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.
XFC Night of Champions Returns to Music City on Oct. 18th
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.
