Category: Fighters (Page 55 of 58)

      Strikeforce Recap: Cesar Gracie Camp Dominates

      April 10, 2011 /

      nullIt was a night for the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp on Saturday night as Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez defended their Strikeforce titles in impressive fashion.

      Diaz beat hard-hitting Paul Daley to defend his Strikeforce Welterweight Championship in the night’s main event.

      The two had a slug fest as each man was rocked at some point in the first round. Diaz landed more strikes, his punches didn’t seem to do the same damage as his opponent’s. Daley managed to sneak in a few powerful hooks that put Diaz on the ground. Diaz recovered, however, and eventually went on to pepper Daley with punches to the head and body. Daley eventually stumbled to the ground and Diaz followed up with a barrage of punches that forced a stoppage with just seconds remaining in the opening round.

      In the co-main event, Diaz’ teammate, Gilbert Melendez had the top performance of the night, running through Tatsuya Kawajiri in 3:14 to defend his Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. Melendez was very accurate with his punches, landing clean shots to the jaw of Kawajiri. After a few minutes of that, Kawajiri hit the floor and Melendez jumped on him, landing a slew of vicious elbows that put an end to the fight and gave Melendez his fifth-straight win.

      Saturday’s wins were a big statement for the Cesar Gracie team, which includes Nate Diaz and Jake Shields. Shields will contend for the UFC Welterweight Championship later this month and if he is able to upset Georges St. Pierre, that would give this camp three world champions. Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has quietly become one of the top fight camps in all of MMA.

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      Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

      Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Picks & Predictions

      April 9, 2011 /

      nullStrikeforce returns to Showtime tonight at 10 p.m. ET with two title fights and four total bouts on the main card. Here are my thoughts on those four contests.

      Strikeforce Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz (24-7-1) vs. Paul Daley (27-9-2) – I like Diaz to retain his title in this bout as I think he has the better all-around skills. Daley has great punching power but is one dimensional. Once the fight hits the ground, Diaz will easily be in control and score a submission. Don’t sleep on Diaz’ striking either, as his jab has been able to cause problems for other strikers in the past.

      Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (19-2) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (27-6-2) – Melendez should be able to handle Kawajiri, who is making his first jump into the U.S. Kawajiri didn’t bother to train in a cage for this fight, which I think will be a problem. I like Melendez to work his striking and mix in some takedowns to earn another decision victory.

      Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Bout: Gegard Mousasi (30-3-1) vs. Keith Jardine (17-9-1) – Jardine is a late replacement for Mike Kyle, but I think he is a tougher opponent. Jardine has some big-fight experience, but has been on a bit of a downslide in his career. This should be a striker’s fight, and Mousasi has the faster hands and more power to work with. I look for him to land a clean punch on Jardine and earn a TKO finish in the second round.

      Strikeforce Lightweight Bout: Shinya Aoki (26-5-1) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (16-1): Beerbohm is a game fighter but I think this bout will ultimately go to the ground, and that is where Aoki should be able to take over. His slick and crafty submissions should be too much for Beerbohm to defend. I like Aoki to score a submission victory in the opening round.

      Events, Fighters, Strikeforce

      Nick Diaz ain’t no punk

      April 8, 2011 /

      nullNick Diaz is never one to run from a fight or a confrontation.

      He fought Joe Riggs in a hospital after a decision loss to him at UFC 57 and let’s not forget about his role in this little scuffle following the Jake Shields-Dan Henderson Strikeforce bout on CBS.

      Well, on Thursday, MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, who is one of the most widely-recognized MMA reporters in the world, got a chance to speak to Diaz about his upcoming welterweight title fight with Paul Daley on Saturday.

      What took place made even me uncomfortable. (see video here)

      Early in the interview Diaz expresses his lack of respect for Helwani and then takes it a step further at the 4-minute mark, giving more detail.

      Diaz has always been an interesting figure, but picking on Helwani doesn’t really need to be done. As a reporter that has covered college and high school sports, I don’t see Helwani as someone that is digging up the dirt. He is simply doing his job.

      Diaz did make some interesting points during the interview about judging in MMA and how the U.S. has the wrong system, but that all gets lost in his antics. Even his body language during the interview was disrespectful.

      Nick is a great fighter and clearly doesn’t care what people think of him. That’s fine, but he should stick to picking his fights with fighters, not credible reporters.

      Events, Fighters, Strikeforce

      Thiago Silva has license revoked for one year

      April 7, 2011 /

      nullThe drama involving Thiago Silva and his UFC 125 post-fight drug test can finally end.

      On Thursday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission came down with its ruling due to Silva’s urine not being compatible with that of “human urine,” after his victory over Brandon Vera back in January.

      Here is the damage the NSAC did to Silva according to MMAWeekly.com.

      When all was said and done, the NSAC ruling stated that Silva’s license was revoked for one year with a start date of Jan. 1, he was fined 25 percent of his $55,000 purse, fined $20,000 of his $55,000 win bonus, would have to submit a clean drug test before reapplying on or after Jan. 2, 2012, and the result of the fight was changed to a “no contest.”

      The total of the fines comes to $33,750, when both the percentage of his fight purse and win bonus are combined.

      This means Silva won’t be able to compete for at least a year, and even then he will have to reapply to get his license before stepping back into the octagon.

      It is really a shame that a fighter with the talent and potential that Silva will now get lost in the shuffle.

      A year in MMA can be a lifetime as fighters continue to evolve and climb up that ladder while Silva will remain in place, if not take a step or two backwards.

      Fighters, News, UFC

      Is Fedor a victim of his loyalty?

      April 7, 2011 /

      nullDespite suffering back-to-back losses, it is clear that Fedor Emelianenko is still one of the most polarizing figures in all of MMA.

      He was as dominant as any fighter in his time, he is soft spoken, and he has incredible fashion sense (see picture to your right)

      The man who went undefeated for a 10-year span has now had to accept two-straight losses and the idea that the sport has evolved to a level he can’t currently reach.

      In an interesting thought, Strikeforce light heavyweight, Gegard Mousasi, expressed his thoughts on what may have led to Fedor’s down fall in this interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.

      The thoughts on Fedor begin around the 5:40 mark as Mousasi talks about Fedor being a loyal guy his loyalty to his training partners have kept him from developing into a better fighter. Now, Fedor has been switching things up and training in different areas of the world.

      There has always been the idea amongst MMA camps that you never want to be the best fighter at your camp. The reason is is that there will be no fighters there to push you to a higher level.

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      Fighters, News, Strikeforce

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