Victory Fighting Championship announces lineup for VFC 55 in Topeka, KS
Victory Fighting Championship sets roster for VFC 55 in Topeka
Finale of #3Shows30Days campaign live December 23rd on UFC FIGHT PASS®
Jake “The Librarian” Lindsey vs Dakota Cochrane – Five-Round Main Event Rematch
Daniel “Big Kansas” Gallemore vs. Derek “Marshmallow” Bohi – VFC Heavyweight Title
Trey Ogden vs. Josh Pfeifer – Lightweight
Yazan Hajeh vs. Alex McGowan – Featherweight
Kenny Licea vs. Gary Westphal – Lightweight
Joey Diehl vs. Kevin Gray – Flyweight
Darius Lando vs. Rob Mitchell – Featherweight
A highly anticipated rematch and a heavyweight title fight highlight the lineup slated for Victory Fighting Championship’s VFC 55 which will take place on Friday, December 23rd at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas, and live on UFC FIGHT PASS®.
The event not only wraps up the 2016 schedule for Victory Fighting Championship, it also puts the finishing touches on the highly successful #3Shows30Days campaign which put VFC in the spotlight with live events in Waterloo, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Topeka, Kansas all within one month. VFC 54 takes place this Friday in Omaha.
Topping the marquee is a rematch VFC fans have been waiting for as former lightweight champion Jake “The Librarian” Lindsey (11-4) takes on rival Dakota Cochrane (25-10) in a five-round welterweight clash. VFC 55’s co-main event sees the heavyweight title at stake as reigning champ Daniel “Big Kansas” Gallemore (5-3) puts his belt on the line against challenger Derek “Marshmallow” Bohi (8-4).
Lindsey, who hails from Manhattan, Kansas, will enjoy some home-town advantage in the return matchup against Cochrane, and he’ll be looking to avenge the loss he suffered at VFC 47 back in January. Lindsey captured the lightweight title at VFC 50 with a third-round TKO over Zak Bucia. Entering his 10th bout inside the VFC cage, Lindsey has registered 10 finishes in his 11 career victories including six by knockout.
Since his third-round submission victory via guillotine choke over Lindsey, Cochrane has been extremely active and has won three straight bouts. A former college track standout at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Cochrane has notched notable career wins over Jamie Varner, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, and Efrain Escudero. To date, Cochrane boasts a 6-2 record under the Victory FC banner, highlighted by two first-round stoppages – a knockout of Carey Vanier at VFC 40 and a submission over Sean Huffman at Fight Night Harrah’s 3 – along with a second-round tapout scored against Jason Witt at VFC 52.
Lindsey had been set for an attempt to regain his lightweight title at VFC 55, but original opponent Mandel Nallo, the undefeated Tristar Montreal rising talent, was forced out of the fight due to an injury.
In the heavyweight tussle, the 6-foot-5 Gallemore, who hails from Topeka, Kansas, has notched four knockouts but his submission victory is perhaps his most notable success as he tapped Abe Wagner in only 1:37 at VFC 50.
Bohi, who fights out of Kansas City, Missouri, has won three of his four outings and needed just over a total of six minutes to accomplish that feat. Six of his eight wins have come inside the first round.
Six other fights are slated for the main card including a lightweight encounter between Trey Ogden (6-1) and Josh Pfeifer (5-2).
Ogden, who fights out of Kansas City, Missouri, rides a four-fight winning streak into the bout with three of those verdicts coming via submission. Meanwhile, Pfeifer is a product of Victory’s Fight Night developmental system where he has won four of his last five outings. Pfeifer’s current run of success is punctuated by three first-round submission wins and needing only 1:44 to tap out Ramon Barber at VFC Fight Night Junction City 7.
Lightweight Gary Westphal (2-2) will try to make the home-town fans happy as the Topeka product goes for a third consecutive win against Kenny Licea (3-1) of Emporia, Kansas. Westphal’s back-to-back victories include a 58-second TKO finish back in June, while Licea’s three wins have all come inside the opening round.
A pair of experienced flyweights will wage battle as Topeka’s own Kevin Gray (7-3) goes up against Joey Diehl (11-8) of Crystal Lake, Illinois. And in an opening featherweight matchup, Topeka’s Rob Mitchell, who needed only 33 seconds to win his pro debut via rear-naked choke back in August, meets debuting Hawaiian Darius Lando.
Bernard Thomas (3-1) of Kansas City, Missouri, is set for a lightweight clash with his opponent to be announced.
VFC 55 airs live on UFC FIGHT PASS®. UFC FIGHT PASS is available on: personal computers, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Sony TVs with Android TV and Roku devices. Ticket information is available at www.victoryfighter.com.
