Lineup complete for Victory Fighting Championship’s VFC 53 in Iowa
Lineup complete for Victory Fighting Championship’s VFC 53 in Iowa
First of VFC’s #3Shows30Days blitz begins November 23rd on UFC FIGHT PASS®
Victory Fighting Championship is excited to unveil is entire lineup for VFC 53: Rhodes vs. Stallings which takes place on Wednesday, November 23rd at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
As previously announced, the card is topped by a clash for the middleweight title as reigning champion Mike “Biggie” Rhodes (10-4) puts the belt on the line in his home town against Ron “The Choir Boy” Stallings (14-8, 1 NC). In the co-main event, veteran bantamweight Jeff “Big Frog” Curran (37-17) takes on rising star Raufeon Stots (6-0).
A featured bout just added to the card is a showdown for Waterloo bragging rights as cross-town rivals Mike “Plazilla” Plazola (12-5) takes on Nick Bartels (4-1) in a lightweight contest.
Plazola has won seven of his last nine outings including a first-round knockout of Anthony Baccam at VFC 51. The 31-year-old former Iowa Challenge champion has mustered six first-round stoppages during his career. An up-and-coming talent, the 23-year-old Bartels has posted all four of his wins in the opening round with two coming in under 30 seconds. Bartels notched a first-round submission via rear-naked choke over Eddie Perez Bruno at VFC: Fight Night Waterloo back in May.
Rakim Cleveland (15-8-1), who is coming off the title fight loss to Rhodes at VFC 51, will look to get back in the title picture when he takes on Calley Kruger (6-3) in a catchweight bout at 195 lbs. Cleveland, who hails from Des Moines, Iowa, won four in a row before submitting to a second-round guillotine choke against Rhodes. He has since bounced back with a first-round submission win of his own against BJ Lacy. A well-seasoned Parkersburg, Iowa, product, Kruger will be returning to action for the first time since 2012 when he left off with two straight wins, both coming via first-round submissions.
In a bantamweight battle, Chris Dunn (12-8) of Des Moines, Iowa, takes on Waterloo’s Adem Mujakic (7-9). Dunn has been victorious in three of his last four fights and scored a second-round TKO over Justin Morrison at VFC 48. Mujakic has had a rough go over the course of his last six outings, but he has registered three first-round submission wins during his career.
Heavyweights will help get the action rolling at VFC 53 when Nashua, Iowa’s Zach Rosol (3-1) squares off against Kyle Noblitt (2-1) from Branson, Missouri. Rosol will ride a two-fight winning streak into the bout including a tapout via rear-naked choke verdict over Patrick Martin at VFC: Fight Night Waterloo. Both of Noblitt’s wins have come inside the opening round.
Kicking things off on November 23rd will be a welterweight tussle that pits Waterloo’s Clarence Jordan against Milwaukee product R’Mandel Cameron. Both fighters sport 7-3 records and will be looking to get on a winning path after coming up short in recent decision losses.
VFC 53 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.
Victory Fighting Championship’s #3Shows30Days campaign continues on December 9th in Omaha, Nebraska, before wrapping up on December 23rd in Topeka, Kansas.
Ticket information for all three events is available at www.victoryfighter.com.
