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 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.

Week in Review: UFC WEC And Everything In Between

Hi ladies
wow, where have I been?! My body was kind enough to turn a common cold into bronchitis during the weekend of UFC 98 and forced me to take a week "off". But I'm feeling much better and there has been a lot going on!

While UFC 98 has come and gone I need to fess up and say my picks were ALL WRONG. And to those of you that emailed me to point that out, thanks captain obvious(es) and good job in picking the favorites. I had the pleasure of taking my dad to the fights and he had a great time. While you may have better seats while watching the fights at home there's nothing like feeling the excitement in the arena.

Frankie Edgar did an outstanding job against Sean Sherk and I owe him mad props. While I knew Frankie would do well he showed everyone he is deserving of these great match ups. I'm definitely excited to see what is in store for him!

Ohhh so sad. That Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes fight was the fight I was really looking forward to. Hughes had his hands down half way through the first round. Neither of them did a stellar job, but it was a pretty good fight. I had the first round going to Serra, second round going to Hughes and the third round going to Serra. So when it came down to judge's decision, I really thought Serra had won. And frankly, by the expression and body language of both Hughes and Serra I think they both thought Serra had won as well. Everyone in the crowd around me and my Tweeps (people on Twitter) thought the same thing. I guess as the saying goes "Never Leave It Up To The Judges" is very fitting here in this situation. The judges probably saw something that the rest of us didn't.

The Evans vs Machida fight was great. While I thought Evans would have won the fight it was exciting for sure. When Machida knocked Evans out in the second round seeing Evans buckle like that left my mouth open for two minutes. Perhaps we'll be seeing Lyoto face off with Shogun Rua at UFC 104.

All old news but for me the highlight was not only taking my dad to his first UFC event but seeing him get into it and actually say to me stuff like "What a great take down" and knowing the specific hold and submission names really impressed me. I had a great time with him. Thanks for going dad!

Other news worthy items you should know about:

• Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (24-6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will return to the UFC and fight Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at next weekend's UFC 99 event.
• EA Sports announced they will release a MMA-themed video game "EA Sports MMA" in 2010. This is another sign how mainstream MMA going. Video games will help reach the younger demographic even more than they are now.
• It was announced that Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans are the new coaches for The Ultimate Fighter.
• Tune in to WEC 41 to not only watch Mike Brown defend his title against Urijah Faber but our friend Kenny Florian will be the commentator. Super excited for this card.
• Frank Trigg signed a new deal with the UFC.

June is not only the month of my birthday (33, already?) but it's also a great month for MMA addicts.

EVENTS
June 5th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 10
June 6th - Strikeforce Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields (oh yeah AND Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers as well as Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith) YAY
June 7th - WEC Mike Brown vs Urijah Faber
June 12th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 11
June 13th - UFC 99 Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva (Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy also on this card)
June 19th - Strikeforce Challengers: Santos vs Villasenor
June 19th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 12
June 20th - The Ultimate Fighter Finale 9 (Yes we'll get to see TUF finals but also on the card is Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez  and Nate Diaz vs Joe Daddy Stevenson) WTF Chris Lytle is on the prelim card? Breaks my heart. Hopefully he still tries for fight of the night honors!

All in all a great month for MMA fans. More to come. More frequently I promise.

 

Strikeforce: Arlovski VS Rogers added to June 6th card!!! Can you say "stacked"?

ANDREI ARLOVSKI  WILL FIGHT BRETT ROGERS

JUNE 6 IN ST.  LOUIS

Heavyweight Showdown Precedes Lawler vs. Shields Main Event
Live on SHOWTIME from Scottrade Center In St. Louis on June 6

ST. LOUIS (May 19, 2009) - SHOWTIME announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., announced today that top-10 ranked heavyweight and former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski will face unbeaten heavyweight sensation Brett "The Grim" Rogers on Saturday, June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and LIVE on SHOWTIME.

The announcement was made at a kick-off press conference for STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields at the Atrium at Scottrade Center.  The heavyweight showdown, which will be sponsored by Affliction, will precede the main event fight between two of the most highly regarded fighters in the world, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields.

The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets for Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields", priced from $30, are on sale now at the Scottrade Center box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce's official website (www.strikeforce.com).

Affliction's Arlovski's (15-6) fight resume includes a who's-who of the heavyweight division with fights against Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia.  Eleven of the 15 victories for the former UFC heavyweight champion have come by way of knockout.  The undefeated Rogers is 9-0 with eight devastating knockouts and one submission.  Only one of his fights has gone past the first round.  The two stand-up specialists stand at 6-foot-4, so fans can expect an all-out slugfest.

Lawler, a world top-10 middleweight, is unbeaten in his last six (5-0 with 1 No Contest). Shields, a winner of 11 in a row, is ranked among the top five welterweights in the world. They will clash at a catch weight of 182 pounds.

The rest of the SHOWTIME portion of the June 6 event rounds out as follows:

Fresh off their respective thrilling wins in the premier of Strikeforce on SHOWTIME (April 11), the versatile Nick Diaz and knockout artist Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith will meet in a special 180-pound showdown.

Diaz, who shocked the MMA world with his complete dominance of four-time world champion Frank Shamrock, has shown tremendous versatility in recent fights, adding top-shelf striking ability to his well-known submission skills.  Smith is coming off a stunning, come-from-behind KO of Benji "The Razor" Radach, in a fight that is sure to be a candidate for 2009 Fight of the Year.

"The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10) will collide with Joe "Diesel" Riggs (29-10) in a 170-pound contest.  Nine of Baroni's 13 wins have come by knockout, so expect the brash, trash talking New Yorker to bang with Riggs.  A former UFC contender, Riggs is a well-rounded fighter with 14 wins by knockout and 13 via submission.  Their war of words in the press is ongoing. Expect an emotionally charged throw-down in this one.

Opening the SHOWTIME telecast, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (17-12) will face Mike "Iron" Whitehead (23-6) in a 205-pound clash.  Randleman, a former UFC standout who has been tested against some of MMA's most recognizable names, will make his return to the cage and his Strikeforce debut.  Whitehead is a knockout and submission specialists who has won 14 of his last 15 fights.  Whitehead is in for his toughest fight to date.

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.

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(tm), 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®.

ESPN MMA Live

Here is this weeks installment of ESPN's MMA Live. Can I just say that I love this weekly show? Great job ESPN for putting this out there for the fans.

This week's show spends some time on the controversial topic of Kyle Maynard's MMA debut. You may Kyle as a congenital amputee that found success in wrestling and then went on to pursue his dream of fighting. His dream has been met with mixed reviews. Hear what Kenny and the crew think of Kyle's achievement and future in the sport. Also, Kyle joins the crew live to discuss his love for MMA and why he wants to fight. What does Kyle have to say to the naysayers out there? Find out!

Say what you will about Kyle's place in MMA, but you must admit he's got heart and courage and you have to admire his determination.

The crew discusses the addition of Anderson Silva VS Forrest Griffin to the UFC 101 card. And apparently Kenny read my post about fighting styles, because he agrees this will be an exciting one given Griffin's aggressiveness and Silva's counter-punching style.

We hear about updates to the June 6th Strikeforce card. Jeff Sherwood joins to discuss the Sherdog top 10 pound-for-pound fighter rankings.

And Kenny takes us to Cambridge Culinary School of Arts for some tips on "healthy living" through turkey chili. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't see Kenny and Keith demonstrate the "chicken wrist", but the chili recipe looks GOOD!

Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith Added To June 6 Strikeforce Fight Card

A benefit in fighting for a fairly small organization is having the ability to fight often!
With an organization such as Strikeforce, while they're definitely an Up-And-Coming-Look-Out-UFC kind of organization they still have only a few fighters under contract (comparatively speaking to the UFC). Their last show earlier this month in San Jose was spot on. The production was awesome, the crowd was rowdy and the fights were pretty exciting.

Just two weeks after that card, two of the fighters that gave us some of the best fights of the night have already been locked in to fight again, this time they'll be facing each other!

Fresh off their respective thrilling wins, the versatile Nick Diaz (19-7) and knockout artist Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith (17-5) are eager to get back in the cage. The pair will square off on Saturday, June 6th, in a special 180-pound showdown during the live SHOWTIME telecast of Strikeforce: "Lawler vs Shields" from the Scottrade Center in St Louis, MO.

"I think this is a great fight for me, but I really hate that (Smith) brigs his kids to every one of his fights because now I'm going to be made out to be the bad guy or some sort of villain after I beat him up, " said the 25-year-old Diaz, who shocked the MMA World with his complete dominance of four-time world champion Frank Shamrock in the Strikeforce main even April 11th. "At the end of the day, I'm going to do what I have to do through and take him out."

Tickets for Strikeforce "Lawler vs Shields" are on sale at the Scottrade Center box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and Strikeforce's official website (www.strikeforce.com)

The live SHOWTIME telecast of the event begins at 10pm ET (delayed on the west coast). In the highly anticipated main event "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (16-4) will face off with fellow top ranked superstar Jake Shields (22-4-1) in a 182-pound catch weight fight.

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!!

 

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:

EliteXC "Unfinished Business" Results

I made my way out to Stockton to watch the EliteXC "Unfinished Business" fights. The fights were definitely worth the long drive from San Francisco... here are the results:

CBS Card

• Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
  Result: Robbie Lawler defeats Scott Smith by TKO (Strikes) at 2:35 of R2.
• Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
  Result: Nick Diaz defeats Thomas Denny by TKO (Punches) at 0:30 of R2.
• Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson
  Result: Jake Shields defeats Nick Thompson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:03 of R1.

Here's a picture from weighins where Nick gave us a glimpse of the ass Jake was about to kick. (Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

 

    

• Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
  Result: Cristiane Santos defeats Shayna Baszler by TKO (Punches) at 2:48 of R2.

Showtime Card

• Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers
  Result: Antonio Silva defeats Justin Eilers by TKO (Strikes) at 0:19 of R2.
• Rafael Feijao vs. Travis Galbraith
  Result: Rafael Cavalcante defeats Travis Galbraith by TKO (Strikes) at 3:01 of R1.
• Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway
  Result: Wilson Reis defeats Bryan Caraway by Unanimous Decision.