The SHOWTIME telecast will air live beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and feature up to five MMA fights including Kim “Sugar Free” Couture (1-1), wife of MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture, facing an opponent to be named.

SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers provides MMA’s hottest prospects with the opportunity to perform at a high level of competition in a nationally televised event.

“This is where the men—and women—will be separated from the boys, so to speak,” said Strikeforce founder and CEO Scott Coker. “The growth and future of our sport just got a turbo injection. For regional fighters and up-and-coming men and women looking to test themselves against other top prospects and get on the fasttrack to stardome, SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers is the place to do it. I can’t wait for this first event.”

Tickets for the first SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers event go on sale Monday, April 13 at 10 a.m. PT at the Save Mart Center box office and select Save Mart Supermarkets as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

“I don’t know anything about my opponent, but it doesn’t matter because I know he’s going to try to take me out like everyone else has, so it’ll be my job to react to whatever he does,” said the 28-year-old Evangelista, who fights out of Fresno. “I’ve got a great team behind me and I’ve been training really hard so I’m not worried.”

A finely tuned Muay Thai technician and wrestling expert, Evangelista notched his last Strikeforce victory by turning the tides on road warrior Luke “Lil’ Hulk” Caudillo in a thrilling slugfest at Broomfield, Colo., on October 3, 2008. After being dropped twice with punches in the first round, a determined Evangelista battled back in the following two rounds to earn a unanimous decision.

Three and a half months prior to his conquest of Caudillo, Evangelista secured a key win over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Nam Phan in Strikeforce action at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.