millions of fans around the world, will face off

with two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and top-ranked superstar Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum

(13-4) in the evening’s main event.  Cyborg’s opponent has not been confirmed yet. 

 

For M-1 GLOBAL’s Fedor, the matchup with Werdum is a means of gaining revenge three and a half years

after the 32-year-old Werdum defeated Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko, via submission (arm

triangle choke) in the first round (3:24) of a bout in Rotterdam, Holland, on Nov. 12, 2006.

 

The 6-foot, 235 pound Fedor, who hails from Stary Oskol, Russia, has become the most dominant MMA

fighter of all-time since he began his professional career 10 years ago.  The 33-year-old has faced and

defeated nearly every other rival superstar and champion of this era, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira,

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Andrei Arlovski and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

 

A master of the Russian military combat system, Sambo, Fedor made his live, primetime network television

(CBS) debut in his last start on Nov. 7, 2009, when he faced unbeaten rising star Brett “The Grim” Rogers

in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global co-promoted event. After a difficult first round in which he sustained a

cut and began bleeding profusely, the Russian suddenly turned the tide in the second round, sending Rogers

to the canvas with a right hand and finishing him with a series of punches. 

 

While the fight world still regards him as undefeated, Fedor actually has one official loss on his record, the

result of a doctor stoppage due to a cut he sustained seconds into a matchup with Japan’s Tsuyoshi

Kosaka on Dec. 22, 2000.  Fedor avenged the TKO loss with his own first round TKO of Kosaka at a PRIDE

Fighting Championships event in Japan on April 3, 2005.

 

Since joining the ranks of STRIKEFORCE, the 6-foot-4, 240 pound Werdum, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt

and member of Brazil’s vaunted Chute Boxe fight squad, has notched a pair of impressive victories, the first

of which on Aug. 15, 2009 when he quickly submitted Mike “Mak” Kyle with a guillotine choke in the first

round (1:24) at HP Pavilion. The following Nov. 7, Werdum battled his way to a close unanimous decision

victory over Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in a live CBS primetime televised matchup.

 

During an eight-year tenure in MMA, Werdum has conquered a number of other superstars, including

reigning STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight Champion, Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem; and

UFC stars Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

 

Cyborg was crowned the first STRIKEFORCE women’s champion in history on August 15, 2009  after she

stopped superstar Gina Carano in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of all time with a vicious

barrage of punches in the first round (4:59) of the long-awaited showdown between the top two competitors

in the women’s field. 

 

On Jan. 30, Cyborg defended her title against Holland’s hard-trying Marloes Coenen, finishing the game

challenger with a series of punches in the third round (3:40) of their matchup at Sunrise, Fla.’s BankAtlantic

Center.  Cyborg has been invincible, winning her last nine bouts.

 

The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

 

About  STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) 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, sanctioned by ISKA, 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 (MMA)

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.  In March

2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the

premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the

CBS Television Network.

 

About M-1 GLOBAL

M-1 GLOBAL (www.m-1global.com) has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in

the world for well over a decade. M-1 has promoted over 150 shows worldwide since 1995. During the last

two years, since the inception of M-1 GLOBAL, the organization has promoted events all over the world, in

over 20 countries and is shown on television in well over 100. In 2010 M-1 GLOBAL is promoting the

Selection tournament, a competition to find the best new talent in MMA the world over. 160 fighters started

in February from four global regions, and will be reduced to 20 champions by September. M-1 Breakthrough

will be taking place in the U.S. and Europe starting in the fall and will pit MMA's better known athletes and

stars in a one-on-one competition.

 

 

CONTACT: 

- Strikeforce

  Mike Afromowitz: mafromowitz@strikeforce.com

 

- M-1 Global

  Jacob Schaap: Jacob.schaap@m-1global.com

 

- Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.

  John Beyrooty: Johnnybey@aol.com

  Steve Pratt: Stevep@bzapr.com

 

 

- Press Release from Strikeforce

 

 

 

Subject to change

 

 

 

(5/13/10)