Tag: Dave Batista

Strikeforce Needs to Answer, ‘What’s Next?’

Filed under: StrikeforceOn July 3, Brock Lesnar beat Shane Carwin in the UFC’s biggest heavyweight fight of the year. Cain Velasquez was sitting cageside and had already been declared next in line, and the UFC soon said Lesnar would fight Velasquez in …

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On July 3, Brock Lesnar beat Shane Carwin in the UFC’s biggest heavyweight fight of the year. Cain Velasquez was sitting cageside and had already been declared next in line, and the UFC soon said Lesnar would fight Velasquez in October at UFC 121. Fans are already getting excited about that fight, and the UFC’s heavyweight division hasn’t lost any of the momentum the Lesnar-Carwin fight built.

A week before Lesnar beat Carwin, Fabricio Werdum beat Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce’s biggest heavyweight fight of the year. Alistair Overeem was sitting cageside and was expected to be next in line, but the three weeks since that fight have provided nothing but confusion about what’s next for those three heavyweights.

Strikeforce puts on plenty of good fights, but its biggest problem as a promotion is an inability to do what the UFC did when it announced Velasquez vs. Lesnar: Strikeforce never has a good answer when fans want to know, “What’s next?”

Scott Coker Lobbies for Fedor vs. Overeem, Defends Negotiations With Batista

(Batista vs. Undertaker, reffed by Ricky Hatton. A terrifying glimpse into the future of MMA.)
We all go a little crazy sometimes. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker can certainly be forgiven for losing his mind in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko’s upset loss…


(Batista vs. Undertaker, reffed by Ricky Hatton. A terrifying glimpse into the future of MMA.)

We all go a little crazy sometimes. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker can certainly be forgiven for losing his mind in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko’s upset loss against Fabricio Werdum, which wrecked Coker’s chance at a heavyweight title fight between Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem on pay-per-view, and even now seems unreal, a bad dream suffered after a night of torture porn and Indian food. But this is the topsy-turvy world of Strikeforce, where up is down, and guys who just got their asses kicked are #1 contenders. As Coker recently said on Sherdog Radio: “My feeling is maybe Fedor should fight Alistair Overeem and whoever wins that fight gets to fight Fabricio Werdum. Alistair vs. Fedor? I’d love to see that fight happen.” 

LOL at "gets" to fight Fabricio Werdum. Is he the champion now? Is that how it works in your little club? Look genius, everybody would like to see Fedor vs. Overeem happen, but unless you want your titles to lose all significance and your matchmaking to devolve into utter chaos, you probably shouldn’t have Fedor challenge for Overeem’s belt after getting subbed in 69 seconds. I know, Brett Rogers got a title shot after being dunced by Fedor, but that situation was different, as Emelianenko was unavailable to fight at the same time Overeem was. In this case, the deserving #1 contender is available (even though he’s asking for an immediate rematch with Fedor, God knows why).

It should be mentioned that M-1 Global has also formally requested a rematch between The Last Emperor and Werdum. The logical title fight, Werdum vs. Overeem, is the only fight that nobody seems to want. Forget it Jake, it’s Strikeforcetown. But Coker’s suggestion of a title shot for Fedor isn’t the only alarming thing he said last week…

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CagePotato Comments of the Week

(Fight!’s June 2010 issue, on newsstands now.)
Okay, we gotta tell you a couple-three things:
– Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night beginning at 10 p.m. ET for our liveblog of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum.
– Hurry up and enter some pools on…

Frank Edgar June 2010 Fight! Magazine cover
(Fight!‘s June 2010 issue, on newsstands now.)

Okay, we gotta tell you a couple-three things:

– Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night beginning at 10 p.m. ET for our liveblog of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum.

– Hurry up and enter some pools on MMA FightPicker. There will be no prizes for the winners, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.

– How ’bout a round of e-appaluse for the Potato Nation members who made their presence known in the comments section this week, and will be receiving one-year subscriptions to Fight! Magazine…

Disco-Platypus on "Knockout of the Week: Marlon Sandro Flattens Masanori Kanehara in 38 Seconds, Wins Sengoku Featherweight Title": The Sengoku championship may as well be labeled, "The Champion Who Would Crumble Most Quickly When Faced With American-style Wrestling."

DangadaDang on "Report: Batista Signs With Strikeforce; Opponent and Date of Debut Set to Be Announced": He is aware that no one in MMA can be brought out of a sleeper hold on the pure energy of a chanting crowd, correct?

And finally — uh-oh, get comfortable…

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Brock Lesnar Comments on Fedor’s Future, Dave Batista’s MMA Hopes

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, NewsEarlier this week during a Strikeforce conference call, Fedor Emelianenko was asked about the upcoming UFC 116 fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, and on Tuesday, the roles were reversed, as the UFC heavyweig…

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Brock LesnarEarlier this week during a Strikeforce conference call, Fedor Emelianenko was asked about the upcoming UFC 116 fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, and on Tuesday, the roles were reversed, as the UFC heavyweight title fight combatants were asked about the Russian MMA star.

Because rumblings of Emelianenko’s possible retirement have circulated in the last few days, Lesnar and Carwin were asked their opinions on never having the opportunity to face Fedor before he calls it a career.

“Good for Fedor. I hope he does retire. He’s the greatest champion of all-time,” he said with a laugh. Before anyone could ask him if he was being sarcastic, he made his feelings clear.

Ex-WWE Star Batista Hasn’t Signed With Strikeforce

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsEarly this morning, TMZ.com posted a video in which former WWE star Dave Batista says he’ll soon be fighting in mixed martial arts for Strikeforce.

It’s not true.

Strikeforce director of communication…

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Early this morning, TMZ.com posted a video in which former WWE star Dave Batista says he’ll soon be fighting in mixed martial arts for Strikeforce.

It’s not true.

Strikeforce director of communications Mike Afromowitz told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that the organization has not signed Batista.