Tag: business as usual

Strikeforce Deathwatch: Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez Called up to the Big Leagues


This is the face one makes when he realizes that Cyborg Santos is now his most marketable champion.

Some of you may have been surprised when you read that the UFC has apparently called Bigfoot Silva up to the majors. Not only was he coming off of a loss, but there were better fighters out there for the UFC to call up. Well, don’t worry. The UFC has called up arguably Strikeforce’s best fighter, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, according to a report on MMAJunkie.com. Melendez was scheduled to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal on December 17, but it is yet to be seen how this announcement will affect that. So yeah, don’t worry about the UFC not calling up Strikeforce’s best, most deserving fighters. Unless you love Strikeforce and don’t want to see it go under. Then by all means keep panicking.

The date of his UFC debut, as well as his opponent, has yet to be determined. However, according to the aforementioned report there is the possibility that Gilbert Melendez will get an immediate title shot. If that’s the case, I can’t really make sense out of that. Nick Diaz getting an immediate title shot made sense, given that Georges St. Pierre essentially cleaned out the welterweight division. However, the lightweight division is arguably the UFC’s strongest, deepest weight class. There are already plenty of contenders for the winner of the upcoming rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Then again, there’s also the possibility that the Donovan McNabb will lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl, so let’s not read too much into what’s possible.


This is the face one makes when he realizes that Cyborg Santos is now his most marketable champion.

Some of you may have been surprised when you read that the UFC has apparently called Bigfoot Silva up to the majors. Not only was he coming off of a loss, but there were better fighters out there for the UFC to call up. Well, don’t worry. The UFC has called up arguably Strikeforce’s best fighter, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, according to a report on MMAJunkie.com. Melendez was scheduled to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal on December 17, but it is yet to be seen how this announcement will affect that. So yeah, don’t worry about the UFC not calling up Strikeforce’s best, most deserving fighters. Unless you love Strikeforce and don’t want to see it go under. Then by all means keep panicking.

The date of his UFC debut, as well as his opponent, has yet to be determined. However, according to the aforementioned report there is the possibility that Gilbert Melendez will get an immediate title shot. If that’s the case, I can’t really make sense out of that. Nick Diaz getting an immediate title shot made sense, given that Georges St. Pierre essentially cleaned out the welterweight division. However, the lightweight division is arguably the UFC’s strongest, deepest weight class. There are already plenty of contenders for the winner of the upcoming rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Then again, there’s also the possibility that the Donovan McNabb will lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl, so let’s not read too much into what’s possible.

This move shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We’ve said it before, and it deserves to be said again: Being a Strikeforce champion is essentially being in the on-deck circle for the UFC. Gilbert Melendez, currently riding a five fight win streak with notable victories over Josh Thomson and Shinya Aoki, has essentially cleaned out Strikeforce’s lightweight division. If there’s nothing left for him in Strikeforce, and we’re officially finished pretending that Strikeforce has plans to grow as an organization, then why keep him in the minor leagues?

As for the scheduled bout with Jorge Masvidal, I say let Jorge fight Pat Healy on December 17th. Let it be for all the Rockstar energy drinks that the winner desires. And don’t declare the winner your “new lightweight champion”. It can only end with the winner on the prelims of an upcoming UFC card and you frantically trying to find a new champion.

Rumor of the Day: Vitor Belfort vs. Cung Le Set for UFC 139 *UPDATE*


An “expect a knockout, bro” joke may be cliche, but would you rather us put “Business as usual, You Guys” in the headline?

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that we’re supposed to be pretending that Strikeforce isn’t a dead company, and is by no means being absorbed by the UFC. Cincinnati is practically dead, despite the fact that the Strikeforce Grand Prix resumes there tonight. Strikeforce fighters are beginning to speak out about the lack of promotion that the UFC gives Strikeforce events. Strikeforce’s own champions have their next fights booked with the UFC. So today’s rumored fight isn’t so much of a surprise in the sense that another top Strikeforce fighter has reportedly been absorbed into the UFC, but rather, in the sense that we’re still going along with this “Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate organization” thing.

In a statement released via his personal website, Vitor Belfort announced that he will be fighting Cung Le at UFC 139 in San Jose. The UFC has yet to confirm the signing of Cung Le, yet alone the announcement of this fight. Still, it appears that Vitor Belfort is already training for Le as his next opponent, as he has brought in Ray Sefo to help him train. Vitor tells fans to “Prepare to see the same dedication he takes to creating his fists the fastest in MMA to his powerful trunks.” I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds awesome.


An “expect a knockout, bro” joke may be cliche, but would you rather us put “Business as usual, You Guys” in the headline?

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that we’re supposed to be pretending that Strikeforce isn’t a dead company, and is by no means being absorbed by the UFC. Cincinnati is practically dead, despite the fact that the Strikeforce Grand Prix resumes there tonight. Strikeforce fighters are beginning to speak out about the lack of promotion that the UFC gives Strikeforce events. Strikeforce’s own champions have their next fights booked with the UFC. So today’s rumored fight isn’t so much of a surprise in the sense that another top Strikeforce fighter has reportedly been absorbed into the UFC, but rather, in the sense that we’re still going along with this “Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate organization” thing.

In a statement released via his personal website, Vitor Belfort announced that he will be fighting Cung Le at UFC 139 in San Jose. The UFC has yet to confirm the signing of Cung Le, yet alone the announcement of this fight. Still, it appears that Vitor Belfort is already training for Le as his next opponent, as he has brought in Ray Sefo to help him train. Vitor tells fans to “Prepare to see the same dedication he takes to creating his fists the fastest in MMA to his powerful trunks.” I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds awesome.

Cung Le is 7-1 in MMA. His last fight, a second round knockout against Scott Smith, occurred at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum in June 2010. The victory avenged his only career defeat. Likewise, Vitor Belfort is coming off of a first round knockout over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133.

*UPDATE* Cung Le has confirmed this on his website. It’s either true, or an exceptional troll job by both men.

Business as Usual: Nick Diaz No-Shows UFC 137 Press Conference


(“U mad, bro?” Photo via MMATKO)

Look, you can’t trust Nick Diaz — but you can always trust Nick Diaz to be Nick Diaz. The Winnipeg Free Press has the story:

Challenger Nick Diaz was a no-show Tuesday so welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was left to plug their UFC 137 showdown on his own.

The UFC offered no reason for Diaz’s absence in Toronto but the former Strikeforce champion is no fan of such media events…

“I don’t know why he did not show up. Maybe he has personal issues, I have no idea,” St-Pierre said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “I know they bought two flights (tickets) for him and he didn’t show up. I have no idea. I can’t talk about it because I don’t know what’s going on in his life. Hopefully he’ll be OK and I’ll see him in the cage.”


(“U mad, bro?” Photo via MMATKO)

Look, you can’t trust Nick Diaz — but you can always trust Nick Diaz to be Nick Diaz. The Winnipeg Free Press has the story:

Challenger Nick Diaz was a no-show Tuesday so welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was left to plug their UFC 137 showdown on his own.

The UFC offered no reason for Diaz’s absence in Toronto but the former Strikeforce champion is no fan of such media events…

“I don’t know why he did not show up. Maybe he has personal issues, I have no idea,” St-Pierre said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “I know they bought two flights (tickets) for him and he didn’t show up. I have no idea. I can’t talk about it because I don’t know what’s going on in his life. Hopefully he’ll be OK and I’ll see him in the cage.”

“I’m a little bit mad, because it’s a little bit unfair,” the 30-year-old champion from Montreal added. “I missed days of training to come here. Plus jet lag and everything. I think it’s not fair — he should do the same thing that I do.”

Good job, Nick, you’re already in GSP’s head. And yes, of course Nick should play the game a bit, and act professionally, and show up for his media obligations. But you can’t really be surprised when he doesn’t.

St. Pierre soldiered on through the media event by himself, and gave the following analysis of his opponent on October 29th:

“He’s dangerous everywhere. He’s got a very good set of skills. He’s a good boxer, good on the floor as well. He’s also a champion. Nick Diaz is a champion so he’s got the spirit that comes with it. So he’s not going to give up mentally. You see a lot of guys give up mentally and that’s why they get knocked out or submitted. They give up mentally before they lose. It happens to loads of people. I can give you many examples but Nick Diaz is a champion so he has the spirit. it’s going to be very hard to break his spirit. So it’s going to be a tough tough fight.”

Scott Coker Continues to Act Like Strikeforce Titles Are Cursed

“And then the hair on my arms stood up, and I  felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and a voice saying … “Well, well, well, motherfucker.” PicProps: AllElbows

Scott Coker commented today during a media call today about the possibility of awarding the Strikeforce heavyweight championship to the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, saying that the decision hasn’t been made, but that the company probably would not do so.

Because, you know, why would you?

After promoting a tournament as a way to “finally answer once and for all who is the world’s most dangerous man” (uh, hello? Ken Shamrock.  /thread), obviously the most rational thing to do is hand the winner a large trophy or a poster-sized check, right? But to go ahead and award that winner the title of “champion”, a title that is currently vacant? Well that’s just not a decision they’re in any hurry to make.

Now call me crazy, but it seems Scott Coker believes that the belts he gives to fighters are cursed. I mean cursed like “made from the skin of blind puppies”, “hexed by crazy-haired blood witches”, “directly connected to Cenobites” cursed. Nothing else could explain the ghost town that is Strikeforce Championville, USA, but that it’s been built on the sacred land of indigenous peoples whose souls rest uneasily.

“And then the hair on my arms stood up, and I  felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and a voice saying … “Well, well, well, motherfucker.” PicProps: AllElbows

Scott Coker commented today during a media call today about the possibility of awarding the Strikeforce heavyweight championship to the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, saying that the decision hasn’t been made, but that the company probably would not do so.

Because, you know, why would you?

After promoting a tournament as a way to “finally answer once and for all who is the world’s most dangerous man” (uh, hello? Ken Shamrock.  /thread), obviously the most rational thing to do is hand the winner a large trophy or a poster-sized check, right? But to go ahead and award that winner the title of “champion”, a title that is currently vacant? Well that’s just not a decision they’re in any hurry to make.

Now call me crazy, but it seems Scott Coker believes that the belts he gives to fighters are cursed. I mean cursed like “made from the skin of blind puppies”, “hexed by crazy-haired blood witches”, “directly connected to Cenobites” cursed. Nothing else could explain the ghost town that is Strikeforce Championville, USA, but that it’s been built on the sacred land of indigenous peoples whose souls rest uneasily.

Heavyweight champ Overeem: gone, and no title for the GP winner. Light heavyweight champ Henderson: free agent, probably gone. Welterweight champ Nick Diaz: gone for a GSP superfight. Coker isn’t in a hurry to crown a new guy there, either. Melendez would be gone, too, but the UFC picture at 155 looks like the DMV complete with a sign that says “Take a Number”. The women’s division is plagued with similar absences, but that’s really an entirely different dynamic.  Unless the title belts are haunted by angry ghosts hungry for vengeance.

Clearly, Coker has gotten the message that the UFC will handpick fighters from his roster, and he’s powerless to do anything about it. So he’s taken the ingenious tactic of refusing to make new champions, like he’s the babysitter in the house with the hook-wielding escaped lunatic and as long as he doesn’t acknowledge the problem, he won’t get gutted even though the call is coming from inside the house!

That analogy may have gotten out of hand, but the craziest thing is this: Coker just might be on to something. Rather than have a bunch of belts that might as well say “Gone to UFC, BRB” on them, maybe focusing on putting on good fights with good matchups and an odd tournament or two would help carve out a solid niche for the promotion. Accepting a role as a feeder organization, and excelling at it, could be the best thing for Strikeforce as part of the Zuffa family.

Of course, that would put the promotion on a collision course with Bellator, but with Zuffa backing and cable distribution deals already in place, Strikeforce would smash Bellator in ratings.

Either that, or Coker is going to need to get those belts into a containment unit.

[RX]

Business as Usual: Josh Barnett Forced to Cancel Pro Wrestling Gig Against Jerome Le Banner Due to Zuffa Pressure


(Sorry, kids. Christmas is canceled this year.)

Josh Barnett is currently scheduled to face Sergei Kharitonov in the semi-finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, September 10th in Cincinnati. He was also scheduled to face kickboxing legend Jerome Le Banner in an August 27th pro-wrestling match for IGF in Japan, because he’s Josh Barnett, and fake-fighting dudes that he could just as easily fight for real is what he does, damn it.

But while that sort of thing wouldn’t have batted an eye under Scott Coker’s droopy watch, Zuffa runs a much tighter ship, and won’t run the risk of Barnett suffering an injury in a worked puroresu match two weeks before he has to show up for a legit cage-fight. As Fighters Only reports:


(Sorry, kids. Christmas is canceled this year.)

Josh Barnett is currently scheduled to face Sergei Kharitonov in the semi-finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, September 10th in Cincinnati. He was also scheduled to face kickboxing legend Jerome Le Banner in an August 27th pro-wrestling match for IGF in Japan, because he’s Josh Barnett, and fake-fighting dudes that he could just as easily fight for real is what he does, damn it.

But while that sort of thing wouldn’t have batted an eye under Scott Coker’s droopy watch, Zuffa runs a much tighter ship, and won’t run the risk of Barnett suffering an injury in a worked puroresu match two weeks before he has to show up for a legit cage-fight. As Fighters Only reports:

…Barnett has been prevailed upon not to take the gig which, despite being a pre-determined pro-wrestling match rather than a proper fight, could still potentially have resulted in him picking up an injury…With Alistair Overeem having already been removed from the semi-finals thanks to an injury/contract dispute, it would have been disastrous had Barnett been forced out as well.

The August 27th IGF card is still going ahead in Japan. Aside from LeBanner it also features Peter Aerts and Ray Sefo. Why anybody would want to see real fighters having pretend fights is beyond us, but pro-wrestling gigs pay well in Japan and with K-1 on hiatus, these kind of gigs are a good earner for name fighters.

So in a strange turn of fate, Josh Barnett has become the biggest star remaining in Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament — the other semi-finalists are Kharitonov, Antonio Silva, and Daniel Cormier, for God’s sake — and Zuffa actually needs him. Funny how things work out.

The September 10th Strikeforce show will also feature Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s latest middleweight title defense against Luke Rockhold, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal’s return against Roger Gracie, and a lightweight feature between Josh Thomson and former Sengoku stunner Maximo Blanco.

Overeem and Werdum Want UFC Fights, Water Wet, Sky Blue

“Say ‘Cheese’ fellas! We’re going to the UFC! Drinks are on me tonight.”

You know, we haven’t always been as friendly and respectful to Scott Coker and company the past few years as we could have been. Some of you have even called us haters, right here to our damn faces. However, since this is CagePotato and not CompletelyProfessionalMMAReporting.com, and since most of you assholes come here because we’re assholes, we figure that’s just peachy. That said, Strikeforce does manage to put together some stacked shows, when they’re given enough time between events.

Case in point: Strikeforce’s June 18 show in Dallas boasts a boatload (a large boat, son) of names taking part in the Neverending Story that is the SF heavyweight Grand Prix. Overeem vs Werdum is obviously the big one, but we’ve also got Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers, Cormier vs Monson, the other Overeem vs that guy with the sideburns, KJ Noons , JZ Cavalcante vs Justin Wilcox… this is a stacked effing card, you pricks. So there, we said something nice. We marked it on our calendar, so it will be nothing but assholery and dick jokes until the autumnal equinox.

Or until the next UFC-Strikeforce superfight, whichever comes first. And with the recent news that cross-promotional fights are on the table for UFC and Strikeforce, we expect to hear SF champs making their case for a superfight of their own.

“Say ‘Cheese’ fellas!  We’re going to the UFC!  Drinks are on me tonight.”

You know, we haven’t always been as friendly and respectful to Scott Coker and company the past few years as we could have been. Some of you have even called us haters, right here to our damn faces. However, since this is CagePotato and not CompletelyProfessionalMMAReporting.com, and since most of you assholes come here because we’re assholes, we figure that’s just peachy. That said, Strikeforce does manage to put together some stacked shows, when they’re given enough time between events.

Case in point: Strikeforce’s June 18 show in Dallas boasts a boatload (a large boat, son) of names taking part in the Neverending Story that is the SF heavyweight Grand Prix. Overeem vs Werdum is obviously the big one, but we’ve also got Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers, Cormier vs Monson, the other Overeem vs that guy with the sideburns, KJ Noons , JZ Cavalcante vs Justin Wilcox… this is a stacked effing card, you pricks. So there, we said something nice. We marked it on our calendar, so it will be nothing but assholery and dick jokes until the autumnal equinox.

Or until the next UFC-Strikeforce superfight, whichever comes first. And with the recent news that cross-promotional fights are on the table for UFC and Strikeforce, we expect to hear SF champs making their case for a superfight of their own.

As a few of you pointed out yesterday, Gilbert Melendez has every right to be thrown in the UFC lightweight title mix, but don’t expect to see that materialize anytime soon. The difference is that the lightweight division is drowning in contenders right now, while UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has recently started studying lucid dreaming and astral projection to come up with suitable challengers for Georges St. Pierre. GSP and Nick Diaz have both drained the pool of valid contenders, so the matchup (whether it goes against “business as usual” or not) was a no-brainer.

So let’s talk about interesting divisions. The UFC’s heavyweight class has historically been the promotion’s shallowest, while Strikeforce has essentially staked its reputation on having an elite group of 265ers, so there’s a bit of parity between the two. With Strikeforce’s Grand Prix going on (and on….and on…..), the promotion will look to determine its own rankings as objectively as possible. To date, however, there have been no plans for the tournament champion after he’s crowned.

Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem have some ideas, though. The winner of their June 18 battle will likely be the favorite to win the tourney crown, and both fighters are making noise about wanting a shot at the UFC champ after the GP is over (which is currently forecast to finish in June of 2016, at the current pace). With Diaz-GSP now official for October, it’s not hard to believe that the eventual tournament winner will be challenging the UFC champ quickly. Of course, there’s no telling who the representatives will be (Dos Santos and Overeem, shhhhh don’t tell nobody), but if someone were taking bets about which division will be consolidated first under the Zuffa banner, we’ve got a five spot and a dirty CP shirt we’ll put on the heavyweights.

[RX]