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Josh Thomson vs Yves Edwards Strikeforce title fight booked for Nov. 21 Posted: 20 Oct 2008 08:06 AM CDT SAN JOSE, Calif. — Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion, Josh "The Punk" Thomson (16-2), will set out to make his first title defense and, at the same time, look to even an old score against the only man on the planet who has stopped him in the heat of battle - Yves Edwards (34-14-1) — at San Jose's HP Pavilion on Friday, November 21st. The 32-year-old Edwards, who scored an unforgettable, first round knockout on Thomson with a head kick at UFC 49 on August 21, 2004, remains one of only two competitors who have defeated Thomson. The finishing shot that Edwards landed on Thomson was afterwards called "the greatest knockout due to a kick in UFC history" by play-by-play announcer, Mike Goldberg. "I was better than him then and I'm way better than him now," said Thomson who, one day before his 30th birthday, coasted to his eighth consecutive victory, a first round TKO of Lion's Den protégé, Ashe Bowman, during Strikeforce's second affair at the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, September 20th. "This rematch is about winning back something that I let slip through my fingers last time," Thomson explained. "It was a fluke, but that's part of the fight game — anyone can get caught. I blame my error last time on my cockiness. This time, I've got to stamp my mark on it." His dominance of "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez at HP Pavilion on Friday, June 27th earned Thomson the Strikeforce title and a return to the lightweight division's world top 10 rankings. "I respect Yves as a fighter and consider him a friend. This is a business, though, and we know it so I'm going to do what I have to do," said Thomson. "It was a spectacular finish. We both scrambled and had a good idea, but mine was better," noted Edwards of his first meeting with Thomson. During his 11-year professional career, Edwards has triumphed over a number of other notable rivals, including Rich Clementi, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, James Edson Berto, and Hermes Franca, whom Edwards defeated twice. "Both Josh and I have improved. He's always been comfortable in the cage, but his stand-up looks a lot better and he looks like he puts things together a lot better than he used to. He also looks even harder to take down than before." A native of The Bahamas, Edwards took up Karate at age nine and, soon after, began studying Kung-Fu. After relocating to Houston, Texas at the age of 15, he fell in love with mixed martial arts (MMA) and gradually immersed himself in various components of the sport, most notably Muay Thai, western boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Edwards later dubbed his hybrid style of combat "Thug Jitsu." It is his passion for MMA that recently lured Edwards to Coconut Creek, Florida, where he has become a full fledged member of star-filled fight squad, American Top Team. "Being able to go with these guys all the time has helped improve my game a lot. I'm not lacking anything down here. I'm in a fighter's haven." Tickets for Strikeforce "Destruction," priced from $30, are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and on Strikeforce's official website (www.strikeforce.com). In the main event, Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight (205 lb. limit) Champion, Bobby Southworth (9-5), will make his highly anticipated title defense against top-ranked superstar, Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7). Joe "Diesel" Riggs (28-11) will make his return to the welterweight (170 lb. limit) division in a featured contest with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Luke Stewart (6-1). HP Pavilion doors will open at 5:30 PM for Strikeforce "Destruction" and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6 PM. The main card will commence at 7:30 PM.

Cowboy Up: WEC lightweight Donald Cerrone featured on tonight’s Pro MMA Radio Posted: 20 Oct 2008 06:04 AM CDT WEC lightweight Donald Cerrone will be tonight's guest on MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio airing at 9pm ET. “The Cowboy” is just a few weeks out from his number one contender match against “Razor” Rob McCullough at WEC 36 on November 5th. Cerrone will talk about the upcoming fight, his suspension for using diuretics, his opinion on current WEC lightweight champion Jamie “C-4″ Varner and the advantage of training with best friend Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia. Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names. If you're looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that's already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn't for you. However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9pm ET for our exclusive live feed. See you tonight!

Dana White: Brandon Vera ‘doesnt have that killer instinct’ Posted: 19 Oct 2008 11:53 PM CDT Props: Sports Illustrated Quoteworthy: “Brandon Vera, it’s like he lost something. That year off, I don’t know what it was. He doesn’t have that killer instinct, he doesn’t go after it. This kid used to be so cocky, and you know he wanted to fight everybody…. He was good, he was walking through heavyweights. Took that year off, all the contract stuff, hasn’t been the same guy since. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” UFC President Dana White sounds puzzled after Brandon Vera lost his third fight in four attempts against Keith Jardine at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” on October 18. “The Truth” is clearly struggling since his return from a long layoff because of management and contract issues. He’ll likely be the centerpiece of a Phillipines invasion sometime in 2009 — Vera referred to himself as receiving an Elvis-like reception when he visits his homeland. Whether or not he sees action before then remains to be seen. His loss to “The Dean of Mean” was his third fight in four months.

UFC 89 in pictures Posted: 19 Oct 2008 11:37 PM CDT Props: The Sun

Keith Jardine video: ‘Who knows who the best guy is’ in UFC light heavyweight division Posted: 19 Oct 2008 10:57 PM CDT So who is it?

‘UFC Countdown’ to 90 ‘Silva vs Cote’ to debut on Spike TV this week Posted: 19 Oct 2008 10:42 PM CDT "UFC Countdown" to UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote" will debut on Spike TV this Thursday (October 23) at 11 p.m. ET to promote the upcoming show this upcoming weekend at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on October 25. The hour-long special presentation will provide a glimpse into the preparation and training camps of the fighters set to headline the event, including main event participants UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and number one contender, Patrick Cote. It’s unclear at this time if we'll also get to check out some footage of the camps for co-headliners Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck, considering the welterweight match up was booked on less than two weeks notice because of an injury to Diego Sanchez. Nonetheless, the 170-pound showdown has serious title implications. In fact, the winner of the bout will likely be in line to face the winner of the bout between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn at UFC 94 on January 31 . Even though Koscheck — win or lose — intends to fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” on December 10. Remember that MMAmania.com will provide all the coverage you can handle, including LIVE blow-by-blow UFC 90 results of the main card action on fight night … be sure to come check us out. For those who miss the "Countdown" to UFC 90 premier it will re-air on Friday, October 24 at 4 p.m. ET and Saturday, October 25 at 6 p.m. ET.

Dana White: ‘The door is wide open’ for Fedor Emelianenko to fight in UFC Posted: 19 Oct 2008 08:54 PM CDT Props: Boston Herald Quoteworthy: "The door is wide open. I want Fedor to come in and fight the best. At the end of the day, I'm a fight fan. That's what I really am, and I want to see the best fight the best. Let's find out if he's the best. I want to do it…. I still feel the same way about Fedor [after beating Tim Sylvia]. I want to see Fedor fight the best in the world. People want to call him the best heavyweight pound-for-pound. Wait until he gets in and starts fighting some of these guys. I give him credit for fighting Tim Sylvia, but there are better guys out there than Tim." UFC President Dana White softens his stance, indicating that he welcomes Fedor Emelianenko as a possible addition to his heavyweight division. White and Co. worked hard to bring the Russian on board after the collapse of Pride FC; however, talks broke down when the parties could not agree on an exclusive fight contract. Emelianenko now competes primarily for Affliction MMA and is apparently locked in to a deal that would prevent him from competing in the Octagon anytime soon. Unless, of course, the upstart promotion falls on hard times in 2009 and beyond. Even still, it would be a minor miracle if Emelianenko ever signed with the UFC … he and his camp appear to mix like water and oil when it comes to working with UFC execs. Stranger things have happened, however. In the meantime, Emelianenko is penciled in to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski sometime early in the New Year, which is a fantastic and highly anticipated match up.

Shane Carwin upset with himself after 91-second destruction of Neil Wain at UFC 89 (Video) Posted: 19 Oct 2008 09:54 AM CDT If we don’t get to see “Mr. 5-XL” on television sometime soon then something is very wrong. This dude is an absolute monster. Check out all the UFC 89 post-fight interviews over at UFC.com.

UFC Quick Quote: Chris Leben couldnt land that one big shot on Michael Bisping Posted: 19 Oct 2008 09:47 AM CDT “I said [to myself] I gotta draw him in somehow. I was playing every card I had. At that point I was like fucking screw it, let’s trade. Let’s try to get him to come in and bang with me a little bit and maybe I could land that shot. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. And this time I didn’t. It was Bisping’s night tonight.” – Chris Leben talks in the post-fight press conference about his mindset as he realized he was losing the main event fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” at The National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, last night. “The Crippler” was clearly the more aggressive fighter, but “The Count” used that to his advantage, sticking, moving and peppering Leben with crisp punches for about 15 minutes. At several moments in the fight, Leben attempted to bait Bisping into a brawl by dropping his hands and sticking his chin out to get punched. The Brit didn’t bite. In the end, both their faces told the tale on this one — Leben was battered and Bisping looked as if he went untouched.

Jim Miller vs David Baron video UFC 89 fight … Posted: 19 Oct 2008 09:19 AM CDT … is now available for free on UFC.com – check out the UFC 89 “Submission of the Night,” which went untelevised last night on Spike TV:

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