MMA Hot Stuff

Strikeforce: Fedor VS Rogers Predictions

Here we are, only a few days until MMA returns to primetime television on CBS and Fedor makes his debut with Strikeforce! We're also treated to a title fight for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship, vacated by Cung Le, between Jake Shields and the always colorful Jason "Mayhem" Miller. We also get to see Gegard Mousasi and Fabricio Werdum return to the cage in action against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva respectively.

So you know the drill... my predicted winners in GREEN! 

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers

Does Rogers have a chance? Yes, just like all 31 of Fedor's previous opponents had a chance, and only one of them came away with a win (by TKO / Cut, hardly a win). You don't pick against a 97% winning percentage, and I'm not picking against Fedor.

Fedor is technically superior everywhere. Even though some say his striking isn't very technical (which it may not be by boxing or muay thai standards), he puts it all together so well that for MMA it is technical when you give consideration to takedown defense and set up. Rogers has power, and in a sport of 4 ounce gloves and multiple ways to finish a fight he certainly has a shot. As Mark DellaGrotte said in Kevin Iole's article on Yahoo! Sports "A perfectly placed punch can knock anyone out. Anyone". The problem is that Rogers has to land a perfect or near perfectly placed punch, which will be tough to do on Fedor given his footwork and agility. Ultimately I think this fight will go to the ground where the experience gap will shine through. Fedor wins by TKO / Referee Stoppage on the ground.

Disclaimer: Now if we're talking about betting the spread with my new shoe money, I'd bet on Rogers. I like the long-shots for the big payout! According to betus.com the current spread is Fedor -550 and Rogers +375! OH and because I AM a girl, I count my chickens before they're hatched/shoes before they're purchased: Here's what I want to get. Aren't they gor(geous)?LOVE!

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title)

Miller is a funny guy, the problem is Shields isn't laughing. Miller has proven that he can go the distance avoiding submissions against some of the best (see Jacare fight in DREAM), but Shields' isn't your typical Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He's all about pressure, passing guard, and making your life miserable if you're under him. The knock on Shields has always been his lack of ability on his feet, but in his fight against Robbie Lawler he showed he's not afraid to be there. Miller could use his reach and striking to avoid the takedown, but he will only be able to keep Shields at bay for so long. Look for Shields to secure the takedown, pass the guard, and finish Miller via submission.

Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (non-title match)

Mousasi will dominate. Did you see Babalu? Out cold. Mousasi is a stud (at multiple weight classes). Technically sound. I see this one ending by TKO. Look for Mousasi to hurt Sokoudjou on his feet and finish him on the mat.

Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum

Even though Silva has a chin the size of a Rhode Island, look for Werdum to finish this one on the ground. His Jiu Jitsu is just too good. 

So gents, there's no need to leave your girls at home to hit the bar to watch this event on PayPerView. Since it's on CBS, throw a Strikeforce party at your house and get your girl engaged. Show her the shoes above and I promise she'll be hooked. On my site and the sport. Tell her more shoes with next week's predictions for UFC 105. 

While Roger's win against Fedor would allow those shoes to come home with me, I also have a bet consisting of bragging rights with Franklin McNeil! If you're not following him on twitter you should be. Did you see who he picked to win this weekend? If not, check out his picks on today's ESPN MMALive!

Friendly reminder, follow me on Twitter!

 

For The Love Of TWITTER

Twitter has taken over the world. You have rockstars, athletes, CEOs, politicians, Oprah and everyday people like me on Twitter. Oh, and my mom! I can't forget to mention her. Hi mom!

Dana White is one of those rockstar/athletes, hell he's probably even considered somewhat of a politician, is he not, that's on twitter. While I think it's great he's on there and adopting this social media monster, he's not quite there just yet. Sure he tweets. But for you to be a successful tweeter, you have to be interactive. One might even say you have to be SOCIAL. I know, weird right? You have to respond to people when they say something to you. You have to follow people. I mean real people not just those that you get as default friends when you sign up (think Tom from MySpace).

In addition to Dana, the UFC and WEC also have official accounts (updated: you can also follow Reed Harris!).  Did you know Kenny Florian and BJ Penn are also on Twitter? Wow, I can't wait to see what my friends feed will look like the night they face each other at UFC 101. Classic Tweets coming up fo'sure.

Here is a pretty thorough list of my peeps that are on twitter. Think of them as my tweeps. I think Shaq coined that phrase so I want to give credit where credit is due. <3 Shaq.

Look at this list as my #followfriday post. If you don't know about #followfriday, tweetdeck, twackle, or twitpic, please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to help!

Key People To Follow:
http://twitter.com/danawhiteblog
http://twitter.com/reedharriswec (WEC General Manager & GREAT Tweeter)
http://twitter.com/UFC
http://twitter.com/weconversus
http://twitter.com/HDNetFights

Great Tweeters And Know How To Tweet - Follow Them!
(umm do you see a pattern with these)
http://twitter.com/Officialbjpenn
http://twitter.com/Kenny_Florian
http://twitter.com/JoeLauzon
http://twitter.com/joerogandotnet

Working On Twitter Account, Stay Tuned But Start To Follow Now!
http://twitter.com/GilbertMelendez
http://twitter.com/FerociousPhilly

Good Reading Material But Not Interactive. Follow At Your Own Risk!
(if you're the owner of one of these accounts, let me help you!)
http://twitter.com/frankshamrock
http://twitter.com/CarlosCondit
http://twitter.com/NateRockQuarry
http://twitter.com/AndreiArlovski
http://twitter.com/ForrestGriffin
http://twitter.com/urijahfaber
http://twitter.com/ryanbader

Strikeforce Shamrock vs Diaz My Predictions

This weekend, Saturday April 11th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose Strikeforce presents Shamrock vs Diaz! Sh!t has been thrown by both  Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz leading up to this much hyped & anticipated face off. Here are my predictions.  As usual, winners in green.

MAIN CARD (beginning at 7:00pm)
Brett Roger (8-0)  vs Abongo Humphrey (12-0) This heavyweight fight is scheduled to be 3x5 minute rounds and is not a title fight.  I'm guessing this is going to be a first found TKO.

Chris Santos (6-1) vs Hitomi Akano (14-5). The ladies are fighting at 140lbs and is scheduled to be 3x5 minute rounds and is not a title fight. This is a tough call. It will go one of two ways... either Cyborg will win by TKO or Akano will catch Cyborg in an arm bar. 

Scott Smith (14-5) vs Benji Radach (19-4). This is a middleweight fight scheduled to go 3x5 minute rounds and is not a title fight. This fight was a hard one to make a prediction for. I mean both have great records, have fought some big names and both like to go for the knock out. I'm definitely excited for this match up.

MAIN EVENTS:

Gilbert Melendez vs Rodrigo Damm For those of you who have been in a cave and haven't heard, Gilbert's scheduled opponent Josh Thomson had to pull out of the fight because he broke his ankle.  I will say I'm so disappointed we won't see Josh and Gilbert face off again.Having said that I'm sure his fight with Rodrigo will be a good one. I'm looking at Gilbert to definitely walk away with a win here.

Frank Shamrock(23-9-2) vs Nick Diaz (18-7) This fight is scheduled to go 3x5 minute rounds and they'll be fighting at a catch weight of 179lbs. I don't foresee either of these guys tapping due to submission. Neither of them will call uncle. A bone will have to crack before that happens. This is going to be a KO or TKO in my opinion. Both are out to win this fight, I'm just not sure if it's because they really want to win or because they don't want the other person to win. And yes, I think there's a difference. Either way this is going to be a great main event!!

 

“SHAMROCK VS. DIAZ” TICKETS ON SALE TODAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

“SHAMROCK VS. DIAZ” TICKETS ON SALE TODAY

 

 

SAN JOSE, CA (Feb. 23, 2009)—Tickets for “Shamrock vs. Diaz,” the Strikeforce mixed martial arts (MMA) mega-event that will take place at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion on Saturday, April 11^th, are officially on sale.

 

Priced from $30, “Shamrock vs. Diaz” tickets are available for purchase at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

 

Three-time world champion and MMA legend, Frank Shamrock (24-9-1), will make his long-awaited return to the cage against Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt and hard-hitting brawler, Nick Diaz (18-7, 1 NC), in the main event of the most highly anticipated Strikeforce event of all-time.

 

The headlining matchup, which will be contested at a catch weight of 179 lbs, represents a key opportunity for the 25-year-old Diaz to avenge a devastating, 21 second knockout that his trainer, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master, Cesar Gracie, suffered at the hands of Shamrock in the main event of Strikeforce’s historic, inaugural MMA event at HP Pavilion on March 10, 2006.

 

Middleweight (185-pound limit) sluggers Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (16-5, 1 NC) and Benji “Razor” Radach (19-4) will go to war with each other in a featured contest on the card.  Additional matchups for the Strikeforce event will be announced shortly. 

 

HP Pavilion doors will open for “Shamrock vs. Diaz” at 4:30 p.m. on April 11^th.  The first preliminary bout will begin at 5 p.m. and the main fight card will commence at 7 p.m.

 

About Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” 

Media Contacts:

 

Strikeforce – Mike Afromowitz (917) 566-8754 mafromowitz@strikeforce.com        

 

Strikeforce: Frank Shamrock VS Nick Diaz Headlines Landmark Strikeforce Event

Saturday, April 11, From HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT
 
NEW YORK (Feb. 11, 2009)—Three-time world champion and mixed martial arts legend, Frank Shamrock (24-9-1), will make his dramatic return to the cage when he squares off with fellow knockout artist Nick Diaz (18-7, 1 NC) in the main event of Strikeforce’s first MMA event of the year at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion on Saturday, April 11. 
 
The event represents the dawn of a new age for Strikeforce as it will be the first event under its new television agreement with premium television network SHOWTIME.  The live telecast will feature up to five fights including the Shamrock-Diaz main event beginning live at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
 
The matchup, which will be contested at a catch weight of 179 lbs, is an opportunity for the hard-punching Diaz to avenge a devastating, 21-second knockout that his trainer, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Cesar Gracie, suffered at the hands of Shamrock in the main event of Strikeforce’s historic MMA debut event at HP Pavilion on March 10, 2006.
 
Also on the fight card, middleweight (185-pound limit) sluggers Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (16-5, 1 NC) and Benji “Razor” Radach (19-4) will battle each other in a featured contest.
 
Tickets for “Shamrock vs. Diaz,” priced from $30, go on sale to the general public on Monday, February 23, at 10 a.m. PT at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).
 
“I’d be pretty pissed off if someone smashed my coach,” said the 36-year-old Shamrock, who is regarded by many as the father of modern day MMA. “Diaz is going to be carrying the pride of his school with him, but a fight’s a fight.  Someone’s getting smashed and it’s just not going to be me.”
 
A San Jose, Calif. resident, Shamrock earned his lofty stature by bringing to the sport a polished, hybrid fighting style combining western boxing, kickboxing and submission wrestling in the mid-90’s when most MMA competitors’ skills were heavily concentrated in a single fight discipline.  He was crowned the first UFC middleweight champion in history after stopping “The Huntington Beach Badboy” Tito Ortiz with an onslaught of strikes in what is regarded as one of the greatest MMA battles of all-time.
 
“I’m done breaking myself for entertainment,” Shamrock continued.  “I’m just going to break everybody else and they’ll be entertained by that.”
 
Diaz, a stone-faced 25-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Stockton, Calif., responded, “Frank and I have always lived in a 100 mile radius of each other. When I got into this (sport), the people around here were all about Frank Shamrock, so I turned around and walked the other way.”
 
“I’ve crossed paths and trained with people who have also trained with Frank,” continued Diaz. “I know what they do, how they fight, and the way they act, so it’s great for me to get this fight while I’m still young.  There’s a lot of things I can talk about, but I’m going to represent Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and I’m down for whatever’s going to happen in this fight.”
 
Diaz is long known as one of MMA’s most rebellious characters with a short fuse and crowd-pleasing style. He exploded onto the national MMA scene when he stunned fellow rising star “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler with a right hook to the jaw that put Lawler flat on the canvas at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004. 
 
When he steps in the cage with Shamrock, Diaz will look to notch his fourth consecutive victory after turning in a flawless 2008 in which he stopped all three of his opponents, including his last adversary, Thomas “The Wildman” Denny.

”I just got a bigger picture of what’s going on in my life and in the world,” said Diaz of his recent success.  “I think I just needed to grow up a bit.  I did that and things are coming to me much easier now.”
 
Shamrock’s start will be his first since March 29, 2008, when he sustained a broken right arm while attempting to defend the Strikeforce world middleweight championship against longtime Bay Area rival and undefeated kickboxing champion Cung Le.
 
A Le round kick to the body caused the injury and prevented Shamrock from coming out to fight for the fourth round of a championship bout scheduled for five rounds.
 
“It healed up like it never happened,” said Shamrock of his arm that underwent surgery.

Prior to the title defense, Shamrock was crowned the first Strikeforce middleweight MMA champion in history after choking “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni unconscious in the second round of their live SHOWTIME PPV® battle at HP Pavilion on June 22, 2007.
 
Showtime Networks Inc. and Strikeforce jointly announced last week a multi-year agreement to create an all-new series of MMA events that will air live on SHOWTIME as part of the SHOWTIME Sports franchise.  The two entities will produce and televise up to 16 live events per year, including world championship fight cards as well as a series dedicated to showcasing up-and-coming fighters in the sport.
 
The agreement reunites SHOWTIME and Strikeforce following their successful “Shamrock vs. Baroni” event, presented by SHOWTIME PPV in 2007 and the Shamrock vs. Cung Le telecast, which aired live on SHOWTIME. 
About Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  Since then, it has co-produced the first SHOWTIME PPV mixed martial arts event in history with its world championship “Shamrock vs. Baroni” card on June 22nd of this year followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29, 2007.
About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.       

Strikeforce April 11th Event Gilbert Melendez & Nick Diaz Both On Card!

It's been confirmed by GracieFighter that Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock have agreed to fight on the April 11th Stikeforce card in San Jose, California. Shamrock previously fought at 185lbs while Diaz has been fighting as a lightweight. Diaz however has had to cut tremendously for his fights and doesn't expect size to be a factor. Both competitors will be fighting at a 179lbs catch weight!

Also, a source close to Gilbert Melendez has stated it's possible Gilbert will face ex-UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel! Jorge is best known for being on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter and for his "Fight of the Night" performance at UFC 73 against Diego Saraiva.

**Update.. Strikeforce told me Gilbert will most likely face either Jorge Gurgel or Mitsuhiro Ishida***

I know personally that Gilbert would be happy with either fight, but a rematch with Ishida (the first man to defeat Melendez) would be desirable!

Either way, I can't wait to see Gilbert fight again. Both fights would provide for great action.

Frank Shamrock talks EliteXC and his future

Check out this interview Frank Shamrock does with a Dallas TV station. He gives his prediction for this weekends EliteXC title fight between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, as well as his thoughts on facing the winner. How's Frank's arm doing after CungLe broke it to pieces? Find out. Will the Shamrock brothers fight anytime soon? And how would the public react to watching brothers fight? Find out.

Frank also gives his thoughts on how MMA has grown in popularity and why it will continue to grow into the most popular sport there is.

“Shamrock vs. Cung Le” Does $1.1 Million Gate

Strikeforce Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 2, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A crowd of 16,326 generated over $1.1 million of live gate revenue for the “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” mixed martial arts mega-event at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on Saturday, March 29th. “It was an incredible night all around,” said Scott Coker, CEO, Strikeforce, which co-promoted the event with EliteXC.  “Our main event between Frank Shamrock and Cung Le was an epic battle that lived up to, if not exceeded, everyone’s expectations.  The energy in the arena was as electric and intense as that at a Superbowl.  You could really sense the magnitude of the fight and what was at stake in it through the emotions each fighter’s thousands of fans were expressing.” In the main event, Le was crowned the new Strikeforce world middleweight (185 lb. limit) champion after a broken right wrist forced Shamrock to retire between rounds three and four.  Prior to the stoppage, Le was imposing his will with repeated round kicks to the body and side of Shamrock’s head as well as quick hands that found their mark on Shamrock’s face. In the second half of the third round, though, Shamrock made a bold stand, backing Le into one side of the cage and tagging him with several punch combinations that appeared to put Le in trouble. Two days prior to the event, NBC and Strikeforce announced that their two entities had entered a partnership agreement to produce the first-ever 52 week mixed martial arts series for a major TV network.  “Strikeforce on NBC” will air every Saturday from 2-2:30 am ET, beginning on April 12th.  Each show will be comprised of fighter profiles as well as Strikeforce mixed martial arts fights and highlights.  Before the close of 2008, three Strikeforce events will be distributed live on the Mark Cuban-owned HDNet.  Strikeforce programming is also available in 22.5 million homes across Europe, The Middle East, and parts of Africa courtesy of Extreme Sports Channel.

Jake Shields cancels fight due to injury!!

Looks like Jake Shields and Drew Fickett are going to have to brawl at a later time. Due to a back injury Jake pulled out.

Fear not, the event on Saturday night at the HP Pavilion is sure to be a good one with two other title fights on the card! Strikeforce world middleweight champ Frank Shamrock meets Cung Le in the night's main event, and Strikeforce world lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez meets Gabe Lemley in a televised event.