All eyes will be on Felice Herrig and Simona Soukupova as the XFC makes its first appearance in Charlotte, NC for XFC 19 from the Grady Cole Center on Friday, August 3rd. The two women will compete in the featured bout of the evening live on HDNet/AXStv in a fight that will pit the two feared knockout artists against each other in the XFC cage.

Coming into XFC 17 earlier this Spring, Women’s MMA fans wanted to see how Felice Herrig would rebound from her disappointing loss to Carla Esparza in her last outing. Herrig was slated to face the red hot Patricia Vidonic, who had won five out of her previous six fights. But when the bell rang “Lil Bulldog” showed the world why she is a blue chip prospect at 115 pounds by dominating the fight standing and on the ground for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

XFC President John Prisco watched the fight from cageside and was blown away by Herrig’s performance that night. “Felice dominated Patricia in Jackson,” recalled Prisco. “I was curious to see how she would handle herself coming off a loss. Some fighters play it safe or come out a little tentatively. But not Felice, she won 30-27 on all three scorecards that night and looked like a completely different fighter. She is so well rounded. People think she’s just a kickboxer but she has it all now; wrestling, jiu jitsu, and striking. I’m very proud of her for the performance against a very tough veteran like Patricia Vidonic.”

Now Herrig will turn her attention to Simona Soukupova who has turned heads with two knockouts in three fights as a professional. The UK native will look to drail Herrig’s momentum and make a name for herself as she makes her XFC debut.

“I’m really intrigued with Herrig vs. Soukupova,” explained Prisco. If you are a fan of Women’s MMA you know who Felice Herrig is but Simona has flown under the radar over here in the United States because she has only competed in shows in the UK and Spain. I think when fans get to see how explosive she is inside the cage she will get the respect she deserves. Felice is going to be a test for her and I think on paper Herrig is the favorite because of her experience. But you can’t count out Simona either because her striking is amazing. She also has a very good ground game and I hope Felice isn’t taking her lightly. It has all the ingredients to be a good fight and I can’t wait to get to Charlotte for the fight.”

XFC 19: Charlotte Showdown is sponsored by ICRealtime Security Solutions and will air live on AXStv from the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, NC August 3rd, 2012. Tickets are on sale now through www.beafantickets.com. To learn more about the XFC, visit www.officialxfc.com, and follow them daily on Facebook & Twitter (@officialxfc).