MMA Hot Stuff

EA Sports Online to Stream Strikeforce Bout

EA SPORTS TO OFFER FREE, LIVE ONLINE STREAM OF

RIGGS VS. HIERON FROM STRIKEFORCE:  MIAMI THIS SATURDAY


NEW YORK (January 26, 2009)- For the first time in history, Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) will offer live mixed martial arts (MMA) fight action online with a free of charge stream of the highly anticipated STRIKEFORCE welterweight (170 pounds) matchup between wrestling powerhouses Joe "Diesel" Riggs (32-10) and Jay "The Thoroughbred" Hieron (18-4) from BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida this Saturday, January 30.

The live stream of the STRIKEFORCE:  Miami preliminary bout will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on the official EA SPORTS(tm) MMA website (www.easportsmma.com <http://www.easportsmma.com/> ), the online platform for EA SPORTS forthcoming MMA video game title in which STRIKEFORCE will be featured as a premiere league.  The stream will precede the live SHOWTIME® telecast of the event's main fight card, which begins at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).


Riggs, a 27 year old native of Phoenix, Arizona, will attempt to extend a four fight win streak that began with his second round (2:05) TKO of Luke Stewart in a STRIKEFORCE:  Destruction bout at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on November 21, 2008.


In his last effort under the STRIKEFORCE banner, Riggs dominated hard-hitting "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni for three consecutive rounds of action before walking away with a unanimous judges' decision victory at St. Louis' Scottrade Center on June 6, 2009.


Hieron, a former nationally ranked NCAA wrestler for Hofstra University, has been victorious in each of his last six starts.  The Long Island, New  York native made his STRIKEFORCE debut in his last effort, earning a unanimous decision win over Jesse "J.T. Money" Taylor at HP Pavilion on August 15, 2009.


A former troubled teen, Hieron has since become an inspiration, winning a world title with the now defunct International Fight League (IFL) and relocating to Las Vegas in order to train with the fight squad headed by MMA legend Randy "The Natural" Couture.


Slated for release later this year, EA SPORTS MMA will feature the most authentic, intense and broad mixed martial arts experience to date - complete with a vast array of top fighters and fighting styles from around the world.  EA SPORTS MMA will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in 2010.


The game will feature a host of STRIKEFORCE fighters, the six-sided STRIKEFORCE cage, the commentary team of Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, and ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.  Legendary mixed martial arts referee "Big John" McCarthy will preside over the in-ring action and bring his in-depth knowledge of the sport to help deliver a truly authentic MMA experience. [confirm we have signed agreements and marketing rights to mention these people]


EA SPORTS(tm) is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences.  EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football and NCAA Basketball, Fight Night boxing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, while EA SPORTS Active Personal Trainer for the Wii is the most critically acclaimed product available for interactive fitness.


For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums, fantasy leagues and game communities, please visit www.easports.com<http://www.easports.com/>  to connect, share and compete.


Tickets for STRIKEFORCE:  Miami are on sale at the BankAtlantic Center ticket office and Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000 as well as online atwww.Ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>   and www.Strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> .


In the live, SHOWTIME televised main event, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Nick Diaz (20-7) of Stockton, California will square off with fellow MMA superstar and DREAM champion Marius "The Whitemare" Zaromskis (13-3) of Siaulial, Lithuania for the STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight Championship.


STRIKEFORCE Women's World Lightweight (145 pounds) Champion Cris Cyborg (8-1) of Curitiba, Brazil will put her title on the line against top ranked Marloes Coenen (17-3) of Deventer, Holland.


Football legend Herschel Walker (0-0) will make his highly-anticipated MMA debut against 26-year-old Greg Nagy (1-1) of Phoenix, Arizona.


Knockout artists "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (16-5) and Melvin "No Mercy" Manhoef (24-6-1) will face off with each other in a middleweight (185 pounds) contest.


Undefeated heavyweight and former WWE champion Bobby Lashley (4-0) will make his STRIKEFORCE debut against Wes Sims (22-12-1).


Doors at BankAtlantic Center will open for the event at 6:30 p.m.  The first non-televised, preliminary bout will begin at 7:30 p.m.


STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the
premium cable television network.  The promotion made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the "Fedor vs. Rogers" mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on Saturday, November 7
and generated 5.46 million viewers for the main event between the world's number one heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, and superstar Brett "The Grim" Rogers.

StrikeForce and Rockstar Energy Drink Present "Carano vs Cyborg"

In what's being said to be THE biggest female MMA fight ever, Gina "Conviction" Carano (7-0) will face Cris "Cyborg" Santos (7-1) August 15th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The Co-Main Event will be the Lightweight Title Unification between Gilbert Melendez (15-2) and Josh Thomson (16-2). For those ladies that may not recall, Gilbert was the title holder but lost it to Josh last June. They were set to have a rematch in April but it was canceled because Josh broke his ankle while training. And interim title was created and Gilbert won the title in a fight against Rodrigo Damm April 11 2009. So this match up between Gilbert and Josh is huge in my opinion. I mean I'm thrilled to see Gina and Cyborg finally go at it but this match up between Gilbert and Josh is pretty long over due.

Also rumored to be on the card is Joe Riggs (31-11-1) and Nick Diaz (20-7-1). These two met in February 2006 while they were under contract with the UFC, in what has been deemed as being one of the craziest post-fight fights that took place at the hospital. Now that they're with Strikeforce these two very well could possibly face each other again. Joe has been calling out Jake Shields in hopes of fighting him but Jake has made it very clear he has no interest in fight Joe and is looking for "big names".

While Strikeforce has a fairly small talent pool, they've been producing some very decent cards as of late.

Hope to see you all August 15th in San Jose.

Strikeforce Lawler vs Shields - How To Watch

This Saturday one of the best cards Strikeforce has put on will take place in St Louis, MO at the Scottrade Center.

On the main card:
Robbie Lawler facing Jake Shields at a catch weight of 182lbs
Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski vs Brett Rogers
Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith
Phil Baroni vs Joe Riggs
Kevin Randleman vs Mike Whitehead

It's definitely a card worth watching. But how can you watch it, you ask?

This particular fight will not be available in restaurant/bars (however Strikeforce has told me going forward it will be, so please check back for future event listings).

If you want to watch this event you either have to find; a friend who happens to have Showtime, Buy it as a Pay Per View event (you should see it available for purchase on one of your standard PPV channels), or order it online - see http://strikeforce.sho.com

For you fellow tweeps (twitter peeps) you can also see a live Twitter feed! Fans can contribute content alongside SHOWTIME Sports' behind-the-scenes staff throughout the evening by adding #strikeforce to their tweets.  
SWEET TWEETS - say that three times.

ESPN MMALive

Here's today's ESPN MMALive episode..

Miguel Torres filled in for Kenny but fellow tweeps (twitter peeps) you can still get your Kenny fix by going here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4231291

First up was the big news about Kimbo Slice joining the cast of TUF 10. Seems everyone agrees this is a great move by Dana White by bringing Kimbo on the show. As you may know Dana hasn't been shy about his opinion of Kimbo. Seems to me Kimbo will definitely bring the more casual fans to the sport
and of course us MMA Addicts will tune in to see this one time street fighter YouTube sensation try to prove himself. Also as part of the cast are  four ex NFL players. The loser in this may be Strikeforce for not being able to come to an agreement with Slice. Love him or hate him Slice definitely brings viewers!

Stephan Bonnar via satellite says it shows Kimbo has character by joining TUF cast.  Saying Dana has been critical of Kimbo from he beginning but Kimbo is showing he has character by accepting this challenge from Dana.

We can't forget that Kimbo is coming in with options. He has expressed his desire to box so if this doesn't pan it out he has that back up plan! TUF 10 will debut  Sept 16th.

Also discussed:
Rua and Lyoto may meet in October

This Sunday Mike Brown will defend his title against Urjah Faber. Urijah was on the show via satellite saying he knows Brown is a tough opponent. He said he made one small mistake in their last fight. Migel asked how he expects to win this sunday and Urijah's response was " Anyway. My hands are good and I've proven that before. I can submit guys as well. I'll be bringing my A game."

Also this weekend, Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields will face each other at a catch weight of 182lbs. Robbie was on MMALive via satellite and said he won't leave anything behind. Not impressed or worried about Jake moving up a weight.  Jon Anik picked Jake to win this fight.

Pulse question this week: Is Quinton making the right decision by not fighting Lyoto and coaching on TUF 10?  What are your thoughts?

Buy or Sell - Kimbo will win his first fight on TUF.

Gilbert Melendez still awaiting opponent for April Stirkeforce event

Rumored to be part of the April 11th Strikforce card, Gilbert Melendez has yet to be given confirmation on an opponent. Originally rumored to be either Mitsuhiro Ishida or Jorge Grugel, Gilbert told MMAHotStuff, "Ishida is the fight I've asked for and I'd love that rematch, but I'm willing to fight anyone".

It is now being reported that Grugel will not be part of the April card due to an elbow injury and that he's hoping to make his Strikeforce debut in May.

Gilbert is anxiously awaiting confirmation on an opponent and says "I want a tough opponent, but most of all I just want to fight".

Gilbert's friend and training partner Jake Shields has recently been confirmed for the April card against heavy-handed veteran Joe Riggs.

Joe Riggs wants Jake Shields next.

After a convincing victory over Luke Stewart at Strikeforce: Destruction, Joe Riggs told Fighthype.com that he'd like to fight Jake Shields.

Joe had this to say; "I would like to fight Jake Shields; I would. I think he's an unbelievable fighter. I'm not calling him out or disrespecting him, but I think Jake is an unbelievable fighter. To be in a fight like that would be very exciting and I think it's a similar fight to the Luke Steward fight, but Jake's a little better. I think it would be a great fight and a great win. It's a fight that I would like to have"'.

After dropping back to down to welterweight and with a convincing win, Riggs seems to be happy making Strikeforce his home. Given that Jake Shields is currently a free agent, this fight is a possibility, but it seems the most likely place for Shields to end up would be the UFC.

Strikeforce "Destruction": Weigh-In Results

San Jose, CA. —Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-5) weighed in at 185 ½ lbs. and his opponent, Terry Martin (18-5), tipped the scales at 186 lbs. one day before their meeting at Strikeforce “Destruction,” the mixed martial arts mega-event at San Jose’s HP Pavilion.

Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight (205 lb. limit) Champion Bobby Southworth (9-5) and his opponent, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7), both registered in at 204 lbs.  Knockout artists and opponents Duane “Bang” Ludwig (17-8) and Yves Edwards (34-14-1) weighed in at 163 lbs. and 164 lbs, respectively.

The following are the official fighter weights from today’s weigh-ins at Hotel DeAnza:

Strikeforce Weigh-ins Live

I'm here at the Strikeforce weigh-ins!

First up for the Strikeforce lightweight title is Josh Thomson weighing in at 156 in his underwear. His opponent Gilbert Melendez came in at a ripped 155. They then made josh take his underwear off and weigh in again. He made weight. Who knew underwear could weigh a pound!

Here's video of the weigh ins! Enjoy.

Fighting for the Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight Title, Anthony Ruiz came in at a lean 203 lbs and his opponenet Bobby Southworth was a cut 204.5!

Billy Evangelista weighed in at 156 and his opponent Nam Phan was under the class weight coming in at 154. Luckily Billy was able to weigh in again and made 155!

Chris Cariaso was a half pound over the class coming in at 135.5 and his opponent was that much under weighing in at 134.5

Oh ladies you wouldn't believe this one... Jeremiah Metcal came out, dropped his pants and he was wearing bikini underwear!!! In those bikinis he weighed in at 185 and will be fighting Raymond Daniels who weighed in at 184.

We have a female bout that is sure to be a great one. Miesha Tate from Washington weighed in at 145lbs and she'll be taking on Elaina Maxwell who weighed in at 146lbs.

Worth noting; Joe Riggs wasn't present at weigh ins and the story I heard was he didn't pass medical. They now have Drew Fickett in his place and will be facing off with Luke Stewart.

You can check out some MMAHotStuff pictures from the weigh-ins here!

Strikeforce: Joe Riggs replaces Carter for showdown with Stewart

It was reported today by MMAJunkie that Joe Riggs will replace Shonie Carter for the June 27th bout with up-and-comer Luke Stewart.

Carter was forced to drop out of the fight a week prior due to a hand injury, and Joe Riggs stepped up to replace him. The bout will take place at a catchweight of 178.

This will be Riggs' first fight since having back surgery after sustaining an injury last February in a Strikeforce event in Washington. Stewart, who began his career with five consecutive victories, is coming off a loss by unanimous-decision to the veteran Tiki Ghosn.

This should make for an interesting fight. Riggs is known for his heavy hands and ground-and-pound style, while Stewart is known for his great Jiu Jitsu.