(More photos of the Strikeforce Challengers 15 main card at Strikeforce.com)
Press Release – STOCKTON, CALIF. (April 1, 2011) –Rising star Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox (11-3) capped off an action-packed night of ferocious finishes by powering his way to a first round TKO victory over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rodrigo Damm (9-5) in the lightweight (155 pounds) STRIKEFORCE Challengers main event, Friday night on SHOWTIME. Another top lightweight prospect Caros “The Future” Fodor (5-0, 1 NC) continued to impress the mixed martial arts (MMA) world with his one-sided, third round TKO of David “Tarzan” Douglas (7-3).
The 32-year-old Wilcox came out of the gates firing with his much-improved kickboxing game. The former NCAA wrestling standout and member of the San Jose, Calif. based Team AKA fight squad hurt Damm, a resident of Vila Velha, Brazil, with a kick to the head, and put Damm down with a hard right hand.
A bloodied Damm defended himself on the ground, but the relentless Wilcox continued to hammer Damm with elbow strikes and punches. After the close of the first round, the cageside physician ordered a stoppage to the fight, giving Wilcox his sixth straight win.
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Complete STRIKEFORCE Challengers Results:
Main Card:
Justin Wilcox def. Rodrigo Damm via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
Caros Fodor def. David Douglas via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:12
Lorenz Larkin def. Scott Lighty via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:15
James Terry def. Josh Thornburg via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:38
Damion Douglas def. Wayne Phillips via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Preliminary Card:
Anthony Avila def. Rafael Rios via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bobby Escalante def. Raul Sandoval via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:10
Tristan Arenal def. Tommy Peterson via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:58
Ronald Carillo def. Adam Antolin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:48
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Fodor smothered Douglas from the outset of their matchup, gaining top position on the canvas and scoring with elbow strikes.
In round two, Fodor, a Kirkland, Wash.-based student of grappling wizard Matt Hume, twice attempted to finish Douglas with a guillotine choke. Douglas escaped, but Fodor made his way to mount and, later, to side control, dropping a steady dose of elbows and punches on Douglas throughout the round.
Fodor worked the clinch beautifully in the third round, holding his opponent’s neck down while Douglas was pressed against the cage. Fodor continued to strike with punches and knees until the referee, seeing that Douglas was no longer able to defend himself, stepped in and stopped the action at the 2:12 mark of round three.
Undefeated 24-year-old Lorenz Larkin (9-0) made a thunderous statement in his STRIKEFORCE debut, decimating K-1 veteran Scott Lighty (6-2) inside of two rounds in a light heavyweight (205 pounds) matchup with a combination of dynamite hands and powerful round kicks.
Larkin, a resident of Riverside, Calif., controlled the first round, bouncing on his feet and finding his mark early with crisp, hard punches and powerful leg kicks. Twice while retreating from the swarm, Lighty went to the ground.
In the second stanza, Larkin refused to let up, putting Lighty on the canvas and following up with a ground and pound offensive. Lighty made it to his feet only to eat a Larkin uppercut and go down again. After Larkin began swinging away on the downed Lighty, the referee jumped in and stopped the action at the 3:15 mark of the second round.
James Terry (10-2) scored a monstrous first round (4:38) KO on Stockton native Josh Thornburg (7-3). Terry a protégé of former STRIKEFORCE World Middleweight Champion Cung Le, displayed exceptional footwork and lit up Thornburg, a member of Team Cesar Gracie, with repeated right hands and leg kicks in the first round before putting Thornburg flat on his back with an overhand right at the 4:38 mark of the opening round.
Damion Douglas (4-1), the twin brother of David, squeezed out a majority decision win over Wayne Phillips (5-4).
In the opening round, Douglas hit a pair of takedowns, taking Phillips’ back on both occasions. Douglas attempted to finish Phillips with a rear-naked choke, but Phillips escaped.
Phillips later scored a takedown of his own and sunk in a rear-naked choke, but the round expired before he could force the submission.
In round two, the pace of the fight slowed as both fighters began to run low on gas. Late in the third, Douglas gained a second wind and began scoring with punches down the stretch, particularly in the final 10 seconds of the round, before walking away with the decision.
