Author: Ben Fowlkes

Nine Ways of Looking at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley

Filed under: StrikeforceOn Saturday night, Strikeforce embarks upon its first major event since the Zuffa purchase, and there are no shortage of questions, predictions and observations to mull over as we wait to see what we’re in for. Without further d…

Filed under:

On Saturday night, Strikeforce embarks upon its first major event since the Zuffa purchase, and there are no shortage of questions, predictions and observations to mull over as we wait to see what we’re in for. Without further delay…

I. If Nick Diaz wins, he could be the solution to the UFC’s GSP problem. And by problem, I mean the good kind, the kind that comes when you have a champion who is too dominant, and for whom there are never enough credible challengers. Not to look past Jake Shields (okay, I’m kind of looking past Jake Shields), but Diaz has the skills and the personality (in his own way) to make the welterweight division look like it still has a mountain or two left for the champ to climb — if he’s not already set on blowing up to middleweight and challenging Anderson Silva, which sounds like a bad deal from the start. But first, Diaz has to get past Paul Daley. Then he has to ‘play the game’ to Dana White’s satisfaction, which mostly means refraining from non-sanctioned combat on live TV or in hospital hallways. It doesn’t sound so difficult when you phrase it like that, and yet…

As UFC and Strikeforce Team Up, It’s Far From Business as Usual

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceCHULA VISTA, Calif. – If there was any doubt that change was in the air, it vanished the moment two UFC PR reps walked into Wednesday’s open workouts both drinking giant cans of Rockstar – the official energy drink of Strik…

Filed under: ,

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – If there was any doubt that change was in the air, it vanished the moment two UFC PR reps walked into Wednesday’s open workouts both drinking giant cans of Rockstar – the official energy drink of Strikeforce.

Two months ago this would have been an unthinkable incursion into enemy territory for a Zuffa employee, and one fueled by heresy in a can. Now it’s the new normal.

It seems minor at first, but sometimes it’s the little things that signal the start of a big change. As Strikeforce counts down the final days until its first major event under the ownership of Zuffa — the UFC’s parent company — change is evident in dozens of small ways. If you think the subtle differences are lost on the fighters, think again.

For Japanese Fighters, Disaster Back Home Provokes Different Reactions

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – It’s hard enough to get in a cage and fight another man for money on live TV when everything back home is nice and safe and boring.

But this weekend Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri will have to do it while their homeland is in …

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – It’s hard enough to get in a cage and fight another man for money on live TV when everything back home is nice and safe and boring.

But this weekend Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri will have to do it while their homeland is in a state of disarray and the future of MMA in Japan looks increasingly grim.

The two Japanese fighters on Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley fight card left a country still suffering from the effects of massive earthquake and tsunami damage, but their reactions to the situation back home – at least while in the public eye – have so far proved to be as wildly different as their personalities.

Pat Miletich Discusses ‘Mixed Feelings’ About Zuffa-Strikeforce Purchase

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceWhen former UFC champion Pat Miletich showed up to fulfill his duties as a Strikeforce commentator at last Friday’s Challengers event in Stockton, Calif., he became part of a mini-reunion that he hadn’t planned on when he f…

Filed under: ,

When former UFC champion Pat Miletich showed up to fulfill his duties as a Strikeforce commentator at last Friday’s Challengers event in Stockton, Calif., he became part of a mini-reunion that he hadn’t planned on when he first took the job, he told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

The event marked the first time a Strikeforce show had been run under the Zuffa banner since the organization was purchased by the UFC’s parent company in March, and as a result Miletich was back in the same arena with his former employers, this time in a very different role.

Miletich said he had “conversations, but not meetings” with Zuffa officials before the event, and while he was pleased with how things went, he admitted that he was not without reservations when he first heard the news of the monumental sale.

Ricardo Almeida Talks Retirement: ‘I Wanted to Leave on My Own Terms’

Filed under: UFCIt wasn’t any one thing that let Ricardo Almeida know it was time for him to retire. As the former UFC fighter told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, his recent losses carried a certain sting, as always, but those alone…

Filed under:

It wasn’t any one thing that let Ricardo Almeida know it was time for him to retire. As the former UFC fighter told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, his recent losses carried a certain sting, as always, but those alone probably couldn’t have driven him out of the sport.

“A big decision like that, it’s usually supported by many little things,” Almeida told Helwani. “It’s like the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

The 34-year-old Almeida was running his own gym, training himself and others for UFC bouts, and trying to spend as much time as possible with his family, he said, and eventually he came to the conclusion that something had to give. After he lost a unanimous decision to Mike Pyle at UFC 128 in March, he began to feel like his MMA career might be that something.

Lyle Beerbohm Not Afraid of Shinya Aoki’s Ground Game

Filed under: StrikeforceIn a way, Lyle Beerbohm is relieved. For nearly four years he walked around with an unblemished professional record, and the more fights he won the more people wanted to talk about it. It became a recurring question in interview…

Filed under:

In a way, Lyle Beerbohm is relieved. For nearly four years he walked around with an unblemished professional record, and the more fights he won the more people wanted to talk about it. It became a recurring question in interviews, and the pressure only grew.

After all, it wasn’t like he could become more perfect with each successive win. Being undefeated meant Beerbohm always had a little more to lose than to gain. That is, until he lost a unanimous decision to Pat Healy in the main event of a Strikeforce Challengers show in February, and then suddenly it was like a weight had been lifted.

“I think my friends and family took it worse than I did,” said Beerbohm. “I know how it is in MMA. I know how easy it is to get caught and to get knocked out or submitted. I knew it was probably a matter of time. But my friends and family, they don’t know as much about MMA so they couldn’t believe I lost.”