For five solid minutes, it looked as if Strikeforce's first-ever "Challengers Series" trilogy was firmly in the grasp of Roger Bowling.Then, in a flash – well, the flash of a knee, really – everything changed.
Bobby Voelker (24-8 MMA, 4-1 SF) instantly turned the tide of the matchup with a well-timed knee that sent his opponent stumbling backward. "Vicious" seized the moment, driving forward with punches to secure a second-round TKO. Now, the 32-year-old believes he's ready for graduation.
"If anyone knows me, that's the way it goes, unfortunately," Voelker said. "I've got to start changing some things so it doesn't happen that way. He took me down a couple of times, and I kept getting back up. I wasn't too worried about it. It felt like he was getting a little tired. I kind of decided to go for the A-frame. I did, and I was kind of waiting for him to drop for a shot. I hipped out to get off the cage, and he didn't drop. I thought, 'Why not push out and throw a knee?' That's what I did.
"I've got some good knees. I can get them up pretty high. It landed. I saw him step back, and he looked a little wobbly, so I went in for the kill. I hit him a couple of times, and he fell down. I just finished it up on the knees, and the ref stopped it."
The victory marked Voelker's second-straight win over Bowling and sealed the historic trilogy series victory. And with a highlight-reel finish, Voelker ensured his name will likely be considered among the next group of fighters to graduate to the "Arena Series" events. It's a prestigious list that also includes the likes of Daniel Cormier, Sarah Kaufman and Tyron Woodley.
A great opportunity, indeed, and one that Voelker admits he had concerns about chasing after developing a friendly relationship with Bowling at this year's Zuffa Fighter Summit.
"At the Summit meeting, Roger and I talked," Voelker told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We got pretty close. We hung out, and we had a good time. When you start talking to someone and hanging out with them, you don't rally want to fight them. We got the call a few weeks after that."
Of course, when the offer to fight Bowling for a decisive third time was accompanied with a headlining role on the promotion's first-ever event in Las Vegas, Voelker said there really wasn't too much to consider.
"How can you turn down the main event in Vegas – the first Strikeforce card in Vegas?" Voelker asked. "It's the greatest thing in the world as a fighter that's up-and-coming."
And it may ultimately prove life-changing.
A five-plus year veteran of the sport with 32 professional fights under his belt, Voelker currently balances his training with a full-time job. Voelker hopes a promotion to the big show would allow him to shift his focus solely to MMA. At 4-1 in five fights on the promotion's prospect-based series, Voelker's next bout may indeed take place on the company's "Arena Series" events.
And after fighting new-friend Bowling three times in just 14 months, Voelker hops that series is in the past. Of course, with the potential for a shot at the big stage on the line, Voelker said he's happy to do anything his bosses ask.
"Roger is a great guy," Voelker said. "We had three fights. Hopefully that's it, but if Strikeforce says, 'Do a fourth,' guess what we're going to do. We're going to do a fourth.
"But hopefully it's done, and hopefully we can move on to other opponents and move up from there."
by John Morgan
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