Category: Events (Page 11 of 45)

      Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Results: Barnett, Cormier roll

      September 11, 2011 /

      nullWell, I was wrong.

      Sometimes things just don’t go your way when picking MMA fights and Saturday was that example.

      I was 1-3 in my Strikeforce picks, with my lone win being Josh Barnett choking out Sergei Kharitonov.

      It was a great win for Barnett, who now advances to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals against the surprise contender, Daniel Cormier.

      Cormier, the Olympic wrestler, used his striking to topple Antonio Silva and advance to the finals. He landed a pair of big punches early in the fight, with the second one sending Silva to the ground. From there, Cormier finished the fight with a pair of big hammer fists.

      Cormier has now propelled himself into the heavyweight spotlight and a battle with fellow wrestler, Josh Barnett, should make for an interesting championship.

      Cormier may have the edge with his striking and wrestling ability. That could help him stay off his back against Barnett, who should have a submission edge on the relatively new fighter.

      In the other two featured bouts, Luke Rockhold upset Ronaldo Souza to win the Strikeforce Middleweight title. I didn’t give Rockhold much respect entering the bout, but he grinded a nice win over Souza, using his striking and submission defense to keep the fight in his favor. Question is, does this give Rockhold a chance to move to the UFC for a unification bout? Or does he still not catch the eye of the UFC brass?

      Muhammed Lawal returned to action by KO’ing unbeaten Roger Gracie. King Mo’s big right hands ended the fight in the first round and gave him one of his most impressive wins to date.

      Events, Fighters, News, Results, Strikeforce

      Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Picks & Predictions

      September 10, 2011 /

      nullThe semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix take place on Saturday night and also a pair of intriguing side bouts.

      Here are my picks for the four bouts that will be featured on tonight’s Showtime card.

      Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov – I think Barnett will be smart and handle Kharitonov similar to how he did Brett Rogers. Look for Barnett’s wrestling to eventually lead to a submission finish in the second or third round.

      Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier – Silva vs. Overeem would have been a bigger draw for Strikeforce, but now their champ is with the UFC. Still, Silva has shown some improving skills and I think he will be able to handle Cormier, who is still developing his skills. Cormier can wrestle, but Silva is stronger and should have better conditioning. I look for Silva to out-strike and out-grapple Cormier to earn a decision victory.

      Strikeforce Middleweight Championship – Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold – Rockhold is a nice little fighter, but Souza should have no trouble with him. The submission wizard should find a way to work his magic in this fight and force a tap. Rockhold hasn’t faced a lot of tough talent and is just proof that Strikeforce doesn’t have much of a middleweight division.

      Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Bout – Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie – King Mo hasn’t fought in over a year and young Roger Gracie is off to an impressive start to his career, submitting the likes of Trevor Prangley and Kevin Randleman. Lawal is going to want to keep this fight standing, but he has a strong wrestling background that may ultimately lead to his demise. I see the better-conditioned Gracie using his skills to get the fight to the ground and choking out the former Strikeforce champ.

      Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, Strikeforce

      Penn to now face Diaz at UFC 137

      September 8, 2011 /

      nullNow that the dust has settled in on the change to the UFC 137 main event, with Carlos Condit replacing Nick Diaz to face Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight championship, the next biggest question was who was B.J. Penn facing that night?

      Penn was originally scheduled to face Condit in the co-main event, but UFC President Dana White said he was working on something crazy for Penn, and he hoped that it still take place at UFC 137.

      Well, the UFC decided if it could move one fighter, why not just move the other.

      Dana White released on his Twitter that Penn will now fight Nick Diaz in the co-main event.

      This is crazy but here we go again! Penn vs Diaz 10/29 in Vegas

      This should be a tremendous bout as both men have a warrior mentality and they will certainly leave everything in the octagon.

      Diaz still gets his shot at a high-profile bout while Penn gets a chance to land a marquee win in the welterweight division.

      I think from a matchup standpoint, the changes to both fights make each one more interesting.

      Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

      Diaz removed for UFC 137 main event, GSP vs. Condit on

      September 7, 2011 /

      nullI see your Nate Marquardt and raise you a Nick Diaz.

      In one of the most bizarre situations in UFC history, Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz has been removed from the main event of UFC 137 against UFC champ, Georges St. Pierre, after going AWOL on the company and skipping two press conferences in two days.

      After missing three different flights to head to Toronto for a press conference to promote UFC 137 on Tuesday, Diaz stopped communicating with Dana White and the UFC and was nowhere to be found on Wednesday, for another press conference to promote the event in Las Vegas.

      White announced at the beginning of the presser that Diaz was removed from the fight and co-main eventer, Carlos Condit, will take on GSP for the title.

      Diaz’ trainer, Cesar Gracie, expressed his frustration with his own fighter to MMAJunkie.com.

      “I don’t blame Dana White on this at all,” Gracie today told MMAjunkie.com  “This is a professional company, and Nick is a 28-year-old man.”

      “I’ve stuck up for Nick, even when he was wrong before,” Gracie said. “But he’s let a lot of people down. He’s let his team down. We all bought plane tickets to Vegas. We got hotel rooms booked, paid for. We’ve got all that, and Nick just decided not to go to something he’s supposed to. They’re paying him a lot of money, and in this economy where people don’t have money, he’s blessed. He should be thanking God every night how blessed he is.

      “And instead, he’s not getting on a plane to go to Vegas. I’m extremely disappointed. He’s done a lot of stuff, but this is the worst of it. If I were him, I would be begging Dana White to get my job back and work your way up to a title shot at some point.”

      “I’m not a psychologist,” he said. “I personally think there’s some kind of social anxiety happening here with Nick. Dana said, ‘You’ve got to play the game this much.’ And this isn’t even playing the game. This is about being a man and being responsible. And Nick has done neither in this situation.

      “He’s a great jiu-jitsu guy. He’s a great fighter. I’m saying this because I care deeply about the guy. He’s one of my black belts. But in this situation, he is 100 percent wrong, and he got what he deserved.”

      There are so many side stories to this happening, but clearly the main one is the odd behavior of Diaz. I sincerely hope he is of good physical and mental health, but he has a lot of explaining to do.

      He has certainly blown the greatest opportunity of his pro career and may never step foot inside a Zuffa cage or octagon again.

      Carlos Condit may be a tougher opponent for St. Pierre, but we will break down that fight another time.

      Also lost in the mix is that B.J. Penn is now without an opponent, as he was set to face Condit at UFC 137 in the co-main event.

      Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

      MMA News and Notes – Henderson vs. Guida set, Diaz skips media event

      September 7, 2011 /

      nullLost in the announcement of Lesnar vs. Overeem on Tuesday were some other big news in the world of MMA, mostly concerning the UFC.

      – In another big fight announcement, MMAFighting.com is reporting that top lightweight contenders, Ben Henderson and Clay Guida will collide on the UFC on FOX undercard. Henderson is coming off his dominant win over Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5 while Guida defeated Anthony Pettis at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. The winner of this bout could find themselves in top contender status for the lightweight title. It should be a good grappling match, but I see Henderson favored based on styles.

      – MMAFighting.com also reported that Matt Hughes has accepted a fight with Josh Koscheck for UFC 135. Koscheck will replace Hughes’ original opponent, Diego Sanchez. Sanchez had to pull out of the fight with a broken hand.

      – You can’t a teach a dog new tricks apparently. Despite Dana White insisting that Nick Diaz would conform to the various media requests that are expected of a top contender for his UFC 137 title bout with Georges St. Pierre, apparently the Strikeforce welterweight champion skipped a press conference on Tuesday in Toronto to promote the event. The UFC had to explination for his absence according to the Winnipeg Free Press, but another scheduled press conference is to take place today in Las Vegas. Will Diaz be there? Will he be punished for his absence?

      – Fedor Emelianenko will return to action on Nov. 12 when he takes on Jeff Monson for a M-1 event in Russia according to MMAMania.com. Fedor has lost his last three bouts and will face Monson, who is coming off a loss to Daniel Cormier on the undercard of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. Stylistically, this is a good matchup for Fedor, but will do nothing to get him back into the American spotlight.

      – Another announcement that took place on Tuesday is that the UFC is heading back to Japan in 2012. Sherdog.com reports that Feb. 26, 2012 is the set date for the organization to make its return to Japan, which is nearly 14 years since the UFC first stepped foot in Japan. Expect to see many of the countries top starts on that card.

      Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

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