Strikeforce Challengers Main Event Fighter Jorge Gurgel Couldn’t Be Happier

After going 3-4 in the UFC, lightweight fighter Jorge Gurgel (13-5) couldn’t be happier facing undefeated Billy Evangelista in the main event of this Fridays Strikeforce Challengers show in Fesno, Cali.

Gurgel was cut by the UFC after a unanimous decision loss to Aaron Riley at UFC 91 and, as he tells it, was unemployed for “four-minutes” before Strikeforce signed him to their organization. Under the Strikeforce banner and won his first fight at a previous Challengers show against Conor Huen in June.

Speaking with FanHouse.com, Gurgel talked about his fight with Huen, his upcoming fight against Evangelista, and making the move to Strikeforce.

FanHouse: You won your last fight, but you were quick to point out that you have some work to do. What are some things you worked on in this camp?
Jorge Gurgel: He’s a completely different opponent. Conor [Huen], he’s a wrestler. I had no idea that he would try and stand up with me. I thought that was the dumbest thing he could have done, but he did that. I was expecting a shot the whole time to work on the ground, but he did not shoot one time. He stood up with me, so it threw my gameplan off for a bit, but it made it a lot more fun for me to fight.

I made a couple of mental mistakes on that fight. He was knocked out on his feet three times, really hurt and I wasn’t able to see that. That’s a fighter’s mental mistake. I was so focused on listening to my cornerman that I didn’t follow my mistakes in jumping on him to finish the fight.

FanHouse: Billy has a Muay Thai background and you’re probably benefiting even more than usual with Dellagrote’s expertise.
Jorge Gurgel: I’m going to his hometown to fight the no. 1 contender for the world Strikeforce lightweight belt in Billy Evangelista, who has an undefeated record. A victory over him, god-willing I win, puts me exactly in that spot of no. 1 contender for that title. And also, it’ll be a very exciting fight. It’s two guys who are going to go in there prepared in shape and ready to decapitate each other, at least that’s my idea. My goal is to separate his head from his shoulders. I hope Billy comes in with the same attitude.

FanHouse: You described leaving the UFC as “heartbreaking,” since you’ve won an incredible war and you’re headlining a Showtime card, would you say you’ve settled in with Strikeforce now?
Jorge Gurgel: I’m very, very happy with Strikeforce. I’m grateful for the opportunity. It was an opportunity for me to have a rebirth, so to speak. Like I’ve said, I was never happy with my performance in the UFC. They cut me rightfully so, because with all due respect to the other fighters, I never thought I did lose a fight to a better fighter. I always lost a fight to myself. I just never performed to my expectations.

When the UFC cut me I think a broke a record. I was the guy who was unemployed for a record-breaking four minutes. Four minutes after the UFC cut me, Strikeforce got a hold of me and I’ve been happy ever since. It’s a chance for me to display my skills.

And trust me, people say I took a step down, maybe from the biggest league in the world to the second, but I did not take a step down in competition. Look who Strikeforce has. It’s a huge, huge growing organization. There’s a huge fight roster that keeps growing bigger and bigger. So I never took a step down from competition. I’m very happy with Strikeforce. They treat me great. All my fights are televised. I have the opportunity to fight in the main event. God-willing I’ll win the fight and that will put me in title contention.

The fourth Strikeforce Challengers (ShoMMA) event will take place on Nov. 6 at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State in Fresno, Cali.

The current Strikeforce Challengers card appears as follows:

MAIN CARD

Jorge Gurgel vs. Billy Evangelista
Shane Del Rosario vs. Brandon Cash
Jesse Taylor vs. Luke Rockhold
Ousmane Thomas Diagne vs. Merrit Warren
Women’s (135 lbs) bout: Elisha Hellspur vs. Zoila Frausto PRELIMINARY CARD

Ben Holscher vs. Johnny Goh
Casey Olson vs. Chris Culley
Cole Escovedo vs. Maurice Eazel
Luke Riddering vs. Rico Altamirano After going 3-4 in the UFC, lightweight fighter Jorge Gurgel (13-5) couldn’t be happier facing undefeated Billy Evangelista in the main event of this Fridays Strikeforce Challengers show in Fesno, Cali. Gurgel was cut by the UFC after a unanimous decision loss to Aaron Riley at UFC 91 and, as he tells it, was unemployed [...]

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