Strikeforce: Miami on Showtime Saturday

Strikeforce has another card this weekend on Showtime and it's pretty intriguing I think.

* Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (for vacant welterweight title)
* Champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Marloes Coenen (for women's featherweight title)
* Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
* Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
* Greg Nagy vs. Herschel Walker

They seem to be taking some flack for signing Hershel Walker from some of the MMA internet loudmouths, but I have to say I'm interested in seeing him in the cage. He's got tons of martial arts experience and is a world class athlete. Sure, he's 47-years-old but have you seen the guy? He's in great shape and as a fellow old man I hope he kicks some butt. I've always thought he was a class act. Also wrestling superstar Bobby Lashley is fighting, a woman's title fight and the always entertaining Nick Diaz. Count me in.

I want Strikeforce to do well. I'd love to see a serious competitor to the UFC and think it would help the sport all around. They've got some great fighters in their camp and their shows production values have been improving. They could actually close the gap between #1 and #2, unthinkable a year ago.

Strikeforce: Miami
Jan 30th on Showtime

Latest Strikeforce Recap

Holy crap what a show on Showtime on December 19th. Strikeforce put on a helluva card and are quickly becoming a promotion I'll support no matter what. I already went all the way to St. Louis to catch them live and I haven't missed a Showtime or CBS show yet. So check out this highlight reel from the the Dec. 19th show and relive one of the years best nights of MMA action in 2009 for my money.


Highlights include King Mo vs. Matt Whitehead, Matt Lindland vs. Jacare Souza, Josh Thompson vs. Gilbert Melendez, and Cung Le vs. Scott Smith.

Fedor Returns!

Another great night for fight fans, starting on Showtime where Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum kicks off from San Jose with who many believe to be the greatest fighter in the world, Fedor, headlining against Werdum. Also a great rematch between Cung Le and Scott Smith and the greatest female fighter going today, Cristiane Santos, puts her belt on the line. Here's the televised card:

* Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum
* Champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Jan Finney (for women's middleweight title)
* Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
* Pat Healy vs. Josh Thomson

I predict Fedor and Cyborg both to win in squashes and Cung Le to even the series with Scott Smith by knocking him out.

But that's not all! A replay of May's UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun II pay-per-view event airs tonight on Spike TV. The broadcast is the latest counter-programming move for Ultimate Fighting Championship and Spike TV officials, who hope to take a dent out of Showtime's audience. Josh Koscheck vs Paul Daley and Kimbo vs Matt Mitrione are also on that card.

Tune in, beer up and suck on some A/C for a few hours. It's a great night of fights.

Superfights Tonight

I'm sort of torn on this one tonight. There's some great fights on the card for WEC 48, but this is the first time they've made a WEC event pay-per-view. There are just so many free fights on nowadays that I hate paying for a PPV at all unless some guys are over and we split it, but damned if I want to start paying for fights that up until now have been free. But... it's a great card and I really want to see it. I mean the top 2 fights on the card, Aldo vs Faber and Henderson vs Cerrone, could both very well be not only fights of the year but a couple of the best fights in WEC history. Why can't this be on cable TV dammit!??!

Here's more:

WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber

Main Card (Pay-per-view)

* Champ Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber (for featherweight title)
* Champ Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone (for lightweight title)
* Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
* Anthony Njokuani vs. Shane Roller
* Antonio Banuelos vs. Scott Jorgensen

Prelims on Spike TV:

* Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
* Alex Karalexis vs. Anthony Pettis

Nice Strikeforce Recap

I like these recaps that Showtime puts on YouTube. Here's their latest for Saturday's excellent Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery card in St. Louis.

Five solid matches from St. Louis! Relive all of the MMA action from Rafael Feijao, Roger Gracie, Jacare Souza, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Brett Rogers, and Alistair Overeem.

Strikeforce Invades Nashville... And So Do I

It'll be a quick trip to Nashville today as I'm bailing town this morning for the 5 hour drive and getting there just in time to check into the hotel, run around a little bit, and head to the Strikeforce show... aptly named Strikeforce: Nashville. It'll be easier for you to catch it as it's live on CBS tonight. Watch for me, I'm in the 3rd row on the risers so maybe you can see me. Since it's on network TV the card should be finished by 10:00 PM give or take (with 3 title fights... it's hard to say) so surely we'll get some time to run around downtown a bit after the show. I'd love to get to one of my favorite bars, The Beer Seller, for a couple of cold draft Stone brews.

There are 3 huge title fights are at the top of the card:

* Champ Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson (for middleweight title)
* Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (for light heavyweight title)
* Champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (for Strikeforce lightweight title)

I'll go with one of my favorite fighters, Dan Henderson, to KO Shields and take the belt in round 2, Mousasi over King Mo by a later round submission and Melendez over Aoki by KO in about the 2nd or 3rd round.

One thing is for sure, I'm getting to add some great fighters (I've already seen Shields choke out Robbie Lawler) to the long list of guys I've seen fight live... which already includes BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva, Lyota Machida, Shane Carwin, Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz, Phil Baroni, Andrei Arlovski, Kevin Randleman, Brett Rogers, Vito Belfor, Rich Franklin, Junior Dos Santos, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Frank Trigg, Tyson Griffin and others. A virtual who's who of MMA stars!

The undercard doesn't blow me away but that's just because I'm not familiar with many of the guys. Bully Beatdown's Jason "Mayhem" Miller (went the distance with GSP in the UFC, has fought in WEC and Dream) and Cale Yarbrough (he was on TUF season 7 and fought once in the UFC, getting smashed by Tim Credeur, and hasn't lost since) are both on there so it could be fun.

Here's some vids:

New Pride Show on Spike TV

Programming note.... as if there weren't enough fights on cable TV (there's not) there's a new one starting tonight as Spike TV's newest series "Best of Pride" debuts. Tons of great fights and fighters and plenty of blood. A usual Friday night.

More from Spike:

"Get a taste of what's headed your way as SPIKE TV presents the 'Best of Pride" series including some of the best bouts in the history of the sport. Don't miss a single episode. Premieres January 15th"

Spike TV Best of Pride

Heavy Artillery in St. Louis

Good card tonight on Showtime as Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery brings the big guys back to the Scottrade Center. I went to the St. Louis Strikeforce show last year with a couple of the same guys on it (Brett Rogers, Andrei and Randleman). This year I chose the Nashville Strikeforce show instead, but I'll definitely be watching this one from home tonight (without the $45 pay-per-view fee too, hooray!).

Here's the top of the card:

* Champ Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers (for heavyweight title)
* Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva
* Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Joey Villasenor
* Roger Gracie vs. Kevin Randleman
* Antwain Britt vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante

It's interesting in that Overeem is the champ, but everybody really considers Fedor Emelianenko the best heavyweight (and maybe pound-for-pound) fighter in the world. Rogers, Arlovski and Silva are all coming off of losses but all 4 of the guys are just fighting to get to Fedor really. I love Rogers, but I think Overeem shakes off his rust, gets him down and pounds him out. I'll take Silva to take out a fading Arlovski, Gracie to tap Randleman and Jacare over Villasenor. Should be a fun card.

Brittney Palmer Sexy Photo Shoot

Found this great video that MMA30tv posted of UFC ring girl Brittney Palmer and I felt it was the right thing to do to share it with you all.

"In an attempt to recreate some classic photos from the movie Showgirls; UFC Octagon Girl Brittney Palmer does her best stripper impression. And, yes, it's as hot as you would imagine."

WEC On Versus Tonight!

So much going on that I almost completely forgot that there's an excellent fight card tonight on Versus as WEC 46: Varner vs Henderson comes at ya live from Sactown. Not only is there a potentially awesome fight between Jamie Varner and Ben "Smooth" Henderson to unify the lightweight title, but Urijah Faber and Mike Brown are both back too. Should be fireworks galore. So far the fight of the year (after 1 major event) in my opinion is Sam Stout and Joe Lauzon's battle at UFC 108 and "Sugar" Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva a close 2nd, but after tonight those fights might be in 3rd or 4th place.

Keep an eye on the Jansen vs Shalorus fight as Shalorus is a 5-0 former Olympian and Jansen is 14-0. Somebody's 0 has got to go! Yeah, I said it.

Here's the televised card (my pics in bold):

• Champ Jamie Varner vs. interim champ Ben Henderson
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Urijah Faber
• Dave "The Fugitive" Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
• Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
• Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

I don't know squat about either guy in that last fight other than I wouldn't want to be the one calling it with those names.

And some preview videos:

WEC 47 Tonight on Versus!

Solid card coming from the WEC tonight on Versus, especially the top 2 fights. Both should be wars. Plus Jens Pulver is back and facing Javier Vazquez and the debut of Bendy Casimir on the undercard. Here's the skinny:

WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz
Date: Mar 06, 2010
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Nationwide Arena
Broadcast: Versus

Main Card:

* Champ Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz (for bantamweight title)
* Joseph Benavidez vs. Miguel Torres
* Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
* L.C. Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
* Karen Darabedyan vs. Bart Palaszewski

The Hero Comes From Within

Here's a pretty cool video with Cung Le from Cage Hero.

Cage Hero presents Cung Le... Visit CageHero.net for apparel. Filmed by Charles "Sharp" Duran & Jonathan Zuniga. Edited by Charles "Sharp" Duran. Cung Le represents everything it means to be a Cage Hero.



I've gotta be honest, as much as I love MMA I hate most of the t-shirts and such. I don't own anything by Tapout or Affliction or Silver Star etc... just a few shirts from specific events. But I dig these Cage Hero designs. Looks like a comic book hero. Very cool.

2 Great Fights Jan. 10th

What a way to start the fight year! A solid card at UFC 108 on Saturday night and we're now less than a week away from a show on Versus with 2 sensational fights, WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson.

The main card has lightweight Champ Jamie Varner vs. interim champ Benson Henderson to unify lightweight title and the undercard has a fight that's just as explosive and exciting with Raphael Assuncao taking on Urijah "The California Kid" Faber. Hell yes 2010!

Also televised:

* Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
* Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
* Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Here's a preview:

A Couple of Strikeforce's Rising Stars

Showtime is uploading some pretty cool fight videos on YouTube of what they're calling "Strikeforce Rising Stars". Check out these 2 latest ones and their captions below.

* Undefeated welterweight Roger Bowling raised his profile as an MMA prospect during a recent appearance on Strikeforce Challengers. Watch Bowling at work dominating Bobby Voelker.


* After a phenomenal match as a Strikeforce Challenger, expectations are high for Tarec Saffiedine. Watch his match against Nate Moore which left MMA fans buzzing.

Arkansan Wants Second Crack at Big Stage

Good story on Roli at Sherdog.com:

Roli Delgado Wants Second Crack at Big Stage

Posted using ShareThis

MMA Link Parade (MMA Fighting.com)

MMA Link Parade: - Pat Barry and Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic Sing a Duet. [Middle Easy]

- Texas Expands Drug Testing for UFC 136. [Sports Illustrated]

- New Legislation Would Give Wisconsin Towns Power to Make MMA Illegal. [Cage Potato]

- Zoila Gurgel tears ACL, forced to withdraw from Bellator 57 fight. [Five Ounces of Pain]

- The 20 Creepiest Fighters in the Sport's History. [Low Kick]

- More Surgery for Shane Carwin. [NBC Sports]

- Ed Soares: 'We'll Probably End Up Having To Fight Chael Sonnen Twice.' [MMA Convert]

- Joe Lauzon Challenges Anthony Pettis to a February Fight. [5th Round]

- Is UFC 137 Still Worth the Money Without GSP? [Bleacher Report]

- Victor Conte Talks Steroids in MMA & Boxing. [The Fight Nerd]

- Nick Diaz Must Make the Most of His Second Chance. [Sports Illustrated]

- Fabricio Werdum 'For Sure' Wants to Come Back to the UFC. [MMA Mania]

- Update on Fox-Direct TV contract dispute. [MMA Payout]

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

MMA Link Parade (MMA Fighting.com)

MMA Link Parade: Help yourself to these links to stories by our friends around the internet.



- New Bellator lightweight accused of killing 19-year-old man. [Middle Easy]



- Maybe Jim Miller wasn't top three after all. [Sports Illustrated]



- Joe Son and Mike Whitehead Rape Trials Both Start This Week. [Cage Potato]



- Cavalcante vs. Romero added to September Strikeforce event. [Five Ounces of Pain]



- Spike TV announces the departure of "The Ultimate Fighter." [Low Kick]



- Chael Sonnen talks about Brian Stann. [NBC Sports]



- UFC 139: Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story, dos Anjos vs. Tibau. [MMA Convert]



- Elkins vs. Zhang Added to UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III. [5th Round]



- Joe Rogan Out, Kenny Florian in at UFC 134. [Bleacher Report]



- "Bendo" raises stock with win. [Sports Illustrated]



- Bellator Champion Cole Konrad discusses season five of Bellator FC. [The Fight Nerd]



- UFC Quick Quote: FOX would love to have Gus Johnson cover MMA. [MMA Mania]



- Tom 'Kong' Watson: "I stand by my training partner Nate Marquardt." [Fight Opinion]



- Bellator remains committed to MTV2. [MMA Payout]

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

MMA Link Parade

MMA Link Parade: "Links to articles, videos, and more from our friends around the internet.



- Brian Ebersole explains the art of the hairrow. (Middle Easy)



- Post-UFC 133 stock watch. (Sports Illustrated)



- KO of the Day: Dan Hardy Starches Aaron Barrow in 13 Seconds. (Cage Potato)



- 'Judo' Jim Wallhead in for injured Tom Watson against Frank Trigg. (Five Ounces of Pain)



- Chris Lytle plans to come out 'Guns A' Blazin' against Dan Hardy. (Low Kick)



- Chiapetta's Event Guide: UFC Live 5 edition. (NBC Sports)



- Strikeforce Challengers 18 Weigh-In Results & Video. (MMA Convert)



- Manager says probe will show Gatti's death no suicide. (Sports Illustrated)



- Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: Jon Jones Can't Bust a Grape. (5th Round)



- Houston Alexander Talks Kimbo Slice, UFC and Upcoming PPV. (Bleacher Report)



- Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney on season five, Marquardt & steroids. (The Fight Nerd)



- Nam Phan vs Matt Grice booked for Oct. 8 in Houston. (MMA Mania)



- Dana White loves to stick it to 'lunatic' Fedor fans. (Fight Opinion)



- Flyweights will start in the UFC in 2012. (MMA Payout)



- For better or worse, Dan Hardy about to get his wish. (The Score)

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments"

Fedor vs Hendo Recap

I didn't get to watch it until yesterday, but Saturday night's Strikeforce show on Showtime was fantastic. There was a lot of great action and the main event was really exciting from the walk-outs through the knock-out. Here's a cool little recap they put together in case you missed it. War Hendo!!

"The official SHOWTIME Sports recap of the massive July 30th Strikeforce M-1 Global event. Relive all of the excitement of headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. Plus, recaps of Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley vs.Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy, and Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate."

Gina Carano Goes Haywire on Channing Tatum's Tush

It looks like a Haywire trailer finally popped up online over the weekend. Why do you care? Well maybe you don't, but I do because that's the movie featuring Gina Carano, former Strikeforce ladies champ who also appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators. She hasn't fought in the cage since dropping the belt to Cristiane Santos way back on August 15, 2009.

I really didn't have high hopes when I first heard of her signing on for this project but then I heard that Haywire is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars big names like Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas, so I'd think it should be pretty high quality. The trailer looks like she's going to kick all sort of ass in it, as she does to Channing Tatum here. Sweet.

Synopsis: A black ops super soldier (Carano) seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission by her own agency.