The Weekly Wrap: Oct. 23 - Oct. 29

Johnson Continues Comeback

Charismatic heavyweight Lavar Johnson continued his climb up the Strikeforce ladder with another knockout victory on Oct. 22, as the Fresno, Calif., favorite stopped Virgil Swicker and called out some of the promotion’s name heavyweights at Strikeforce Challengers 11.

Johnson took his seventh straight by using his eight-inch reach advantage to jab at Zwicker and finish him with a big right uppercut. Johnson, whose recovery from a 2009 shooting provided a compelling back story, named Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski and Bobby Lashley as opponents he’d like to face on a Strikeforce main card.

Billy Evangelista remained unbeaten after taking a unanimous decision in a firefight with the entertainingly tough Waachiim Spiritwolf, while welterweight prospect Roger Bowling tasted defeat for the first time in a rematch with Bobby Voelker. Evangelista targeted Karl James Noons as a potential next opponent. Also, a potential challenger for Cristiane Santos emerged, as Canadian Julia Budd of Canada used her muay Thai and ground and pound to stop Shana Olsen in the second round.

The Challengers card took place before 3,656 fans for a $56,000 gate, MMA Junkie reported, and drew an average of 178,000 viewers on Showtime, the lowest for the series this year.