Evangelista, a seasoned 28 year old Muay Thai striking machine who fights
out of Fresno, will make his first appearance in the cage since he faced
off with road warrior "Iron" Mike Aina in the main event of the inaugural
STRIKEFORCE: Challengers event at SaveMart Center on May 15, 2009.
The anticipated meeting between the two lightweights came to an
anti-climactic end after Evangelista struck his opponent with a knee to
the head while Aina was on one knee (striking a downed opponent to the
head is illegal.) The bout was originally declared a disqualification in
favor of Aina but, after an appeal was made by the Evangelista camp, the
ruling was changed to a "no decision."
Since making his STRIKEFORCE debut during the first-ever MMA event at the
world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California where he earned
a split judges' decision over Clint Coronel on September 29, 2007,
Evangelista has enjoyed continued success with the promotion over the
course of three additional bouts.
On October 3, 2008, Evangelista made his greatest stand to date against
Luke "Lil' Hulk" Caudillo at STRIKEFORCE: Payback held at Broomfield,
Colorado's Broomfield Event Center. After being dropped twice with punches
in the first round, a determined Evangelista dug deep and battled back in
the following two rounds to earn a unanimous decision.
While Evangelista's last effort may have ended prematurely, Gurgel's last
start, a matchup with rising star Conor "Hurricane" Heun on the
STRIKEFORCE: Challengers card at Kent, Washington's ShoWare Center on
June 19, 2009, was a classic barnburner. After three rounds of non-stop,
toe-to-toe exchanges, Gurgel emerged the winner by way of unanimous
decision.
His victory over Heun marked the 32-year-old Gurgel's debut under the
STRIKEFORCE banner. A member of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" season
two cast whose relentless fighting style helped him earn two "Fight Of The
Night" honors with UFC, Gurgel parted ways with the promotion late last
year.
Gurgel, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Marcus Aurelio and a
six-time Brazilian state champion in the grappling sport, has claimed 9 of
his 13 victories by way of submission. Still, he has shown his penchant
for striking, bringing fans to their feet repeatedly with his explosive
Muay Thai combinations.
A native of Fortaleza, Brazil, Gurgel entered The United States as an
exchange student during high school and later became a citizen here. He
withdrew from his college studies just one semester shy of graduation to
pursue a career as an MMA fighter and trainer. Recently, he opened a gym
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Olson, whose Fresno State University wrestling achievements include
qualifying for the NCAA Division I national tournament and capturing the
Northern California Regional Championship, is looking to rebound from a
first round submission (guillotine choke) he suffered in his last start at
the hands of Eddie Yagin on May 8, 2009.
His start on the card will be the second of Olson's career in STRIKEFORCE.
During the promotion's first event at SaveMart Center on October 7, 2006,
Olson submitted Bobby Sanchez in the first round (1:58) of their matchup.
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