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| Alistair Overeem: I will defend the Strikeforce Heavyweight title on June 6 Posted: 11 Apr 2009 01:02 AM PDT
Props: Jarry Park Quoteworthy:
"Demolition Man" puts the Strikeforce heavyweight division on notice with his impending return to the San Jose-based organization on June 6 to defend the title he captured from Paul Buentello via second round TKO way back in November of 2007. Prior to dropping a close decision to World GP 2008 Champion Remy Bonjasky at last months K-1 event, Overeem had won five straight consecutive bouts — including a first round destruction of former K-1 heavyweight champion Badr Hari at the Fields Dynamite!! super show on December 31. Perhaps a win for Brett Rogers on Saturday night can put in motion a possible title match later this year? |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2009 01:01 AM PDT
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr. had no drugs or alcohol in his system when he perished in a fatal car crash in the early hours of March 11 according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office as reported by the Orange County Register. Toxicology tests performed by the Orange County Coroner came back negative, reaffirming the testimony from friends and family that Lewis did not drink or take drugs. Lewis, 45, was killed when his Ferrari collided with a Porsche driven by Jeffrey David Kirby of Costa Mesa. Kirby has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and is facing a possible sentence of more than 19 years if convicted. He's currently being held on $500,000 bail. “Mask” helped launch TapouT way back in 1997, with nothing more than a vision and a handful of merchandise — and enough gas in his van to follow fighters across the state of California to promote and sell TapouT clothing. Now his empire, along with Dan "Punkass" Caldwell and Timothy "Skyskrape" Katz, includes a reality TV show, a line of bottled water, an impressive stable of mixed-martial-arts fighters and of course its massive clothing line, which went from a few thousand dollars in sales back in the late 90's to over $100 million in 2008. Lewis will be honored in a memorial service held at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California on April 14. "Simply Believe: A Celebration of Charles 'Mask' Lewis Jr." begins at 11am and is open to the public. |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2009 12:16 AM PDT
Japanese import Hitomi Akano has officially withdrawn from her April 11 Strikeforce bout against Cristiane Santos late last night after “Cyborg” failed to make her contracted weight of 145-pounds according to Sherdog.com. Santos originally tipped the scales at a whopping 152 lbs. — seven pounds over the set limit. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) currently enforces a six-pound rule, which does not allow a fighter to compete who weighs in over six pounds in any division save for heavyweight. Santos was given until 8pm PT to make the cut to a minimum of 149.5 pounds - a mark she missed by one pound at the deadline. The CSAC opted to let her fight, so long as both camps were in agreement. They weren’t. Akano was reportedly very upset that Cyborg was so far off the mark. Strikeforce officials apparently tried to bribe “Girlfight Monster” with a win bonus (whether she won or lost) as well as two guaranteed future fights — but to no avail. Here’s an excerpt from Shu Hirata, Akano’s manager:
This is the second major blow to befall the Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Diaz" event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Last week, Josh “The Punk” Thomson had to pull out of his lightweight title fight against Gilbert Melendez after breaking his leg in training. Rodrigo Damm stepped up to replace him, but there will be no such rescue in this case. An undercard bout is expected to take its place on the televised portion of the card. Hopefully Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock (as well as Scott Smith and Benji Radach) can put on one hell of a show. No pressure. For complete weigh-in coverage of Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Diaz” click here. |
| UFC 100 video promo for historic PPV event on July 11 Posted: 10 Apr 2009 07:49 PM PDT Oh boy: |
| MMA Quick Quote: Scott Smith vs Benji Radach could steal the Strikeforce show Posted: 10 Apr 2009 07:12 PM PDT
– Scott Smith shares his final pre-fight thoughts before stepping into the cage tomorrow night (April 11) to battle Benji Radach at Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Diaz” from the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Cailfornia. “Hands of Steel” loves to throw leather. And his “Razor” is no stranger to fisticuffs, either, finishing nearly 80 percent of his 19 career wins via (technical) knockout. Get ready for some fireworks, maniacs. |
| Strikeforce weigh in results for ‘Shamrock vs Diaz’ event on April 10 Posted: 10 Apr 2009 03:51 PM PDT
The official weigh-in event for Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs. Diaz” took place today (April 10) from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos once again failed to hit her mark, coming in seven pounds over the contracted 145-pound weight limit for her showdown against Hitomi Akano. She has several hours to lose at least 2.5 pounds, which would get her within six pounds of her opponent, otherwise the bout will be scrapped. Stay tuned. Here are the complete “Shamrock vs. Diaz” weigh in results:
Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. The five-fight main card is set to air live on the premium cable network, Showtime, beginning at 9 p.m. ET tomorrow evening (April 11). Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the televised action, which will all go down from the HP Pavillion in San Jose. Of course, the latest quick updates of the prelim bouts will begin to flow earlier than that at around 7:30 p.m. ET. Be sure to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight coverage you can handle … especially if you plan to pass on watching the Showtime telecast. We have you covered! |
| Wilson Reis and others weigh in for Bellator II at Mohegan Sun Posted: 10 Apr 2009 02:59 PM PDT
It’s only been one week, but that’s not stopping Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator) from staging its second-ever show later on this evening from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Fighters recently tipped the scales for Bellator II, which features more first round match ups from the featherweight (145 pounds), lightweight (155 pounds) and welterweight (170 pounds) tournaments. The main event will showcase featherweight sensation, Wilson Reis, taking on Mexican fighter Henry Martinez for the right to advance to the division semifinals. Here are the official Bellator II weigh-in results:
Featherweight Tournament Bout (first round 145-pound bout): Lightweight Tournament Bout (first round 155-pound bout): Welterweight Tournament Bouts (first round 170-pound bouts): Non-Tournament Bouts: Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. Those who came in over risk losing percentages of their fight purses. MMAmania.com will pass along the results and quick recap of all the latest Bellator II action as soon as possible. Remember that even though the action will take place live from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., later tonight (April 11), it will air via tape delay 24 hours on ESPN Deportes … it is not available to watch live anywhere. As always, check out MMAmania.com early and often for all the Bellator II coverage you can handle! |
| Frank Shamrock vs Nick Diaz Strikeforce fight trash talk boils over (Video) Posted: 10 Apr 2009 11:45 AM PDT |
| Strikeforce: ‘Shamrock vs Diaz’ predictions, preview and analysis Posted: 10 Apr 2009 11:12 AM PDT
Strikeforce: ‘Shamrock vs Diaz’ is set to go down this Saturday, April 11 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, live on Showtime starting at 10p.m. ET. Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates with blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 9 p.m. ET. To get us pumped for the festivities, MMAmania.com Editor and Senior Writer Jesse Holland (that's me) will break down the main event matches and provide an unbiased and objective examination of each contest. Well, not really, but you will be treated to a smörgåsbord of hot air, elitism and conjecture. And for this edition of Nostradumbass, I’m going to depart from my usual cock-and-bull routine in favor of a neat and orderly format. I’ve also included the current betting lines for each fight so that you can get a feel for what the money has to say about the chances of each combatant. And if you just so happen to have a few bucks to throw down on your favorite fighter, far be it from me to stop you from clicking on the handy BetUS link I so conveniently provided. Now, enough with the pillow talk … at least for the time being. Let's get cracking: Catchweight of 179 lbs.: Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) vs. Nick Diaz (18-7) Backgrounds: Shamrock — who defeated Diaz' mentor Cesar Gracie in just 21 seconds back in 2006 – is coming off more than a full year on the sidelines. After obliterating Phil Baroni at ‘Shamrock vs. Baroni’ in June 2007, Shammy’s been on the shelf courtesy of a third round technical knockout loss to current Strikeforce champion Cung Le last March, in which his forearm was shattered while blocking a head kick. Diaz, on the other hand, has fought three times during that span, winning all three matches by TKO. It will be the first fight for the Stockton, Calif., native since scoring a second round technical knockout victory over Thomas Denny at EliteXC: "Unfinished Business" back in July 2008. Despite the weight difference, Diaz has done well in the past as a welterweight and even holds a knockout win over the last reigning EliteXC middleweight champion, Robbie Lawler. He also underwent surgery to remove scar tissue from his face to help reduce the possibility of a fight-ending cut. Dumbass predicts: Like him or loathe him, Shammy is one of the few holdovers from Generation 1 that is still relevant to the current fight scene. While the jury is still out on whether he’s now (or ever was) one of the greats, you can’t dispute his ability to sell a fight. He’s the Grandmaster of in-ring antics — so much so that he could sue Rashad Evans for royalties. And Diaz is no slouch either, especially with the Gracie feud as motivation. Yet somewhere beneath all the heat and all the hype lies one of the finest mixed martial artists of yesteryear. It was a shame to see Shamrock spend so much of his prime beating on lesser talent and resting on his laurels. He no longer has the knees to be competitive on the ground, so I expect him to fight Diaz exactly the same way he fought Cung Le last year — with exactly the same bravado. And Diaz will be happy to oblige. If Diaz were to fight intelligently he would chop away at Sham’s brittle knees but since this is all about being macho it’s going to be a straight-up slugfest. Round one will likely be a circus as the two try to out-clown one another, but Diaz won’t be able to do enough long term damage with his rat-tat-tat striking. Shamrock will slowly but surely chip away and eventually take control at some point in the last stanza. Diaz is too tough to get stopped in a three rounder so I expect Shamrock to make it a clean sweep on the judge’s cards. Betting lines (as of April 10): Shamrock: -180 ((Bet Now)) Diaz: +140 ((Bet Now)) Prediction: Shamrock via unanimous decision 155 lbs.: Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez (14-2) vs. Rodrigo Damm (8-2) Backgrounds: Melendez has been out of action since losing his title in a decisive unanimous decision to current champion Josh "The Punk" Thomson last June. The loss was only the second of his sparkling 16-fight career, which includes notable wins over Hiroyuki Takaya, Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri and others. His only other defeat was a unanimous decision loss to Mitsuhiro Ishida at Yarennoka on New Years Eve 2007. His opponent is a Brazilian submission specialist and Sengoku veteran who holds a notable win over current Bellator Fighting Championship lightweight contestant Jorge Masvidal, as well as submission victories over Kulter Gill, Santino Defranco and Naoki Seki. Thus far in his illustrious career Damm has finished five of his eight victims by way of tapout, including four of those by rear naked choke. However, it's been a while since Rodrigo last saw action. In fact, he hasn't competed since August of last year, losing for only the second time in his career at Sengoku: "Fourth Battle" by first round submission to cagey veteran Eiji Mitsuoka. Dumbass predicts: Melendez was originally set to rematch Thomson for the gold until “The Punk” was forced to bow out with a leg injury. If you thought Melendez was fired up before, he’s got to be positively livid by now. “El Nino” wants his belt back, and fighting for an Interim title may seem like more of an insult than an honor for the simple reason that he feels like he only coughed up the belt because of a lackluster performance against Thomson in their first go-round. Damm has skills — and I like his style because he finishes fights. Unfortunately for him, when Melendez is on, he’s as good as any lightweight out there. Under normal circumstances I would expect this to be more competitive, but coming in on such short notice — against an opponent of Melendez’ caliber — makes this an easy prediction. Expect Damm to come out game only to be overwhelmed by an aggressive and relentless Melendez. A first round stoppage would not surprise me. Betting lines (as of April 10): Melendez: No action (late replacement bout) Damm: No action (late replacement bout) Prediction: Melendez via TKO 140 lbs.: Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (6-1) vs. Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano (14-5) Backgrounds: Cyborg — the wife of former Pride FC fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos — burst onto the scene in May of 2008 with a dominating performance against Shayna Baszler in her debut under the EliteXC banner. 6-1 overall, Santos has four brutal TKO wins to her credit. Like her husband, she's a product of the Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy, a style that's evident as soon as she steps foot in the cage. Her most recent fight was in October 2008 on the EliteXC: "Heat" card. She out-pointed Yoko Takahashi on the judges scorecards for a unanimous decision. Akano is just the opposite. The wily veteran is a submission specialist and former standout on Japan's national judo team — and has yet to be finished in 19 career fights. The Japanese import is riding a three fight win streak and has ended 11 of her 14 victories by way of tapout. Dumbass predicts: On paper this is Akano’s fight. She has more experience, she fights more frequently and her submissions are off the chart. So why am I picking Santos? Hitomi is no spring chicken — she’ll be 35 in just three months — and she’s starting to look her age. “Girlfight Monster” may have won three straight, but they were far from dominating performances. Hari had a losing record and Yabushita dumped her on the ground and was putting it to her before getting careless and sticking her leg into Akano’s guard. True, Cyborg’s lone loss was a submission, but it was also her first pro fight back in 2005. Since then, Santos has improved tenfold, leaving a trail of battered opponents in her wake. Akano will be in survival mode from the opening bell as Cyborg stalks her and stuffs her into a bento box late into the first. Betting lines (as of April 10): Santos: -550 ((Bet Now)) Akano: +325 ((Bet Now)) Prediction: Santos via TKO 185 lbs.: Benji "Razor" Radach (19-4) vs. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith (14-5) Backgrounds: Smith battled fellow UFC veteran Terry Martin on the last Strikeforce card of 2008 back in November. "Hands of Steel" lived up to his nickname on that night by knocking out the hard hitting Martin less than 30 seconds into the first round. Before that impressive showing, Smith took on division title holder "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler in EliteXC last May. The two 185-pound sluggers went back and forth for nearly three rounds before an inadvertent poke to the eye from Lawler caused a premature stop to the title fight. The promotion ordered an immediate rematch, and the two went at it again two months later at "Unfinished Business." This time, however, Smith was handed the fifth loss of his career by second round technical knockout. Radach was also mixing it up in Elite XC, debuting with an impressive second round technical knockout over former division champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua last October. Before joining the Pro Elite roster in 2008, Radach competed six times under the International Fight League (IFL) banner. After winning his first five fights for the promotion, he came up on the short end of the stick at the World Grand Prix Finals in December of 2007 against Matt Horwich, which is the lone blemish on his record over his last seven fights. Radach also has some Octagon experience to his credit as well. In 2002, he competed three times in the UFC, putting together an even record (1-1-1) against Steve Berger (No Contest), Nick Serra (win) and Sean Sherk (loss). Dumbass predicts: If any bout has the potential to be the fight of the night, it has to be this one. I’ve always enjoyed Scott Smith because he comes to fight and I was sorry to see him leave the UFC, even in spite of his 1-3 record under the Zuffa umbrella. He managed to do alright for himself outside of the promotion, and his fight against Robbie Lawler helped garner a lot of interest from the casual fan who was watching CBS to catch a glimpse of Kimbo Slice last May. Like the main event, I don’t anticipate much of a ground game from guys nicknamed “Hands of Steel” and “Razor.” Similar to Smith, Radach likes to throw hands, ending nearly 80 percent of his wins via (T)KO. Hopefully neither man gets overzealous and we get a technical display or at the very least a clean stand-up battle. I’m favoring Smith here because he’s been the busier of the two, going to war four times in 2008 compared to Radach’s one. He’s also coming off the momentum of a brutal knockout of Terry Martin, whereas the “Ninja” win for “Razor” seems like ancient history. Three rounds of action in a close battle that Smith pulls out with a busier third round. Betting lines (as of April 10): Smith: +120 ((Bet Now)) Radach: -160 ((Bet Now)) Prediction: Smith via split decision 265 lbs.: Brett "The Grim" Rogers (8-0) vs. Ron "Abongo" Humphrey (5-0) Backgrounds: Rogers made a name for himself fighting under the EliteXC banner last year, posting three straight first round knockouts over Ralph Kelly, James Thompson and Jon Murphy. The Team Bison product lobbied hard for a fight with Kimbo Slice following the Murphy fight in May, but never succeeded in convincing the promoters to book the match before the company went under in October 2008. He has heavy hands, ending all eight of his fights via strikes. Ron Humphrey was a participant on BET's reality series "Iron Ring" last year, and he won two fights on the show while being coached by UFC veteran Shonie Carter. The Atlanta, Georgia resident stands only 5′11″ and will give up a full six inches in height to Rogers, but like Brett is also perfect thus far in his career with all of his wins coming by way of strikes. Dumbass predicts: I never saw “Iron Ring.” In fact, I couldn’t even tell you what channel BET is on because I don’t watch it. Fortunately I do have a YouTube account so I was able to bring myself up to speed. To be quite honest, I was impressed with Abongo’s footwork and use of the leg kick. He seems to understand how the game is played. What I wasn’t impressed with was his head movement, or lack thereof. Giving up a size difference to a guy who can turn the lights out like “The Grim” makes it hard for me to give Humphrey much of a chance — especially when he sticks his head straight up when he punches — like he’s peeking over a fence. He’s built like a brick shithouse, with thick legs and a compact build. If he can ditch the striking and use that stocky base to upend Rogers and turtle him, this could get real interesting. However if it’s all about the hands (and it usually is), Abongo could be staring at the lights in the first round. Still, I get nervous whenever I see a fighter passing the -500 mark in the betting lines, it’s like the ultimate jinx. With that in mind (and the fact that I haven’t picked any upsets), I’m taking Abongo for the win. And why not? He’s talented, but it’s not like Rogers has beaten a top ten opponent. Betting lines (as of April 10): Rogers: -500 ((Bet Now)) Humphrey: +300 ((Bet Now)) Prediction: Humphrey via KO That's a wrap, folks. Remember to come check us out after the show for all the latest results, recaps and our coverage of Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs. Diaz." What do you think? Now it's your turn … let us have it in the comments section and share your thoughts and picks for Saturday's event. |
| Brett Rogers prepared to send Abongo Humphrey to 185-pounds on April 11 (Video) Posted: 10 Apr 2009 09:55 AM PDT |
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