After three months of training and spending hours studying his
opponent’s last fight, Daniel Puder says he is confident that he
will win when he steps into the ring Friday night at the HP
Pavilion against Mike Cook.
San Jose – After three months of training and spending hours studying his opponent’s last fight, Daniel Puder says he is confident that he will win when he steps into the ring Friday night at the HP Pavilion against Mike Cook.
“I just feel bad for the guy because I am going to knock him out,” Puder said.
Both fighters will put their 3-0 mixed martial arts records on the line at Strikeforce’s “Triple Threat.”
Puder, a 25-year-old Cupertino native with family in Morgan Hill, formerly wrestled in the WWE after winning the first “Tough Enough” reality series and earning him a $1 million prize in December 2004.
Puder’s last fight against Tommy Tuggle lasted 28 seconds when he put Tuggle in an arm bar and made him submit.
Cook’s last bout ended in a second-round submission after his opponent called it quits following a barrage of punches.
Puder said the real reason Cook won was because his opponent, Carlton Jones, ran out of energy following a series of mistakes.
“If you look at his last fight, (Cook) didn’t beat him up that bad,” Puder said. “I’d say (Jones) screwed up 10 to 15 times. He just got gassed.”
Puder said he has been working out with different techniques and sparing with different fighters, including Cung Le who is included on the Friday night card.
He has also branched out in his styles of fighting, including Thai boxing, to prepare him for the match against Cook.
Figueroa Set to Fight
Staff Reports
Gilroy’s Anthony Figueroa will be among the contestants Friday at the Strikeforce Triple Threat mixed martial arts competition at HP Pavilion.
Three titles, including Cung Le vs. Jason Von Flue, are expected on the 10-bout card. Others expected to participate are Paul Buentello, Daniel Puder, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, Eugene Jackson and Bobby Southworth.
Preliminaries begin at 6pm with the card set to start at 7:30. Tickets are available at HP Pavilion, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 998-TIXS.
