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STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 16 PRELIMINARY CARD PREVIEW

By David Tees on 6/20/2011 11:40 AM
Possibly the best reason to watch Strikeforce, the Challengers Series, returns for its sixteenth incarnation this Friday Night. This will also be the final time that the Strikeforce Challengers Series will be traveling to different locations, as all future shows will be held at the Pearl At The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. This editions preliminary card will feature a lot of young talent looking to make an impact and move up in the Strikeforce rankings.

The action will kick off with a light heavyweight division encounter as Keith “KO Kid” Berry (10-6-0) faces off with Trevor Smith (7-1-0). Keith Berry has won five of his last six MMA fights and has even competed against former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Doug Marshall. Trevor Smith enters this fight riding a three fight winning streak, with his lone career loss coming to Strikeforce veteran Devin Cole. This fight is going to be a classic striker versus grappler encounter, but it will be the grappler in Trevor Smith winning the fight.

Up next is going to be a welterweight affair as Travis “Little Hercules” Bush (5-2-1) does battle with Ryan LaFlare (6-0-0). It has been nearly a year since Travis Bush last competed in an MMA fight, which was a victory over John Heath by unanimous decision. Ryan LaFlare is an undefeated fighter who has achieved all six of his victories in the Ring Of Combat promotion. Both fighters are returning after long layoffs, but it will be Ryan LaFlare keeping his undefeated streak alive when it is all said and done.

Headlining this portion of the card is a middleweight encounter as Derek Brunson (6-0-0) takes on Jeremy “Hawk” Hamilton (8-0-0). Derek Brunson is an undefeated fighter who hasn’t had any of his fights go past three minutes of the opening round. Jeremy Hamilton is another undefeated fighter who has seen six of his eight wins coming in the Brutaal MMA promotion. This fight is really a crapshoot because both fighters are well rounded, but it will be Jeremy Hamilton remaining undefeated.

You can contact David Tees at bigteesps3@yahoo.com