By Jeremy Luchau - The PFC
LEMOORE, Ca. — Palace Fighting Championship World Bantamweight champion Rolando Velasco (5-0) of Oakdale had to pull out of a title defense against Porterville’s Shawn Klarcyk (7-2) on Thursday, May 8 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.
Oregon’s Jason Georgianna (7-2) will come in to replace Velasco, take on Klarcyk and have a shot at winning the interim PFC title.
“We mainly kept the fight, because in fairness to Shawn and the fact that he has been training hard,” PFC President Christian Printup said. “This is right thing to do. They’ll fight it out in an interim bout, but that doesn’t make them the champion. They have to get through Rolando Velasco first. I think this is going to be good fight. Both guys are tough guys.”
The exit of Velasco due to injury wasn’t exactly what Klarcyk wanted.
Klarcyk was hoping for a rematch after Velasco took his title in January in what is one of the more debated fights ever in the PFC.
Velasco caught Klarcyk with a punch in the fourth round that sent him to the canvas where moments later referee Josh Rosenthal ended the fight by technical knockout.
At the time Klarcyk said, “I wasn’t out. I’ve been hit a lot harder than that in practice.”
Whatever the case, a rematch was what all parties involved wanted.
“I’m always willing to fight whoever PFC wants me to fight, but I would rather be fighting Rolando for the real bantamweight belt,” said Klarcyk, who is coming off of a submission victory over Anthony Garcia (1-1) in March at Gladiator Challenge.
Klarcyk and Georgianna will be key components in PFC 8’s “A Night of Champions” where four PFC World Titles will be up for grabs.
There are only 400 tickets left and they can be purchased at tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-800-225-2277. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fights start at 6:30.
The PFC has sold out six straight MMA events at the Palace — PFC 5 was in North Dakota and was also a sellout and PFC 7.5 was recently held in Porterville at Eagle Mountain Casino where tickets were free of charge.
Georgianna has picked up a pair of victories since he last entered the PFC ring in January, where he was submitted by Sacrament’s Joseph Benavidez (4-0).
“I know we have the same record, 7-2. I watched a couple of his fights, so I know somewhat of his style,” Klarcyk said of Georgianna. “It doesn’t have any affect on my training that Rolando had to pull out of the fight or that I have a new opponent. I have been training to fight the PFC champ, so I’m ready to take down whoever gets in my way. I expect a war. I want my belt back.”
Also in championship action, Atlanta’s Diego Saraiva (11-6-1) will defend his lightweight title for the first time against Bakersfield’s Brian Cobb (11-4); Visalia’s Kenny Ento (9-3) defends his middleweight title against Santa Rosa’s Nate Loughran (7-0); and Oakdale’s Art Arciniega defends his featherweight belt against Fresno’s Jorge Evangelista.
In other bouts;
—Lemoore lightweight Poppies Martinez (14-4) vs. Huron’s Sergio Cortez (3-3)
—Oregon heavyweight Devin Cole (7-6) vs. Arizona’s Vince Lucero (18-13)
—Oxnard light heavyweight Lodune Sincaid (12-6) vs. Tulare’s Rafael Del Real (5-8)
—Sacramento lightweight Dustin Akabari (1-0) vs. Cody Canterbury (1-2)
—Sacramento bantamweight Joseph Benavidez (4-0) vs. Los Angeles’ Maurice Eazel (3-6)
—Sacramento lightweight Thonglor Armatsena (1-0) vs. Sacramento’s Noah Shinable (3-9-1)
—Lemoore featherweight Sergio Quinones (2-1) vs. Fresno’s Casey Olson (6-2)
—Mexico lightweight Olaf Alfonso (6-8) vs. Newport Beach’s Matt Doyle (1-2)
Weighins will be Wednesday, May 7 at 4 p.m. at the Den Sports Bar located on the third floor of the Palace.
