The unbeaten
Ben Holscher will meet
Alexander Trevino in a preliminary lightweight matchup at Strikeforce “Challengers 7” on March 26 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. Half a dozen bouts are now official for the event.
Perfect in four professional appearances, Holscher wrestled collegiately at Chadron State College in Nebraska, where he was a three-time academic All-American. The 28-year-old now trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy and holds down a full-time job as a health teacher and wrestling coach at Clovis High School in Clovis, Calif.
“It’s a challenge, but I was a college athlete and I grew up on a farm, so time management was ingrained in me a long time ago,” Holscher said in a release. “If I wanted to make my schedule easier, I could just take a few things off my plate, but I don’t want to do that right now.”
Holscher last competed in November, when he scored a unanimous decision over
Jonny Goh at Strikeforce “Challengers 4.” Fighting so close to home -- the Save Mart Center stands roughly 10 miles from the high school where he teaches -- presents its own set of challenges.
“It definitely motivates you because there are a lot of people that are going to come out,” Holscher said. “There are a lot of people looking at me, especially my students. I don’t want to let them down. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to use my career as a mixed martial artist to give back to the students who are in my life.”
The once-beaten Trevino finds himself on the rebound for the first time as a professional, having dropped a unanimous decision to
Rico Altamirano at a Strikeforce show four months ago.
Holscher’s AKA teammate,
Lavar Johnson, will collide with
Lolohea Mahe in the “Challengers 7” main event. Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound heavyweight, was one of five people randomly shot by assailants on foot at an outdoor family reunion last July in Bakersfield, Calif. The American Kickboxing Academy standout suffered wounds to his lower back, forearm and abdomen. Johnson told Sherdog.com in October that doctors wondered if he would survive his injuries, let alone fight again.
Johnson spent one month in the hospital and lost 60 pounds. A physician cleared him to begin training again in December.
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