Author: Ben Fowlkes

Smith Not Guaranteed Rubber Match With Le and Other Press Conference Notes

Filed under: StrikeforceThe tally may be even at one win apiece for Scott Smith and Cung Le after Le’s second-round TKO victory at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be meeting for a third bout any time soon, Strik…

Filed under:

The tally may be even at one win apiece for Scott Smith and Cung Le after Le’s second-round TKO victory at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be meeting for a third bout any time soon, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said.

Responding to questions about whether a rubber match was guaranteed, as Smith’s manager, Mike Roberts, seemed to think was the case when he spoke with Sherdog.com before the bout, Coker said it might be a consideration eventually, but it’s by no means assured.

“We’ve had that conversation,” Coker said. “These guys, it was an amazing fight. Both fights were amazing fights. I think if they fought every weekend it would be amazing fights every weekend, like the Gatti-Ward fight, just those epic battles. When I think of Scott and Cung that’s what I think of. But there hasn’t been anything decided. I didn’t make that commitment to Scott or to Mike, actually.

With Emelianenko Toppled, What Becomes of Heavyweight Ranks?

Filed under: StrikeforceTo be the man, as the gospel of Ric Flair reminds us, you have to beat the man. Last night in San Jose, Fabricio Werdum beat the man. He beat Fedor Emelianenko just a little over a minute into the first round. He made the man qu…

Filed under:

To be the man, as the gospel of Ric Flair reminds us, you have to beat the man. Last night in San Jose, Fabricio Werdum beat the man. He beat Fedor Emelianenko just a little over a minute into the first round. He made the man quit.

Now, the question we must ask ourselves is, does that make Werdum the man? The answer is certainly no, which is more than a little unfair, but also completely sensible.

First, let’s try and take an objective look at this. Werdum, a jiu-jitsu specialist who relies on his skill with submissions, puts those skills to work and snatches a victory over the best heavyweight in the world. You can say he got lucky, or that Fedor got careless, but you could also make the same argument about Emelianenko’s win over Andrei Arlovski if you were so inclined.

Strikeforce Live Blog: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum Updates

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This is the Strikeforce live blog for Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum, the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce and M-1 Global card from the HP Pavilion.

Fedor, widely considered to be the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, tak…

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This is the Strikeforce live blog for Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum, the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce and M-1 Global card from the HP Pavilion.

Fedor, widely considered to be the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, takes on 2009 ADCC grappling champion Werdum.

The live blog is below.

Strikeforce Live Blog: Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy Updates

Filed under: StrikeforceSAN JOSE — This is the Strikeforce live blog for Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy, a lightweight bout on tonight’s Strikeforce and M-1 Global card from the HP Pavillion.

Thomson takes on Healy to potentially earn a rubber match agai…

Filed under:

SAN JOSE — This is the Strikeforce live blog for Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy, a lightweight bout on tonight’s Strikeforce and M-1 Global card from the HP Pavillion.

Thomson takes on Healy to potentially earn a rubber match against Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

The live blog is below.

Scott Smith Aiming for Early KO in Rematch with Cung Le

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsAs exciting as it is to watch, there are a couple different problems with Scott Smith’s fighting style. Don’t worry, he knows all about them.

For one, watching him in action is hell on anyone who cares about him. His penc…

Filed under: ,

As exciting as it is to watch, there are a couple different problems with Scott Smith‘s fighting style. Don’t worry, he knows all about them.

For one, watching him in action is hell on anyone who cares about him. His penchant for come-from-behind knockouts, his ability and apparent willingness to absorb cringe-inducing amounts of punishment, that’s tough on the nerves of his friends and family.

“I get it from everybody – from my coaches, my manager, my mom. Everybody,” Smith told MMA Fighting. “I wouldn’t want to corner me. Let’s put it that way. I’ve had guys say, ‘I can’t corner you anymore. You’re going to give me a heart attack.'”

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Weigh-In Results

Filed under: StrikeforceSAN JOSE — This weekend’s Strikeforce fighters took to the stage in front of a relatively small, but enthusiastic crowd at the HP Pavilion on Friday afternoon to make Saturday night’s match-ups official. While local favorites l…

Filed under:

SAN JOSE — This weekend’s Strikeforce fighters took to the stage in front of a relatively small, but enthusiastic crowd at the HP Pavilion on Friday afternoon to make Saturday night’s match-ups official. While local favorites like Cung Le and Josh Thomson got a warm reception, it was still Fedor Emelianenko who commanded the loudest cheers, a fact that even brought a brief smile to his face.

MMA Fighting will be on the scene and live blogging the action this Saturday night beginning at 8 pm ET, all the way through the Showtime portion of the card at 10 pm ET/PT. Full weigh-in results are below.