RYAN COUTURE OUT OF STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS EVENT THIS MONTH
By
Mike Johnson on 11/1/2010 8:15 PM
RYAN COUTURE OUT OF STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS NOV. 19 IN JACKSON, MISS., LIVE
ON SHOWTIME®
NEW YORK (Nov. 1, 2010) – Unbeaten Ryan Couture (1-0) has been forced to
withdraw from the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson
Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss., due to a staph infection, STRIKEFORCE
announced today.
The son of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend, Randy Couture, is expected be
sidelined for three to four weeks.
The 28-year-old Couture, a member of Las Vegas, Nev., based Xtreme Couture, won
his STRIKEFORCE and MMA pro debut with a 1:15, first-round submission (triangle
choke) over Lucas Stark last Aug. 13 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers.
"I was really looking forward to fighting so this is a big disappointment, but
I'll be back" said Couture. "As soon as I'm cleared, you can bet I'll be back
in the gym preparing for my next STRIKEFORCE fight."
In the Nov. 19 main event on SHOWTIME®, lightweight star and Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin†Ribeiro (20-4) will face Justin “The
Silverback†Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati. In another televised fight, former
University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince St. Preux (7-4), of Knoxville, Tenn.,
will seeking his fifth consecutive conquest inside the distance when he faces
Antwain “The Juggernaut’’ Britt’’ (11-4) of Virginia Beach, Va., in a light
heavyweight (205 pounds) scrap.
The MMA fight card is presented by Rockstar Energy Drink and will mark
STRIKEFORCE’s initial foray into the state of Mississippi.
Tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Coliseum box
office and Be-Bop Record Shops, by phone at 800-745-3000 and online at
Ticketmaster.com and
www.STRIKEFORCE.com.
Doors at Jackson Convention Complex will open at 6:45 p.m. CT. The first
non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 7:30 p.m. The first fight on
SHOWTIME will begin at 10 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.
