LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) announced another exciting addition to its fourth event, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is one of the more exciting bantamweight match-ups in recent memory. It will see two of MMA’s most promising blue chip prospects square off in a well-matched battle between Chris Holdsworth (3-0) and Tyler Shinn (3-0).
Holdsworth is a Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu under Marc Laimon and will enjoy the home crowd advantage. Holdsworth now lives in Sacramento, California as a member of Team Alpha Male, but he lived in Las Vegas before that. In Las Vegas, Holdsworth earned his Black Belt as a member of Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu and also won all six of his amateur MMA bouts in Las Vegas. He held titles at 145-pounds and 135-pounds for Tuff-N-Uff.
Shinn is a standout wrestler from NCAA Division I powerhouse program at Oklahoma State. At Oklahoma State, Shinn trained under the legendary John Smith. Smith has coached many of the world’s top wrestlers, including many who eventually became MMA stars. That would include Randy Couture, Johny Hendricks, Daniel Cormier, Mark Muñoz, Jake Rosholt, Jared Rosholt, Shane Roller, Mo Lawal, and recent RFA signee Steve Mocco.
At first glance, Holdsworth vs. Shinn would appear to be another classic Jiu-Jitsu vs. Wrestling match to take place under MMA rules. However, these two have been rounding out their grappling skill sets long before this match was signed, which will make this fight even more interesting.
Holdsworth trained wrestling extensively with Hendricks, Roller, and the Rosholt brothers when they were all at Cobra Kai. He is now teammates with other former wrestlers turned MMA stars Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, Joseph Benavidez, T.J. Dillashaw, and fellow RFA fighter Lance Palmer. Meanwhile, Shinn has been training his Jiu-Jitsu under 2007 ADCC Absolute champion, world-renowned Jiu-Jitsu coach, and Las Vegas resident Robert Drysdale.
RFA 4 is set to be headlined by a light-heavyweight showdown pitting former UFC and PRIDE star Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel against former UFC and ADCC star Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz. The co-main event will feature two former UFC lightweight stars, as Tyson Griffin meets Efrain Escudero. These fights and more will take place at the Dallas Event Center inside Texas Station Gambling Hall & Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.