MMA Hot Stuff

Strikeforce: Evolution Predictions

Never mind the co-main event and TITLE FIGHT guys aren't even on the billboards around the bay area, I'm really excited about this weekend's Strikeforce Evolution card happening Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Here are my predictions, winners in green. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

Cung Le vs Scott Smith - In my opinion there are two areas in which Scott beats Cung... Power and Heart. Aside from that Cung takes the cake. He's got more technical and refined striking, better footwork and ultimately can keep Smith away with his arsenal of kicks. I don't see Smith being able to generate a whole lot of offense here. I expect the movie star to knock Scott out in the second round. There isn't really much more to say other than go check out Cung's latest movie Bodyguards and Assassins coming out later this month.

Josh Thomson vs Gilbert Melendez(to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship belts). As you may recall, Gilbert was the defending LW champion when he and Josh first met in June 2008. Josh won taking the title and belt home. They were set to fight again in April 2009 but the fight was called off because Josh broke his ankle during practice. They were scheduled to fight again in August 2009 but that was cancelled as well due to Josh's lingering ankle injury (or re-injury). During that time Strikeforce created an interim title given Josh's inability to fight, and Gilbert won the title against Rodrigo Damm and then defended that interim title against Mitsuhiro Ishida. So, this fight on Saturday is for us to see who will go home with the true Strikeforce Lightweight Champion title. Is Josh's ankle back to 100%? Has he developed a little 'ring rust' given he hasn't competed in quite some time? My break down is this: No, Josh will not have ring rust. He's been training with some of the best guys in his weight class down at AKA in San Jose.... he trains with the likes of Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch... and knowing AKA they go hard all the time. A la remember not that long ago Swick had to pull out of a bout because his training partner (Koscheck) caught him with a leg sweep, giving Swick a concussion? They go hard. HOWEVER, he's fighting GILBERT MELENDEZ. I almost feel like saying enough said, because I think it is. But I can say more. Gilbert has a great camp that includes Jake Shields, the Diaz brothers and of course, the SkrapPack. Gilbert has been spending a lot of time with a trainer focusing on his strength & conditioning, and says his training is more focused and regimented this time around. He's a fantastic wrestler, and isn't afraid to exchange a few blows (or, "throw hooks" as he sometimes says). I'm excited to see how both of these guys have improved since the last time they met. Two great guys. Two fantastic fighters. One winner. I'm going with Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez via decision. I think both guys are just too tough to be finished early, but ultimately Johs' long lay off and Gilbert's more focused training will show, and Gilbert will walk home the undisputed LW Champ. Oh and for extra points I'll say if we see Gilbert dominate Josh like he did against Mitsuhiro I wouldn't be surprised to see the UFC knocking on his door soon. The reality is he's a great person, good for the sport and oh yeah, that hispanic demographic that's out there... yeah I'm sure they'll all be wearing their El Nino shirts tomorrow tonight!

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Matt Lindland - I'm really excited to see how Jacare does in Strikeforce... coming from Dream. I definitely don't expect to see these two exchange blows or keep it standing for more than 20 seconds in the first round. This is going to be a grappling/wrestling match. I know more people will be putting their new shoe money on Jacare but I expect to see Lindland win this by submission (guillotine) in the second round.

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Mike Whitehead - We've heard and seen lots of promoting of King Mo! This is his debut with Strikeforce where he's coming from M-1 Global with a record of 5-0. He's known for his knock out power but he's fighting Mike Whitehead who comes with tons of experience. It's hard to say exactly what Mike's area of expertiese is other than he's a calculated fighter and pretty well rounded. I think this is a big fight for King Mo and will NOT be an easy win. Having said that, I'm picking King Mo to win this by TKO... King Mo has a ton of talent and potential, and I think this is the beginning of big things for him with Strikeforce.

If you're going to the event, feel free to msg me on twitter and come say hi! twitter.com/mmahotstuff

 

Strikeforce: Evolution - Melendez VS Thomson

I'll be posting my entire list of predictions for the main card of Strikeforce: Evolution tomorrow, but has there ever been any doubt who I'm going with for the lightweight title bout?

 

Thanks to Sherdog for the picture (you can see a full gallery of Gil training here), and to Gilbert for showing MMAHotStuff a little love! Can't wait to see this fight! Can't wait for Gilbert to get his belt back! 

Josh Thomson Out - Strikeforce

It looks like its been confirmed Josh Thomson is out and Gilbert Melendez will now be fighting Mitsuhiro Ishida. To quote gil, he "didn't train for nothing.WAR!!!"

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

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.

The Lightweight Division, Anything But Light

Everyone has their favorite fighter(s). But for me, it's a weight class.

The UFC Lightweight division in my opinion is the most stacked weight class. For you ladies that are coming up to speed on the sport, this is is the 146-155lb weight class.

The number of grade A/top tier fighters in this weight class means a lot of great match ups.

Look at this list:
BJ Penn: Current UFC lightweight champ! Former UFC Welterweight Champ. First non-Brazilian born winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category. He has either fought for or defended a UFC championship belt 7 times! BJ and his team have started a new program that starts 1/1/2010. If you haven't checked it out, I highly encourage you to do so. I've signed up to get the ongoing newsletters and they're fantastic.

Kenny Florian: Kenny is known for much more than just having the "razor sharp" elbows! His background isn't your standard wrestler or bjj but rather he grew up playing soccer! At least that explains where his strong high kicks come from. His wins include some very well known names (on this list). He will soon attempt to take the belt from BJ! Also, if you live in or around Boston, check out his gym. And tell them I sent you!

Clay Guida: 11 out of 25 of his fights have gone all the way to judge's decision, 2 of those earned him Fight of the Night! He'll face Diego Sanchez on June 20th. He's also a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. His nickname is the "Carpenter" but honestly he reminds me of a "Bulldog"

Nate Diaz: Nate is a jiu jitsu brown belt under Cesar Gracie, and Cesar is notorious for being very stringent when it comes to handing out belts. He's the former WEC Lightweight Champ, winner of TUF Season 5, and has won Fight of the Night honors 3 out of 13 fights. 

Tyson Griffin:  Tyson is another Fight of the Night kind of guy. He goes in to get the job done. He's earned the Fight of the Night bonus 5 times out of 8 UFC fights! And who doesn't love a guy that comes out to "Eye of the Tiger" as his entrance music.

Diego Sanchez: Diego won his Lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson and also earned the Fight of the Night honors. Diego was the TUF season 1 champ at middleweight, which is 171 - 185 lbs... that's right, and now he fights at lightweight. But previously he was a powerhouse at 170lbs and I'm looking forward to seeing him showcase his ability against the others here at 155lbs.

Joe Stevenson: This guy has 39 fights under his belt and he's only 26! He's another one that is fun to watch and has been known to get guys in Guillotine chokes that are almost impossible to get out of. Plus have you seen his kids? ADORABLE. Joe has also fought the toughest guys in the weight class, including BJ Penn and Kenny Florian.

Honorable Mentions:

Sean Sherk: Also a former UFC Lightweight Champion!

Joe Lauzon: Pretty impressive UFC record so far (5-1). He is currently rehabbing his knee but I'm confident he's going to be even stronger once he's back!

Cole Miller: Hello! He beat Junie Browning in the first round!

Josh Neer: 33 fights already and he's only 26!  25-7-1

Frankie Edgar: Frankie made a splash in the lightweight division with a debut victory over Tyson Griffin, which was an amazing fight. This guy is a former NCAA All-American wrestler and has a very exciting style.

Gray Maynard: His nickname is "The Bully", and for good reason. He's another NCAA All-American wrestler, and uses that background to get guys to the ground and dominate them. But don't let his takedowns fool you, his striking is GOOD. Many consider Gray to be a future contender in this division.

Upcoming Match Ups That You Must Watch!

Sean vs Frankie at UFC 98 May 23rd - Two great wrestlers with good boxing, this will be a war!

Diego vs Clay at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - Are you kidding me? Both of these guys go all out for all 3 rounds. This one will be action packed without a doubt!

Joe "Daddy" vs Nate at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - This one will be interesting. Two very different body types, both with great jiu jitsu. Plus, you gotta love Nate Diaz's swagger in the cage.

BJ vs Kenny at UFC 101 August 8th - It's for the title folks... need I say more?

In my opinion the guys in this weight class are the most well rounded fighters. They've got a combination of all aspects of the fighting game. You get it all with lightweight fights... great submissions, great knockouts, great wrestling and scrambles, the whole 9 yards. There's never a dull moment when these guys step into the cage, and you can always count on a great fight! These guys always come to fight!

Honorable Mentions Outside the UFC:

Gilbert Melednez, Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Thomson, Satoru Kitaoka

Broken Leg Forces Josh Thomson Out Of Title Defense Fight

New York (April 1, 2009)–A broken left leg sustained during a sparring session earlier today has forced Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) to withdraw from his scheduled title defense against Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (14-2) at Strikeforce’s “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, April 11.

 

Strikeforce is searching for a replacement fighter to face the top-ranked Melendez in the live SHOWTIME televised event.

 

“I was sparring hard and I broke my leg, above my ankle, during an exchange,” said the 30-year-old Thomson, who was trading blows with fellow Strikeforce competitor Billy Evangelista when the injury occurred.  Thomson is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday and is expected to be out of action for two to three months.

 

“I’m very upset.  All the hard work was done and it was time to fight,” said the injured champ.  “I was looking forward to putting on a great show for the fans.  All I can say is that I’ll be back when I get healthy.” 

 

   

Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” will air live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) on Saturday, April 11. 

 

Tickets for “Shamrock vs. Diaz,” priced from $30, 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).

 

 

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.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

ESPN MMA Live: From U.K. to Corpus

MMALive recap from UK to corpus



With a recap of Diego/Stevenson fight. There was a lot of emphasis on Stevenson now losing 3 of his last 4 fights. Sure but Joe Stevenson is a fun fighter to watch and if you ask me he's always going to be the opponent the other big guys fight. He's the one you have to fight to get a title shot. He's my Keith Jardine but for lightweights. Joe Stevenson will always be around. As far as the fight between Diego and Stevenson, Diego did get the W however it wasn't the way he wanted it. While that fight went to the judges I think Diego will only get better. He's definitely going to give the 155lbers a run for their money. My guess is he'll get a title shot at some point. Perhaps fighting the loser between Kenny and BJ and then the winner of that fight getting a title shot.

Speaking of Kenny Florian vs BJ Penn - WHEN WHEN WHEN? It won't happen at UFC 99 in Germany (Thank goodness. I think it'd be a great co-main event on UFC 100)! This will allow good recovery time for BJ from the fight with GSP, but is it too much time off for KenFlo? Ha hardly. I assure you his training camp will continue to keep him busy.

p.s. wow did anyone count how many times Diego said YES during his walk out to the octagon.  Think he was a bit excited?


I'm definitely happy  to see Gilbert vs Josh Thomson on the upcoming Strikeforce card. Josh will be defending his title.

Oh and p.s.s. I'm THE "Rachel from San Francisco" that submitted the question about catch weights :)

Keep up the great work ESPN MMA Live crew

Thomson To Defend Strikeforce Title, Seek Vengeance Against Edwards

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion, Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2), will set out to make his first title defense and, at the same time, look to even an old score against the only man on the planet who has stopped him in the heat of battle - Yves Edwards (34-14-1) – at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on Friday, November 21st. 

The 32-year-old Edwards, who scored an unforgettable, first round knockout on Thomson with a head kick at UFC 49 on August 21, 2004, remains one of only two competitors who have defeated Thomson.  The finishing shot that Edwards landed on Thomson was afterwards called “the greatest knockout due to a kick in UFC history” by play-by-play announcer, Mike Goldberg.

“I was better than him then and I’m way better than him now,” said Thomson who, one day before his 30th birthday, coasted to his eighth consecutive victory, a first round TKO of Lion’s Den protégé, Ashe Bowman, during Strikeforce’s second affair at the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, September 20th. 

“This rematch is about winning back something that I let slip through my fingers last time,” Thomson explained.  “It was a fluke, but that’s part of the fight game – anyone can get caught.  I blame my error last time on my cockiness.  This time, I’ve got to stamp my mark on it.”

His dominance of “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez at HP Pavilion on Friday, June 27th earned Thomson the Strikeforce title and a return to the lightweight division’s world top 10 rankings.

“I respect Yves as a fighter and consider him a friend.  This is a business, though, and we know it so I’m going to do what I have to do,” said Thomson.

“It was a spectacular finish.  We both scrambled and had a good idea, but mine was better,” noted Edwards of his first meeting with Thomson.  During his 11-year professional career, Edwards has triumphed over a number of other notable rivals, including Rich Clementi, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, James Edson Berto, and Hermes Franca, whom Edwards defeated twice.  

“Both Josh and I have improved.  He’s always been comfortable in the cage, but his stand-up looks a lot better and he looks like he puts things together a lot better than he used to.  He also looks even harder to take down than before.”

A native of The Bahamas, Edwards took up Karate at age nine and, soon after, began studying Kung-Fu.  After relocating to Houston, Texas at the age of 15, he fell in love with mixed martial arts (MMA) and gradually immersed himself in various components of the sport, most notably Muay Thai, western boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Edwards later dubbed his hybrid style of combat “Thug Jitsu.”
It is his passion for MMA that recently lured Edwards to Coconut Creek, Florida, where he has become a full fledged member of star-filled fight squad, American Top Team.  “Being able to go with these guys all the time has helped improve my game a lot.  I’m not lacking anything down here.  I’m in a fighter’s haven.”

Tickets for Strikeforce “Destruction,” priced from $30, are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and on Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).
In the main event, Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight (205 lb. limit) Champion, Bobby Southworth (9-5), will make his highly anticipated title defense against top-ranked superstar, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7).

Joe “Diesel” Riggs (28-11) will make his return to the welterweight (170 lb. limit) division in a featured contest with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Luke Stewart (6-1). 
HP Pavilion doors will open at 5:30 PM for Strikeforce “Destruction” and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6 PM.   The main card will commence at 7:30 PM.
 
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 22, 2007 followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29, 2007.  On April 12th of this year, Strikeforce launched the first-ever 52 week MMA series on one of the four major television networks in The U.S. – NBC. 

gilbert melendez vs josh thomson strikeforce results live

now the main event..... for the strikeforce lightweight title!

josh thomson vs gilbert melendez!

everyone is standing and anxious. herb dean is the referee. gilbert throws a few lefts. josh takes gil down first. josh throws some knees. josh takes half guard. gilbert gets out of the half guard and takes josh down. now they're on their feet... end of round one. josh landed 83 percent gil 27 percent. round two: josh kicked gilbert caught it and answered with a punch to the face. josh landed 67 percent and gilbert landed 26 percent. round three: punches exchanged while standing. josh took gil down and gil threw a punch to the head and got a stern warning from herb. gil seemed to find his right hand and threw a few good ones. 64 percent landed from josh and gil landed 25 percent.

round four: josh took gil down and has side control. he then tried to take gilberts back but he got out then took his back again. josh was about to choke gil out by rear naked choke but was saved by the end of round bell! josh landed 68 percent gil landed 25 percent

round five: josh took gil down. they're now standing. sorry I didn't note much. they both seemed tired. josh landed 71 percent, gil landed 21 percent. end of round and we go to the judges: new strike force champion goes to josh thomson. fuck.

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!