Despite emerging from the cage the victor during his last SFL America: Team Challenge bout, Burien's Brent Knopp still looks back on the event and cringes.

The reason?

Knopp, who defeated Adam Dehart by unanimous decision, was on the losing end of the team battle as Los Angeles bested his Seattle squad.

“It stills leaves a bad taste in my mouth,” Knopp said. “We’re looking for a different outcome this time.”
Knopp will once again lead Team Seattle when they take on Team Central Valley California at the latest edition of SFL America: Team Challenge on Oct. 22 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma.

Knopp (7-1) faces Josh Clark (9-3) in a 192-bout main event. Fans may recognize Josh Clark from his time spent on the UFC reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” where he fought on the show’s 19th season with Team Penn.

The 8-bout card will feature two preliminary and six Seattle vs. Central Valley bouts, including one female flyweight bout between Seattle’s Liz Tracy (2-1) and Central Valley’s Christine Stanley (5-2).

Tickets are available through the EQC box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Preliminary bouts start at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Knopp, who was on the losing end of Seattle’s 15-6 loss to Los Angeles on Jul 23, is no stranger to coming up victorious in team sports as before his professional MMA career started he played on the defensive line for the University of Washington’s 2000 team which won the Rose Bowl.

Trained by the world famous Matt Hume, Knopp, who graduated from UW with a degree in electrical engineering, has won six of his seven career fights by knockout.

“Brent comes to fight every time,” promoter Brian Halquist said. “He’s a competitor. He picked up the win last time, but the team victory was more important to him. The team concept really adds another dimension to the card. We expect a very motivated Team Seattle this time out with Brent leading the charge.”

Also appearing on Team Seattle will be a pair of undefeated fighters in Joey Pierotti (3-0) and Nathan Stolen (2-0), as well as Dylan Potter (4-1) and Thomas Hoeper (6-2).

Fighters in the team challenge will earn 6 points for a KO, 5 points for a submission victory, 4 points for a TKO, 3 points for a decision and 1 point for a draw with the winning team collecting the most combined points.

SFL America: Team Challenge – Seattle vs. Central Valley is brought to you by Brian Halquist Productions and CageSport MMA. For more information, visit www.superfightleague.com and www.halquistproductions.com