LOCAL FAVORITE JOSH THORNBURG REPLACES INJURED CONOR HEUN AGAINST JAMES TERRY ON STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS EVENT FRIDAY, APRIL 1, LIVE ON SHOWTIME® AT STOCKTON ARENA IN STOCKTON, CALIF.

NEW YORK (March 21, 2011) – Josh Thornburg (6-2), of Stockton, Calif., a member of the Cesar Gracie Fight Team who’s coached and cornered by STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, will replace an injured Conor Heun and face James Terry (9-2), of Livermore, Calif., in a televised 165 pound catch weight fight of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) card presented by Rockstar Energy Drink at Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., on Friday, April 1, live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Heun, of Los Angeles, tore ligaments in a knee during training and had to withdraw.

The up-and-coming, ultra-tough Thornburg had won two in a row and six of seven until losing his last start to local favorite and more-experienced Roger Bowling in a non-televised fight of STRIKEFORCE: Feijao vs. Hendo last March 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

Thornburg dropped a unanimous decision to Bowling, who had much to prove after being defeated by Bobby Voelker in his previous start, but the 6-foot, 26-year-old was competitive, rallied to have a good second round and nearly locked up a guillotine in the closing seconds.

“There’s no such thing as a moral victory and I was very disappointed I couldn’t get it done (against Bowling),’’ Thornburg said. “Going in, I was super confident. But I appreciate that I’m getting a chance to come right back and fight in my hometown on SHOWTIME.’’

Tickets, starting at $20, are on sale for STRIKEFORCE’s first fight in Stockton at the Stockton Arena ticket office, online at www.StocktonTickets.com, by phone at (209) 373-1700 or (866) 373-7088 and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

The first non-televised, undercard fight will begin at 5:30 p.m. PT. Doors will open at 4:45 p.m.

In the main event, former NCAA wrestling stud Justin “The Silverback’’ Wilcox (10-3), of San Jose, Calif., will face Rodrigo Damm (9-4) of Brazil in a lightweight bout. Other fights on SHOWTIME: 2008 Judo Olympic Games Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii (4-1), of Japan, makes his STRIKEFORCE debut against kickboxing specialist Scott Lighty (6-1), of San Luis Obispo, Calif., in a light heavyweight (205 pounds) bout, David “Tarzan” Douglas (6-2), of Antioch, Calif., will take on Caros “The Future” Fodor (7-2), of Kirkland, Wash., at 155 pounds, and Tarzan’s unidentical twin, Damian (3-1), of Antioch, will meet Wayne Phillips (5-3), of San Jose.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.STRIKEFORCE.com) 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, sanctioned by ISKA, 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 (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.