Authentic Sports Management

Danillo Villefort

January 23rd, 2012 01:16 AM MST

Deerfield Beach, Fla. – Authentic Sports Management® today announced that Danillo Villefort is making his return to the cage at “Strikeforce: Challengers 18.” The event will take place Friday, August 12 at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the main card of the evening will be broadcasted on Showtime®. Villefort was scheduled to make his Strikeforce debut in June, but had to pull out due to an injury. Fully recovered, Villefort is primed and ready to prove he is the next middleweight star in the making.

 “I’m excited to get back in the cage, my whole team is behind me, and I am one hundred percent ready to go,” said Villefort.

 “It’s great to see Danillo bounce back from injury so quickly…he did everything right to recover as fast as he could,” said Glenn Robinson, President, Authentic Sports Management. “He is ready to show the world his abilities, and I am personally excited to see Danillo fight. I know he’s going to put on a great fight for Strikeforce fans.”

 A member of the newly-formed Imperial Athletics fight team alongside fellow ASM^® fighters Jorge Santiago and Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, along with his brother Yuri Villefort, Danillo (13-3) is a UFC^®/WEC^® veteran who has won nine of his past ten bouts. His lone loss during that time came in August 2009 at “UFC 101: Declaration,” where he lost via an unfortunate doctor stoppage due to an accidental headbutt. Since that bout, Danillo, the godson of former UFC^®/PRIDE Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, has reeled off four straight victories while bouncing between welterweight and middleweight. His past two victories have come against high-profile fighters Joey Villasenor and Matt Horwich under the Shark Fights banner. Now he’ll look to make his mark in the Strikeforce cage.

Nathan James (12-7-1), a product of American Kickboxing Academy, is a solid, all-around fighter with considerable experience. A veteran of Bellator, he’s a tough competitor, but has shown a weakness on the mat, having been submitted in four of his seven losses, though he’s never been stopped on strikes. Villefort will have to be on guard, but will be ready to unleash his full skillset against James.

 “I’m sure he’s going to be ready, but my job is to beat him down,” said Villefort.  “With James, I’m going to make a statement to let all the 185-pounders know I’m here, and that I’m going to take over the middleweight division, starting on August 12.”

 “Strikeforce: Challengers 18” will feature a main event of UFC® veteran Jorge Gurgel locking horns with Joe Duarte. Also on the card will be a scrap between Pat Healy and Eric Wiseley. More fights are expected to be announced in the near future.