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      What you might have missed: MMA news from the weekend

      April 10, 2011 /

      nullLost in the shadows of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Saturday night was a pretty eventful weekend in the MMA community.

      Here are a few things I think you should know about:

      -Saturday night, Bellator 40 took place and rising MMA star, Ben Askren, remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Nick Thompson in the main event. The two-time NCAA champion continued to show dominant wrestling form against Thompson, who was helpless against Askren’s takedown ability. Askren changed levels, worked in some striking, and had the cardio to dominate for 15 minutes. Askren is now 8-0 and, if he continues to develop his striking, he can be a real force in the national picture. In other bouts, Jay Hieron picked up a decision win over Brent Weedman to advance to the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Tournament, where he will face unbeaten Rick Hawn. In the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, Michael Chandler won a decision over Lloyd Woodard to advance to the tournament final against Patricky Freire.

      -On Friday night, MFC 29 took place on HDNet and UFC veterans Marcus Davis, Hermes Franca, and Pete Spratt each picked up wins. Davis won a split decision over Curtis Demarce in his first fight after being cut by the UFC. Franca knocked out Robert Washington just 26 seconds into the second round, giving him two straight wins. Spratt pulled off an armbar submission in the second round of his fight against Demi Deeds. The win ended a two-fight losing streak for Spratt.

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      Bellator, Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

      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

      Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley weigh-in results

      April 8, 2011 /

      nullThe two title fights for Saturday’s Strikeforce card are now official as all four competitors weighed in on Friday night.

      In the main event, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz (169.75 pounds) and contender Paul Daley (169.5) both weighed in under the 170-pound limit. Following their weigh ins, the two had an intense face-to-face stare down and had to be separated by officials as they yelled back-and-forth at each other.

      In the co-main event, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (154.75) and challenger Tatsuya Kawajiri (154.25) also weighed in under their 155-pound limit, making their championship fight official.

      The main card also features a light heavyweight clash between Keith Jardine and Gegard Mousasi while Shinya Aoki takes on Lyle Beerbohm in a lightweight contest.

      The main card will air live on Showtime starting at 10PM ET.

      For complete weigh-in results (courtesy of MMAMania.com), check the jump.

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      Events, News, 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

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