Author: Ben Fowlkes

Lyle Beerbohm Hopes Win Over Healy Will Put Him in Strikeforce Title Picture

Filed under: StrikeforceThere’s nothing so remarkable about Lyle Beerbohm, really.

He’s just your run-of-the-mill recovering meth addict who’s racked up a perfect 16-0 record as an MMA fighter. He did a year in a Washington state prison, which is whe…

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There’s nothing so remarkable about Lyle Beerbohm, really.

He’s just your run-of-the-mill recovering meth addict who’s racked up a perfect 16-0 record as an MMA fighter. He did a year in a Washington state prison, which is where he first saw an episode of ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ Then he walked out of jail and into an MMA gym, where he freely admits he traded being hooked on meth for being hooked on MMA.

“To get off that addiction, I needed something,” he told MMA Fighting.

My First Fight: Frank Shamrock

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveWhen Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was …

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Frank Shamrock When Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was going to do this no-holds-barred fighting thing that Ken [Shamrock] was doing. And I didn’t know anything about any of them.”

Shamrock had spent most of the last decade in one institutionalized setting or another, whether it was group homes, youth crisis centers, or prison. His adopted father, Bob Shamrock, pointed him in the direction of the Lion’s Den, then an unknown gym for a mostly unknown sport, and run by Frank’s adopted older brother Ken. The first day Shamrock walked in the door, he was told he’d be getting a “tryout.”

My First Fight: Frank Shamrock

When Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was going to do this no-holds-barred fighting th…

When Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was going to do this no-holds-barred fighting thing that Ken [Shamrock] was doing. And I didn’t know anything about any of them.”

Shamrock had spent most of the last decade in one institutionalized setting or another, whether it was group homes, youth crisis centers, or prison. His adopted father, Bob Shamrock, pointed him in the direction of the Lion’s Den, then an unknown gym for a mostly unknown sport, and run by Frank’s adopted older brother Ken. The first day Shamrock walked in the door, he was told he’d be getting a “tryout.”

Ben Rothwell: I Need to Become a Contender or Find Something Else to Do

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski aren’t friends, exactly. Not in the strictest sense of the word. They spent a little over ten minutes in the ring together back in July of 2008. Since then the two hea…

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UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski aren’t friends, exactly. Not in the strictest sense of the word. They spent a little over ten minutes in the ring together back in July of 2008. Since then the two heavyweights haven’t talked much.

Still, Rothwell said, it was a strange feeling watching the latest stop on Arlovski’s precipitous decline last Saturday night. Watching his former foe laid out on the canvas after getting knocked out by Sergei Kharitonov in the first round of the Strikeforce Grand Prix, he felt sick to his stomach, though he’s not entirely sure why.

“Seeing him knocked out like that, it makes me feel bad,” Rothwell said. “I couldn’t even be like, hey, awesome knockout. It’s like seeing that happen to a friend, and I don’t even know Andrei all that well. I just know him from when we fought, and before he was really cool to me and after he was really cool to me. I haven’t really talked to him since, so I don’t know why I feel that way, but you just have that kind of connection with someone you fought a war with. I don’t want to see him like that.”

Gruesome Foot Injury Gives New Meaning to Fighting Through Adversity

Filed under: FanHouse ExclusiveIt takes a lot to gross out a seasoned fight promoter. Once you’ve seen enough blood on the mat and enough broken bones, you start to become immune to it all. At least, that’s what Jamie Addie of Fight to Win promotions i…

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It takes a lot to gross out a seasoned fight promoter. Once you’ve seen enough blood on the mat and enough broken bones, you start to become immune to it all. At least, that’s what Jamie Addie of Fight to Win promotions in Denver thought. Then he saw what happened to Justin Salas‘ foot.

“It was gross, man. I’ve seen a thousand fights and many different situations, but I’ve never seen that in my life,” Addie said.

Neither had Salas. Neither had his trainer, Trevor Wittman. It hadn’t even occurred to them to be worried about something like this.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce – Fedor vs. Silva

Filed under: StrikeforceIf you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reser…

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If you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reserve bout between Valentijn Overeem and Ray Sefo felt almost meaningful (though it didn’t look it), and the Silva-Emelianenko fight had enough thrills to last us until the next wave of fights in April.

All in all, a success out of the gates for the most ambitious endeavor in Strikeforce history. Now let’s sift through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the opening night of Strikeforce’s heavyweight Grand Prix.