Dave Strasser to Return to the Ring at FCC 34 After Two-Year Hiatus From MMA

Wisconsin MMA Legend and UFC veteran, Dave Strasser will return to action on March 29, 2007 at Freestyle Combat Challenge 34 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I received an e-mail that had been forwarded from Dave Strasser this afternoon verifying the information. When I last saw Dave Strasser at FCC 33 one month ago, I asked him if he was officially retired due to his extended absence from competition. He stated that he was not retired and that he had just been busy with his business and opening a new gym in Illinois.

Dave Strasser is one of the most experienced and noteworthy fighters to ever fight out of Wisconsin. In July of 1996, Strasser was the first person ever to fight Travis “The Iron Man” Fulton whom he defeated with a rear naked choke. Fulton has gone on to record nearly 240 fights since then. In over a decade of fighting, Dave Strasser sports an MMA record of (24-8-4) according to Sherdog but has not seen action since April of 2006. That fight was at Cage Rage 16 where he faced off against the very tough Paul Daley of England and lost via unanimous decision.

Strasser is only one of two Wisconsin fighters to own a UFC victory in the Octagon, with Eric Schafer being the other. That UFC win came over Romie Aram at UFC 42 in April of 2003. In his time in NHB and MMA, he has fought many notable fighters including Karo Parisyan, Hidetaka Monma, Ansar Chalagnov, Ron Juhn, Seichi Ikemoto, Chris Lytle, and Georges St. Pierre. In addition, he has fought two epic battles with another Wisconsin legend, Adrian Serrano.

Who will Dave Strasser fight?

No opponent was listed for Dave Strasser but a familiar welterweight by the name of Dave Garcia was on the poster. Dave Garcia sports a (5-3) record according to Sherdog and has fought notable fighters such as Thomas “Wildman” Denny and Chris Wilson of the IFL and UFC. Garcia himself has not fought since September of 2005 and it is unknown at this time if he is Strasser’s opponent.

Another possible opponent listed on the poster is Kiuma Kunioku, a former King of Pancrase from Japan. Kiuma Kunioku sports a (31-22-9) record according to Sherdog and has fought in K-1 Hero’s, Pancrase, and Deep. All three are major organizations in Japan. Kunioku’s fought a who’s who list of opposition including Bas Ruten, Nate Marquardt, Yuki Kondo, Sean Sherk, Evan Tanner, Frank Shamrock, and many other big names. Four of those names are former UFC champions. His MMA record dates back to 1996 and he also holds a loss to Milwaukee’s own Adrian Serrano in April of 1998, in Japan.

I will keep you posted when I find out who Dave Strasser’s opponent will be and any other matchups that may be listed on the card. With the addition of Freestyle Combat Challenge on March 29, we now have three major local shows holding MMA events in Wisconsin on that date. KTK has a show in Oshkosh, as well as the Gladiators show in Milwaukee. It should be an action packed weekend for MMA in Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared at Wisconsin Combat Sports on 03-18-08.