Xtreme Fighting Championships has spent the 2012 calendar year touring the Southeast and will return to Knoxville for the 20th event of the promotion’s history. After making a debut in Charlotte, XFC returns to Tennessee showcasing some of the regions top talent, as well as a number of recently signed fighters. The co-main event for the evening will feature two of Tennessee’s most promising Lightweights when XFC breakout star Scott “Hot Sauce” Holtzman takes on Chris Coggins.
XFC has been adding talent to each of its weight classes here in 2012 and four of the new additions, including Holtzman, are scheduled to appear on the Knoxville “High Octane” card live on AXStv. As it has become standard for XFC events, the card will feature some of the top local talent, a female bout, and an XFC Open Fighter Tryout winner debut as well.
XFC 20 will feature a Main Event between Eric Reynolds and a yet to be named opponent. Reynolds, who has agreed to fight Undefeated XFC star Nick Newell for the XFC Lightweight Title in December has decided to risk the opportunity and further show the XFC fans why he deserves to be a belt holder for the promotion. Reynolds, now 15-5, has recently beaten a World Class grappler in Jonatas Novaes and a World Class striker in Luciano Dos Santos. With a win at XFC 20 he will be (3-0) in the XFC and ready to step in to shutter the undefeated limelight that Newell is currently boasting.
In the Co-Main Event, two of Tennessee’s top fighters will face off to determine who the State’s number one Lightweight is. Chris Coggins is the only fighter to ever make it past the first round with “Notorious” Nick Newell and has beaten most of Tennessee’s top Lightweights. Coggins has since picked up a win over (9-1) Austin Lyons, and will be aiming for a (2-1) record within the XFC. Scott “Hot Sauce” Holtzman will make up the other half of the Co-Main Event. Holtzman has gone (2-0) as a pro, with both fights taking place in the XFC cage, and finishing them in devastating fashion. Coggins will have the experience advantage in this match-up, but according to Holtzman that will be his only advantage. Holtzman has proven he is a very well rounded fighter and now gets the most difficult challenge of his young career live on AXStv.
XFC has proven to be one of the leading organizations for WMMA and XFC 20 will feature another great match-up between 2012 signee Sophia Bagherdai and opponent Sarah Maloy. Both Maloy and Bagherdai are stepping up after an appearance with Invicta FC. Bagherdai will be looking to bounce back from a close decision loss at IFC1, while Maloy attempts to put together a win streak for the first time since 2010. Both ladies are strong stand up fighters which will make for an exciting fight for XFC fans. The twitter talk has already begun between these two and this fight is surely going to be entertaining for all those in attendance and tuned in!
Shah Bobonis will return the XFC for the first time since 2009. The outspoken Bantamweight recently signed a long term contract with the XFC and didn’t hesitate to begin the war of words questioning why his opponent, Cornelius Godfrey would risk his perfect pro record against a much more experienced fighter. Bobonis has more than double the amount of wins as Godfrey and plans to set the stage for a 2013 title run with a another win at XFC 20. Godfrey is considered one of the region’s top Bantamweights fighting out of West Virgina, and local MMA pundits have already labeled this match up as a possible Fight of the Night contender. The fireworks will fly when these two step into the cage live on AXStv and we’re sure you won’t be anything less than impressed with the growing XFC Bantamweight division.
The 2012 XFC Open Fighter Tryout winner Joby Sanchez now has an opponent for his first fight with the promotion. After winning the Spring OFT in Connecticut, the Bantamweight out of New Mexico will be looking to send a message to the rest of the 135lb division with a win in his first XFC fight. Standing in the way of a fourth straight win will be Team Oxendine fighter Josh Ward. Oxendine fighters have proven to be some of the best in the Tennessee area and Ward is sure to be a worthy test for Sanchez in his debut.
After a successful pro debut at XFC 18, Nate “The Train” Landwehr returns to the XFC cage to take on Adam Townsend in the opening bout of XFC 20. With both fighters carrying a 1-0 record and looking to remain unbeaten, this bout is the talk of the state; local fans labeling it “East vs West”. Landwehr showed enormous potential in his first XFC outing and another successful night could have “The Train” on track to an XFC contract. Townsend, who will be making his XFC debut, is on a 9-fight win streak dating back to January of 2011 making him an odds-maker’s favorite when the two Featherweights face off in September. Both fighters agree one thing is certain about this fight, it won’t make it to the judges.
XFC 20: High Octane takes place from the Knoxville Civic Auditorium on September 28. Local MMA fans will also see a Welterweight matchup between two of the area’s top 170lb fighters as Anthony Lemon and Drew Kennedy face off on the AXStv televised portion of the event, along with several undercard bouts featuring the regions best. XFC 20 is presented by ICRealTime Security Solutions and will be televised live starting at 9PM. For more information go to www.OfficialXFC.com and follow the promotion daily on Facebook and Twitter ‘@OfficialXFC’.
