Press Release
ST. LOUIS (Nov. 24, 2010) – In an effort to make the holiday season a happy time for as many St Louis residents as possible, world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE has joined forces with Toys For Tots, the Marine Corps-managed, non-profit organization, to collect new, unwrapped toys for local underprivileged youth during the star-studded Henderson vs. Babalu MMA event, at Scottrade Center on Saturday, Dec. 4.
During the 10-bout event, several stations staffed by volunteers from the local Marine Corps will be set up inside Scottrade Center to collect toys from fans attending the event. Monetary donations are accepted as well.
“Everything we collect stays in St. Louis,” said Marine Corps Sergeant Gavin Lewis, who manages the Toys For Tots program in the Gateway City area. “It’s about local people helping local children, which is a phenomenal thing. When a company like STRIKEFORCE pitches in, it really helps spread our reach in the community and makes it a successful drive.’
“When considering what to bring, fans should think about what would make their own child, niece or nephew happy.”
“Any time we can use one of our events as a vehicle to help with the needs of others, we’re more than happy to do it,” said STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker. “St. Louis is a city that STRIKEFORCE has become attached to since last year and being able to give back to the community is a very rewarding feeling.”
In the main event of a stacked card on STRIKEFORCE’s return to Scottrade Center, MMA superstar Dan Henderson (25-8) of Temecula, Calif., faces former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) of Brazil in a rematch between world-class 205-pounders.
Other televised fights on SHOWTIME®: Former world heavyweight champion Antonio “Big Foot’’ Silva (14-2), of Coconut Creek, Fla., by way of Brazil, confronts the older brother of STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, Valentijn “The Python’’ Overeem (28-23), of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Paul “Semtex’’ Daley (25-9-2) of Nottingham, England, battles Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith (17-7, 1 NC), of Elk Grove, Calif., in a matchup of explosive welterweights (170 pounds), former world champion and exciting local favorite “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-6, 1 NC), of Granite City, Ill., goes up against 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland (22-7) of Oregon City, Ore., in a middleweight (185 pounds) scrap.
The fight card will include five undercard bouts, including a light heavyweight (205 pounds) match between Lee Brousseau (7-2), of River Wood, Mo., and Mike Glenn (6-4) of Springfield, Mo.
Brown (1-0), of St. Louis, will take on J.W. Wright (pro debut) of St. Louis by way of Steelville, Mo., in a 130 pound catchweight bout.
Tickets are on sale at Scottrade Center, online at Ticketmaster.com and Strikeforce.com or by phone (800) 745-3000. Doors at Scottrade Center will open for the event at 6 p.m. CT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first televised main card fight will begin at 9 p.m.
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.