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STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 18 PRELIMINARY CARD PREVIEW

The Strikeforce Challengers Series will be making its sophomore effort at The Pearl At The Palms Casino Resort this Friday Night. Of course, the main event will feature UFC veteran and UFC Ultimate Fighter alumni Jorge Gurgel in action. However, the preliminary card has some good up and coming talent on it, including a big light heavyweight battle.

Kicking off the action is a lightweight division fight as Sterling Ford (13-4-0) squares off with Milton “Miltinho” Vieira (12-7-1). Sterling Ford is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated Brian McLaughlin at Strikeforce Challengers 17. Milton Vieira enters the fight riding a two fight winning streak, with both victories coming in the Bitetti Combat promotion. This encounter should be mostly fought on the ground, which is where Sterling Ford will pick up another victory.

The next fight takes place in the welterweight division as Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis (12-3-1) goes into battle against Chad “The Boss” Leonhardt (8-2-0). Mike Bronzoulis is currently winless in Strikeforce competition, having suffered a defeat to Todd Moore in June. Chad Leonhardt enters the fight riding a two fight winning streak, with his most recent win coming in the Bellator Fighting Championships. There should be a plethora of strikes thrown in this encounter, but I see Chad Leonhardt earning the victory.

We return to the welterweight battle for our next fight as Nah-Shon Burrell (6-1-0) takes on Lukasz Les (7-2-0). Nah-Shon Burrell is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated Joe Ray at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. Lukasz Les enters the fight riding a five fight winning streak, with two of those wins coming in the Cage Warriors promotion. This is going to be that classic striker versus grappler encounter, but it will be the grappler in Lukasz Les earning the victory.

Headlining this portion of the card is a light heavyweight division fight as Keith “KO Kid” Berry (10-7-0) faces Gian Villante (7-3-0). Keith Berry enters this fight riding a two fight losing streak, with one of those losses coming to Bellator veteran Brett Cooper. Gian Villante is another fighter coming into the fight with a two fight losing streak, with both losses coming in Strikeforce. This fight is essentially a battle to avoid the pink slip and it will be the fighter known as Gian Villante doing so.

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