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- Strikeforce ‘forming a strategic alliance’ with DREAM to exchange fighters
- Report: Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza signs with Strikeforce
- Knee injury forces James Irvin from UFC 102, could face reconstructive surgery
- Strikeforce to offer Jake Shields interim middleweight title fight for October
- The ‘best,’ BJ Penn and Anderson Silva, cross paths at UFC 101 in Philadelphia (Video)
- Mighty Mouse: Miguel Torres WEC 42 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
- WEC 42 weigh in results information for ‘Torres vs Bowles’ Aug. 9 event
- Sengoku 10 takes shape with addition of several fighters for Sept. 23 event
- Scott Coker: Fedor Emelianenko vs Alistair Overeem ’should be an amazing fight’
- Brock Larson vs Mike Pierce added to UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16
| Strikeforce ‘forming a strategic alliance’ with DREAM to exchange fighters Posted: 04 Aug 2009 10:57 PM PDT
It’s been a busy year for the San Jose-based Strikeforce organization — and it ain’t over yet. And if this past week is any indication, I think it’s safe to say that Strikeforce isn’t content with merely being the little engine that could. After the acquisition of select Pro Elite assets earlier in the year, the Showtime/CBS television deal and of course the signing of Fedor Emelianenko, Scott Coker and Co. have clearly established themselves as not just an alternative to the UFC, but a viable and adroit mixed martial arts promotion with a longterm vision. Part of that vision includes a fighter roster that extends beyond its in-house talent, as evidenced by the ’strategic alliance’ formed with Fighting and Entertainment Group’s (FEG) Japan-based ‘DREAM’ promotion. While co-promotion is not something that’s currently under consideration, FEG officials told MMAmania.com earlier today that the partnership will allow contracted fighters to compete for either promotion if the opportunity arises, much like it did for Mitsuhiro Ishida back on July 30. “Endless Fighter” was called in to rematch Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce interim lightweight title at ‘Carano vs. Cyborg’ after current champ Josh Thomson was forced to withdraw from the August 15 event when his leg failed to heal in time to obtain medical clearance to compete. An alliance would also allow Emelianenko to compete in Japan where he is still revered for his accomplishments in the now defunct PRIDE FC. Coker even mentioned in a previous radio interview the possibility of a future bout between “The Last Emperor” and Sergei Kharitonov. In addition, fighters who eventually exhaust opportunities within their divisions can now find new challenges overseas. Now that Strikeforce has a relationship with both M-1 Global and DREAM, the promotion has access to international resources that will ultimately benefit the fans by creating match ups that in the past, may have been logistically impossible. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this arrangement as a formal announcement is expected to be made later today. |
| Report: Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza signs with Strikeforce Posted: 04 Aug 2009 08:12 PM PDT
Fresh on the heels of today’s announcement that Jake Shields will be fighting this Fall for the Strikeforce interim middleweight championship, Graciemag.com is reporting that Ronaldo Souza has been added to the 185-pound roster with a — you guessed it — Fall 2009 debut. "Jacare" is perhaps best known (outside of his ridiculous jits) for his battles with Jason Miller over in DREAM. He outpointed “Mayhem” back in 2008 and their rematch was ruled a ‘no contest’ after Souza was split open with a kick that officials deemed illegal. No word yet on what will happen to their planned third tilt scheduled for DREAM 11 in light of this recent news. The "Alligator" (Jacare translated) is a two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion who placed second in the absolute division of the 2005 Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) world championships, losing to Roger Gracie by submission (rear naked choke). He also competed against UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture in a Professional Submission League grappling match in 2006, taking "The Natural" to a scoreless draw. After getting knocked out in his mixed martial arts debut back in 2003, Souza put together a torrid ten-fight winning streak, finishing nine of his victims by way of submission. That streak came to a crashing halt courtesy of a perfectly timed upkick from Gegard Mousasi in the finals of the DREAM 2008 middleweight grand prix last September. At 10-2, the Brazilian is a dangerous addition to any promotion, and should further bolster the Strikeforce middleweight roster. In fact with Shields and now Jacare, Cung Le might want to think twice about rushing back from his hoedown in Hollywood to unify the belts. |
| Knee injury forces James Irvin from UFC 102, could face reconstructive surgery Posted: 04 Aug 2009 06:44 PM PDT
James Irvin (14-5) has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 102 middleweight debut against Wilson Gouveia on August 29 following a massive knee injury suffered in training that will likely require surgery according to radio host Carmichael Dave. This is the second time this year Irvin has been bounced from an event due to injury. He was set to return from a nine-month drug suspension at UFC 98 against Drew McFedries back on May 23 before hurting his knee and pulling out of the fight. “The Massacre” went on to TKO Irvin’s replacement, Xavier Foupas-Pokam, just 37 seconds into the first round. Irvin hasn’t competed since a first round technical knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 more than one year ago. "The Sandman" was nursing a broken foot just weeks before accepting the bout and subsequently tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone after the fight. The California native claims he used the banned substances to mask the pain associated with the injury. Before the loss to Silva, Irvin experienced an injury-riddled and bizarre 2007 fight campaign, during which he blew out his knee in a loss to Thiago Silva and was knocked silly courtesy of an errant Luis Arthur Cane knee that resulted in a disqualification win. He rebounded by knocking out Houston Alexander in record time at last year’s UFC Fight Night 13. The momentum was unfortunately cut short once again in 2008 — and as of now it looks like he won’t have the chance to get it going again in 2009. |
| Strikeforce to offer Jake Shields interim middleweight title fight for October Posted: 04 Aug 2009 05:15 PM PDT
Easy Cung, easy go. It’s been nearly a year and a half since San Shou dynamo Cung Le usurped the 185-pound title from Frank Shamrock at the Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Le” event way back in March 2008. To put things in perspective, Le won the title when Evan Tanner was still alive, Kimbo Slice was the star of Elite XC and Matt Serra was the UFC welterweight champion. Yeah, it’s been a while. One person who’s tired of waiting for Le to make his first title defense is former Elite XC welterweight champion Jake Shields, the grappling phenom who recently submitted Robbie Lawler in his Strikeforce debut to notch his twelfth straight win. So what’s the hold up? Le took a not-so-temporary leave of absence to churn out an assortment of upcoming movie roles. He already has two movies set to be released in the near future, including the big screen version of the popular video game "Tekken" in which Le will play the role of Marshall Law. With three more movies in progress, CEO Scott Coker told TapouT Radio that he intends to create an interim title until the champ can return. And first on his list of potential candidates is Shields, who will be offered an interim title fight this October against an opponent to be named later. Coker added that the winner of the interim title will likely face Le at the end of this year to unify the belts. That could potentially set up a Shileds vs. Le match up to close out the year. And what a year it’s been for the San Jose-based organization. |
| The ‘best,’ BJ Penn and Anderson Silva, cross paths at UFC 101 in Philadelphia (Video) Posted: 04 Aug 2009 12:34 PM PDT |
| Mighty Mouse: Miguel Torres WEC 42 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 04 Aug 2009 09:13 AM PDT
If you walk past the unassuming 5'10," 135-pound Miguel Torres on the street you would never know he is one of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world. Just watch him fight in the cage and you'll quickly learn that he is as dangerous as they come. He's a technical master who overwhelms his opponents with a rare combination of power, speed, and skill. Torres is currently sporting an impressive record (37–1) after coming off a five round unanimous decision victory over Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 back in April 2009. He will once again put his WEC championship on the line when he takes on undefeated number one contender, Brian Bowles, on Aug 9. This match up will headline the WEC 42 event that is set to take place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Torres took some time out of his busy training schedule to discuss Mizugaki, his hometown near Chicago, Ill., a possible up in weight for higher profile fights, and his next opponent Bowles. Check it out:
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You're coming off a victory over Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40. You went the full five rounds for the first time ever. Was that the most difficult fight you've ever had in your career? Did Mizugaki earn your respect? Miguel Torres: Up to that point in my career, yes. It was pretty rough. I was hitting him with some good shots and he was showing no effects of it. I tried cutting him with elbows. I tried knocking him out with punches and knees and kicks. He took everything I gave him and gave back. As far as respect goes, he had a lot of respect before the fight, but for sure he had a ton more after. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Talk a little bit about fighting in Chicago, Ill., near your hometown of East Chicago, Indians, for the first time ever as the WEC champion. What was that whole experience like for you? Miguel Torres: It was crazy. All the attention was centered around me. I knew it was going to be kind of crazy. People wanting tickets and friends wanting to get hooked up with this and that. People wanting to get into the after parties. People coming to the gym to watch me train and doing promos in English and Spanish. I was getting bombarded from all areas but it was a good experience. I would totally do it again. I live for pressure like that. To be able to do that in my hometown and come back a world champion and defend my title like that was pretty cool. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Moving forward, you're set to put your title on the line once again against Brian Bowles at WEC 42. When did training camp start and where did it take place? Miguel Torres: I started training months ago. I went to Vegas for two weeks prior to UFC 100 and then came back to train boxing in my hometown in Chicago. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Who did you train with in Vegas? Miguel Torres: I trained with Mark Dellagrotte. He was out training Frank Mir for a couple weeks (prior to UFC 100). I'll trained with Dellagrotte and Robert Drysdale. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): With regards to Bowles, what is his biggest weakness? How do you plan to attack him? Miguel Torres: I don't think he has too many weaknesses. His biggest weakness would be his inexperience. If we put the rounds that we've fought on paper I probably have four or five times more rounds than he does. I think the biggest difference in this fight will be experience. I think my last fight showed I can as hard in the fifth round as the first round. I'm never going to get tired. He's going to have to overcome a lot of things, which a lot of men haven't been able to do. His grappling is solid. His striking is solid too, but I don't think it's at a level where it can compete with mine. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Would you like to make an official prediction on the fight? Miguel Torres: First round submission or second round knockout. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): If you are fortunate to come away with a victory over Bowles who else at 135 would you like to challenge yourself against? Miguel Torres: I'll fight whoever the next person in line is. I tell the WEC and all my fans I'll fight anybody that is out there. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I interviewed Mike Brown prior to his last fight with Faber and he expressed interest in fighting you in the future. Are you interested in fighting the best at 145 pounds? Miguel Torres: For sure man. I'll fight with Brown. I'll fight with Faber. That's a superfight that the fans are going to want to see. It's a fight that I would want to do. I just want to do a fight we could do on PPV or something like that. Something big. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Would you ever consider a move up to 155 and a trip over to the UFC? Is that too much weight for you to put on? Is that a realistic possibility or not? Miguel Torres: I wouldn't really put on weight for that fight. I would just focus on my training and my skills and coming in with a strong game plan. Going up in weight that will probably never happen. The WEC has expressed much concern. They want to keep me at 135. I am the man at that weight class. They have big plans in the future. In the next year I think you'll see guys coming down from 55 to 45 and 45 to 35 but they want to keep me there (at 135). They have expressed their concern and they're taking care of me. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): So if you ever did face a 145 pounder like Brown or Faber or someone like that would it have to be at some sort of catch-weight then? Miguel Torres: They haven't talked about it yet. I mentioned it a couple of times. They haven't brought it up yet. I'm thinking it would have to be a catch-weight though. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you feel like you're the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? If not, who is? Miguel Torres: I don't really believe in that term pound-for-pound. There are just so many criteria to take into consideration. I think there are a group of fighters that are the elite crowd, the elite upper echelon of fighters. To call someone the best fighter in the world it is so hard because it can change so much. Machida's last performance, that was really being pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world at that time. St. Pierre when he fights too. In the top five fighters I do believe I should be in there because I have dominated my weight class for so long and I'm doing a good job of it now. So much so that the world hasn't seen everything I can do yet. In time I am going to be up there higher than what I am now. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): As a fan, who is a fighter out there who you admire from a distance, have a lot of respect for, and love to watch fight? Miguel Torres: I love Fedor. I love his style. I love his mystique. St. Pierre is one of those guys. He's a great athlete. He always comes in shape and is always ready to do something big. Anderson (Silva), even though his last couple fights have not been what they've been in the past. I still think he's up there. B.J. Penn. There are so many fighters I look up to that I try to emulate. In Japan, you have (Tatsuya) Kawajiri. You have (Shinya) Aoki. You have a couple different fighters that are always trying to finish their fights and they have different styles of doing so. There are a lot of fighters I look up to. Even though they don't have big names or big names in the States or on the top of the pound-for-pound list I look up to them. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): That's all I had for you Miguel. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank? Miguel Torres: Thank all my sponsors — Ecko, MMA Warehouse, Metropolix, Val-Tex Labs. Those guys help me out a lot. They keep me going throughout the year. I try to do the best I can. And to the fans, their support keeps me going. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Thanks again for the time. We'll do it again soon. Best of luck to you in the future. Miguel Torres: Cool, thank you. Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated at FoxSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on MMAmania.com. |
| WEC 42 weigh in results information for ‘Torres vs Bowles’ Aug. 9 event Posted: 04 Aug 2009 09:12 AM PDT
The official weigh-in event for WEC 42: “Torres vs. Bowles” is set to take place from “Body English” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. The first fighter is expected to tip the scale at 7 p.m. ET. While the promotion will not stream the event live, a replay will be shown shortly after on WEC.tv. As usual, MMAmania.com will provide the latest coverage of the WEC 42 weigh-in, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude. "Torres vs. Bowles" will feature a main event between bantamweight champion Miguel “Angel” Torres and undefeated number one contender Brian Bowles. In addition, featherweight contenders Joseph Benavidez and Dominick Cruz will collide in the co-featured bout on the Versus telecast. Here's the complete WEC 42 fight card:
For those fortunate enough to be in "Sin City" remember that the weigh-in is FREE to attend and open to the public. Doors to the weigh-in will open at 3 p.m. local time for the general public. Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night (Saturday, Aug. 9), which is slated to air at 9 p.m. ET on the Versus network from “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 7 p.m. ET. It's going to be an awesome night of fights so don't miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight WEC 42 coverage you can handle. |
| Sengoku 10 takes shape with addition of several fighters for Sept. 23 event Posted: 04 Aug 2009 09:07 AM PDT
World Victory Road (WVR) recently announced the next batch of participants for its Sengoku 10 event, which takes place at the Saitama Community Arena in Saitama, Japan, on September 23. Sengoku lightweight standout Kazunori Yokota (9-2-3) is set to compete, as well a pair of Olympians in 2004 Olympic Judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi (0-0) and 2000 Olympic Judo gold medalist Makoto Takimoto (5-5). All are scheduled for Sengoku 10; however, their opponents will not be announced until a later date. Yokota will likely look for a crack at the Sengoku lightweight title with another win and could be granted a shot if he has a good outing come September. He also holds a recent win over the current champion Mizuota Hirota (12-3-1). Therefore, a second encounter between the two could go down soon. He last competed at Sengoku 8 this May where he squeaked a split decision victory over jiu-jistu ace Leonardo Santos (6-3).
Makoto Takimoto was also victorious at the same event, snapping a two-fight losing skid and also putting to rest thoughts of retirement by locking up Michael Costa (9-5) in a slick heel hook from which he was forced to tap. While judo player Hiroshi Izumi will be making his mixed martial arts debut at the event and is currently set to compete at light heavyweight come showtime. Also announced for Sengoku 10, will be the first (and last) Elite XC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva (12-1), UFC veteran Joe Doerksen (41-12) and former IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz (20-11-1). Here is the current line-up for Sengoku 10:
For more on Sengoku click here. |
| Scott Coker: Fedor Emelianenko vs Alistair Overeem ’should be an amazing fight’ Posted: 04 Aug 2009 07:22 AM PDT
Props: TapouT Radio (via BloodyElbow.com) Quoteworthy:
Check out more from Coker, Strikeforce CEO, on the Emelianenko acquisition after the jump.
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| Brock Larson vs Mike Pierce added to UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16 Posted: 04 Aug 2009 04:25 AM PDT
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) welterweight veterans, Brock Larson (26-2) and Mike Pierce (9-1), are booked to throwdown inside that Octagon at UFC Fight Night 19 from the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Sept. 16. Larson recently defeated Mike Pyle via first round submission (arm triangle choke) at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida" back in May. It was his second consecutive win for the former number one WEC 170-pound contender. The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy-trained fighter returned to the UFC after leaving for the WEC in late 2006, scoring a first round submission win (rear naked choke) over Jesse Sanders at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April. With three straight wins, Larson could start to make some noise in the crowded division. And he'll get the opportunity to do it against a fighter who is making his promotional debut. Pierce recently toppled former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 cast member Paul Bradley via unanimous decision at RIE: "Brotherly Love Brawl." He competed once for the WEC, taking out Justin Haskins via technical knockout back in March. He is currently enjoying a five-fight win streak. Getting number six will certainly be a major test. "Diaz vs. Guillard" will serve as the lead-in to the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and will feature a main event between hungry lightweight up-and-comers and former TUF grads Nate Diaz and Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard. In addition, Roger "El Matador" Huerta will throwdown for perhaps the last time inside the Octagon as he tries to leave on a high note against the stifling super-wrestler Gray "The Bully" Maynard. Nate Quarry, Carlos Condit and Chris Lytle are also scheduled to compete. For all the latest news on UFC Fight Night 19 check out our complete archive right here. |
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