April 7, 2011 – Less than two days left until Xtreme Knockout (XKO) returns to the Gym in Arlington for their 10th event.
Co-headlined by two tittle fights at bantamweight and lightweight along with the debut of former-UFC fighter Jake Rosholt, XKO 10 will feature many of the top MMA fighters from the DFW Metroplex along with some exciting fighters from Corpus Christie and other areas.
According to promoter Thomas Bussey, XKO 10 may be their best event ever.
“Every event we feel is going to top the last. We are learning about the fighters, their fighting styles which make for better matchmaking and better fights. We have many returning fighters and most of them have fought in XKO multiple times. We feel with 2 title fights and UFC standout Jake Rosholt versus MMA veteran Brandon McDowell on the card this will be our biggest event. It is a very exciting line-up from top to bottom.”
Taking a deeper look at the card, Bussey may just be right.
In the first of two title fights, long-time Texas fight veteran Douglas Frey will be taking on twenty-year-old upstart Steven “Ocho” Peterson for the XKO bantamweight championship belt. Peterson is coming off a serious TKO over Quaint Kempf at XKO 9 while Frey is coming off a quick win of his own at the same event, TKO’ing Randy Villareal in around a minute. Judging by those performances, fans could be in for fireworks in this one.
Also fighting for a title that that night will be Corpus Christie’s Chris Pecero, who’ll be taking on defending champion Chris Jones, who won the 155 belt back at XKO 8 over a tough Roy Spoon via triangle choke. These guys know each other dating back to Ultimate Fighter tryouts are set to put on a show to see who the Ultimate Fighter is on Saturday night for the XKO belt.
The rest of the card also features some other exciting fighters along with the title contenders and UFC fighter Jake Rosholt, who is taking on 80+ fight Texas veteran Brandon McDowell.
See below for the full card and some final fight week thoughts from Saturday’s combatants.
Full Card for Xtreme Knockouts XKO 10
- 155lb Title Bout – Chris Jones (Champion, 5-1) vs Chris Pecero (3-1)
- 135lb Title Bout – Douglas Frey (9-4, undefeated in XKO) vs Steven Peterson (3-1)
- 185lb – Jake Rosholt (8-3, UFC Veteran) vs Brandon Mcdowell (32-29)
- 130lb – Frank Ortega (4-4) vs Alex Russ (2-0)
- 135lb – Randy Villarreal (4-3) vs Mike Sierra (3-3)
- 170lb – Roy Spoon (5-3) vs Brandon Smith (4-0)
- 155lb – Faez Miuraki (0-0) vs Elijah Fleites (0-0)
- 155lb – Gabe Guerrero (1-3) vs Burt McDonald (1-0)
- 185lb – JJ Holmes (1-0) vs Hayward Charles (0-0)
- 153lb – Moises Diaz (1-3) vs Chris Sellers (0-1)
I asked these fighters, “How do you feel this week heading into your XKO fight this Saturday?”
Best I’ve ever felt wish I trained like this going into my last fight. Can’t wait to get in there and put these honky biscuits on em lol… I got something to prove to myself going into this fight. I plan on doing just that. – Roy Spoon
I feel great… Energized and full of purpose… This is the best I’ve ever felt going into a fight… I have had an amazing camp and I’m proud to be representing Dallas. – Chris Jones
I feel great for the fight this weekend! Everything is going according to the plan… My weight is perfect… It feels like a good week to be going professional! This is the 1st major step in my upcoming career! I’m extremely excited! – Hayward Charles
Like JJ Holmes – JJ Holmes
I feel ready man, mentally and physically! My hard training is winding down and now I’m just getting in the zone mentally for Saturday night. It’s going to be bloody… And glorious! Let me know if you have any other questions – Randy Villarreal
I’m ready to go. The final preparations are being made. All of my energy is zero-ing in on the task at hand. Let’s rock ‘n roll. – Chris Pecero
One word: confident. – Douglas Frey
I’m at the top of my game, I plan on dominating every aspect of this fight and I will be going home with that belt. – Steven Ocho Peterson
TXMMA’s In-Depth Coverage of April 9th’s XKO 10 Event!
- Our Conversation with Promoter Thomas Bussey – here
- MMA Veteran Brandon McDowell Dialed in for XKO 10 – here
- On the Warpath with Alex Russ; Fighting this Saturday at XKO 10! – here
- Going for Broke with Roy Spoon, Ready for War against Brandon Smith – here
- Chris Pecero – Ready for his title shot at XKO 10! – here
- XKO Lightweight Champion Chris Jones Ready to Defend Against Chris Pecero on April 9th! – here
- Not Your Average 20 Year Old – Steven “Ocho” Peterson Set to Take On Doug Frey for XKO Bantamweight Title! – here
- Introducing Hayward “The Hybrid” Charles; Set to Make XKO/MMA Debut Against J.J. Holmes on April 9th! – here
- Brandon “The Wolf” Smith Looking to Stay on Top at 170lbs – here
- One-on-One with JJ Holmes; Set for XKO Return April 9th Against Hayward Charles! – here
- An In-Depth Look with Douglas Frey; Preparing for a Bantamweight Showdown with Steven Peterson at XKO 10! – here