(Chad Griggs: Funkiest white man alive. / Photo by Esther)
Two of Strikeforce’s hardest-hitting heavyweight prospects are getting some good news this Christmas* season. According to new reports, Chad Griggs and Lavar “Big” Johnson have inked contracts with the UFC, meaning that they’ll still have jobs after Strikeforce disbands its big-man division next year.
Though he’s perhaps best known for his incredible muttonchops, Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (11-1) has gone on a three-fight tear under the Strikeforce banner, beating up Bobby Lashley last August at Strikeforce: Houston, then scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages against Gianpiero Villante and Valentijn Overeem in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bouts this year. The Arizona native hasn’t lost a fight since April 2007. The date and opponent for his next fight are still TBA, but Griggs is expected to make his Octagon debut in early 2012.
(Chad Griggs: Funkiest white man alive. / Photo by Esther)
Two of Strikeforce’s hardest-hitting heavyweight prospects are getting some good news this Christmas* season. According to new reports, Chad Griggs and Lavar “Big” Johnson have inked contracts with the UFC, meaning that they’ll still have jobs after Strikeforce disbands its big-man division next year.
Though he’s perhaps best known for his incredible muttonchops, Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (11-1) has gone on a three-fight tear under the Strikeforce banner, beating up Bobby Lashley last August at Strikeforce: Houston, then scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages against Gianpiero Villante and Valentijn Overeem in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bouts this year. The Arizona native hasn’t lost a fight since April 2007. The date and opponent for his next fight are still TBA, but Griggs is expected to make his Octagon debut in early 2012.
It was also revealed that Lavar Johnson will be moving to the UFC, with his first match coming against Joey Beltran on the prelims of UFC on FOX 2 (January 28th, Chicago). Johnson’s UFC signing is somewhat surprising since he’s been submitted in his last two Strikeforce fights against Shane Del Rosario and Shawn Jordan. Nevertheless, Beltran vs. Johnson should be an entertaining slugfest, made more significant by the fact that the loser’s job is almost certainly on the line. Beltran most recently lost a unanimous decision against Stipe Miocic at UFC 136, and has dropped three of his last four outings.
* I can comfortably say ‘Christmas’ here instead of ‘holiday’ because I’m positive these two cats aren’t Jewish. In fact, it’s pretty damn rare to find a member of the tribe in this sport. Side note: I wanted to put together a “Greatest Jewish MMA Fighters” list in honor of Hanukkah, but then I learned that The Fight Nerd already did that last year, and even he had to include three boxers and Moti Horenstein just to make an even eight.
Bobby Lashley has a name and a date for his next MMA fight, and his opponent will be a familiar face to fans of The Ultimate Fighter.
On November 11 in Lubbock, Texas, Lashley will face TUF 10 contestant Darrill Schoonover for the Shark Fights heavywe…
Bobby Lashley has a name and a date for his next MMA fight, and his opponent will be a familiar face to fans of The Ultimate Fighter.
On November 11 in Lubbock, Texas, Lashley will face TUF 10 contestant Darrill Schoonover for the Shark Fights heavyweight title, the former pro wrestler told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. It will be the first in his multi-fight deal with the Shark Fights organization, and Lashley hopes it will help build him back up after his short, unimpressive stay in Strikeforce.
“I believe [Strikeforce CEO Scott] Coker said this, he said he doesn’t believe that I want it,” Lashley said. “…I have all the respect in the world for Coker, and he may have been right. Maybe I wasn’t ready for Strikeforce at the time. …I didn’t have everything together and I wasn’t training the way I should have.”
Lashley won his Strikeforce debut over journeyman heavyweight Wes Sims, but in his second bout with the organization he was undone by exhaustion against Chad Griggs. After starting strong against Griggs, Lashley suffered a cut and was later barely able to pick himself off the mat at the end of round two, prompting a stoppage that put the first blemish on his professional record.
Back then, Lashley said, he thought he was in shape, but with the help of a new strength and conditioning coach he recently learned that “I was just in the wrong kind of shape.”
That was a little over a year ago, and Lashley rebounded in March with a win over John Ott in the Titan FC organization, but he still hasn’t given up on the prospect of a rematch with Griggs.
“I would like to get that fight against Griggs some day,” Lashley said. “That’s one thing that still burns in my stomach, is having that loss on my record.”
Another fight Lashley wouldn’t mind is one with fellow WWE alum Dave Bautista, who was at one point rumored to be making his MMA debut in Strikeforce. That coming out party never materialized, but now that Lashley is with Shark Fights and Bautista is unsigned, Lashley has some ideas about how they could make it happen on a limited budget.
“If we do the fight, let’s do winner-take-all. Let’s put one purse up there, winner takes all,” said Lashley, who acknowledged that a bout between two former pro wrestlers might not be well received by every fight fan.
“I’d love to fight Dave. I guess that’s a super fight and that’s a fight for maybe the wrestling fans. I don’t know how well the MMA community would take it. I guess they would just sort of shrug their shoulders and say, ‘whatever,’ but I know it’s a fight that a lot of wrestling fans would love to see.”
As for his long-term future in the sport, Lashley said he remains committed to proving that he is a serious fighter, and not just a pro wrestler dabbling in MMA. His conditioning program has been adjusted to meet the demands of the sport, he said, and he’s spent a lot of time working on his stand-up skills and increasing his sparring load, despite not sparring at all before his last two fights.
“I think it’s good for me to get back there and try to prove myself. That’s what I’d like to do. I’m not one to fight what someone else says about me. It’s better to go out there and prove that, hey, I want to fight. I’m here, I’m taking this seriously, and I do want it,” said Lashley.
Ultimately, he said, he’d like to get back in the big leagues, which is easier said than done.
“I want to get some fights in and I want to really prove myself in front of these guys, so that I can have that door open and maybe go back with Strikeforce or maybe talk to Dana White later on and get up there and do some big things and show what I’m really capable of doing,” he said.
Beating Schoonover wouldn’t be a bad start. But considering Schoonover’s 1-4 record since losing to James McSweeney in the TUF 10 Finale, it would most likely be the first step in a long journey.
According to a Fox Sports report, the Amarillo, Texas- based organization has signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal and he will likely make his promotional debut in November. The event, which will be aired on Fuel TV, will likely take place in Missouri where Lashley attended college.
(Now if SF could just convince Batista to sign on the dotted line, the circle would be complete.)
According to a Fox Sports report, the Amarillo, Texas- based organization has signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal and he will likely make his promotional debut in November. The event, which will be aired on Fuel TV, will likely take place in Missouri where Lashley attended college.
Rebounding from the first loss of his 6-1 MMA career against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce:Houston last August by defeating John Ott at Titan FC 17: Lashley vs. Ott this past March in Kansas City, Lashley, who runs his own American Top Team affiliate in Colorado, says that he’s excited about the deal.
“It’s going to give me the opportunity to get some more fights under my belt,” Lashley said of the signing.
Shark Fights CEO, Bud Brutsman said that Lashley’s star power will undoubtedly translate to higher ticket sales.
“It’s going to be big for us. When you’re a little organization you need to make some noise, and Bobby is the perfect one to make some noise. There is nobody better than him right now that’s out there,” Brustman said. By signing Bobby were saying we’re willing to put our money out there to make it happen, and bring in and sign the bigger-name talent, and not just has-beens and nobodies.”
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)
– Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)
– The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)
– Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)
– Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)
– Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)
– The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)
– Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)
– Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)
Filed under: StrikeforceChad Griggs knows that Strikeforce officials didn’t sign him to a contract because they were dying to be in the Chad Griggs business. Not at first, anyway.
Offering him a fight with a well-paid prospect like Bobby Lashley last…
Chad Griggs knows that Strikeforce officials didn’t sign him to a contract because they were dying to be in the Chad Griggs business. Not at first, anyway.
Offering him a fight with a well-paid prospect like Bobby Lashley last summer was Strikeforce’s way of giving him a lottery ticket. No one expected his numbers to hit the way they did, which might explain why the organization still seems unsure of what to do with him.
“That’s the joke for us,” Griggs told MMA Fighting after his win over Valentijn Overeem at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on Saturday night. “Every time I walk in it’s like, hey, you can’t get rid of me. I won’t go away.”
With the first-round stoppage of Overeem, Griggs won his third straight Strikeforce bout, and his second in a row as a Grand Prix alternate. The win also made some people look at the other victorious heavyweight alternate from Saturday’s event — former U.S. Olympic wrestling team captain, Daniel Cormier — and wonder whether Strikeforce should throw those two in the cage together next just to see who’s still standing when it’s over.
Cormier — who was originally slated to face Shane del Rosario in a Grand Prix reserve bout before del Rosario was injured in a car accident — dominated MMA vet Jeff Monson for three rounds on Saturday night, showing off some impressive striking in the process.
But while it was a nice win for his still young career, Cormier doesn’t necessarily think it makes him the clear reserve choice for the tournament just yet. Not as long as Griggs keeps winning his reserve fights as well.
“Right now I think you match up me and Chad or me and Shane, because in reality there’s no clear reserve,” Cormier said. “Who goes into the tournament right now if someone gets hurt? How do you choose? You’ve got three guys going into this, so match two of us up and have us fight whenever the semifinals are. I’d like to fight Chad or Shane to find out who’s the reserve in this tournament. I think it makes sense.”
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said a Griggs-Cormier fight on the semifinal card this fall was a real possibility, but added “we just finished an event, so we haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk about it yet.”
Still, Coker admitted that he wouldn’t mind seeing a fight between the two heavyweights, both of whom have put on exciting performances of late.
Even Cormier’s coach — AKA’s Javier Mendez — likes the idea.
“I think the rightful thing is to have [Cormier] fight Chad Griggs,” Mendez said. “He’s another alternate, so that’s a logical next step. But I don’t know what Strikeforce is going to do. We just have to get Daniel ready for the next step.”
As for Griggs, he said he hasn’t said no to any of Strikeforce’s suggestions yet and it isn’t about to start now. Besides, after stopping Gian Villante in a wild brawl and then punishing Overeem in a first-round TKO win, hasn’t he earned a fight like this by now?
“I feel like I’ve fought two good fights and they were both alternates,” Griggs shrugged. “I had two good performances and stopped my guy in the first round in both of them, so we’ll see how it goes.”
A fight between Griggs and Cormier could not only solidify an established reserve for the Grand Prix, it would also be a nice addition to any Strikeforce fight card now that fans have seen enough of both men to know what they have to offer.
For Griggs, however, going up against a highly-touted former Olympian might seem like just one more bout where he’s not supposed to get his hand raised at the end. Not that those kinds of expectations matter much to him, of course.
“I still feel like they’re looking at me going, this guy got lucky again,” Griggs said. “But hey, I’ll take it. Maybe I’ll just keep being lucky.”
Yeah, we were praying for something to happen in that fight, too.
Heading into last night’s Strikeforce card, there were a lot of potential storylines. There was Werdum continuing to clean out Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. There was Overeem avenging his loss to Werdum five years ago in devastating fashion. There were the returns to relevance of Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson, the rise of Daniel Cormier and “Othereem” getting the fans to learn his name. Yet after the event was over, the most compelling thing we can take from it is that Dallas has some educated MMA fans. While your average Affliction clad meathead was booing from the start of Cormier vs. Monson until the end of the night, Dallas fans only booed during Overeem vs. Werdum.
Normally I hate when fans boo fighters, but to say Overeem vs. Werdum was boo-worthy doesn’t begin to capture what a disappointment the main event was. We expected fireworks, and instead were given an even less relevant version of Silva vs. Leites (at least that fight was for a title). If that fight was under the UFC banner, Dana White would have immediately issued an apology to the fans and a threat to fire Werdum over another performance like that. To say the least, Werdum’s chances of getting back into the UFC were more than likely squashed by that fight three round Thales Leites impression.
Yeah, we were praying for something to happen in that fight, too.
Heading into last night’s Strikeforce card, there were a lot of potential storylines. There was Werdum continuing to clean out Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. There was Overeem avenging his loss to Werdum five years ago in devastating fashion. There were the returns to relevance of Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson, the rise of Daniel Cormier and “Othereem” getting the fans to learn his name. Yet after the event was over, the most compelling thing we can take from it is that Dallas has some educated MMA fans. While your average Affliction clad meathead was booing from the start of Cormier vs. Monson until the end of the night, Dallas fans only booed during Overeem vs. Werdum.
Normally I hate when fans boo fighters, but to say Overeem vs. Werdum was boo-worthy doesn’t begin to capture what a disappointment the main event was. We expected fireworks, and instead were given an even less relevant version of Silva vs. Leites (at least that fight was for a title). If that fight was under the UFC banner, Dana White would have immediately issued an apology to the fans and a threat to fire Werdum over another performance like that. To say the least, Werdum’s chances of getting back into the UFC were more than likely squashed by that fight three round Thales Leites impression.
Werdum stuck to his “punch punch flop” strategy despite getting the better of Overeem in multiple standup exchanges. For that matter, FightMetric actually gave Werdum the fight, 29-28. So does that mean Werdum got robbed? Of course not. You’re judged by aggression, and Werdum showed absolutely none through his unwillingness to do anything other than flop. Say what you want about Overeem’s performance, but it’s not his fault that he didn’t blindly pounce into Werdum’s guard, especially after Werdum’s victory over Fedor. The bottom line is, if you’re strategy is going to be “beat him on the ground”, then it’s your responsibility to get the fight to the ground. It’s not your opponent’s responsibility to play to your strengths. Perhaps we’ll find out more about Overeem when he’s fighting Antonio Silva. Or when he’s actually fighting in a meaningful fight with Strikeforce. You know, where his title is on the line against a credible opponent. I digress.
It’s hard to get too excited about Josh Barnett’s victory over Brett Rogers as well. Yes, Josh Barnett looked as dominant as ever, slamming Rogers and rendering him an oversized grappling dummy. As we knew he would. It’s not like a victory over Bret Rogers has ever meant too much, especially considering he was coming into this fight on a two fight skid in Strikeforce and most recently lost a round to Warpath. Considering Sergei Kharitonov’s struggles against good wrestlers, it’s doubtful that Barnett’s fight with him will answer any questions we have about Barnett, either. At least we know that Josh Barnett can still be counted on for a ridiculous post fight interview, so there’s that I guess.
If there was one positive, slightly unexpected surprise from last night, it was Jorge Masvidal’s performance against KJ Noons. Jorge Masvidal made KJ Noons ineligible for “matinee idol of this sport”, if that’s even a real thing. Masvidal thoroughly outclassed Noons, taking him down at will and getting the better of most of the standup exchanges. A title shot against Melendez makes sense for Masvidal after a performance like this.
On a final note, Cormier and Griggs were both victorious last night, but neither guy’s victory says as much about them as it does about their opponents. I hate to say it, but Jeff Monson looked absolutely lost in the cage with Daniel Cormier. His striking would spike any boxing coach’s blood pressure, and he couldn’t even attempt to get Cormier in his guard. It’s hard to tell whether this was a testament to Daniel Cormier’s time at AKA, or just the result of Jeff Monson not fighting against elite heavyweights for years. Now might be a good time to think about that drop to 205 for Jeff Monson, especially if he plans on staying in Strikeforce. Likewise, Valentijin Overeem pretty much gave up as soon as Griggs took him down. Give credit to Griggs for getting the stoppage, but it doesn’t exactly show us anything.
Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via unanimous decision
Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers via submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:11 round two
Jorge Masvidal defeats K.J. Noons via unanimous decision
Daniel Cormier def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision
Chad Griggs def. Valentijn Overeem via TKO at 2:08 round one
Preliminary Card:
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox results in a no contest because of an accidental eye poke in round two
Conor Heun def. Magno Almeida via unanimous decision
Nah-Shon Burrell def. Joe Ray via unanimous decision
Todd Moore def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision
Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Brian Melancon via split decision
Chad Griggs knows that 