Author: Michael David Smith

Miesha Tate Wins Strikeforce Women’s Tournament

Filed under: StrikeforceMiesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.

Although one-night tournamen…

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Miesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.

Although one-night tournaments are risky propositions, this tournament has to be considered a major success for Strikeforce: The fights were solid, and the result was a likable, articulate, attractive woman getting a high-profile tournament championship.

“Sarah Kaufman, you’re amazing,” Tate said to the current 135-pound champ. “I can’t wait to fight you again.”

Joe Riggs Beats Up Louis Taylor in Strikeforce Challengers Main Event

Filed under: StrikeforceIn a fight that started slowly but ended violently, Joe Riggs beat up Louis Taylor Friday night, rocking Taylor with a huge left hand a minute into the third round, then pouncing on him and raining punches down until Taylor tapp…

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In a fight that started slowly but ended violently, Joe Riggs beat up Louis Taylor Friday night, rocking Taylor with a huge left hand a minute into the third round, then pouncing on him and raining punches down until Taylor tapped out and the fight was over.

Although it was an impressive finish by Riggs, it was also a fight that showed many of the problems of the Strikeforce Challengers shows: Although Challengers is ostensibly designed to promote MMA up-and-comers, Riggs is actually a seasoned veteran. The fight did nothing to advance Riggs’ career, and certainly did nothing for Taylor’s.

Kyle Maynard’s MMA Fight Was All About Experience

Filed under: MMA Media WatchWhen Kyle Maynard decided to try high school wrestling, plenty of people thought he couldn’t do it because he was born with congenital amputation of both forearms and both lower legs. But Maynard, who didn’t just compete but…

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When Kyle Maynard decided to try high school wrestling, plenty of people thought he couldn’t do it because he was born with congenital amputation of both forearms and both lower legs. But Maynard, who didn’t just compete but won most of his high school wrestling matches, showed that he could do it.

Once he was done with wrestling, Maynard decided to turn his attention to mixed martial arts, and then the attitude toward him changed: Not only did many people think he couldn’t do it, but a lot of people thought he shouldn’t do it, and that, if necessary, the authorities should step in to stop him from doing it.

Eventually Maynard did get his amateur MMA match (he lost by decision), and the route he traveled to get to that match is the subject of a new documentary, A Fighting Chance, which can be viewed in full here after the interview.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com below, Maynard explained why he wanted to fight and what’s next in his life.

Strikeforce Challengers Preview and Predictions

Filed under: StrikeforceFriday night’s Strikeforce Challengers 10 card offers something that the vast majority of American MMA fans have never seen: A one-night, four-woman tournament, with all three tournament fights shown live. For that, if nothing e…

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Friday night’s Strikeforce Challengers 10 card offers something that the vast majority of American MMA fans have never seen: A one-night, four-woman tournament, with all three tournament fights shown live. For that, if nothing else, the card is well worth a few hours of your time. Throw in the pro debut of Ryan Couture and the return to action of Joe Riggs, and it’s a worthy card from top to bottom.

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Jon Fitch Stuck at No. 2

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, WelterweightsIf there was any doubt that Jon Fitch is the second-best welterweight in the world, he erased that doubt on Saturday night. By thoroughly dominating Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Fitch firmly established…

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If there was any doubt that Jon Fitch is the second-best welterweight in the world, he erased that doubt on Saturday night. By thoroughly dominating Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Fitch firmly established himself as MMA’s best welterweight not named Georges St. Pierre.

Unfortunately for Fitch, he was beaten so badly by St. Pierre in their previous fight that there aren’t a lot of fans clamoring for a rematch. And if St. Pierre loses to Josh Koscheck in December, it’s an open question whether Fitch will even accept a title fight if it’s offered to him, since he and Koscheck are friends and training partners.

And so while UFC President Dana White has said Fitch earned the No. 1 contender position with his victory, I’m not so sure that Fitch’s next fight will be for the title. I think it’s more likely that we’re going to see Fitch put into the Octagon with someone else (maybe the Jake Shields-Martin Kampman winner) as he continues his role as the welterweight division’s permanent gatekeeper. Fitch is a great fighter, but I view him less as a No. 1 contender than as a guy who’s stuck at No. 2.

Find out how I rank the rest of the welterweight division below.

Randy Couture, Hollywood’s Toughest Tough Guy

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveIn a recent interview with David Letterman, Sylvester Stallone was talking about all the tough guys in his upcoming movie, The Expendables. The cast features a who’s who of Hollywood action heroes — Stallone, Bruce …

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In a recent interview with David Letterman, Sylvester Stallone was talking about all the tough guys in his upcoming movie, The Expendables. The cast features a who’s who of Hollywood action heroes — Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Stone Cold Steve Austin and more. But Stallone said none of those guys can hold a candle to Randy Couture.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Couture talked about his status as a Hollywood tough guy — Hollywood’s toughest guy, according to Stallone — and what he thinks the future holds for him as an actor. He also touched on his upcoming fight with James Toney at UFC 118, and discussed his son’s professional MMA debut on Friday night’s Strikeforce card. The full interview is below.