Rhadi Ferguson vs. Ion Cherdivara added to Strikeforce Challengers 13 by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Dec 20, 2010 at 11:20 am ET This content is protected Four-time judo national champion and 2004 U.S. Olympian Rhadi Ferguson (2-0 MMA, 0-0 SF) meets fellow undefeated light heavyweight Ion Cherdivara (1-0 MMA, 0-0 SF) next month at Strikeforce Challengers 13. Officials today announced the fight. Strikeforce Challengers 13 takes place Jan. 7 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Tennessee. The main card, including Ferguson vs. Cherdivara, airs on Showtime. Both Ferguson and Cherdivara make their promotional debuts. Dr. Ferguson, who owns a Ph.D. in education (as well as an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering), is a longtime martial artist who began judo as a 7 year old. In addition to that black belt, he also owns one in Brazilian jiu jitsu. The cousin of former EliteXC/UFC fighter Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Rhadi Ferguson made his pro MMA debut in August and his since posted a seven-second TKO win over Darryell Perry and an 81-second TKO victory over Jeremy Boczulak. Both opponents were making their pro debuts. "I don't think MMA is ever a natural transition," Ferguson said. "I did judo. I did BJJ. I'm a strength-and-conditioning coach and a judo coach for some top MMA fighters. After training these guys for a while, the sport caught me a little bit. I'm 35, but I feel like I still have some stuff in the tank. I'm satisfied with my athletic career, but I wouldn't mind putting the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title on my mantel." Cherdivara, a member of Brazilian Top Team Canada in Montreal, also was a former member of the Moldovan national wrestling team. He made his pro MMA debut in March and scored a first-round TKO win over Aaron Dupuis, but he's struggled to find willing opponents on the regional circuit. The latest Strikeforce Challengers 13 card includes: MAIN CARD Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyron Woodley Devin Cole vs. Daniel Cormier Ron "Abongo" Humphrey vs. Ovince St. Preux Julia Budd vs. Amanda Nunes Ion Cherdivara vs. Rhadi Ferguson PRELIMINARY CARD Nate Coy vs. Nate Moore Not sure what weight this is going to be at but id imagine 205. Rhadi is one hella strong dude.
SF have such **** marketing. Coker really needs to address that. I'm a hardcore fan and have to go out of my way to find out what is on, who is fighting etc
True, his striking looks awful. Powerful hands, but terrible technique, especially defensively. He is a very skilled grappler, though. Should be interesting.
Did anyone note he is Kimbo's cousin. How can Kimbo have such poor grappling when his cousin is a black belt in judo and bjj!!!
I saw the fight and thought he looked pretty good out there. After the match he referred to himself as a neophyte in the MMA game (beginner) and wants to keep improving. I agree about Strikeforc'e marketing needign to improve. You would think they would have some better exposure for themselves the week leading up to the fight, but I'm sure the margins are already slim enough for free events like this one. They have already hit a home run with the heavyweight tournament with all the word of mouth buzz surrounding that event.
