Cervantes wanting to stand and bang

HANFORD -- Javier Cervantes is preparing for a ground fight, but wanting a standup war. "I heard he was a wrestler and now training with Dewey Cooper in Las Vegas, but that's just a rumor," said Cervantes of Friday's featherweight bout with Corcoran's Alex Ortiz at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore.

"I've been working my wrestling more, my ground and doing Muay Thai with Kings Knights out of Tulare. I want to keep it standing up as much as I can, because he is a wrestler first even though he's training his standup primarily now."

Cervantes evened his mixed martial arts record to 1-1 in May with a technical knockout victory of Marcus Williams.

Cervantes opened his career with a loss to Lemoore's Sergio Quinones (2-2).

This will be the first time Cervantes gets a chance to fight in front of his hometown crowd.

"I'm very excited to be fighting at the Palace. I have a lot of hometown fans out there and it's going to be cool to fight for them," Cervantes said.

Also appearing on the card is:

PFC Light Heavyweight champion Jorge Oliveira (3-2-1) vs. Isaiah Larson (5-2).

North Highland middleweight Jaime Jara (18-5) vs. Orange County's Marcus Gaines (4-4).

Fresno featherweight Casey Olson (7-2) vs. Sacramento's Tito Jones (4-1).

Lightweight Dominique Robinson (12-2-1) vs. Bakersfield's Chuck Kim (6-6).

Las Vegas flyweight Ulysses Gomez (1-0) vs. Madera's Anthony Perales (1-0).

Visalia lightweight Darren Crisp (4-2) vs. Porterville's Joe Soto (1-0).

Brazil middleweight Leopoldo Serao (14-7) vs. Roseville's Dan Molina (10-8).

(July 16, 2008)