Today In MMA
Mixed Martial Arts
Scott Coker discusses Fedor vs Henderson, Alistair Overeem, the sale of K1 and Gina Carano.
via MMAFighting.com
Q&A with Miesha Tate on her upcoming fight with Marloes Coenen
via YouTube user bobbycavian
Cain Velasquez meets up with international sports star Cristiano Ronaldo
via YouTube user UFCLatino
Fedor Emelianenko Vs Dan Henderson Breakdown
Fedor Vs Henderson
On Saturday July 30th, Dan Henderson will take on Fedor Emelianenko in a super-fight that pits the once seemingly unbeatable Fedor against a resurgent Henderson. Fedor’s back is up against a wall after losing his past two fights, and is in much need of a win. Retirement talks were up in the air and if Fedor loses a third straight fight, that discussion will surely resurface. Henderson, on the other hand, is sporting 5 wins in his past 6 fights, which includes becoming the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ. A win against Fedor would truly put Henderson in the class of iconic fighters to ever grace MMA. Our very own Jason Munch sat down with Rant Sports to give his take on how the fight will play out, check out the video below.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Heads To Cincinnati
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix
WORLD GRAND PRIX SEMI-FINALS:
JOSH BARNETT vs. SERGEI KHARITONOV
ANTONIO ‘BIGFOOT’ SILVA vs. DANIEL CORMIER
MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT:
RONALDO ‘JACARE’ SOUZA DEFENDS AGAINST LUKE ROCKHOLD
PLUS:
‘KING MO’ LAWAL vs. ROGER GRACIE
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Live on SHOWTIME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (Delayed on West Coast)
TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, JULY 29 at 12 p.m. ET
STRIKEFORCE will make its second trip to the Buckeye State this year when it brings the STRIKEFORCE WORLD GRAND PRIX: HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT semi-finals to U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10., live on SHOWTIME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The World Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists will be determined when former UFC® heavyweight champion “The Baby Faced Assassin” Josh Barnetttakes on Russian sensation Sergei Kharitonov, and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva battles tournament alternate Daniel “DC” Cormier.
The card will also feature STRIKEFORCE middleweight champ Ronald “Jacare” Souza defending his title against top contender Luke Rockhold, as well as a light heavyweight collision between Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal and Roger Gracie. A fifth yet-to-be announced fight will air on the SHOWTIME portion of the event.
The main card action will air live on SHOWTIME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
“Cincinnati is an incredible sports town and we’re excited to bring the World Grand Prix: Heavyweight Tournament to the great fans here,” said STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker. “We’re going to see who advances to the tournament finals. Barnett vs. Kharitonov pits two incredible finishers against one another, and ‘Big Foot’ is looking to keep the momentum rolling after his big win over Fedor when he meets unbeaten Daniel Cormier. When you add in the middleweight title fight and the other great bouts, you can see that we’ve pulled out all the stops for our return to Ohio.”
Tickets for STRIKEFORCE WORLD GRAND PRIX: HEAVYWEIGHT SEMI-FINALS, which is presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, are priced at $200, $125, $75 and $35, and go on sale Friday, July 29 at 12 p.m. ET. Tickets will be available at the U.S. Bank Arena box office, online at www.usbankarena.com, or charge by phone at513-421-4111. Tickets are also available online at www.TicketMaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, and at all Ticketmaster outlets including select Kroger locations. Ticket prices do not include service charges.
UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, July 28 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. ET via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers, as well as STRIKEFORCE Insiders on Thursday, July 28 starting at 12 p.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through ufc.com.
Having defeated seven straight opponents, including a slick submission win over Brett Rogers in the previous round of the Grand Prix, Josh Barnett (30-5) feels he is the only man that has what it takes to win this tournament. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who holds career victories over legends Randy Couture, Dan Severn and Minotauro Nogueira, looks to advance and book a spot in the finals when he takes on Golden Glory product, Sergei Kharitonov (18-4). Born in Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, Kharitonov still serves active duty for the Russian Airborne Troops while training full time. Though he most recently defeated Andrei Arlovski to earn this fight, he also holds notable wins over Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
Brazilian-born heavyweight Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (16-2) is on a tear through the division thanks to recent wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Arlovski and Mike Kyle. Silva, who holds black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and karate, will need everything he’s got when he matches up with American Kickboxing Academy’s top heavyweight prospect, Daniel Cormier (8-0). The former Oklahoma State University wrestler, who was also a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling team, steps in as an alternate for the injured Alistair Overeem, and hopes to make the most of this massive opportunity.
Team Black House fighter and current STRIKEFORCE middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (14-2, 1 NC) is currently riding a four-fight win streak that includes victories over Tim Kennedy and Robbie Lawler. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt looks to successfully defend his belt for the second time when he takes on Santa Cruz’s Luke Rockhold (7-1). An American Kickboxing Academy standout and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Rockhold seeks his seventh consecutive victory and the STRIKEFORCE 185-pound crown.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-1) is looking to make his way back up the light heavyweight ladder and reclaim his throne. The former champ had won seven straight before running into Rafael Cavalcante last August, but he’s now back hungrier than ever to return to the win column. Having wrestled at Oklahoma State University, Lawal will have to rely on his takedowns and heavy hands when he squares off against second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roger Gracie (4-0). A member of the famed Gracie family, Roger is undefeated and recently scored a victory over former UFC and PRIDE star Kevin Randleman.
Yet Another Referee Fail
Incompetent Referee
Punishment for referee‘s like this should be very simple. Don’t suspend them, don’t fire them, just re-enact the fight, but place the ref in the shoes of the fighter that he wronged. That seems fitting, especially when your actions put a person’s life at risk. Once that is done, proceed with firing them. Do you have a different solution? Let us know in the comments section below.
Tito Ortiz Vs Rashad Evans Breakdown
Our very own Jason Munch spoke with Rant Sports about the upcoming fight at UFC 133 between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. Jason breaks the fight down for Rant sports and offers his pick on who will win the fight. Check it out in the video below.
Bjorn Rebney Says No To Nate Marquardt
Bellator's Bjorn Rebney
Bjorn Rebney has stated that he will not sign Nate Marquardt to Bellator, here’s what he had to say:
It just doesn’t seem like the best fit right now for Bellator and it doesn’t seem like the best fit for Nate. I’ve got wild respect for him. He’s a top-ten ranked guy at ’85, he’s looking to move down to ’70, there were a lot of different options that we gave him in terms of potential tournament inclusions in either of those weight classes and-or superfights against Hector Lombard or Ben Askren and I just don’t think it’s going to come together. He’ll find his way somewhere, he’s still a talented fighter with a lot of gas in the tank.
Bellator is the only other well known MMA promotion outside of Zuffa and being overlooked for a contract with them is pretty bad news for Marquardt. At this point Marquardt will have to take his star status to a lesser promotion and will likely have to take a huge pay cut in order to continue competing. One thing’s for sure, it would definitely have been exciting to see Marquardt take on any one of the UFC fighters taking shots at him.
Kenny Florian And JZ Cavalcante Join The ABB
The ABA Fight League
Kenny Florian has joined a new fight league along with JZ Cavalcante, and it is not for the squeamish. In fact, any MMA fighter would need a reality check in order to join this fight league. Here’s Florian and Cavalcante in action beating the balls (literally) out of their opponents.
Now, before you ask, yes, this is a joke, but still entertaining.
Insane Armbar
Insane Armbar
This is one insane armbar, it makes the recipient’s arm look like rubber. Kids, sometimes it’s ok to tap as soon as your arm starts bending in ways that it shouldn’t.
Tito Ortiz Steps Up Against Rashad Evans
Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That is probably the exact thing that was going through Dana White’s head after Tito Ortiz initially rejected his offer to step up against Rashad Evans. Once Ortiz finally accepted the fight (something he likely should have done in the first place) White spent very little time spreading the word about finally finding Phil Davis’ replacement.
This is probably the smartest thing that Ortiz could have done, because not only is he guaranteed another pay day, but by having backed the UFC out of a corner and ultimately saving them from having to scrap the Evans-Davis fight altogether, he has also guaranteed himself at least one more fight in the UFC, win or lose.
On top of all this, Ortiz also has a decent shot at beating Evans, which would very likely propel him into the title mix. Evans has not fought in 15 months which makes him pretty rusty at this point, while Ortiz is coming off a 1st round submission win that saw him walk away from the fight completely unscathed. All in all, the recent turn of events makes this fight pretty exciting for any fan of MMA.
What do you guys think; did Ortiz make a good decision by taking the fight? Let us know in the comments section below.
Epic Ref Failures
Terrible MMA Judges
Here’s a few videos where MMA refs need to not only lose their jobs, but put into a submission hold as punishment. At this point, it’s probably not a matter of lack of training but more along the lines of lack of focus. Check out the videos below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
