Eric Schafer to rematch William Hill at Gladiators 52

Milwaukee’s Eric “Ravishing Red” Schafer will return to the cage on May 17th and headline against journeyman fighter William Hill. The two previously fought in January of 2006 at XFO 9 for the vacant XFO 205lb Light Heavyweight in Illinois. Schafer won the title that night at 2:37 in round one via a triangle choke. He was to defend his belt against Sean Salmon that summer but was called up to the UFC and had to vacate the belt.

William Hill has been fighting since 2002 and sports an MMA record of (13-18). He has fought many notable fighters including Sean Salmon, James Irvin, Jeremy Horn, Terry Martin, Stephan Bonnar, and Adrian Serrano. He is riding a six-fight losing streak that dates back to July of 2007 most by way of KO or unanimous decision.

Eric Schafer’s MMA record according to Sherdog is (8-3-2). He most recently beat Ryan Antle in February at Gladiators: The Warriors by means of a guillotine choke at 42 seconds in the first round. Prior to that he dropped two straight fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Michael Bisping and Stephan Bonnar at UFC 66 and UFC 77. He recently was awarded his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt by Pedro Sauer and has been keeping busy with Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. He took first place finishes in the advanced no-gi divisions of the Arnolds, King Grappler, and Sasquatch Open. He is expected to return to the UFC in late summer.

Gladiators 52: Injury Dome

Gladiators 52: Thunder Dome has taken a serious beating in terms of injuries. The card was to have WEC veteran Sherron “Rob Roy” Leggett vs. Anthony Pettis on the card. Pettis had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury suffered at Gladiators: Knockout Kings. Jason Kazmierczak was to make his pro debut versus Tim “Arch Angel” Nixon but also had to pull out due to injury. Jake Kuester was to fight Jesse Lennox for the Gladiators 170lb Welterweight Championship but Lennox suffered a devastating knee bar in the IFL and had to postpone the bout. “Savage” Dan LaSavage was to fight Indiana’s Elton Chavez at 135lbs but also recently pulled out due to injury.

Wisconsin MMA legend, Adrian Serrano will fight Green Bay’s Whisper Goodman in a 185lb middleweight bout. West Bend’s Gary Schaumberg will also defend his 145lb Gladiators Featherweight Title in a rematch against Madison’s Seth Marquez. Milwaukee’s Omar Choudhury will also rematch Sam Thao of Wausau.

I originally published this article on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 05-07-08.