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Full Card Set for XFC 26: Night of Champions III on Oct. 18


On October 18th, Xtreme Fighting Championships brings "Night of Champions" back to Nashville, Tennessee. 2013 will mark the 3rd edition of the event, and the second that the great city of Nashville has been selected as the host. The yearly extravaganza showcases the XFC's Champions, as title are defended and new champions are crowned. This year's Fall Brawl will see two titles up for grabs in the evenings Main and Co-Main Event. The action goes down at the historic Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Doors open at 5pm Central, with live music by Gimm and Icky from 5:30-6:30pm. The first bout starting promptly at 6:45pm. MMA legend, former UFC Champion Pat Miletich and Michael "The Voice" Schiavello take their seats ringside and go live on AXS TV at 9pm CT/10pm ET.

NOC 3 (Night of Champions III) will be an evening of "firsts". The Main Event will pit XFC Lightweight Champion Scott "Hot Sauce" Holtzman, in his first title defense, against North Carolina's Roger "The Leprechaun" Carroll. Holtzman, a Knoxville resident, has spent his entire professional career with the XFC; debuting in February of 2012. The former University of Tennessee Hockey Player ripped off four dominant and consecutive victories before capturing the 155 pound championship in June of this year. Holtzman's opponent at NOC, Roger Carroll, wasted no time calling out the newly crowned champ shortly after he won his title. The tough as nails "Leprechaun" will be making the drop from welterweight (170 lbs.) to lightweight (155 lbs.), hoping to give himself the edge in both size and strength. Carroll, a black-belt veteran of 22 professional fights, will have a clear experience advantage over Holtzman, but what the gritty grappler from Rocky Top lacks in experience, he makes up in will to win.

The Nashville crowd will also get to see the XFC's first ever Women's Flyweight Championship Title Fight, when 125 pound phenom Cortney "Cast Iron" Casey takes on the dangerous Pearl Gonzalez. Like cross over sensation Gina Carano did before them, both Casey and Gonzalez have proven that they are more than just a pretty face. The highly skilled and highly competitive beauties will leave it all in the cage for the Music City crowd, as they both lay it all on the line for their first professional title.

The televised portion of the card also features several fighters climbing their way up the XFC ranks and closing in on title shots of their own. Jason "The Ronin" Hick and Deivison "Dragon" Ribeiro will lock horns for the chance to meet Farkhad Sharipov for the Featherweight title early next year, while Brazilians Mauricio Alonzo and Luis Santos go to war for Welterweight supremacy. Casey and Gonzalez won't be the only ladies gracing the country music crowd with their presence, as Brianna Van Buren and Heather Jo Clark will also be in action; both looking for a future meeting with new Strawweight Champion Stephanie Eggink. To make sure the night starts off with a bang, two of Tennessee's brightest stars will go head to head in the opening bout on AXS TV. Luke Sanders and Zach Underwood will step in the cage to arguably determine who the best 145 pounder in the State of Tennessee is. Both made impressive XFC debuts this last year, but only one will walk away with bragging rights as the top Featherweight in the Volunteer State.

For the fans in attendance, the NOC 3 undercard will be stacked full of area talent. Twelve feisty competitors will look to use the opportunity put in front of them, to impress XFC President John Prisco and either earn another shot on a future card, or be rewarded with the coveted multi-fight contract. The preliminary card is: Nate Landwehr vs. Keith Richardson, Ben Brewer vs. Anthony Lemon, Donny Wallace vs. Gerric Hayes, Kenny Degenhardt vs. Brian Hall, Jason Gifford vs. Mario Scott and Cromwell Stewart vs. Willie Taylor Jr.

The XFC 25 weighs ins will take place Thursday October 17th, at 5pm at the Millennium Maxwell Hotel and is open to the public & media. The hotel address is 2025 U.S. 41 Alternate, Nashville, TN 37228. From 4pm-5pm, there will be an open meet n greet with the staff, fighters, and cage dolls, followed by a short press conference with XFC President John Prisco. The formal weigh ins will begin at 5pm-6pm. Camera's are welcome and we encourage fans to attend, to take photos with their favorite fighters.

For more information on the event, or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.XFCMMA.com. For daily updates and news on XFC 26: Night of Champions III, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @OfficialXFC.

XFC 26 Prelims Showcase Several Top Regions on Oct. 18


The country will get to see the likes of tryout winner Jason Hicks, Brazil's Luis Santos, Women's Strawweight Heather Clark, and the first Women's Flyweight Title fight between Cortney Casey & Pearl Gonzalez when XFC 26: Night of Champions III goes live on AXS TV Friday October 18th. But the thousands of local fans in the seats will be treated to some of the top rising stars that Tennessee has to offer before the show goes Live nationwide. John Prisco and company have assembled the preliminary bouts, with exciting prospects that will get the crowd ready for the main card that culminates with Tennessee's own Scott "Hot Sauce" Holtzman defending his XFC lightweight title.

Nashville MMA's Cromwell Stewart will make his professional debut in his own backyard. Before going Pro, Stewart won a split decision over Zach Hicks last year in Nashville at XFC 21 and then put a stamp on his amateur career with a first round knockout back in February. His opponent, Willie Taylor Jr. will also be making his professional debut, but brings a deep well of amateur experience. Taylor is a veteran of 12 amateur bouts, having forced his opponent to tap in 6 of his 7 victories. Ending his ammy run with back to back stoppage victories, he joins his opponent as they now looks to take over the Pro ranks. Stewart vs Taylor Jr. will kick off the night as they go to war inside the cage; both ready kick start their pro career in style.

Jason Gifford (1-1) and Mario Scott (2-1) face off in a Middleweight match up the fans in Tennessee have been waiting for. Gifford was impressive in his professional debut, scoring a first round TKO win, but fell short in his second appearance in the cage. Scott started his professional career with a first round finishes and now looks to add his third victory. This is a fight many don't expect to get out of the first round, as the two are very heavy handed fighters.

Nashville's own Kenny Degenhardt (3-0) notched his third straight professional win, with a first round submission victory earlier this year. The local standout will face his toughest test to date when he meets fellow Bantamweight Brian Hall (7-1). Hall has won three in a row, all first round stoppages. The Memphis fighter has only went to a decision once in his professional career and shows great pride that he can finish his opponents with a wide range of tricks. Degenhardt brings in some solid grappling, but will have to put on a great performance to recon Hall's advantage in experience. At the end of the night one of the two will be a step closer to being ranked as one of the top Bantamweights in the State.

Anthony Lemon (4-2) is looking to settle the score with Ben Brewer] (4-1) in a rematch of a 2011 amateur fight. Brewer defeated Lemon with a triangle choke. Brewer's only loss came after an unfortunate accident in the cage where the cage itself inflicted a massive cut. Since then he has rattled off three wins with two coming by first round submission. Lemon is looking to get back in the win column and even the score in this Welterweight showdown.

After over a year off, Nate Jolly (12-5) will swap roles inside the XFC cage. The past few XFC events in Tennessee saw Jolly as a referee, but XFC 26 will instead mark Nate's third appearance as a fighter inside John Prisco's cage. He meets journeyman Gerric Hayes (8-9) and is welcomed back by the promotion, after his last exciting performance with them at XFC 21 in Nashville. Hayes will have to avoid the constant pressure that the Jolly brings, as Jolly has some of the best wrestling in MMA and will look to take Hayes down and keep him there. Jolly will need to resist the knockout power, as well as submission skills of his opponent, Hayes. Lots of cage experience shared between these two, that will make for a great matchup on Friday night.

For the third straight fight, the Ric Flair of the XFC, Nate "The Train" Landwehr (2-1) will be facing someone with much more experience than him. His exciting style and finishing ability led John Prisco to signing him to the featherweight division. Now, he will meet Keith "The Rockstar" Richardson (10-4) in the TV swingbout. Richardson has put together back to back wins since dropping his last outing in Nashville. Landwehr got burnt on a decision in Charlotte earlier this year that handed him his first professional loss. The action in this one will no doubt heat up fast. Landwehr generally starts slow in the first round to get a feel for his opponent, but once he gets tagged in the face a time or two, the animal un-tames. Richardson likes a quick pace, so it will be a test of will and game plans to see who gets their way. Landwehr's cardio is second to none and he will look to drag it into the later rounds. Watch for Richardson to turn on the accelerator and try to get out of the Music City in a hurry. One thing is for certain, the local fans are in for a treat before the XFC broadcasts live to the World!

The weighs ins will take place Thursday October 17th, at 5pm at the Millennium Maxwell Hotel and are open to the public & media. The hotel address is 2025 U.S. 41 Alternate, Nashville, TN 37228. From 4pm-5pm, there will be an open meet n greet with the staff, fighters, and cage dolls, followed by a short press conference with XFC President John Prisco. The formal weigh ins will begin at 5pm-6pm. Camera's are welcome and we encourage fans to attend, to take photos with their favorite fighters.

XFC 26: Night of Champions III takes place Friday October 18, 2013. The event is presented by ICRealTime Security Solutions and Liquid Ninja Energy Drink.

Casey versus Gonzalez to Crown Women's Flyweight Champ at XFC 26


“Why put off the Inevitable?” Those were the words of XFC President John Prisco; moments after Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten announced on Inside MMA, that the promotions Inaugural Flyweight Championship match between Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey and Pearl Gonzalez would take place in Nashville, TN on October 18th at the promotions yearly extravaganza, Night of Champions. The 125 pound title fight will take place at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and will broadcast LIVE on AXS TV – “Your home for MMA”.

Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey (1-0) burst onto the professional scene last month at XFC 24 in Tampa, Florida when she made short work of Kelly Warren; a veteran of seven professional fights and a woman that consensus #1 Flyweight Jessica Eye couldn’t finish within three rounds. Before going pro Cortney held an ammy record of 6-2, along with 2 belts at 125 lbs: one for Tuff-N-Uff and the other for Coalition of Combat. Casey is a former professional soccer player for the Seattle Sounders and was also a D1 soccer player for the University of El Paso Texas. The poise and confidence Casey displayed in her debut, proved to the millions who witnessed her first professional fight, what her manager Mercedes White had been telling everyone for over a year; this girl was destine for greatness. Her impressive win over Warren, and her history of highlight reel submissions, have now catapulted “Cast Iron” into her first professional title fight. Will the Cortney Casey era begin in Music City, or, will Pearl Gonzalez have the young phenom singing the blues?

Cut from the same cloth as Cortney Casey, Illinois native Pearl Gonzalez (1-1) wasted no time taking on high caliber opponents. Gonzalez debuted in February of 2012 against Munah Holland, one of the industries top strikers and deadliest opponents. Even though she lost a majority decision to Holland, it was this type of attitude, along with her tremendous skill, that attracted the XFC brass to sign Pearl to a multi-fight deal. Prior to joining the XFC, Gonzalez earned two amateur MMA titles, a NAGA tournament, and an Absolute jiu-jitsu belt before making the decision to turn pro. At XFC 22: Crossing the Line, Gonzalez used her aggressive ground game to submit Suzie Montero at 4:56 of the first round and send notice to anyone looking to join the division, that all roads to a title would have to go through her. Is there a Titanic victory in Pearl Gonzalez’s future, or will she fall victim to Cortney Casey’s own version of the Music City Miracle?

“These are two of the hottest new prospects in women’s mixed martial arts”, explained John Prisco. “Both Cortney Casey and Pearl Gonzalez were brought in to our company because we knew each has what it takes to build a division around and represent the XFC to the fullest. We could hold a tournament and drag this title chase out, but I honestly think Casey and Gonzalez would be the two left standing in the end, so why put off the inevitable? I want the XFC fans to enjoy this match up now, and the other women in the division will now have a champion to gun for. Don’t be surprised, though, if this is just the first of several meetings between these two competitors. That’s how exciting a match up I think this is going to be.”