Strikeforce veteran Elaina “Beef” Maxwell and long-time pound-for-pound standout Tara LaRosa will both be in action in a pair of featured women’s matchups at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 2: “Yvel vs Alexander” on March 30th in Kearney, Nebraska. Both fighters await confirmed opponents.
MMARising.com confirmed the latest update with the promotion today. Maxwell has won four of her past five fights and holds a notable victory over Raging Wolf champion and current Strikeforce contender Alexis Davis. The veteran LaRosa has tasted defeat only once in nearly eight years.
Maxwell (6-4-0) made three appearances for Strikeforce during the promotion’s early building period from 2006 to 2008, including bouts with future stars Gina “Conviction” Carano and reigning champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate. The talented kickboxer took a two-year hiatus from MMA following her decision defeat to Tate and returned with victories over Liz Carreiro and Davis. Maxwell was unable to make the 135-pound weight limit for her title bout with Davis and she has since campaigned between 140 and 145 pounds. Her lone defeat in the past three and a half years came in a November 2010 title bout with Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler and she won both of her fights this past year.
LaRosa (20-2-0), who has signed a multi-fight deal with RFA, has amassed one of the most impressive résumés of any female mixed martial artist since her April 2002 pro debut. LaRosa won 15 straight fights between 2003 and 2010 and totalled big wins over Roxanne Modafferi, Hitomi Akano, Amanda Buckner, Shayna Baszler and Kelly Kobold, among others. In May 2010, LaRosa suffered only the second defeat of her career when she was narrowly outpointed by Modafferi in a rematch, but she has since rebounded with a title-winning effort against Takayo Hashi and a submission of Carina Damm.
Both Maxwell and LaRosa now await confirmed foes for the card as the promotion looks to secure agreements from possible opponents. Maxwell appeared to be in line to face fellow Strikeforce veteran Jan “Cuddles” Finney on the card, but the promotion confirmed with MMARising.com this afternoon that Finney’s participation is not yet set and options remain open.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance 2: “Yvel vs Alexander” takes place on March 30th at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The event is headlined by a bout between hard-hitting UFC veterans Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel and Houston “The Assassin” Alexander.
Also on the card, Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke faces Marciea “The Black Widow” Allen in an amateur women’s title fight that will likely be the final amateur bout of Duke’s career.
(Photo Credit: Mark Lemmo)