A wrist sprain has forced heavyweight rising star Rolles Gracie (8-1) out of his World Series of Fighting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) matchup with Dave Huckaba (20-5). Replacing the bout on the four-fight, live NBC Sports Network televised main card at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Friday, June 14, will be the previously announced matchup between rival lightweight (155 pounds) sensations and grappling specialists Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm (21-2) of Spokane, Wash. and Jacob Volkmann (15-4) of White Bear Lake, Minn.
“We wish Rolles Gracie a full and speedy recovery and expect to see him make his debut for World Series of Fighting soon,” said World Series of Fighting President, six-time world kickboxing champion and two-time Hall of Famer Ray Sefo. “Both Lyle Beerbohm and Jacob Volkmann are no strangers to the big stage, having fought at a world-class level in front of national audiences for years, so we are looking forward to showcasing this fantastic matchup between two lightweight stars of our sport before our NBC Sports Network audience.”
The 34-year-old Beerbohm, a former meth addict who discovered MMA while watching television from a prison sofa, later became an inspiration, enrolling in an MMA gym the same day he was released from incarceration. After just two amateur fights in which he stopped both of his opponents, Beerbohm made his professional debut in 2007 and ran to 15 consecutive victories over the course of the next three years.
Beerbohm, whose nickname originated as a result of the colorful fight shorts that his mother sews for him, holds notable wins over the likes of former Muay Thai champion and KO artist Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro and former PRIDE star Marcus Aurelio.
Volkmann is a 32-year-old, three-time NCAA Division I All-American and former Big 10 Conference wrestling champion for University of Minnesota. Since turning pro in 2007, he has earned 7 of his 15 career victories by way of submission.
Volkmann boasts wins over fellow stars Danny Castillo, Bobby Voelker, Ronys Torres and Antonio McKee.
Tickets for the star-studded, nine-bout World Series of Fighting event, priced from $29 (plus applicable service fees), are on sale at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com and charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
The four-bout main card will air live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
In the welterweight (170 pounds) main event and a long-awaited rematch, Jon Fitch (24-5) of Fort Wayne, Ind., will square off with fellow superstar Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman (25-9) of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The second meeting between the 35-year-old Fitch, a member of San Jose, Calif.-based Team AKA, and the 32-year-old Burkman, a winner of four consecutive fights, comes slightly more than seven years after Fitch submitted Burkman with a rear-naked choke in the second round (4:57) of their initial encounter that, coincidentally, also took place at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
In the co-main event, streaking stars and fearsome submission aces Tyson “Man of” Steele (10-1) of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada and Steve Carl (19-3) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa will face off at welterweight.
Undefeated prospect Justin Gaethje (8-0) of Denver, Colo. will collide with Brian Cobb (20-7) of Bakersfield, Calif., in a lightweight contest and the first televised main card bout of the night.
In preliminary card action, battle-tested submission specialist John Gunderson (34-14) of Houston, Tex. will be pitted against Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (16-4) of Bridgewater, Mass. in another lightweight tilt. All 16 of Lauzon’s professional career victories have come by way of (T)KO or submission.
Carson “Little Juggernaut” Beebe (13-2) of Schaumburg, Ill. will face undefeated submission ace Joe Murphy (6-0) of Huntington Beach, Calif. in a bantamweight (135 pounds) tilt.
Jeff Smith (10-1) of Harrisburg, Pa. will take on fellow, featherweight (145 pounds) streaking star Jerrod Sanders (11-1) of Oklahoma City, Okla.
Undefeated prospects Krasimir Mladenov (9-0) of Borica, Bulgaria and Kendrick Miree (5-0) of Atlanta, Ga., will square off at middleweight (185 pounds).
Brenson Hansen (4-1) of Las Vegas will battle Josh Montalvo (2-1) of San Benito, Texas in a featherweight matchup.
Doors at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will open at 4:30 p.m. PT and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5:30 p.m.
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