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- Strikeforce results recap from last night (Dec. 19) for 'Evolution'
- WEC 45 bonuses and awards for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff'
- WEC 45 results recap from last night (Dec. 19) for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff'
- Strikeforce video: 'King' Mo Lawal wants Gegard Mousasi after stopping Mike Whitehead
- Got caught: Scott Smith knocks out Cung Le at Strikeforce: 'Evolution'
- WEC 45: Njokuani, Benavidez victorious with vicious knockouts
- Strikeforce results live play-by-play TONIGHT (Dec. 19) for 'Evolution'!
- WEC 45 results live play-by-play TONIGHT (Dec. 19) for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff'!
- Dan Henderson vs Jake Shields Strikeforce title fight in the works for April on CBS
- Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis for Strikeforce welterweight title on Jan. 30
- UFC 108 weigh in results, information and details from Las Vegas, NV, on Jan. 1
- Welcome to Miami, Arianny Celeste (Pic)
| Strikeforce results recap from last night (Dec. 19) for 'Evolution' Posted: 19 Dec 2009 11:21 PM PST Yowza! Strikeforce: "Evolution" has stopped evolving. And so, too, has the perfect mixed martial arts career of sensational San Shou striker, Cung Le. Scott Smith once again "pulled a rabbit out of his butt" to send Le packing for the Hollywood hills with a late third round knockout at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., tonight (Dec. 19). Le dominated the action for more than two rounds. But, as usual, Smith only needed a small opening to leave his mark. And boy did he. Several, actually. Le, who perhaps wasn't in top form after such a long layoff, tired as the fight entered the third and final round. He put a beating on Smith for more than 10 minutes, which more than likely had his gas tank near empty. He let his guard down for just a second in the final minutes of the fight and it was all "Hand of Steel" needed to give announcer Mauro Ranallo a coronary. Two big hooks, a straight right hand and a few extra shots on the ground had the referee peeling Smith off a prone Le. It was another incredible finish from Smith and certainly a bitter defeat for Le. He had the fight won, but he just didn't have the ability to stay out of harms way in the final moments of what was otherwise a brilliant performance. It's hard to say where Le, and the promotion, go from here. Le's mystique, and mug, took a real blow tonight. And Smith isn't the type of high-level fighter who can consistently win and draw big ratings. Unless, of course, he somehow has more rabbits stashed up his shorts. Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson also returned to action after a long layoff to rematch interim 155-pound stalwart, Gilbert Melendez, in the co featured fight of the night. And what a fight it was ... one for the record books. Melendez was able to roll to a clear-cut unanimous decision; however, Thomson was game throughout and left it all in the cage in an effort to takeout "El Nino." He was hurt, and dropped, several times, but still kept pressing the action ... especially later in the fight when it was obvious he was down on the judges scorecards. "El Nino" kept his composure throughout, even in the crazy flurries that erupted throughout the 25-minute match, getting the best of "The Punk" more often than not to hang on for an important win. He'll likely move on to defend the unified title against another contender, perhaps even Shinya Aoki if he decides to visit the states, but Strikeforce will always have the trilogy match between Melendez and Thomson up its sleeve to use whenever the time is right. Hopefully, that time is sooner rather than later. Everyone in the know was aware that Brazilian jiu-jitsu sensation Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza was an absolute beast on the ground. Tonight he educated all those who were not so in the know with a mind boggling display of submission grappling against the very experienced Matt Lindland. "Jacare" was lightning fast, transitioning from submission to submission with unbelievable ease and grace. Lindland defended most of them well, including a very tight armbar, but just could not slow him down, succumbing to a slick arm triangle as the first round came to a close. It's safe to say that Strikeforce has done a masterful job on upgrading its 185-pound class recently. And Jacare is at the head of it alongside other notables such as Jake Shields, Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Melvin Manhoef, Cung Le and Frank Shamrock, among others. Will he fight them anytime soon? Probably not. That's because there is still some unfinished business with Jason "Mayhem" Miller," which is hopefully settled in early 2010. "King" Mo Lawal was equally impressive in his debut for the promotion. He lacked the size and experience of his opponent, Mike Whitehead, but that didn't really matter. Not at all. Lawal, a very accomplished collegiate wrestler, looked comfortable and confident on his feet. He used his speed and athleticism to slip punches and drop several on Whitehead en route to an impressive first round knockout finish. He has a killer instinct, which is bad news for anyone one who he hurts. He mentioned Gegard Mousasi as a possible next opponent after the win; however, one has to imagine that Strikeforce would like to get him a few more fights before going that route. Then again, maybe not. That would be one helluva a fight now and in the future. That's it from us. Now we want to hear what you have to say ... share your thoughts and "Evolution"-related comments below. If you missed any of the action you can check out the Strikeforce: "Evolution" play-by-play and live fight coverage here. |
| WEC 45 bonuses and awards for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff' Posted: 19 Dec 2009 11:15 PM PST WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" from "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada., has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts. The main event lightweight battle between Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Ed "9mm" Ratcliff claimed one of those awards, while another main card contest between 135-pound studs Takeya Mizugaki and Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen earned the other. "Cowboy" Cerrone probably would have pocketed another $10k for "Submission of the Night" had British fighter Brad Pickett not locked up the honor by sinking a fight-ending "Peruvian Necktie" late in the second round of an undercard battle against Kyle Dietz. Here are the complete fight bonuses for WEC 45:
Cerrone, Ratcliff, Mizugaki, Jorgensen, Pickett and Njokuani all received $10,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible. |
| WEC 45 results recap from last night (Dec. 19) for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff' Posted: 19 Dec 2009 10:13 PM PST World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) closed out its 2009 fight campaign tonight (Dec.19) with WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" from "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night marked the third time this year that fan favorite lightweight contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone was the centerpiece of WEC event. And the third time was apparently the charm for the Greg Jackson trainee. After dropping close decisions to Jamie Varner at WEC 38 and Ben Henderson at WEC 43, "Cowboy" got back to his winning ways tonight, overcoming a game Ed "9mm" Ratcliff to score the tenth submission victory of his career in the third round of a very entertaining contest. Ratcliff came out strong, even dropping Cerrone early in the fight with a powerful left hook, but he didn't seem like the same fighter after absorbing a combined total of three illegal knees to the groin in the first and second rounds. Horodecki seemed to be having trouble with Njokuani's length and reach advantage early on, and when he tried a few takedown attempts he was equally as unsuccessful in that area. Scrambling back to his feet after a beautiful reversal takedown from Njokuani, "The Polish Hammer" got creamed with a high kick from the Muay Thai specialist that he never saw coming. To his credit, the blow didn't knock him all the way out, but it was definitely enough damage for Njokuani to capitalize on. Njokuani has put together three very impressive technical knockout finishes in a row now under the WEC banner. He's right on the heels of Ben Henderson and Jamie Varner. Don't be surprised to see him fighting for a title sometime in 2010. Rising 135-pound contender Joseph Benavidez scored possibly the biggest win of his career tonight, knocking out Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Rani Yahya in the first round with a vicious overhand right. After the fight Benavidez was asked what he thought about potentially facing "Angel" in his next fight. Benavidez gave the traditional, "I'll fight whoever" response, but there seemed to be a good amount of foreshadowing there from the promotion. Time will tell how that plays out, but what a ridiculous fight that would be. In the opening fight of the Versus telecast, bantamweights Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen and Japanese import Takeya Mizugaki battled for three hard rounds with Jorgensen coming away with the unanimous decision victory. The former number one contender, Mizugaki, battled back to steal the third round, but Jorgensen's takedowns and effective striking throughout the first 10 mintues of the fight were the clear difference in the outcome. The win makes two in a row and four overall under the WEC banner for "Young Guns." Up next for the UFC's sister promotion will be a return trip to the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., with WEC 46: "Varner vs. Henderson" as lightweight champion Jamie "C-4" Varner returns from injury to try and unify his title against interim kingpin Ben "Smooth" Henderson. Former company featherweight champion Urijah "The California Kid" Faber will also be in action, taking on dangerous Brazilian, Raphael Assuncao, in the co main event. Mackens Semerzier, Wagnney Fabiano, Deividas Taurosevicius, Frank Gomez, Dave Jansen, Eddie Wineland and others are also slated for the card. Make sure you keep it locked to MMAmania.com for all your WEC news and notes. The floor is now yours, Maniacs |
| Strikeforce video: 'King' Mo Lawal wants Gegard Mousasi after stopping Mike Whitehead Posted: 19 Dec 2009 09:59 PM PST |
| Got caught: Scott Smith knocks out Cung Le at Strikeforce: 'Evolution' Posted: 19 Dec 2009 09:20 PM PST  "He caught me with a punch. He was the better man tonight. I did my best and he caught me, so, I did my best. I'm sorry I couldn't get the victory for San Jose. I fought me heart out. He fought his heart out. We fought an exciting fight. Thank you for the fight, Scott Smith. I was focused. I just got caught with a punch. You win some, you lose some. I did my best." -- Cung Le reacts to getting finished tonight for the first time in his mixed martial arts career. His opponent, the hard-hitting Scott Smith, had a puncher's chance heading into his middleweight main event opposite the former middleweight champion at Strikeforce: "Evolution" tonight (Dec. 19) at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. However, he nearly didn't get that chance because he couldn't connect with the elusive San Shou practitioner, who battered "Hands of Steel" for more than two full rounds and nearly had him finished in the first. Smith was able to hang in there and eventually connect with two big left hooks, a straight right and some brutal finishing shots at the end that put Le down for the count. It was yet another Hail Mary, come from behind win for Smith and certainly a disappointing loss for the action movie star. So should Le stick to the Silver Screen or is a loss to the inconsistent Smith just the wake up call he needs to dedicate his time to mixed martial arts while he's still able to compete? Let's hear it, Maniacs! |
| WEC 45: Njokuani, Benavidez victorious with vicious knockouts Posted: 19 Dec 2009 08:41 PM PST Anthony Njokuani and Josheph Benavidez each walked away from WEC 45 earlier this evening with a pair of vicious knockouts to add to their young, but impressive resumes. Highlight reels here we come. Njokuani managed to finish Chris Horodecki midway through the first round after "The Polish Hammer" exited an exchange and ran away from Njokuani with his back to the devastating striker. A solid head kick landed flush and floored Horodecki, who took a few more punches before referee Steve Mazagatti stepped in to save him from further abuse. Benavidez, meanwhile, needed less time than Njokuani to floor Rani Yahya, going in for the kill at 1:35 in the first round. His effective striking was eerily similar to that of his friend and training partner, featherweight contender Urijah Faber. Both Njokuani and Benavidez have loads of talent and bright careers ahead of them -- it's no accident that both were featured on tonight's televised main card. Don't be surprised if you see one or both of them back in action sooner rather than later, taking on the top dogs in their respective divisions. In fact, Scott Jorgensen -- who outpointed the super tough Takeya Mizugaki tonight -- would be a great match up for Benavidez until the top of the 135-pound division is more clear. As for Njokuani, he may be ready for the winner of the showdown between lightweight champion Jamie Varner and interim champion, Ben Henderson. He's good. Real good. |
| Strikeforce results live play-by-play TONIGHT (Dec. 19) for 'Evolution'! Posted: 19 Dec 2009 05:46 PM PST Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce: "Evolution." 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 Evolution results post and not this one. Comments in this thread are turned off. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| WEC 45 results live play-by-play TONIGHT (Dec. 19) for 'Cerrone vs Ratcliff'! Posted: 19 Dec 2009 05:46 PM PST Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of WEC 45: "Cerrone vs Ratcliff." 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 WEC 45 results post and not this one. Comments in this thread are turned off. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| Dan Henderson vs Jake Shields Strikeforce title fight in the works for April on CBS Posted: 19 Dec 2009 05:45 PM PST Former dual Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, Dan Henderson, will likely make his Strikeforce debut a meaningful one, taking on current 185-pound champion Jake Shields in April 2010. Nothing is official at this time; however, Henderson revealed today that he will "probably" battle the Cesar Gracie-trained fighter and then defend the belt at least once before setting his sights on other big guns -- in heavier weight classes -- such as Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi, among others. Strikeforce President Scott Coker, who was alongside the UFC veteran at this afternoon's press conference, did or said nothing to indicate that Henderson's plan wasn't a good one. In fact, he was in complete agreement. This more than likely does not come as a big surprise -- Shields was number one on Henderson's hit list when he recently signed a four-fight, 16-month contract. And after his most recent (and emphatic) performance, knocking out Michael Bisping on the main card of UFC 100 back in July, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 coach will likely be itching to achieve similar results in front of a major television audience on CBS. Shields, on the other hand, will be out to prove that his current 13-fight win streak is no fluke. Prior to a decision win over Jason "Mayhem" Miller back in November, Shields stopped eight straight opponents with a mix of submissions and technical knockouts. He essentially cleaned out the entire 170-pound division not competing inside the Octagon, forcing the former Elite XC welterweight champion to move up a weight class in search of stiffer competition. It's safe to say that he's now found it in "Hollywood." Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this match up, as well as the still-developing next Strikeforce event on CBS (date, city and venue all still TBD), as it becomes available. |
| Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis for Strikeforce welterweight title on Jan. 30 Posted: 19 Dec 2009 08:20 AM PST Oh my. Foul-mouthed fight monger Nick Diaz (20-7) will likely take on DREAM 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix Champion Marius Zaromskis (13-3) at the next major Strikeforce event, which is scheduled to take place at the BankAtlantic Arena in Sunrise, Fla., on Jan. 30, 20010. Talk about fireworks. MMAWeekly.com reports that the pair will duke it out for the promotion's vacant 170-pound title in the main event of the evening. Diaz was scratched from the Strikeforce "Carano vs. Cyborg" event back on August 15 after failing to appear for his initial pre-fight drug test on August 7 and again for the make-up exam on August 10. His bout was to be against Jay Hieron for the newly-created Strikeforce welterweight championship. UFC exile Jesse "JT Money" Taylor agreed to step in and take his place, going bankrupt after three rounds of dominance from "The Thoroughbred" in a non-title affair. Diaz has long been known for his unorthodox but effective striking style. Prior to dismantling the clearly-overmatched Scott Smith at June’s "Lawler vs. Shields" event, the former UFC noisemaker busted up the legendary Frank Shamrock en route to a second round TKO at the last San Jose-based event back in April. The Stockton, Calif., native is riding a five-fight win streak and has finished each of his opponents in dominating fashion. But he may not want to rest on his laurels against "The Whitemare." Prior to signing a multi-fight agreement with Strikeforce last October, Zaromskis was coming off a first round mutilation of Myeon Ho Bae at DREAM 12 in the promotion's first ever event to feature a cage instead of the traditional ring. It was the third consecutive time the Lithuanian won a fight with a head kick in the opening round. He also clowned Jason High and the heavily-favored Hayoto Sakurai to finish his stellar run in the July 20 conclusion to the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix. Don't expect this one to see the judges cards. The Jan. 30 event is set to air at 8 p.m. ET live on Showtime and will mark the promotion’s debut in the "Sunshine State" and will also feature the much-anticipated debut of former NFL great Herschel Walker. Current Strikeforce Women's Champion Cristian 'Cyborg' Santos will also be in action. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this still-developing fight card . |
| UFC 108 weigh in results, information and details from Las Vegas, NV, on Jan. 1 Posted: 19 Dec 2009 07:46 AM PST The official weigh-in event for UFC 108: "Evans vs Silva" is set to take place at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Jan. 1, 2009. It is currently scheduled to air LIVE right here on MMAmania.com, as well as on several other online destinations, via streaming video. The first fighter is expected to tip the scale at 7 p.m. ET. As usual, MMAmania.com will provide the latest coverage of the UFC 108 weigh-ins, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude. UFC 108 features a re-worked main event between former light heavyweight champion "Sugar" Rashad Evans and the hard-hitting Thiago Silva. Fast-rising welterweight striker Paul "Semtex" Daley will test his ground game (and the chin of "McLovin') when he collides with Dustin Hazelett. Here’s the current UFC 108 fight card:
For those fortunate enough to be in "Sin City" for the promotion’s return trip to the MGM Grand, 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. In addition, UFC Fight Club members will be able to attend an exclusive Q&A session with current middleweight superstar, Wanderlei Silva, on that same day at 2 p.m. PT (check-in starts at 1 p.m.) Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night (Saturday, Jan. 2), which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view from Las Vegas. The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 8 p.m. ET with the preliminary bouts. It’s going to be a fun night of fights so don’t miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight UFC 108 coverage you can handle. |
| Welcome to Miami, Arianny Celeste (Pic) Posted: 18 Dec 2009 09:16 PM PST  Welcome to Miami, Arianny Celeste (Pic) |
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