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Gilbert Melendez: 'I think I'm a candidate for number one lightweight in the world now' (Video)
UFC Quick Pic: Dana White is all smiles following Hendo loss, CBS brouhaha
King Mo: 'The takedowns were there all day'
Caught in the act: Nick Diaz ready to unload on "Mayhem" Miller in CBS Strikeforce post-fight...
Strikeforce: 'Nashville' post-fight brawl on CBS video featuring 'Mayhem' Miller vs Team Gracie
Strikeforce results, recap and post-fight discussion for 'Nashville' on April 17
Strikeforce results, updates and live play-by-play TONIGHT (April 17) for Nashville!
Josh Shockman eats a knee in a losing effort to Cale Yarbrough at Strikeforce: "Nashville."
UFC 116: Kurt Pellegrino vs George Sotiropoulos on tap for July 3
WEC 48: Urijah Faber has the edge over Jose Aldo (Video)
Gegard Mousasi signs two-year, four-fight contract extension with Strikeforce
Scott Coker: 'Hopefully you'll see Alistair Overeem fight every other month in Strikeforce'
Shinya Aoki (and his flip-flops) take 'Music City' (Video)
Dan Henderson: Rosa Parks or David Caruso?
KOTC quick results for the injury-plagued 'Bad Boys II' fight card in Detroit, MI
Counter programming reminder: UFC 110 for free on Spike TV tonight opposite Strikeforce 'Nashville'
CBS 'Saturday Night Fights' opening video trailer for Strikeforce: 'Nashville'
Ryan Bader undergoes successful hand surgery to repair a torn tendon. Rumored UFC 116 appearance...

Gilbert Melendez: 'I think I'm a candidate for number one lightweight in the world now' (Video)

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 01:40 AM PDT

Anyone want to make a case against "El Nino?"

UFC Quick Pic: Dana White is all smiles following Hendo loss, CBS brouhaha

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 01:33 AM PDT

Check out "Mayhem" Miller's reaction after the jump.

King Mo: 'The takedowns were there all day'

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 01:09 AM PDT

Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

"Whenever I faked, he covered up and the takedowns were there all day. If you watch his fights he's never gone past three rounds. As a wrestler, I've been trained to grind and that's what I did, just grind him down because I knew he had no conditioning. I knew he'd fade because I watched his films. F--K [the haters]. Everyone's been doubting me my whole life. I've got the Bernard Hopkins mentality: It's me against the world -- and that's how it's gonna be the rest of my life."

Newly minted Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal talks about his dominating performance over former champion Gegard Mousasi in their five round title fight at Strikeforce "Nashville" on April 17. "King Mo" used a suffocating wrestling attack to stifle the offense of the Armenian, who never looked comfortable through the twenty-five mi nute fight and as a result, coughed up his 205-pound crown.

Caught in the act: Nick Diaz ready to unload on "Mayhem" Miller in CBS Strikeforce post-fight...

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 12:47 AM PDT

Caught in the act: Nick Diaz ready to unload on "Mayhem" Miller in CBS Strikeforce post-fight melee. (Pic courtesy of Keith Mills)

Strikeforce: 'Nashville' post-fight brawl on CBS video featuring 'Mayhem' Miller vs Team Gracie

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 10:13 PM PDT

"Gentlemen, we're on national television!"

Strikeforce results, recap and post-fight discussion for 'Nashville' on April 17

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 08:48 PM PDT

Strikeforce tonight (April 17) stormed the "Nashville" Bridgestone Arena with three featured title bouts on the line during the CBS telecast of "Saturday Night Fights" from the heart of "Music City" in the cowboy-friendly state of Tennessee.

And if there was ever a "Yee-Haw!" moment, it was definitely when Jason "Mayhem" Miller shat on the post-fight celebration of Jake Shields by demanding a rematch.

First rule of MMA: Never start shit inside the cage with the Diaz brothers present. As expected, all hell broke loose and fists went flying on national television. Regrettably, it was the most exciting action to take place inside the cage all night.

Dan Henderson looked like his old self in the first round of the night's main event, stalking the 185-pound champion Jake Shields and dropping him with a blitzkrieg of punches.

Then he just looked old.

From the second round on, Hendo was unable to recapture his fire from the first frame, eventually succumbing to the champion's effective mixture of takedowns and ground and pound.

And credit to Shields, who showed the heart of a champion by surviving the rough waters and executing his gameplan over the additional four rounds.

Who's next in line for the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion?

And what's next for Dan Henderson?

In what was supposed to be an exciting battle of well-matched lightweights, Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki struggled to make their 155-pound title bout exciting for the fans as the DREAM import spent most of the time perfecting his butt-scoot.

Ever see a dog wipe its ass on the carpet with that front paw crawl?

"El Nino" tried to unleash hell on more than one occasion but "The Tobikan Judan" either circled out of danger or tied him up on the ground. I don't normally condone booing in the arena but this fight fell far short of expectations and the crowd let them know it.

Nevertheless, Gilbert Melendez holds on to his lightweight strap and told the fans in attendance after the fight that he considered himself to be "top three" in the world in his division.

Do you agree or disagree?

Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed Lawal got the CBS televised portion of the card started in light heavyweight action with the "The Dreamcather's" 205-pound title on the line.

Easy come, easy go.

"King Mo" proved that he is indeed royalty by using his powerful wrestling and stingy ground control to dominate all five rounds and overthrow Mousasi's reign as champion. It wasn't a particularly exciting fight as both men spent a good duration of the bout struggling for position, but there was no disputing the outcome.

Simply put, Mousasi was ill-equipped to handle the world-class wrestling of Lawal -- and it cost him his title. King Mo is the new light heavyweight champion. Does Strikeforce have a 205-pound fighter that can stop him?

As promised, Scott Coker found a way to shoehorn highlights of Jason Miller's TKO victory into the CBS broadcast.

Not much to analyze here, as opponent Tim Stout was clearly out of his league and did little more than give "Mayhem" a workout, who now looks to be in line for a rumored bout opposite "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler a few months down the road.

It was a decent night of fights with a wild and wacky ending.

What fighter showed you the most tonight? Will Shields defect to the UFC after this latest win? Is Dan Henderson starting to show his age? How impressive was "King Mo?"

Let's hear your take, Maniacs.

Strikeforce results, updates and live play-by-play TONIGHT (April 17) for Nashville!

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 06:50 PM PDT

Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce: "Nashville."

Quick results of the preliminary fights will begin to flow around 7 p.m. ET and round-by-round coverage of the main card action on CBS will get started at 9 p.m. ET!

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main Strikeforce: "Nashville" results post and not this one. Comments in this thread are turned off.

Enjoy the show, Maniacs!

Josh Shockman eats a knee in a losing effort to Cale Yarbrough at Strikeforce: "Nashville."

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 06:47 PM PDT

Josh Shockman eats a knee in a losing effort to Cale Yarbrough at Strikeforce: "Nashville."

UFC 116: Kurt Pellegrino vs George Sotiropoulos on tap for July 3

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 03:34 PM PDT

Submission possible.

Contending UFC lightweights Kurt Pellegrino and George Sotiropolous have been paired up for a 155-pound showdown at this summer's UFC 116 event, currently scheduled for July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MMAmania.com learned of the pending match-up earlier today.

"Batman" recently made it a dark night for Fabricio Camoes, battling the Brazilian into the second round before strangling "Morango" en route to a submission victory (rear naked choke) in front of a hometown crowd at last month's UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy" event.

The win marked Pellegrino's fourth straight.

Also making some noise in front of friends and family is streaking Aussie submission standout George Sotiropoulos. After getting bounced from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 he's been nothing short of unstoppable, including a unanimous decision win over the venerable Joe Stevenson at UFC 110: "Nogueira vs. Velasquez" back in February.

The convincing win over "Daddy" was his sixth in a row.

UFC 116 is set to be headlined by returning heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, as he tries to quell the uprising of undefeated division contender Shane Carwin. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Wanderlei Silva will also square off in a battle of sexy vs. psycho.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates on this still-developing fight card.

WEC 48: Urijah Faber has the edge over Jose Aldo (Video)

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 11:11 AM PDT

Gegard Mousasi signs two-year, four-fight contract extension with Strikeforce

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 11:07 AM PDT

UFC fans hoping to see the Armenian mixing it up with the rest of the 205'ers inside the Octagon have their hearts broken thanks to Sherdog.com. And we can't blame this one on M-1 either since "The Dreamcatcher" dumped them in favor of new management earlier this year.

Anyone think this new contract was in his best interest? Or did he blow a major payday -- especially if he wins tonight against "King Mo" in Nashville?

Scott Coker: 'Hopefully you'll see Alistair Overeem fight every other month in Strikeforce'

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 10:52 AM PDT

Props: MMAWeekly

Quoteworthy:

"It's a timing issue. Now that we're scheduled, we're going to fight him. Hopefully you'll see Alistair fight every other month in Strikeforce, so we can help build the popularity of Alistair, because this guy is an amazing, amazing athlete, great fighter, has a great history of fighting some of the best fighters. Here's a guy calling me saying I want to fight Fedor (Emelianenko). That doesn't happen too much where fighters are calling and saying I want to fight the best fighter in the world."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has an extremely optimistic view of Alistair Overeem's future in the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion. While "Demolition Man" is currently their heavyweight champion, he hasn't defended his title in over two years despite being active on the Japanese fight circuit. If Overeem can get past Brett Rogers at "Heavy Artillery," it will be interesting to see if and when he appears next. That may depend on the outcome of the planned June bout bewteen Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum -- though there's been no indication that Strikeforce and M-1 have reached an agreement on that fight. Is the promotion's heavyweight division still in limbo? Or just one or two signatures away from being locked down for the rest of 2010? Thoughts?

Shinya Aoki (and his flip-flops) take 'Music City' (Video)

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 10:09 AM PDT

If both "El Nino" and "Tobikan Judan" bring their A-games you're looking at an early candidate for fight of the year.

Dan Henderson: Rosa Parks or David Caruso?

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 09:46 AM PDT

Former UFC and PRIDE star Dan Henderson spoke to the LA Times recently about the financial motivation to sign with Strikeforce after his UFC contract expired.

It has an interesting look at both sides of the revenue equation which has the pendulum swinging between the promotion that gives a fighter the opportunity to make a name for himself and the fighter that gives a promotion the opportunity to generate business.

Naturally the fighter must hold up his end of the bargain, namely by winning, but how much is his blood, sweat and tears worth?

It's not a new dilemma, as record labels, movie studios -- even the WWE all have the eventual showdown with talent that wants their reward to run congruent with their value.

Though unlike Randy Couture, Henderson lost some of his bargaining leverage from being in-between contracts and did not have "The Natural's" clout or a division championship.

But consider these arguments:

Henderson: I lost my cut of the UFC 100 pay-per-view revenue when my fight with Michael Bisping was bumped from the co-main event.

UFC: You received a $100,000 fight bonus for knocking out "The Count" -- and a $90,000 Land Rover for putting up with his shtick on TUF (Note: The Land Rover broke down and stranded Hendo on the way home).

Henderson: The UFC charges apparel sponsors (like Henderson's own Clinch Gear) a fee as high as $10,000 for four months of unlimited appearances in the UFC Octagon.

UFC: Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have poured millions into building the UFC brand, and their fighters have in turn profited handsomely in a growing sport that was a bush-league, toughman contest a decade ago.

Henderson: "I never saw a dime [of UFC Undisputed.] Where do you think the money should go? The fighters are asked to sign away their likeness rights, and [Zuffa] tries to get it forever."

UFC: See Fitch, John.

Strikeforce: We give fighters the right to exploit their own likeness!

Henderson: "If enough guys start jumping ship, it will put pressure ... to let the fighters share in more of the revenue. [Strikeforce] needs some more heavyweights and 205-pounders, but as contracts in the UFC begin to expire, guys are going to start looking in a different direction now because of me."

UFC: "Nashville" sold two tickets because of Dan Henderson.

See more of the LA Times piece for additional perspective, but the question now is where do the fans stand on Dan Henderson and the UFC?

I understand a majority of fans don't care about the politics of the sport, they just want to see their favorite fighters throw down. But if Henderson finds financial success in Strikeforce, it could prompt other top fighters to follow suit.

That in turn could prevent some of the world's best from facing one another because they're signed to separate promotions.

Is "Hendo" leading the way to financial freedom? Or overestimating his street value while constantly searching for greener pastures?

A sticky situation indeed -- and a lot will depend on the outcome of his April 17 middleweight title fight against Jake Shields at Strikeforce: "Nashville."

Where do you stand?

KOTC quick results for the injury-plagued 'Bad Boys II' fight card in Detroit, MI

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 08:51 AM PDT

The show must go on!

King of the Cage (KOTC) went down last night (April 16) from the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. And much to the chagrin of Mark Burnett, who had very good intentions heading into his HDNet broadcast of "Bad Boys II," the fight card suffered a very UFC 108-ish fate by the time the cage door closed on the night's opening bout.

In fact, five of the six fighters featured in the event poster were eventually forced from the card due to injury or other circumstances, including top headliners Ray Mercer, Jeremy Horn and Jake Rosholt.

That pushed former UFC fighter and longtime mixed martial arts competitor Joe "El Dirte" Doerksen into the main event of the six-fight card, that despite its lean offerings, still delivered a handful of competitive bouts and two title changes.

Here are the KOTC: "Bad Boys II" quick results:

1. Brandon Hunt def. Brad Burrick via KO - 0:59 | R2 to become new KOTC middleweight champion.
2. Waylon Lowe def. Steve Berger via KO - 2:18 | R1.
3. Ben Lagman def. Angelo Popofski via TKO (punches) - 2:58 | R1.
4. Daron Cruickshank def. Jason Holmes via split decision.
5. Dom O'Grady def. David Shepherd via submission (armbar) - 4:18 | R2 to become new KOTC lightweight champion.
6. Joe Doerksen def. Chad Herrick via split decision.

For more on King of the Cage click here.

Counter programming reminder: UFC 110 for free on Spike TV tonight opposite Strikeforce 'Nashville'

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 07:43 AM PDT