The Texas-based Shark Fights promotion is branching out to New Mexico for its 15th event, and the lineup is just one fighter short of being complete.Featuring both professional and amateur contests, "Shark Fights 15: Camozzi vs. Villasenor" takes place Friday, May 27 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M.
Headlining the show are middleweight notables Joey Villasenor (27-8) and Chris Camozzi (14-4), while UFC veteran Dave Branch (8-2) and Jeremy May (9-7) have been tapped as co-headliners.
Broadcast details have not been announced for the show, though past events have aired on HDNet, pay-per-view and online streams.
"We are looking forward to our debut in New Mexico and putting on a great show," Shark Fights exec Wes Nolen stated. "We built the fight card with New Mexico fans in mind and feel that we have a stellar lineup. The amateur portion of the card marks another first for our organization, and we are very excited. These young talented fighters are now able to use Shark Fights as a platform to advance their careers.
"We are thrilled to not only showcase A-list pro fighters, but also top level amateurs looking to earn their pro cards.The card is stacked with elite talent on all fronts.”
Villasenor has competed for organizations ranging from King of the Cage to EliteXC to Strikeforce. Most recently, he suffered a decision loss to Danillo Villefort at Shark Fights 13, which followed a Strikeforce defeat to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. The decision losses ended the Greg Jackson-trained fighter's four-fight win streak, which included wins over notables Riki Fukuda, Ryan Jensen, Phil Baroni and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.
Camozzi, a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 11" who left early due to injury, recently was released from the UFC despite a 2-1 run in the organization. The Colorado-based fighter posted a four-fight win streak, which included UFC wins over James Hammortree and Dongi Yang, but was released following a submission loss to Kyle Noke at UFC 127 in February.
Branch, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in New York City, recently was released from the UFC following a submission loss to Rousimar Palhares. Prior to the defeat, he scored decision victories over Tomasz Drwal and Rich Attonito. The two-time Bellator fighter also suffered a slam-KO loss to Gerald Harris in his 2010 octagon debut.
May, a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 7," enters the fight with four wins in his past five fights. Most recently, he scored a submission victory over fellow "TUF" alumn Frank Lester at a March regional show in Florida. His only loss during the stretch came to notable Murilo "Ninja" Rua at Impact FC 2 in Australia.
Tickets for the show, which is the first since the resignation of former head Brent Medley, are now on sale.
MAIN CARD
- Chris Camozzi vs. Joey Villasenor
- David Branch vs. Jeremy May
- Lionel Lanham vs. TBA
- Jared Downing vs. Bobby Huron
- Kyle Bracey vs. Artenas Young
- Frank Gomez vs. Timothy Snyder
- Robbie Gutierrez vs. Russell Wilson
- Fredrico Crosby vs. Kasey Yates
- Adam Gonzales vs. Zac Hynes
- Eric Baca vs. Edgar Lopez
- Armando Mendiblez vs. Randy Ray Sanchez
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