KIM COUTURE TO TACKLE MIESHA TATE AT

KIM  COUTURE TO TACKLE MIESHA TATE AT 
SHO  MMA:  STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS MAY  15

Plus  Aaron Rosa Faces Anthony Ruiz at Save Mart Center in  Fresno, Calif.
Live on  SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT 

NEW YORK (April 20, 2009)—Mixed martial arts (MMA) upstart Kim “Sugar  Free
” Couture (1-1), wife of MMA legend Randy Couture, will take a  major step
up in competition when she squares off with fearsome submission  expert
Miesha Tate (5-1) in a 135 lb. limit in a live,  SHOWTIME-televised contest at
the inaugural SHO MMA:  Strikeforce  Challengers event at Fresno, California’
s Save  Mart Center on Friday, May 15.   
SHO MMA: Strikeforce  Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA
fighters. SHO  MMA provides today’s top prospects with the opportunity to
step-up their  level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a
nationally televised  event.
In addition,  Aaron Rosa (11-2) will face Anthony “A Train”  Ruiz (21-12)
in a light heavyweight (205 lb. limit) fight on a fight  card headlined by
undefeated lightweight (155 lb. limit) Billy  Evangelista (9-0) versus BJ
Penn protégé “Iron” Mike  Aina (11-6-1). 
.
The SHOWTIME telecast  will air live beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on
the West Coast) and feature  up to five live fights.
“I think she’s  definitely in for a surprise and this is going to be a
little bit over her  head,” said the 22-year-old Tate, who has been on a tear
of late, stopping each  of her last three opponents in the first round.   
“I do respect the  fact that she chose to fight me,” said Tate, who is
considered a veteran over  the inexperienced Couture. “I think she’s really
tough and, at heart, she’s a  fighter. She wants to fight people who are going
to push her.”

A native  of Olympia, Washington, Tate was introduced to wrestling  during
her teen years when a girlfriend convinced her to join their all-boys  high
school wrestling team.  Tate’s  passion for the sport developed as she
learned.  Eventually, wrestling led Tate to join  the MMA club at Central
Washington University.   
Last year, Tate  enlisted with Victory Athletics, the elite fight squad
headed by MMA star and  two-time Matt Hughes conqueror Dennis “Superman” 
Hallman.
“He’s got so much to  offer technically,” she said about her mentor.  “He
comes from a wrestling background so  his fighting style is very similar to
the one I want to  develop.”

The 33-year-old Couture said,  “(Tate)’s been wrestling for a long time
and I’ve only been wrestling for four  years, but I’ve been learning from
Randy Couture.” 
“My training partners  are Xtreme Couture fighters so I feel like I have
the Cliff Notes I need to be  successful in this fight.  I’ve been  pushed and
supported by the best guys in the business.”
Couture earned her  first professional victory by pummeling an overmatched
Lina Kvokov in the first round of their  Strikeforce meeting at the HP
Pavilion in San Jose, California on November 21, 2008.  The victory came shortly
after she had  adopted K-1 superstar Ray Sefo as  her new kickboxing
trainer.
It is in the area of  punching and kicking that Couture feels she will have
the upper hand in the  fight with Tate.

”Her stand up is not strong.  Before she gets to the clinch or a  takedown,
she’s going to have to get past my hands,” said Couture.  “My Muay Thai is
really good right now  and I’m very confident that, if we get to the
clinch, she’s gonna have a hard  time taking me down.” 
Rosa, who hails from  San Antonio, Texas, was victorious in his first 10
starts  as a professional.  Following two  straight defeats, he returned to
the win column in his last start by stopping Ron “Killing” Fields in the
second  round of their meeting in Chicago, Ill.,  on June 14, 2008.
The 31-year-old Ruiz,  a former Strikeforce light heavyweight championship
challenger, last saw action  at Strikeforce’s second event at the
world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he lost a unanimous
decision to  former South African national wrestling champion Trevor Prangley.   
Tickets for the first  SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers  event are on sale
at the Save Mart  Center box office and select Save  Mart Supermarkets as
well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000),  Ticketmaster online
(_www.ticketmaster.com_ (http://www.ticketmaster.com/) ) and Strikeforce’s 
official website (_www.strikeforce.com_ (http://www.strikeforce.com/) ).
About  Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a  world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion
which, on Friday, March 10,  2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie”
event, the first sanctioned  mixed martial arts fight card in California
state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which  pitted legendary champion
Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt  Cesar Gracie at San 
Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record  crowd of 18,265. 
Since 1995,  Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts
programming for ESPN  and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world
championship kickboxing  promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts
series with “Shamrock vs.  Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the
parent company of  Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports &
Entertainment  (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation
aspects  of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.
About  Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks  Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS
Corporation, owns and operates the  premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE
CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as  the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME®
SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®,  SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME
WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE  MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers
SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD,  SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™
 ON DEMAND. SNI also manages  Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between
SNI and the Smithsonian  Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound
using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI  markets and distributes sports and
entertainment events for exhibition to  subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through
SHOWTIME PPV®.