The 10 fighters who will appear on the premiere of Strikeforce Challengers tomorrow/Friday, May 15, on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT) made weight Thursday at the World Sports Cafe at Fresno, Calif.

In the main event, undefeated lightweight Billy Evangelista (9-0) will fight hard-hitting "Iron" Mike Aina (11-6-1) in the inaugural, newly titled mixed martial arts series from leading MMA promoter Strikeforce and premium television network SHOWTIME. The five-fight telecasts airs at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Strikeforce Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series is designed to provide today's top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised event.

Tickets for the Strikeforce Challengers event are on sale 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). Doors open at 5:15 p.m. PT. The first live, non-televised, preliminary bout is 6:15 p.m.

In other SHOWTIME fights: Sarah Kaufman (8-0) of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, faces Miesha Tate (6-1) of Olympia, Wash.,; Lavar Johnson (11-3) of Fresno throws down with Carl Seumanutafa (4-2), a Samoan based in San Francisco, in a heavyweight fight; Anthony "A Train" Ruiz (21-12) of Coarsegold, Calif., takes on San Antonio's Aaron Rosa (11-2) in a light heavyweight bout and Bao Quach (15-9-1) of Huntington Beach, Calif., takes on Tito Jones (6-2) of Sacramento, Calif., in a featherweight scrap.

Non-televised fights: Ben Holscher (1-0) of Fresno vs. Cody Cantebury (1-3-1) of Sacramento at 160 pounds; Zoila Frausto (1-0) of Fresno vs. Avery Vilche (1-0-1) of Redbluff, Calif., at 125 pounds; Ousmane Thomas Diagne (debut) of San Jose, Calif., vs. Kaleo Kwan (7-9) of Kailua, Hawaii, in a lightweight fight; Fabricio "Morango" Camoes (9-4) of Brazil vs. Torrance Taylor (7-5-1) of Cleveland, Ohio and Chad Sutton (2-1) of Fresno vs. Spencer Herns (debut) of San Jose at 185 pounds.

Quotes from Thursday's press conference:

BILLY EVANGELISTA

"This is the first time I've had to deal with this type of attention, but I always feel I have to do more to stay unbeaten. The pressure is always there, but maybe there is a little more because this is in my hometown. I'm just going in to do my best and let it happen and see how it plays out.

"I learned during my three years in the army all about discipline, keeping my composure and learning to deal with people. I think those things help me prepare for a fight and for the fight itself. I know you just can't go crazy and need to maintain your poise in the cage. I don't get upset a lot like I did when I was younger, but still there is pressure.

"I've never seen Aina fight. I never watch tapes of my opponents. I like to focus on my fight and what I am doing. This sport is still evolving and fighters change their styles from fight to fight. So I don't expect fighters to fight me like they did their opponent before.

"My friends, who are just trying to be helpful, tell me stuff, like ‘you know, Aina almost beat Nick Diaz' and stuff like that, but it just doesn't matter. I mean, I hear he is tall, so I guess I might have to fight on the inside more. Everybody says his Jiu-Jitsu...