It will be the most important fight of his career for the fast-rising Britt, of Virginia Beach, Va., who’s won four of his last five, including a dominant performance in his STRIKEFORCE debut last Dec. 19 when he repeatedly dropped Scott Lightly until the one-sided proceedings were halted by the doctor after the first round. On May 9, 2009 – Britt’s 31st birthday – he overwhelmed UFC veteran Antonio Mendes <http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Antonio-Mendes-7110>  with a flurry of blows, winning the fight in just eight seconds, which is hardly enough time to touch gloves.

“I just kept pumping, you can’t attack if you’re backing up,” said the 6-foot-1 Hybrid Academy of Martial Arts-trained fighter who has registered victories in less than two minutes on seven different occasions. “Right cross, right elbow. Boom, dropped him. That was it.”

Britt was a contestant on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter, but a broken hand suffered during a victory in his elimination bout forced his withdrawal from the competition. Feijao, a devastating striking with a fierce killer instinct, has produced all eight of his wins inside the distance.  He trains out of the famed Black House camp with Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

In 2007-’08, the six-foot-one-inch, 29-year-old Feijao of Sao Paulo, Brazil was viewed as one of the most promising prospects in MMA.  He was slated to challenge then-STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight titleholder Renato “Babalu” Sobral last June 6, but Sobral withdrew because of the impending birth of a child.

Due to the circumstances, Feijao was matched against Mike “Mak” Kyle, who manufactured a colossal upset when he defeated Feijao via second-round TKO. Until the Kyle stunner, Feijao, which means “bean” or “beans” in Portuguese, had steamrolled his opposition. His only other loss came on a disqualification on June 16, 2007.

Feijao rebounded from the shocking setback and regained his winning ways with an impressive second-round TKO (punches) over Aaron Rosa on the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event last Nov. 20. After an unhurried opening round, Feijao turned up the heat in the second, battering Rosa with a series of strikes until the fight was halted at 3:25.

Ribeiro, a 30-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, is among the top lightweights in MMA. He’s won the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship four times, once as a purple belt in 1996 and three times as a black belt in three consecutive years (1999-2001).  Among his 20 victories include 14 stoppages (12 by submission) while topping notables such as Joachim Hansen, Eiji Mitsuoka, and Mitsuhiro “The Endless Fighter” Ishida. Ribeiro’s losses have come against some of the division’s most talented fighters — Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gesias “GZ” Cavalcante and, in his last start on a decision to then-No. 2 in the world, Shinya Aoki,  in the DREAM Grand Prix finals last July 20.

Afterward, Ribeiro underwent successful eye surgery, but he is back to 100 percent and has pronounced himself fit and ready. “I’ve been training and I’m motivated to get back to fighting regularly again,” said Ribeiro, who credits his mentor, André Pederneiras, for his success.

Beerbohm  is not your prototypical mixed martial artist. A top up-and-coming fighter who is also a feel-good story, he literally started MMA on his way home from prison after he spent a year and one day at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla as a result of felony convictions, all related to his crystal meth addiction. The same day the 5-foot-10, 31-year-old native of Spokane, Wash., got out of prison, he was at a Jiu-Jitsu gym. He had his first amateur fight eight days after being released.

Despite the many obstacles, Beerbohm went 12-0 in the amateurs and has been flawless since turning pro on April  6, 2007. In his last outing, he registered an 89-second, first-round TKO (elbows) over Josh Martin on Sept. 12, 2009. In a career-best performance, he submitted (bulldog choke) veteran star Duane “Bang” Ludwig at a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on June 19, 2009.

Since entering MMA, Beerbohm has found a discipline and determination that was missing in his life. “If I didn’t go to prison, I probably would be dead today,” Beerbohm said. “Because I wouldn’t get cleaned up. I wouldn’t go to rehab. I wouldn’t get off the drugs. I didn’t want to get off the drugs. I traded one addiction for the other. I traded meth for MMA.

“After watching MMA on TV, I knew deep down inside that’s what I was going to do.”

A top wrestler in high school, Beerbohm is a brawler who can switch between southpaw and orthodox stances. Of his 12 amateur fights and 13 pro bouts, only one has gone the distance. He has recorded more  KO’s than submissions, but he still considers himself a grappler.

Beerbohm, whose nickname is derived from the custom-made trunks sewn by his mother, wants  to defeat Ribeiro and then challenge for the STRIKEFORCE lightweight title. “That’s my goal,” he said. “I want to be the champ. I want a five-round fight. That would be something else.”

Tickets are on sale for STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery at the Scottrade Center ticket office, 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/> ).

In the May 15 main event, STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight Champion Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (32-11) will defend against heavy-handed knockout artist Brett “The Grim” Rogers (10-1). Former world champions Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (15-7) and Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (13-2) will collide in another heavyweight confrontation.

In other previously announced fights, unbeaten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sensation Roger Gracie (2-0) will make his STRIKEFORCE and United States MMA debut against two-time NCAA National Wrestling Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (17-14) and middleweight (185 pound) superstar “Jacare” Souza (11-2) will collide with determined, hard-hitting Joey Villasenor (27-6).

Doors at Scottrade Center will open for STRIKEFORCE St. Louis:  Heavy Artillery at 6:15 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 15. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m. The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).  Shamrock Promotions is assisting STRIKEFORCE with local marketing for the event.

About  STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) 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 Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, 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 (MMA) 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.  In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division,” said UFC President Dana White. “Nogueira showed in the Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin title fight.”

Tickets for UFC 108 are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges, go on sale Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m. at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at UFC.com, www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, November 12 at 10 a.m. PT via the website UFC.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, November 13 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC 108 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

One of the sport’s legendary heavyweights, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) always seems to fight his way back into the title picture. With an outstanding 32-5-1, 1 NC record that includes wins in three of his first four UFC fights, the 33-year-old parlayed a unanimous decision victory against Heath Herring into a UFC interim heavyweight title shot where he submitted former UFC champion Tim Sylvia. At UFC 102 in Portland, Nogueira earned an exciting unanimous decision victory over hometown favorite and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. But now the only man to hold UFC and PRIDE heavyweight championship belts looks to stop the ascension of the sport’s newest rising star.

“I’m very excited to face an up-and-coming fighter such as Cain Velasquez,” Nogueira said. “I’m looking to get right back in the title picture. It will be interesting coming off that great win against a legend such as Randy Couture to now face a fighter who’s at the beginning of a promising career and who’s looking for that same success.”

Fresh off his dominating TKO victory against respected contender Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 in October, Cain Velasquez (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) remains perfect in the UFC and has inched that much closer to a UFC heavyweight title shot. With only one fight going the distance, a unanimous decision victory over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99, the former two-time NCAA All-American wrestler from Arizona State has finished each of his other UFC opponents within two rounds. And as the owner of a professional MMA record of 7-0, it’s clear that there are very few heavyweights that can match Velasquez’s quickness or stop his takedowns.

“I am excited to fight a legend like Nogueira. He’s one of the fighters I watched growing up and admired – he’s definitely one of the greats, and a win over him is what I need to set me up for my shot at the title,” said Velasquez. “I have a lot respect for Noguiera and look forward to facing him in the Octagon.”

Ready to get his UFC light heavyweight title back, Rashad Evans (fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) has notched wins over some big names in the division, including consecutive knockout victories over Chuck Liddell and then champion Forrest Griffin. The Niagara Falls, New York native and former Michigan State University wrestler has won 18 of his 20 pro fights, including a draw against former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. A skilled grappler that has tremendous knockout power, Evans will need all of his well-rounded abilities when he takes on Thiago Silva, the man who knocked out his teammate and training partner Keith Jardine.

“Thiago’s a hard puncher and a very good fighter, and I respect him,” said Evans. “But I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to get a little payback for Keith on January 2nd. This is gonna be a great fight for the fans, but I think I’ve got too many tools for Silva to deal with.”

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that can get the knockout as easy as the tap out, Thiago Silva (fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) has won 14 of his first 15 pro fights. His 95 second KO victory over Jardine at UFC 102 was his fifth win in the UFC, with four coming via KO/TKO and one by submission. The 26-year-old has put away his opponents within two rounds in all of his UFC wins and he looks to throw his name in the UFC title contention hat with a win over former world titleholder Rashad Evans.

“Rashad Evans is a former UFC champion and one of the best light heavyweights in the world,” said Silva. “But he’s never faced a fighter like me, and once I hit him, I have no doubt that a victory is going to follow for me soon after.”

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com, UFCJapan.jp or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

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