(PRESS RELEASE) -- Hunter "The Future'' Worsham, a member of the United States Army's 101st Airborne and son of mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneer Cal Worsham, will square off with Nashville resident Zach Underwood in a middleweight (185 pounds) preliminary bout at the STRIKEFORCE Nashville: Henderson vs. Shields mixed martial arts (MMA) affair at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, April 17.
"It is an honor to be fighting on this show. The fact that Dan Henderson is headlining (against STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion Jake Shields) is an honor in itself," said the 6 foot 1 inch Worsham. "But I believe this is the level I should be at. STRIKEFORCE is where I want to be. They're right in my backyard.''
A four-year high school wrestler, Worsham competed for Cordova High in Rancho Cordova, Calif. for three years and, in his senior year, for Folsom High in Folsom.
"I wrestled throughout high school, but I'd been into cage fighting since I was 13,'' said Worsham, who's father fought in some of the earliest UFC events in the mid-1990's and owned a gym with MMA legend Don Frye. Hunter started doing MMA when he was 17 years old and, before the elder Worsham retired, father and son fought on the same card, each winning by knockout on Aug. 4, 2007.
Worsham, who entered the Army on Sept. 3, 2008, trains three times a day when he is not in the field or is off work.
"This fight isn't a one-time thing. It's a way of life for me (outside of the Army). In school, I didn't know what I wanted to do, but fighting came naturally. I wasn't in a lot of street fights but, with red hair and glasses, I got picked on a lot.''
The bullying ceased almost immediately after a conversation with his father.
"When I told my Dad, he said to 'never let another kid touch me again.' That's when I started to really train hard. Besides, I'd figured why fight in school or on the streets when I could just go do it and look good in front of a crowd, while making some money and being honest about it.
"I wouldn't be the fighter I am today without my Dad, who won five of seven title fights and fought a lot of the better guys that others wouldn't. However good I am in this sport is because of him.''
Worsham turned pro in April 2007 and fought four times that year. Due in large part to his stint in the service, this will be just his third start in two and a half years and second since donning the army green.
Worsham won his second MMA belt in his last outing when he captured the Gladiator Challenge light heavyweight (205 pounds) title on March 6 with a 2:43, first-round submission (armbar) over Phillip Brown. He captured the Gladiator Challenge 170-pound crown with a crowd-pleasing, five-round unanimous decision over Niko Medina on Aug. 13, 2008.
Worsham hasn't heard officially but he expects to be deployed shortly after the fight on April 17.
"It has all worked out for the best,'' he said. "Everything I do, serving in the Army, fighting in MMA, is for my wife and our 16-month-old. It is definitely tough leaving them behind, but the upside, fighting on this STRIKEFORCE card, or any other, is all for them."
The Worsham-Underwood clash is one of 10 bouts slated for STRIKEFORCE Nashville: Henderson vs. Shields. Tickets are on sale at Bridgestone Arena ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com ) and STRIKEFORCE'S official website (www.strikeforce.com ).
The event will air live on the CBS Television Network. In televised STRIKEFORCE world title fights, legendary MMA superstar and two-time U.S. Olympic wrestling competitor Henderson (25-7) will challenge STRIKEFORCE World Middleweight (185 pounds) Champion Shields (24-4-1), who has won 13 straight dating to December 2004, STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) Champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) will defend his crown against undefeated MMA star and two-time NCAA All-American wrestling star "King Mo" Lawal (6-0) and STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez (17-2) will risk his belt against his DREAM champion Shinya Aoki (23-4).
In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the
premium cable television network. The promotion made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the "Fedor vs. Rogers" mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on Saturday, Nov. 7, and generated 5.46 million viewers for the main event between the world's No. 1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, and superstar Brett "The Grim" Rogers.
About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (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.