XFC 17: Apocalypse - Card Updates & News

[keithlewis]

Patricia Vidonic vs Felice Herrig at XFC 17



The east coast’s largest MMA promotion, the XFC announced that it has signed a bout between submission ace Patricia Vidonic and the always explosive Felice Herrig for XFC 17: Apocalypse. The bout will take place in Jackson, TN at the Oman Arena, in the promotion’s first show in West Tennessee. Fans will be treated to two of the top women fighters in the world on April 13th, when the XFC cage hosts another classic striker vs. grappler matchup that will be featured live on HDNet.

With a disappointing decision loss to decorated wrestler Carla Esparza at XFC 15, Felice Herrig (5-4) is looking to rebound at ‘Apocalypse’ and get back to her winning ways. Herrig is one of the most dynamic strikers in Women’s MMA, with a solid background in Muay Thai and kickboxing. In fact, ‘Lil Bulldog’ was the IKF Woman’s Bantamweight North American Champion in 2005 and 2006 and won the Pro Muay Thai United States Bantamweight Title in 2008. Now training under Jeff Curran in Crystal Lake, IL Herrig has quickly evolved as a mixed martial artist and has more submission victories than knockouts. With the bad taste in her mouth from December, you can expect a focused Herrig in the XFC cage in April.

Standing in Herrig’s way is Patricia Vidonic. Like Herrig, Vidonic is coming off a close decision loss to Jessica Aguilar. The Montana native came out on the wrong side of a unanimous decision earlier this month against one of the top pound for pound women fighters in the world. Before the setback, Vidonic was riding high off a career best five fight win streak. Now, she is looking to start a new streak of her own against the popular fan favorite.

According to XFC President John Prisco, Vidonic vs. Herrig could be the fight of the night. “Patricia and Felice is going to be a war”, explained Prisco. “Both of these women are top of the food chain. Now, Patricia Vidonic isn’t a household name but she has quietly built a reputation around the country as one of the toughest women fighters around”, said Prisco. “Her last three wins were all by submission. She has held titles and taken all comers. Patricia isn’t one of these fighters that takes easy fights and pads her record. She just went toe to toe with Jessica Aguilar last week. She came up short when it went to the judges, but she almost caught Aguilar in a couple of submissions. Patricia is the real deal, I know she’s hungry and sees Felice as someone who is in her way. This is a big fight for both ladies and Women’s MMA. I’m proud to have both of these women on the XFC card in Jackson.”

XFC 17: Apocalypse will take place at the Oman Arena in Jackson, TN on April 13th and will air live on HDNet. Tickets are on sale now through the OfficialXFC website & Ticketmaster. VIP tables are also available through XFC Corporate. To learn more about the XFC, please visit www.officialxfc.com, “Like” them on Facebook (/officialxfc) and “Follow” the promotion on Twitter (@officialxfc).

[keithlewis]

A lightweight matchup of Luciano Dos Santos (9-5) vs. Eric Reynolds (14-5) and a welterweight bout of Charles Blanchard (9-2) vs. Corey Hill (5-4) will serve as the featured matchups of April's "XFC 17: Apocalypse" event.

XFC 17 takes place April 13 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The evening's main card airs on HDNet.

Dos Santos, who makes his XFC debut, carries a three-fight win streak into the headlining matchup. His current run, which features wins over Harris Norwood, Renato Castro and Sebastian de Oliveira Jr. comes after a three-fight losing streak in which Dos Santos was submitted twice and suffered a decision loss.

He now faces Reynolds, who picked up a victory over Jonatas Novaes at XFC 15 this past December. Reynolds has alternated wins and losses over his past five outings and hopes to put together a two-fight win streak for the first time since 2009.

In the co-feature role, Blanchard, who is perhaps best-known for his role on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," looks to earn his third-straight win. Blanchard, who was defeated by Jamie Yager in the second round of the "TUF 11" tournament, is 6-1 in his past seven official fights.

He faces Hill, who was a competitor on "The Ultimate Fighter 5." Hill, whose name will forever be linked to the gruesome leg injury he suffered in a December 2008 loss to Dale Hartt, fought most recetly at XFC 15, where he picked up a win over Charlie Rader. He'll now look to build a two-fight win streak for the first time since the opening two bouts of his professional career.


The full FXC 17 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (HDNet):

Luciano Dos Santos vs. Eric Reynolds
Charles Blanchard vs. Corey Hill
Chris Coggins vs. Nick Newell
Felice Herrig vs. Patricia Vidonic
Jarrod Card vs. Marlon Moraes
Joel Cooper vs. Amaechi Oselukwue


PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bobby Carter vs. Teddy Holder
Dan Bulkley vs. Jake Underwood
Ricco Ralston vs. Tommy Roberts
Thomas Campbell vs. Anthony Jones

[keithlewis]

Wood Takes On Rogers at XFC 17 on April 13


Former Xtreme Fighting Championships Featherweight #1 contender and Tennessee native Jason Wood (5-1) will return to the XFC cage on April 13th at the Oman Arena in Jackson, TN. Wood will take on heavy handed Ronnie Rogers (10-7) in a lightweight battle that will air live on HDNet.

Wood, who grew up in the area, will no doubt be the fan favorite when he steps into the cage that night. With millions of XFC fans watching on HDNet and friends & family in attendance, “The Ironman” insists he just wants to put on a show against Rogers. “I plan to go in, stand with him, and go toe to toe,” said Wood. “I want to give my fans a knockout. I can’t promise it won’t go to the ground, but I am looking for the knockout. Ronnie looks to be pretty strong and I think he likes to bang it out. He has some heavy hands, with several KOs on his record which I think makes for an exciting fight! From what I’ve seen, it’s a descent matchup for me on the ground too. But then again, I haven’t seen much of his ground game, so we will see what happens. I just want to knock him out and go out Rocky style in Jackson.”

Fighting Live on television on HDNet and in front of friends is special for any fighter, but Wood insists he realizes that the show means so much more to the West Tennessee fans and fighters. “XFC 17 is the biggest show that’s ever been to Jackson,” explained Wood. “If it goes over well, we want Jackson to be a staple for the XFC. I know Mr. Prisco has stated that he wants Tennessee to be the XFC’s second home and we have an opportunity to show him that we want to have them back and can deliver. It’s a great honor to be fighting for the XFC in my hometown and I want to put on a show for them and the fans, to help make the event really special.”

In March 2010 Jason Wood fought Jarrod Card for the XFC featherweight title. After a back and forth first round, Wood got caught in a rear naked choke and was forced to submit. Now, fighting at 155, Wood says he is much more comfortable at lightweight and won’t fight at 145 again. “When I fought Card I cut from 180 to 143.” said Wood. “I felt like it killed me having to cut almost 40 pounds. I need to be at lightweight. The fight with Rogers will be at 155 and it’s a better cut. I can cut 25 pounds and still fight to my potential. 145 was just a tough cut and I’m so much better at 155. Now that I don’t have to worry about all the weight, I’m concentrating on training. I’ve been doing two-a-days and hitting Jackson Gladiator’s Fitness with Greg Slach in the morning and in the evening I’m over at Jackson BJJ with Ashley Wheat. But the one guy who deserves all the credit is Anthony Maness. He’s one of my mentors and someone I look up to. He’s the man and the one who got me started.”

XFC President John Prisco is thrilled to have Wood back in the XFC cage and expects a barn-burner when Wood and Rogers step into the cage. “I’m really excited to see Jason back in the XFC,” said Prisco. “Two years ago he fought for our flyweight title and I really believe that he has the skillset to be a champion. Jason is very well rounded and can win a fight standing or on the ground. However, Ronnie Rogers is one of those guys that you can’t overlook. He was on a four fight win streak last year. He’s fought all over the Southeast, against some of the best in the world like: Rich Clementi and Deividas Taurosevicus. If this stays standing, I think we are going to see a classic XFC scrap. But, if it goes to the ground, it could be lots of fun too with both men being so skilled. Either way, it’s going to be an exciting night and I know the hometown fans will be rockin’ when Jason steps in the cage.”