Justin Wilcox (left) vs. Vitor Ribeiro: Rich Hundley III/Strikeforce
American Kickboxing Academy prospect Justin Wilcox established himself as a potential lightweight hand for Strikeforce. He soundly defeated Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, once regarded as the sport’s top lightweight, at Strikeforce Challengers 12 on Nov. 19.
Wilcox, 31, avoided coming into the jiu-jitsu black belt’s wheel house and found success with his hands in taking a convincing unanimous decision. Ribeiro never came close to attempts to pull guard or wrest Wilcox to the floor. Wilcox targeted Lyle Beerbohm, an unbeaten fighter thought to be in lightweight title contention, for his next fight, which would now likely come on a Strikeforce main card.
The Strikeforce Challengers 12 event took place in Jackson, Miss. Others picking up wins were Ovince St. Preux (unanimous decision over Antwain Britt), Liz Carmouche (third-round TKO over Jan Finney) and Caros Fodor (first-round submission over Thomas Getzel). A fight between Marius Zaromskis and Waachiim Spiritwolf ended in a no contest after Spiritwolf was poked in the eye by the Dream champion as he attempted a flying knee, compromising his vision.