Johny Hendricks

Fight Announcements: Leben to Return Against Rosholt, Sadollah-Hendricks Likely & More

Here are your fight announcements for the morning of April 7, 2009.

Chris Leben will reportedly return from a nine-month suspension for a positive steroids test when he takes on former collegiate standout wrestler Jake Rosholt at UFC 102, which is slated for August 29 in Portland, Oregon. Leben dropped a unanimous decision to Michael Bisping in his last fight at UFC 89. Rosholt recently fell victim to a quick first-round submission by Dan Miller in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 17. [MMA Junkie]

“Ultimate Fighter 7” winner Amir Sadollah will likely fight for the first time in over a year against Team Takedown member Johny Hendricks at UFC 101 on August 8 in Philadelphia. Sadollah announced his participation at the event during last week’s season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 9” and is said to have verbally agreed to a fight with Hendricks. Bout agreements are expected to be signed in the coming days. [Five Ounces of Pain]

A welterweight bout between rising prospects Tamdan McCrory and John Howard is currently in talks to occur at UFC 101 in August. McCrory recently bounced back from a dissappointing submission loss to skilled grappler Dustin Hazelett at UFC 91 to defeat UFC newcomer Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 on short notice. Meanwhile Howard picked up his first UFC win via a unanimous decision over Team Quest product Chris Wilson at UFC 94 in January. [MMA Mania]

Hendricks, Serdyukov Earn WEC 39 “Fight of the Night” Honors

Johny Hendricks and Alex Serdyukov received “Fight of the Night” honors for their three-round welterweight battle at World Extreme Cagefighting 39, which took place on Sunday night in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hendricks defeated Serdyukov via unanimous decision.

“Knockout of the Night” honors went to Damacio Page for his brutal 18-second stoppage of former top-ranked bantamweight Marcos Galvao. Mike Thomas Brown’s successful WEC featherweight title defense over Leonard Garcia by way of an arm-triangle choke earned him “Submission of the Night”.

All of the aforementioned fighters received $7,500 bonuses.

 

WEC 37 Fight Card Is Finalized

Barring any last minute injuries or weight issues, the fight card is set for December 3rd’s WEC 37 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.  The card will feature MMAonTap’s #1 ranked bantamweight, WEC Champion Miguel Torres, taking on undefeated challenger Manny Tapia.  This fight has been a long time coming as Tapia has made it no secret that he’s wanted the challenge of taking on Torres.  Unfortunately, injuries have slowed Tapia in the past.

Main Card Live on Versus:
Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia for WEC Bantamweight Championship
Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez
Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks

Undercard:
Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski
Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik

 

WEC Shifts Team Takedown Fights

Three Team Takedown members currently under contract to Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting have either had changes or additions to their upcoming fights according to a pair of reports from Five Ounces of Pain. Team Takedown founder Ted Ehrhardt reportedly confirmed all of the changes earlier today.

Budding prospect Jake Rosholt will now take on undefeated HDNet Fights veteran Nissen Osterneck instead of skilled grappler Danillo Villefort at a middleweight bout scheduled for WEC 36 on November 5. A reason for the change currently remains unknown and Rosholt will be moved over to the UFC following the conclusion of the fight, win or lose.

In addition, Johny Hendricks WEC debut has been moved from WEC 36 to WEC 37 on December 5. He will still face fellow welterweight Alex Serdyukov. Team Takedown lightweight product Shane Roller will also be in action at WEC 37 as he has signed to take on Mike Budnik.

WEC Announces Full Card for Sept. 10 Show

World Extreme Cagefighting today officially announced the complete lineup of fights that will take place at the organization’s scheduled September 10th event in Hollywood, Florida.

The most notable bout made official today involves former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver looking to solidify himself as a contender once again in the WEC’s featherweight division as he will take on fellow heavy-hitter Leonard Garcia. The bout will be part of the event’s televised main card on Versus.

Pulver is coming off of a failed attempt to dethrone reigning 145 lb champion Urijah Faber while Garcia will be fighting for the first time since being charged and eventually cleared of involvement in a New Mexico drug ring.

Additional matchups announced for the card this afternoon included Rani Yahya vs. Yoshiro Maeda, Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone, Jake Rosholt vs. Danillo Villefort, Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov, Tim McKenzie vs. David Avellan, and Ed Ratcliff vs. Danny Castillo.

Continue reading "WEC Announces Full Card for Sept. 10 Show"

Team Takedown Headed to WEC

Three prominent members of Texas-based Team Takedown are reportedly headed to the ranks of World Extreme Cagefighting - former NCAA wrestling champions Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks, and Shane Roller.

The news comes from Sam Caplan at Five Ounces of Pain, who has confirmed that the fighters have each signed multi-fight deals with the organization and could very well be making their promotional debuts this fall. Two fights currently in talks to take place at the WEC’s planned September 10th event include Rosholt vs. Danillo Villefort and Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov according to Caplan.

Earlier today, Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com reported that the September show would likely take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which has hosted multiple UFC and IFL events in the past. The show’s main event will likely be reigning WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber making yet another title defense against American Top Team product Mike Thomas Brown.

Additional fights expected to take place at the event include a middleweight title rematch between Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen, standout wrestler Mark Munoz challenging BodogFight veteran Steve Steinbeiss, Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone, and former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver vs. an opponent yet to be determined.

Team Takedown Sweeps at XFL

Team Takedown members Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller, each former All-American standout wrestlers at Oklahoma State University, were victorious in their respective bouts at last night’s Xtreme Fighting League event at the Tulsa, Oklahoma Expo Square Pavilion.

The event was televised live on HDNet.

Rosholt dominated opponent Chad Jay from the start in the main event, taking Jay down at will and scoring early and often with a mix of punches and elbows from the top position. Jay tagged Rosholt with a combination at the start of the second round and did so once again in the third, momentarily stunning the wrestler.

However Rosholt regained his composure and scored yet another takedown, eventually landing a number of unanswered blows that forced the referee to halt the bout.

Hendricks scored an early takedown and easily transitioned into a D’Arce choke that caused last-minute replacement opponent Richard Bamgle to tape out only a minute and a half into the first round. Roller needed just under two minutes to stop Yoshihiro Kitaoka with strikes.

Levi Avera sucessfully defended his XFL welterweight title, submitting Brandon Newsome with a triangle in the first round.

Complete event results are as follows:

Jake Rosholt def. Chad Jay - TKO (Strikes)
Johny Hendricks def. Richard Bamgle - Submission (D’Arce Choke)
Shane Roller def. Yoshihiro Kitaoka - TKO (Strikes)
Levi Avera def. Brandon Newsome - Submission (Triangle)
Adrian Sanchez def. Chris Bowles - TKO (Cut)
Daniel Roberts def. Akira Kinjo - Unanimous Decision
Shane Waits def. Kazuya Nishiyama - Unanimous Decision
Mike Budnick def. Dustin Phillips - Submission (Guillotine)

Reminder: Team Takedown on HDNet Saturday

DALLAS – HDNet Fights has announced that it is teaming with the Xtreme Fighting League for the upcoming “HDNet Fights Presents: Xtreme Fighting League” on March 15 at the Expo Square Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event will air live, exclusively on HDNet.

For the event, Team Takedown will send three of its fighters – and Oklahoma wrestling legends: Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller. All are alumni of Oklahoma State University, so it won’t be too much of a stretch to hope for a partisan crowd. In addition, the remainder of the card will feature additional Oklahoma-based talent and young athletes from Osaka, Japan.

Team Takedown is a fighter management company based out of Texas. It is known for the unconventional method of putting fighters on salary, allowing them to focus on training full-time. In addition, its fighters are making the transition from all-star wrestlers to mixed martial arts athletes.

“I am excited about this partnership with HDNet Fights.” said XFL founder and promoter Dale Cook. “This card and the exposure on HDNet is tremendous for our League, our fighters and our city.”

HDNet Fights President Guy Mezger said Cook has been a long-time promoter of combat martial arts.

“Dale always has a strong regional show and we’re excited about partnering with him,” Mezger said. “He can continue to grow his shows and we’ll have high quality mixed martial arts programming for HDNet.”

Continue reading "Reminder: Team Takedown on HDNet Saturday"

Team Takedown Takes Over HDNet

DALLAS – HDNet Fights announced today that it is teaming with the Xtreme Fighting League for the upcoming “HDNet Fights Presents: Xtreme Fighting League” on March 15 at the Expo Square Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event will air live, exclusively on HDNet. This announcement is the latest is a series of new partnerships formed between HDNet Fights and many mixed martial arts organizations around the country and in Canada.

For the event, Team Takedown will send three of its fighters – and Oklahoma wrestling legends: Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller. All are alumni of Oklahoma State University, so it won’t be too much of a stretch to hope for a partisan crowd. In addition, the remainder of the card will feature additional Oklahoma-based talent and young athletes from Osaka, Japan.

Team Takedown is a fighter management company based out of Texas. It is known for the unconventional method of putting fighters on salary, allowing them to focus on training full-time. In addition, its fighters are making the transition from all-star wrestlers to mixed martial arts athletes.

“I am excited about this partnership with HDNet Fights.” said XFL founder and promoter Dale Cook. “This card and the exposure on HDNet is tremendous for our League, our fighters and our city.”

HDNet Fights President Guy Mezger said Cook has been a long-time promoter of combat martial arts.

“Dale always has a strong regional show and we’re excited about partnering with him,” Mezger said. “He can continue to grow his shows and we’ll have high quality mixed martial arts programming for HDNet.”

Continue reading "Team Takedown Takes Over HDNet"