Two late replacements have been tabbed to fill vacant spots on the card of Strikeforce Challengers 19. Nick Rossborough (18-13) steps in to a headlining light heavyweight tilt against rising prospect Lorenz Larkin (11-0), and Chris Spang (3-0) joins an undercard clash against welterweight veteran Joe Ray (5-2). Strikeforce officials announced the changes on Thursday.
Both fighters were chosen after Virgil Zwicker (10-2) and Jerron Peoples (4-1) withdrew from scheduled bouts due to injuries on Tuesday.
Rossborough first rose into the public eye with a brief appearance on the seventh season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter.' Known as "Leatherface," the 29-year-old is an eight-year veteran and submission specialist training out of Elite Performance. He enters the bout on a three-fight win streak, capped by a second-round guillotine finish of Hank Weiss earlier in September.
Meanwhile, Spang is a 6'2" undefeated prospect out of Las Vegas, Nevada with three professional fights in the past four years. A former professional boxer, "The Kiss" has shown a knack for first-round finishes throughout his career, including a 16 second knockout of Cesar Narita and a 38 second armbar of Adam Hazelton last June.
Strikeforce Challengers 19 is slated for September 23rd at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.