STFC 36: Ultimate Rumble Fight Card

When STFC 35 was first announced, the marquee fight for that event was Fabian Saldivar defending his featherweight title against Las Vegas transplant and San Benito native, Josh Montalvo. That fight fell through after “El Campeon” suffered an injury leaving Montalvo without an opponent. While Saldivar recovered and ventured off to California to train with the Mendez brothers to polish his evolving grappling game, Montalvo sat on the sidelines awaiting his title shot and this Saturday at the Edinburg Raceway the two will finally lock up in the main event of STFC 36: “Ultimate Rumble.” This will be Saldivar’s second title defense since he captured the belt last September against Javier Obregon and will be the first professional title fight for Josh Montalvo. With a victory over Montalvo, Saldivar will carry his win streak to 7 , cement his place as the most dominant featherweight fighter in STFC history and possibly be the next fighter we see in the big leagues. If Montalvo is successful in defeating Saldivar, he will end the Goldberg-like streak, take the title back to Las Vegas and position himself as the new face of the STFC featherweight division.

In the co-main event of the night, undefeated Emanuel Garza will be taking on San Antonio resident Allen Nelson II in a heavyweight clash. It’s been a minute since we last saw two heavyweights lock up in a STFC cage so fans should be in for a treat. In a feature bout, Victor Martinez will be taking on MMA veteran James “Deuce” King who fights out of Cooper MMA in Austin. The Cap City resident who has more than 30 professional fights in his career is looking to stop his five fight losing streak by taking out Martinez. 

Martinez’s last fight was for the lightweight title against Luke Flores and is looking to get another shot at the title in the near future. Martinez was on a four fight win streak before his loss to Flores but if fans have been following the heavy handed striker out of Pharr, they know Martinez is going to bring the heat to King and can expect a great performance out of him since he never disappoints.

Rounding out the “Ultimate Rumble” card is the return of Josh Trevino who you might remember from his battles with Andrew Garza(anybody else want a rubber match between this two?). Trevino has been out of action since February 2013 while his opponent, Freddy Ramos, has been out since February 2014. I would expect these two to trade leather but wouldn’t be surprised if Trevino gets the submission early in the fight. Also on the card is rising featherweight prospect, Ruben Aguirre taking on  Michael Rodriguez. This fight is interesting because a win for either fighter could put them in talks to fight for the featherweight title. Making his debut under the STFC banner is Harlingen native Raymond Banda. Banda is currently on a 7 fight win streak going back to his amateur days and is undefeated as a professional, his only loss was in his amateur debut in 2012. If Banda is able to secure a win over Travonne Hobbs this should put him in line for a title fight against Luke Flores.

If you are unable to make it out to the track or want to watch from a remote location, the event will be streamed at GFL. Stay tune to TheGotchSpecial.com and Facebook.com/TheGotchSpecial for more on “Ultimate Rumble.”

Fight Card

Pro Bouts

• Fabian Saldivar (6-1) vs Josh Montalvo (3-2) – Texas Featherweight Title
• Emanuel Garza (1-0) vs Allen Nelson II (3-3) – Heavyweight fight
• Victor Martinez (4-3) vs James King (15-16) – Lightweight
• Raymond Banda (4-0) vs Travonne Hobbs (3-5) – Lightweight
• Josh Trevino (2-2) vs Freddy Ramos (0-1) – Light heavyweight
• Ruben Aguirre (1-0) vs Michael Rodriguez (5-4) – Featherweight

Amateur Bouts

• Zachary Farrington (0-0) vs James Tremble (0-0) – Featherweight
• Juan Gonzalez ( 2-2) vs David Molina (0-0) – Lightweight

                                                            (card subject to change)

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