Both fights will be contested on the live SHOWTIME® televised portion of the fight card. In the main event, unbeaten lightweight (155-pound limit) sensation Billy Evangelista (9-0) will battle with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and electrifying brawler Jorge Gurgel (13-5). The live SHOWTIME telecast, which will include as many as five bouts, will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Both Del Rosario and Cash are California boys coming from Irvine and Fresno, respectively. Both are also coming off solid and quick first-round knockouts in their last fights. On Sept. 26, Del Rosario knocked out Lloyd Marshbanks in just 34 seconds at the M-1 Challenge in Rostov, Russia, for his seventh first-round KO in eight fights. In February, Cash knocked out Steve Gavin after just 26 seconds in the first round.

“We’re both big guys that just like to come out swinging,” said Del Rosario, who was a high school basketball star. “It could be a quick ending for either guy on Nov. 6.”

The southpaw Del Rosario said he is feeling good physically after suffering a broken left thumb and torn ligaments a year ago in September. The injury kept him out of January’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” event. “It was tough sitting on the sidelines and having to watch for eight months,” Del Rosario said. “But it’s only made me stronger and hungrier to come back.”

He said he didn’t mind the travel to Russia. “I actually like it,” he said. “It gets you more pumped up when you’re away from home and seeing new things.”

“I’m so stoked to be fighting on a STRIKEFORCE card on SHOWTIME,” said Cash.  “I expect to see a guy across the cage who wants to fight. I’m a brawler and I want to finish this fight. He may have a little more experience than me but I’m a little hungrier.

Rockhold is a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., and a member of Team AKA, one of the country’s most fearsome fight squads.  Among his teammates are STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and MMA superstars Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch.

In his last effort, Rockhold made quick work of highly touted Cory “The One” Devela at a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event in Kent, Wash., back in June. The victory over Devela was Rockhold’s fourth straight and his third by way of submission.

Taking up judo as an adolescent, he went on to excel in high school wrestling competition, Rockhold captured first place in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and eventually reaching the California State Championships. Toward the end of his high school career, though, Rockhold began to gravitate towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the combat art that utilizes choke holds and joint locks to finish opponents.

Just three years into his professional mixed martial arts career, Jesse Taylor has experienced a roller coaster ride while trying to beat back his inner demons and take advantage of the talent he was born with. He is attempting to notch his eighth consecutive win and continue the upswing that he set in motion after becoming one of the sport’s most infamous characters courtesy of reality television.

A former NCAA Division I wrestling star for Cal State Fullerton, Taylor ranked as high as number three in the Pac-10 conference before deciding to try his hand at MMA.  A trip to with the star-studded, Oregon based fight squad Team Quest eventually led Taylor to a successful audition for Spike TV’s seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show.

Taylor’s success continued on the series as the California native won all three of his elimination bouts to secure a place in the season finale.  Before his scheduled appearance in the live Spike TV championship, Taylor’s reckless behavior in Las Vegas one night before the event cost him his hard-earned spot and the opportunity to launch his career into the next stratosphere.

Since the incident, Taylor has claimed that he has matured and re-dedicated himself to becoming a fighting champion.  Thus far, he has backed up his words, stopping Drew “The Master” Fickett in the first round (1:42) of action on October 2, 2008 and competing successfully nearly every month since January of this year.

On Aug. 15, Taylor suffered his first defeat after seven consecutive wins, losing to former International Fight League (IFL) champion, Jay Hieron at STRIKEFORCE:  Carano vs Cyborg at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion. Also on Nov. 6, former Fresno State wrestling star and Fresno native Casey “The Underdog” Olson (11-3) will return to action in the cage in a lightweight matchup against an opponent to be determined.

Tickets for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event are on sale at the Save Mart Center box office and select Save Mart Supermarkets as well as at 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/> ). Save Mart Center doors will open for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at 5:15 p.m. PT. The first live, non-televised, preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.

STRIKEFORCE Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series is designed to provide today’s top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised 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 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 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.

He had at least seven television stations on hand to document this event. Also on hand was John Balik, the owner of IronMan Magazine, who by the way is one of the big Sponsors of this great event. Reg Lewis was the recepient of the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame award. Chet Yorton also made an appearance for this show and he also was the recipient for the July 4 Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award. One really has to physicaly be there to get the real feel and energy of how great this event is. It has the best backdrop that any show could wish for.

You’ve got the boardwalk, which on any given Saturday, Sunday or holiday has thousands walking up and down from Santa Monica to Venice. You have the sun, the surf and all types of entertainmet all along the boardwalk. I would hope that anyone visiting Los Angeles, especially if it is on a summer holiday such as Memorial Day, July 4 or Labor Day, you have got to visit Venice Muscle Beach. You will find it a great experience. See you at the next Muscle Beach Show.

2009 Muscle Beach Championships (Results)

MEN

Heavyweight - Peter Jablonski

Light-Heavyweight – Ramsey Abdin

Lightweight – Bishoy Hanna

Masters Over 40 – Thorsten Vosgerau

Masters Over 50 – Ramsey Abdin

Masters Over 60 – Jerry Burton

Middleweight – Guillermo Escalante

Novice Heavyweight – Shawn Zimpfer

Novice Light-Heavyweight – Ryan Swasey

Novice Lightweight – Bishoy Hanna

Novice Middleweight – Kinshasa Moffitt

Overall Novice – Bishoy Hanna

Overall Winner – Peter Jablonski

Teen – Boston Loyd

WOMEN

Heavyweight – Victoria Dominquez

Lightweight – Jackie Lee

Masters – Jutta Vosgerau

Overall Winner – Victoria Dominquez

FIGURE

Masters Over 35 – Cheryl Stoneham

Masters Over 45 – Cheryl Stoneham

Medium – Andrea Mandella

Novice Medium – Kelly Grossman

Novice Short – Taylor Hansen

Overall Novice – Taylor Hansen

Short – Sonjya Rossow

Overall Winner – Andrea Mandella

MIXED

Mixed Pairs – Jutta Vosgerau, Thorsten Vosgerau

BIKINI

Medium – Victoria Kirsanova

Short – Carolyn Wang

Tall – Victoria Hodgkins

Overall Winner – Victoria Kirsanova

For information on Bill Grant’s Old School Training DVD and Creatine Cocktail supplement, please visit www.billgrant.net

(Photo: MuscleSport Mag staff writers Bill Grant and Brenda Kelly by “The Pit.”)

Mark Alvisi won both the heavyweight and overall titles, Daryl Gee the middleweight and Gregori Atoyan the super heavyweight and were awarded their ticket to a future payday at the professional level in the IFBB.

Coming close but having to wait until another day were Tamer El-Guindy and Branden Ray, who finished first and second in the light heavyweights, respectively.

What makes this a difficult competition is that there are seven classes (super heavyweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight) and only three pro cards are awarded. How the judges determine who should receive the nod and who misses out is something that is debated after every one of these major amateur shows.

Sean Allen, who came into the show confident that he could improve on his ninth place finish from a year ago, finished in the exact spot. The super heavyweight viewed anything higher would have been a step in the righty direction and now has to go for it at the North Americans.

OTHER PRO CARDS EARNED AT USAs

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING – Akila Pervis, Angie Salvagno

FIGURE – Alkane Nigro-Ismeal, Listy Allen, Candice Houston, Emily Nicholson, Jennifer Woodruff, Taylor Waldrop

BIKINI – Amanda Latona, Michele D’Angona, Michelle Gullet, Kristal Marshall, Jamie Baird, Monique Minton

When boxing fans are asked what was the greatest fight of all time, the majority of them will say ‘The Thrilla in Manilla’ without hesitation. The third and final match-up between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took place on October 1, 1975 in the Philippines and was even better than the first two battles between them.

After 14 exhausting rounds, Ali won by a TKO and the art of pugilism was never the same. Casual fans were hooked and a new generation of followers ensued.

This past Saturday night in Las Vegas, UFC 100 may have just helped the sport of mixed martial arts take that next step into the mainstream. The marquee bout was Brock Lesnar against Frank Mir, two names that are familiar outside of the inner circle.

Lesnar, a larger than life character who is a former WWE superstar, scored a TKO over Mir at 1:48 of the second round to become the undisputed UFC Heavyweight champion and unify the two belts that the combatants each had.

There were 11 fights total on the card and although many were extremely entertaining (such as the Yoshihiro Akiyama-Alan Belcher Middleweight bout, voted the Fight of the Night), the one that will be spoken about – possibly for years to come – will be the main event.

Since MMA first burst onto the sports scene with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993, it has grown immensely but still has more of a niche or cult following. The sport is not sanctioned in every state, with New York being a glaring hole. Many of the uninformed still consider it a ‘blood sport’ or ‘human cock fighting,’ part of the reason why MMA is still fighting to get the recognition it deserves.

Over the years, colorful fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell have become popular and recognizable even outside of the cage. While they have enjoyed success and held championships during their reign, Kimbo Slice may be even more recognizable in today’s pop culture even though he hasn’t done a thing.

All of that may have changed with the top league, UFC, having a barnburner with its pay-per-views hitting their century mark. Lesnar’s popularity may be at an all-time high, even though he is far from a crowd favorite. He added to that reputation by admittedly acting “unprofessional” following the win over Mir. Following what he called a “rip the dog” session from UFC head honcho Dana White, Lesnar apologized for his actions (and words) at a press conference.

There was a lot of bad blood between the two headed into the contest and some of that poured over in the heat of battle and the immediate aftermath. Mir defeated Lesnar in the former wrestler’s octagon debut at UFC 81.

While some may view the unsportsmanlike conduct by Lesnar as a detriment, the other side of the coin is that the entertainment factor comes through even more when real human emotion takes over. Picture yourself having another shot at the guy who got the best of you last time in the alley outside the bar. This time around you kick his ass. Talking a little trash is sure to follow so put yourself in Lesnar’s shoes for a moment before passing judgment.

BROCK LESNAR STATS

Age: 32

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 265 pounds

Reach: 81 inches

MMA Record: 4 wins, 1 loss (2 by knockout, 1 by submission)

WWF/WWE: 2002 through 2004

NFL: Minnesota Vikings (training camp, preseason), 2004

MMA Debut: 6/2/07, K-1 Grand Prix (win over Min Soo Kim, 1:08 1st round)

UFC Championship: 11/15/08, UFC 91 (2nd round TKO over Randy Couture)

Last time around, Doug Beadle of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was named the Men’s Open Heavyweight and Overall Winner. The last time we saw him on stage, Beadle finished ninth in the Light Heavyweight division at the 2007 Atlantic States. Prior to that, he was victorious at the 2001 NPC Northeast and at the 2001 Junior USA Championships Beadle finished 11th.

By competing again at 38 and gaining another victory, Beadle proved that staying the course can pay dividends in the end.

The Men’s Open results from last year’s Bill Grant Classic:

HEAVYWEIGHT

1- Doug Beadle

2- George Reels

3- Alex Frekey

4- Greg Borzilleri

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT

1- Welton Darmacemo

2- Jody Crouse

3- Dave Englehardt

4- Jamie Rivera

5- Ken Soucy

6- Todd Smith

7- John Vinkovics

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1- Luis Gomez

2- Michael Bricker

3- Harry Petaccio

4- Brett Giandomenico

5- Michael Jon Luciano

LIGHTWEIGHT

1- John Conte

2- Jose Troche

This is part of an exclusive series by MuscleSport Mag on the 2009 NPC Bill Grant Classic, for which we are one of the show’s official sponsors. The show will take place on Saturday, July 18 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

And you think that you have had a tough time meeting your goals. Down in Miami, Florida, Barbie Garrido had to take care of her four children while going to college to become a Registered Nurse. That would have been a lot of anyone’s plate, but Barbie is not just anyone.

After deciding to do personal training “on the side,” as she put it, she met her current husband, who gave her the support she needed to take it to the next level – competitive bodybuilding, something Garrido, 39, has had a passion for since her early days at Brodie’s Gym. “It was a hardcore gym full of sweaty men,” she remembered. “I saw no women so I questioned that for a while until I came across a picture of Juliette Berman and Rachel McLish and I wanted to be like them.”

Garrido set a precedent for herself by winning her first contest. “In March 2005, I got on stage for the first time at the Sunshine Classic and was amazed that I won the Over-30 class,” she said. “Since that moment, I fell in love with bodybuilding, with the stage, the lights, the screaming, the rush that took away the 16 weeks of agonizing torture in only two minutes.”

Before the year was completed, Garrido entered four more shows, taking first place in the Southern States Middleweight Over-30 and the South Florida Heavyweight Over-30 and the Overall, as well as finishing in second in the Open Heavyweight of the Miami Bodybuilding show.

Even when a good streak is going, at times there are bumps in the road. While training for the Southern States Open the following year, Garrido sustained a knee injury 10 weeks out. “That was a blow to me and I went into a depression,” remembered Garrido. “I still wasn’t ready in 2007 and couldn’t train my legs effectively.”

The turning point in Garrido’s career came in October of last year when she decided that it was time to kick it into gear. Her knee was feeling better and she contacted IFBB professional bodybuilder Dayana Cadeau to help train her for the 2008 Sunshine Classic. Garrido looked back on that and called it “the best decision of my life.”

Her routine consisted of a 6:00 AM wake up seven days a week before heading right into the gym to do one hour of cardio. She then returned home, ate breakfast, caught some sleep, hit the gym for workout number two, which consisted of weight training and another hour of cardio. “Nothing changed but my mood, my anger, my tiredness, my hunger,” said Garrido.

But it wasn’t all bad in this love/hate relationship. “What kept me on track was my willpower, dedication and the love for change,” Garrido said. “My goal, my victory over any obstacle – it was mine. I could taste it.”

When it came to the night of the show, Garrido couldn’t understand why she was feeling so apprehensive. “Butterflies in my stomach, but why?” Garrido thought back. “I’ve competed before. Why now? I was nervous, thirsty and hungry, but I did it.

“I got up there and proved that I was back for good.”

She certainly was and went home with a much-deserved Light Heavyweight Open, the Overall and Over-30 Class. Garrido may have been proud of these accomplishments, but won’t rest on her laurels. She has her eyes set on the 2009 National, what Garrido calls the “big show.”

“Now is the time to rock ‘n’ roll with the big girls, to go higher,” Garrido gladly said. “For all the female bodybuilders out there, for the people who said I couldn’t do it. I am what I am. I am a bodybuilder.”