"Strikeforce At The Mansion II” Premieres On NBC

SAN JOSE, Calif. —The hard-hitting middleweight (185 lb. limit) battle
between Terry Martin (17-6) and Cory “The One” Devela (9-2) will
highlight the
premiere of Strikeforce’s second affair at Hugh Hefner’s world-famous
Playboy
Mansion on NBC tonight.
The all-new “Strikeforce on NBC” episode will also include a feature
segment on Martin, one of mixed martial arts’ (MMA) most compelling
stories. A
former gang member, he survived five gun-shot wounds that nearly took his
life
at age 15 on the streets of his native Chicago, Illinois.
Martin has since earned a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois
University and pursued a dual career in professional boxing and MMA. At
28 years old,
he is also a candidate for a master’s degree in psychology.
Devela’s appearance at the Playboy Mansion marked his second start for
Strikeforce. During the promotion’s debut in Tacoma, Washington on
February 23rd,
the 24-year-old protégé of MMA superstar, Dennis “Superman” Hallman,
stopped Joe “Diesel” Riggs with a hard throw in the first round that
forced an
incapacitated Riggs to verbally submit.
Following its production of the first-ever MMA event at the Playboy Mansion
on September 29, 2007, Strikeforce returned to the Beverly Hills, California
venue with a star-studded affair on September 20, 2008.
"Strikeforce on NBC," the first 52-week mixed martial arts series in network
television history, airs every Saturday, immediately following NBC’s hit
poker tournament series, "Poker After Dark" (check local listings).
About Strikeforce:
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which,
on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie”
event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California
state
history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion
Frank
Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San
Jose’s HP
Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995,
Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming
for ESPN
and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing
promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with
“Shamrock vs.
Gracie.” Since then, it has co-produced the first SHOWTIME PPV mixed
martial arts event in history with its world championship “Shamrock vs.
Baroni”
card on June 22, 2007 followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at
the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29, 2007. On April 12th of
this
year, Strikeforce launched the first-ever 52 week MMA series on one of the
four major television networks in The U.S. – NBC