KIM COUTURE OFF STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS DEBUT CARD

KIM COUTURE  OFF STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS DEBUT  CARD

Friday, May 15,  2009
Save Mart Center in Fresno,  Calif.
Live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT   

NEW YORK (April 29,  2009)—Mixed martial arts (MMA)  upstart Kim “Sugar
Free” Couture  (1-1) has withdrawn from the series debut of Strikeforce
Challengers, scheduled for  Friday, May 15. Couture was slated to face submission
expert Miesha Tate (5-1) in a 135-pound  fight.  Strikeforce is working to 
replace the fight and finalize the card.
Strikeforce  Challengers will  take place at the Save Mart Center in
Fresno, Calif, on Friday, May 15, and air  live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT
(delayed on the West Coast).  The fight card, headlined by undefeated 
lightweight Billy Evangelista (9-0)  versus BJ Penn protégé “Iron” Mike  Aina
(11-6-1), will feature up to five live bouts.   
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.
Tickets for the first 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 Jo
se’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.