Tag: fabricio+werdum

Strikeforce Grand Prix Semifinals Likely in Early Fall, Finals Could Be on PPV

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsIt’s been a wild ride for the Strikeforce promotion over the last few months, launching a Heavyweight Grand Prix to strong fanfare, then getting sold off to UFC parent company Zuffa, and now finding their way in a brave ne…

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It’s been a wild ride for the Strikeforce promotion over the last few months, launching a Heavyweight Grand Prix to strong fanfare, then getting sold off to UFC parent company Zuffa, and now finding their way in a brave new MMA world.

On June 18 in Dallas, the promotion will present the second set of Grand Prix quarterfinals, finally completing the first round that began back in February. And according to company general manager Scott Coker, after the completion of this set of matches, Strikeforce hopes to host the tournament semifinals sometime in the early fall.

That will come as good news to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, who have been awaiting the date of their next matchups since beating Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski, respectively, on Feb. 12.

According to Strikeforce bracketing, Silva will meet the winner of June 18’s Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum match, while Kharitonov will face the Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers victor from the same night.

While Strikeforce originally hoped to complete the tournament by the end of 2011, on Tuesday, Coker acknowledged that due to ongoing issues, that might not be possible, though they still hoped to pull it off.

“That was the original plan, but if it carries over into 2012 and we can finish it in a calendar year, that’s sufficient,” he said.

Last weekend, Coker told MMA Fighting’s Matt Erickson that the promotion pushed the semis back for practical reasons, and that they are still considering the possibility of broadcasting the finals on pay-per-view.

“We were originally going to have (the semifinals) in August, but we felt like it’s too close to the June fight,” he said. “So it’ll be sometime in the early fall. And then the finals will be the beginning of next year. We had a conversation with the fight team and Showtime, and they were fine with it. [Doing the finals as a pay-per-view is] the dialogue – there’s definitely a good possibility. But it’s not been decided yet.”

 

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Miguel Torres: Fedor Should ‘Man Up or Get Left Behind’

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, NewsIt’s not often Fedor Emelianenko and Miguel Torres are talked about in the same conversation.

Fedor is a soft-spoken 230-pound heavyweight from the heart of Russia. Torres is a 135-pound Mexican-American bantamweigh…

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Miguel TorresIt’s not often Fedor Emelianenko and Miguel Torres are talked about in the same conversation.

Fedor is a soft-spoken 230-pound heavyweight from the heart of Russia. Torres is a 135-pound Mexican-American bantamweight living in the shadow of Chicago, and a few glances at his Twitter feed shows he’s far from shy. Physical and social equals, they are not.

Fedor has been synonymous with the sport of mixed martial arts for years – so much so that he needs only one name. But only in the last three years did Torres get widespread recognition.

There was a time two years ago when Fedor was at the top of most pound-for-pound discussions, and Torres himself had entered the top-5 mix. But beyond that, the two had little reason to be mentioned together.

But they might be more alike than most people think. Torres believes the similarities are there – and he believes Fedor, following back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, needs to do just what he did last year after suffering a similar, formerly unthinkable skid: Pack the bags and change things up, or he’ll only have himself to blame.

Fedor Emelianenko Apologizes for Loss

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, VideosFedor Emelianenko met with the press immediately following his first professional MMA loss since December 2000. Emelianenko explained what was going through his mind when Fabricio Werdum was locki…

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Fedor Emelianenko met with the press immediately following his first professional MMA loss since December 2000. Emelianenko explained what was going through his mind when Fabricio Werdum was locking in his triangle choke and how he felt following the first submission loss of his career.

“The Last Emperor” also apologized to his fans for the loss and talked about his future.

Watch highlights of the press conference below.

Fedor Emelianenko: Fabricio Werdum Is One of the Greatest Fighters in MMA

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, VideosThe time for talking is officially over, as headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum met with the press Thursday afternoon in San Jose, Calif., to discuss their Strikeforce/M-1 Global main…

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The time for talking is officially over, as headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum met with the press Thursday afternoon in San Jose, Calif., to discuss their Strikeforce/M-1 Global main event on Saturday night.

Emelianenko explained why he thought Werdum is one of the “greatest” fighters in MMA, while Werdum discussed his game plan going into the fight of his life.

Watch a highlight video of the press conference, shot and edited by MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon, below.