Category: Strikeforce (Page 7 of 14)

      Top 10 Welterweight Rankings

      June 22, 2011 /

      nullThis week’s rankings turn to the welterweight division.

      It has been a busy couple of months in this division as two of the top 10 suffered losses since my last 170-pound rankings came out.

      So, without further ado, here are my top 10 in this division.

      1. Georges St. Pierre (22-2) – St. Pierre successfully defeated Jake Shields, but did so by decision. His performance wasn’t great, but it was still enough to end a lengthy win streak by Shields. Instead of moving up to middleweight, St. Pierre will now take on Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in October.

      2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) – Fitch is coming off shoulder surgery and is targeting a return in late 2011. He was originally pushing for a title fight, but is now looking toward a rematch with B.J. Penn. With the UFC implementing five-round main events for non-title fights, Fitch would seem to have the edge there as he got stronger as the first fight with Penn went on.

      3. Josh Koscheck (15-5) – Koscheck has been on the shelf for a few months now as he recovers from a broken orbital bone. Koscheck should return in late 2011, and hopefully he can continue to show some solid skills when he gets back. A powerful striker and wrestler, Koscheck has the skills to win it all if he can do the little things to put together the whole package.

      Continue reading »

      Fighters, Rankings, Strikeforce, UFC

      Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update

      June 19, 2011 /

      nullWe have reached Sunday night once again, which means it is time for your MMA on TV update.

      This week has a pretty solid amount of content, with Bellator, Strikeforce, and the UFC each have events.

      – This week’s MMA on TV gets started on Friday with Strikeforce Challengers 16. The event takes place from the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. The main card airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. Friday’s main event is a lightweight clash between Carlos Fodor (8-2) and James Terry (10-2) and lightweight Ryan Couture (2-0) will also make his return to action when he takes on Matt Ricehouse (4-0).

      – On Saturday, Bellator 46 takes place to start the newest season of the fight promotion. The event will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino from Hollywood, Florida. The main card airs live on MTV2 at 9 p.m. ET. The quarterfinals of the featherweight tournament will take place with fighters Marlon Sandro, Pat Curran, and others taking part.

      – On Sunday, UFC on Versus 4 takes place from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The card will air on Versus at 9 p.m. ET. The main event of the card is a welterweight clash between Rick Story and Nate Marquardt. Marquardt is making his 170-pound debut. Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo meet in a heavyweight bout while Tyson Griffin and Manny Gamburyan face off in a featherweight contest. Matt Mitrione, Joe Stevenson, and John Howard also have bouts on the night.

      Bellator, Events, Fighters, Strikeforce, UFC

      Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum recap and analysis

      June 19, 2011 /

      nullI didn’t buy the idea that Fabricio Werdum was as good as his win over Fedor Emelianenko made people think he was.

      That showed on Saturday when he lost a decision to Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, in the first round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix (Photo courtesy of Tracy Lee at Yahoo! Sports)

      While Overeem wasn’t that impressive either, I never enjoy watching a guy flop to his back and beg his opponent to come to the ground.

      This is MMA, not a grappling tournament. If you can’t get your opponent to the ground, then you better find a way to beat him on your feet.

      Do you ever think you would see Cain Velasquez begging his opponent to do anything? I don’t. It is pretty clear that Werdum doesn’t have a ton of confidence in his striking, and to truly be considered one of the best in the heavyweight division, he needs to be more well-rounded and be willing to exchange.

      Continue reading »

      Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

      Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Picks & Predictions

      June 18, 2011 /

      nullStrikeforce puts on one of its biggest events in the history of the promotion when the second half of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix takes place from the American Airlines Arena on Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET.

      Here are my picks for the four bouts that will be on the main card.

      Heavyweight Grand Prix – Alistair Overeem (34-11) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) – Overeem doesn’t have a match in this weight class in Strikeforce in my opinion. He has really beefed up and continues to have the same striking ability he has always had. Only a true wrestler has the skill set to take him out, and Werdum isn’t a wrestler. I look for Overeem to pick apart Werdum and earn a second round TKO.

      Heavyweight Grand Prix – Josh Barnett (29-5) vs. Brett Rogers (11-2) – Barnett is the better fighter but Rogers does have knockout ability with one punch. Look for Barnett to play it safe early on and survive the storm from Rogers before scoring some takedowns and eventually choking out his opponent in the second round.

      Lightweight Bout – K.J. Noons (10-3) vs. Jorge Masvidal (21-6) – Masvidal is tough but he hasn’t quite slugged it out with the talent that Noons has in recent years. If this is going to be a slugfest, I look for Noons to come out on top. Strikeforce would like to get Noons and Gilbert Melendez in a fight together, and I think an impressive second round KO for Noons will do just that.

      Heavyweight Bout – Daniel Cormier (7-0) vs. Jeff Monson (42-11) – Cormier has had a nice little start to his MMA career, but Jeff Monson is a smart fighter that will find a way to get Cormier to the ground. Once it hits the mat, Monson will dominate the fight and eventually score a submission in the first five minutes of action.

      Events, Fighters, Predictions, Strikeforce

      Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Preview: Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers

      June 16, 2011 /

      nullCan the under-appreciated beat the over-hyped?

      That’s the big question on Saturday when Josh Barnett faces Brett Rogers in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

      Barnett, who has an impressive list of wins in his lengthy career but is often not considered one of the top heavyweights, takes on Rogers, who was thrown into the spotlight by Strikeforce before he was ready and has since had to take a dose of reality.

      Here is a look at both fighters heading into their contest on Saturday.

      Josh Barnett (29-5) – A former UFC heavyweight champion, Barnett has won his last six fights. A wrestler at heart, Barnett also has good striking and submission skills. 17 wins in his career have come by submission and that will likely be where he looks to win on Saturday. Rogers is very unproven on the ground but has big punching power. It would be wise for Barnett to keep Rogers grounded and win with his jiu-jitsu.

      Brett Rogers (11-2) – Rogers started his career 10-0 and had a string of very impressive knockouts to his credit. But, then came fights against Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeen, who disposed of Rogers with some ease. Now, Rogers is an underdog in the Grand Prix, but he still has the one-punch KO power to be dangerous. Rogers will need to show improved ground skills and conditioning in order to compete with Barnett on Saturday.

      Who Will Win: Barnett simply has to survive the opening storm that Rogers will likely have. That should last about two minutes and will require Barnett to either, take a punch or two, or score a quick takedown. I don’t see Rogers as much of a threat in this contest and I will take Barnett to win this fight by submission early in the second round.

      Events, Fighters, Strikeforce

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 MMA Blitz

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑