STRIKEFORCE Hits the Playboy Mansion
Yahoo! Sports To Stream the Event Live to a Worldwide Audience
Beverly Hills, Calif., September 26, 2007 – World championship mixed martial arts federation, Strikeforce, will stream its September 29th “Strikeforce at the Mansion” event live to a worldwide audience exclusively at Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com).
Strikeforce will be the first mixed martial arts event held at the world-famous Playboy Mansion. The Strikeforce fight card will be headlined by the return of undefeated World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion, “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez (12-0) as well as the Strikeforce debut of middleweight (185 lb. limit) star, Joe “Diesel” Riggs (26-9, 1 NC), who will battle fan-favorite Eugene “The Wolf” Jackson (15-7-1).
Yahoo! Sports, the internet’s No. 1 sports destination, will begin streaming the Strikeforce fights at 9 p.m. (PT) / 12 a.m. (ET). Yahoo! Sports users will have free, live access to the main card. Mixed martial arts fans can find additional information about the fight and fighters at http://sports.yahoo.com.
“Yahoo! Sports is quickly becoming the new online destination for passionate mixed martial arts fans,” commented Jimmy Pitaro, Vice President/GM of Yahoo! Sports. “Our site features compelling MMA content, including top-notch, original editorial, fighter data and videos. Live streaming the Strikeforce fight card is another opportunity for Yahoo! Sports to deliver compelling content to its users.”
“This is an outstanding opportunity for fans around the world to watch these fights, which they otherwise might not have been able to see live,” said Strikeforce Founder and CEO, Scott Coker. “Working with Yahoo! Sports brings mixed martial arts directly to our fans for free, and gets them into the Playboy Mansion too. It’s a great partnership that delivers for fans around the world.”
In other action on the main card, Strikeforce lightweight star, Josh “The Punk” Thomson (34-2 (1 NC), will square off with former United States marine, Adam Lynn (11-7 (1 NC). Bobby Southworth (7-4) will take on Canadian Bill “The Butcher” Mahood (15-5-1) in a light heavyweight (205 lb. limit) contest while undefeated heavyweight contender and former WWE star, Daniel Puder (5-0), will be challenged by Richard Dalton (3-2).
“Strikeforce at the Mansion” will feature an array of amenities for the Beverly Hills’ crowd, including gourmet dining, complimentary cocktails, and a wine tasting from several gold medal wineries.
Following the live stream, the event will remain available for viewing on Yahoo! Sports, free of charge, for a period of 30 days via on demand service.
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 played host to a sold-out, record-breaking crowd of 18,265. Following 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” Its “Shamrock vs. Baroni” mega-event on June 22nd of this year was the first SHOWTIME mixed martial arts Pay Per View event in history.