Elite XC recently revealed two fights for its next Sho XC event at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., on September 26.
Undefeated heavyweight prospect Shane Del Rosario (4-0) will face former Syracuse Orange linebacker Jon Murphy (4-3) and welterweights Matt Makowski (3-0) and Erik "Bad" Apple (9-1) will also face off.
This will be Del Rosario's third appearance on a Sho XC card. He has wins over Analu Brash and Amedio Viola in his prior matches. Del Rosario doubles as a professional Muay Thai fighter as well, boasting a (5-1) record with five knockouts.
Jon Murphy is a step up in competition for Del Rosario, but Murphy has shown in previous fights he has trouble with big, strong and aggressive strikers (see losses to Houston Alexander and Brett Rogers). If Del Rosario's Muay Thai skills are as good as advertised, this could be a nice "feather-in-your-hat" type win for him in front of a Showtime audience.
Makowski is the guy who made Nick Serra quit in Newark, N.J., back at the at the CBS May 31 show. He's a tall, athletic guy with a very nice all around game. He's a very good prospect for Elite XC and deserves the airtime on the Challenger Series.
His opponent, Erik Apple, isn't too shabby, either.
He has been out of action for nearly a year and a half after suffering the first loss of his career to Brock Larson at WEC 26 in March of 2007. Before that he had won all nine of his pro fights, ending five by submission and three by technical knockout.
This will be the eighth Sho XC Challenger Series event since Elite XC's inception in 2007. Other notable matches that have taken place under the banner include KJ Noons vs. Edson Berto, Victor Valenzuela vs. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Eddie Alvarez vs. Ross Ebanez, Paul "Semtex" Daley vs. Sam Morgan and Poai Suganuma vs. Jared Hamman I & II.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more fight card updates.
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