UFC on Fuel 10: How Werdum Tapped Nog and Silva Starched Feijao

UFC on Fuel 10 provided some exciting matchups and as many of you will have already heard, broke the promotion’s record for most submission wins on a card. It is always good to be reminded that cards which are short big-name matches can still provide incredible entertainment.  Today I would like to talk about three […]

UFC on Fuel 10 provided some exciting matchups and as many of you will have already heard, broke the promotion’s record for most submission wins on a card. It is always good to be reminded that cards which are short big-name matches can still provide incredible entertainment.  Today I would like to talk about three […]

CSAC Says There Was More Than Ice Water Flowing Through Cavalcante’s Veins During His Last Bout

Defense exhibit I: You can clearly see Feijao’s teammate slipping him something behind his back. Don’t waste your time, Feijao, it’s been tried before. (Photo: MMAJunkie.com)

If Dana White has been hexed with an “Injury Curse“, surely someone has placed a “Banned Substance Pox” on poor Scott Coker. After losing two stars in Cyborg Santos and Muhammed Lawal to failed drug tests earlier this year, he’ll now likely have to soldier on without the services of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

As first tweeted by Gabriel Montoya and reported by MMAFighting.com [thanks for doing the heavy lifting, guys], the California State Athletic Commission has suspended ‘Feijao’ for one year and fined him $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance following his quick destruction of Mike Kyle last month at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier”. ‘Feijao’ stunned Kyle with a big knee in the opening moments of the bout then swarmed him with ground and pound before pulling guard, sinking in a guillotine choke, and drawing the tap—all in a cool 33 seconds.

CSAC’s George Dodd has yet to reveal which banned substance Cavalcante was popped for, but his manager, Ed Soares, isn’t buying it…

Defense exhibit I: You can clearly see Feijao’s teammate slipping him something behind his back. Don’t waste your time, Feijao, it’s been tried before. (Photo: MMAJunkie.com)

If Dana White has been hexed with an “Injury Curse“, surely someone has placed a “Banned Substance Pox” on poor Scott Coker. After losing two stars in Cyborg Santos and Muhammed Lawal to failed drug tests earlier this year, he’ll now likely have to soldier on without the services of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

As first tweeted by Gabriel Montoya and reported by MMAFighting.com [thanks for doing the heavy lifting, guys], the California State Athletic Commission has suspended ‘Feijao’ for one year and fined him $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance following his quick destruction of Mike Kyle last month at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier”. ‘Feijao’ stunned Kyle with a big knee in the opening moments of the bout then swarmed him with ground and pound before pulling guard, sinking in a guillotine choke, and drawing the tap—all in a cool 33 seconds.

CSAC’s George Dodd has yet to reveal which banned substance Cavalcante was popped for, but his manager, Ed Soares, isn’t buying it:

“I believe in his innocence, and we’re fighting it. We stand behind him. There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t make sense.”

Soares has already replied to the commission and plans to appeal the suspension and fine. For now, any plans for his charge to face Gegard Mousasi for the title will have to be put on hold.

While we do enjoy jumping the gun and crucifying folks before all of the facts come in, let’s keep in mind that the terms “banned substance” and “Performing Enhancing Drug” are not synonymous. The failed test could simply mean that Cavalcante ordered some herbal medicine from HomeRemedies.209.biz. We’ll keep you posted.

CSAC Says There Was More Than Ice Water Flowing Through Cavalcante’s Veins During His Last Bout

Defense exhibit I: You can clearly see Feijao’s teammate slipping him something behind his back. Don’t waste your time, Feijao, it’s been tried before. (Photo: MMAJunkie.com)

If Dana White has been hexed with an “Injury Curse“, surely someone has placed a “Banned Substance Pox” on poor Scott Coker. After losing two stars in Cyborg Santos and Muhammed Lawal to failed drug tests earlier this year, he’ll now likely have to soldier on without the services of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

As first tweeted by Gabriel Montoya and reported by MMAFighting.com [thanks for doing the heavy lifting, guys], the California State Athletic Commission has suspended ‘Feijao’ for one year and fined him $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance following his quick destruction of Mike Kyle last month at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier”. ‘Feijao’ stunned Kyle with a big knee in the opening moments of the bout then swarmed him with ground and pound before pulling guard, sinking in a guillotine choke, and drawing the tap—all in a cool 33 seconds.

CSAC’s George Dodd has yet to reveal which banned substance Cavalcante was popped for, but his manager, Ed Soares, isn’t buying it…

Defense exhibit I: You can clearly see Feijao’s teammate slipping him something behind his back. Don’t waste your time, Feijao, it’s been tried before. (Photo: MMAJunkie.com)

If Dana White has been hexed with an “Injury Curse“, surely someone has placed a “Banned Substance Pox” on poor Scott Coker. After losing two stars in Cyborg Santos and Muhammed Lawal to failed drug tests earlier this year, he’ll now likely have to soldier on without the services of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

As first tweeted by Gabriel Montoya and reported by MMAFighting.com [thanks for doing the heavy lifting, guys], the California State Athletic Commission has suspended ‘Feijao’ for one year and fined him $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance following his quick destruction of Mike Kyle last month at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier”. ‘Feijao’ stunned Kyle with a big knee in the opening moments of the bout then swarmed him with ground and pound before pulling guard, sinking in a guillotine choke, and drawing the tap—all in a cool 33 seconds.

CSAC’s George Dodd has yet to reveal which banned substance Cavalcante was popped for, but his manager, Ed Soares, isn’t buying it:

“I believe in his innocence, and we’re fighting it. We stand behind him. There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t make sense.”

Soares has already replied to the commission and plans to appeal the suspension and fine. For now, any plans for his charge to face Gegard Mousasi for the title will have to be put on hold.

While we do enjoy jumping the gun and crucifying folks before all of the facts come in, let’s keep in mind that the terms “banned substance” and “Performing Enhancing Drug” are not synonymous. The failed test could simply mean that Cavalcante ordered some herbal medicine from HomeRemedies.209.biz. We’ll keep you posted.

Strikeforce – Barnett vs. Cormier: Post Fight Recap

Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and.

Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision

Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and Cormier completely dominated him for five rounds. Cormier was never in trouble at any point in the fight. He controlled the striking game despite Barnett’s huge reach advantage. He closed the distance easily and used his quickness to outstrike Barnett on the inside. He consistently landed combinations damaging Barnett over and over with his uppercut. Any time he felt his opponent building a bit of momentum on the feet, he used his Olympic caliber wrestling to put Barnett on his back and dominated the fight on the ground as well. Barnett’s only opportunity to win the fight came when he latched on to Cormier’s leg and attempted a heel hook but he was never able to get a decent grip and Cormier slipped away easily. Considering the UFC’s history of handling organizations it purchases, one would have to expect that Cormier will make his way into the octagon for his next fight because the Strikeforce heavyweight division is basically non-existent at this point and Cormier is one of the fastest rising fighters in MMA. Considering Barnett’s history, his future is much less clear but provided his post fight PED testing comes up clean, he has earned another chance to compete at the highest level.

Gilbert Melendez defeats Josh Thompson via Unanimous Decision

Gilbert Melendez nearly lost his belt last night. I scored the first three rounds for Melendez with the first round being the closest of the three. But Josh Thompson dominated the last two rounds and had the fight continued past the fifth round, Thompson would have won the fight. By the end of the fight, I was looking for ways to justify scoring the fight in favor of Thompson but the scoring system is what it is and based on the criteria as they exist, Melendez was the winner. But that didn’t stop one of the judges from giving the fight to Thompson and even though it was the wrong way to score the fight, Thompson deserved the split decision. The first three rounds were basically a boxing match with Melendez barely getting the best of Thompson in the exchanges. He repeatedly stuffed the challenger’s takedown attempts and landed a takedown of his own to seal the second round. After the fight, Melendez claimed that he knew he won the first three rounds and that he started to “cupcake it” after that. If that’s the case, his face payed for his lack of effort. Over the last two rounds, Thompson began to dominate the exchanges and his cardio was clearly better than the champion’s. Thompson landed a right hand that proved to be the most powerful strike of the fight early in the fourth round. At the end of the round, he took Melendez’s back and in the most dangerous moment of the fight for either fighter, attempted to finish with a rear naked choke. The fifth round was more of the same with Thompson’s cardio continuing to be the difference and Melendez unable to keep pace. After the fight, Thompson seemed surprised at the decision but it was really the only one that could have been made. In his post-fight interview, Melendez tried to explain his performance by saying that he had a hard time getting motivated to train as hard as he normally would for the fight because he felt that he had nothing to gain by beating Thompson again. Whatever the case, Thompson proved that he deserved a third chance at Melendez and he also proved that he is back as a contender at the highest level of the lightweight division.

Rafael Cavalcante defeats Mike Kyle via 1st Round Guillotine Choke

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante made a statement with an explosive first round stoppage of Mike Kyle. He hurt Kyle with a knee early in the round and latched onto a guillotine while Kyle was trying to recover. Kyle tried to slam his way out of it but only succeeded in pushing the choke in deeper and was forced to tap. The performance by Feijao was impressive but we did not get to see if he had improved the main deficiency in his game, which has been his cardio. With the heavier divisions in Strikeforce currently in flux as the UFC cherry picks fighters to bolster its roster, the future for both of these fighters is unknown but I expect that Feijao will eventually make his way to the octagon.

Chris Spang defeats Nah-Shon Burrell via 1st Round TKO

In a matchup of up and coming welterweights, Chris Spang scored an impressive knockout over Nah-Shon Burrell. Burrell came out more aggressive throwing looping right hands and controlling the center of the cage. Spang seemed to struggle initially with the distance and unorthodox style of Burrell but once he figured it out, he closed the distance quickly and started landing combinations. Spang then landed a big left hand that hurt Burrell but didn’t drop him. Instead of going crazy as one might expect from a young fighter, Spang stayed under control and continued to throw combinations of punches and knees. He battered Burrell around the cage who showed a great heart and chin in trying to stay in the fight despite being hit with several huge strikes. Eventually, Burrell could not stay on his feet and Josh Rosenthal stepped in to mercifully end the fight. Burrell will need to study his technique and come back with a tighter defensive game. He clearly has the athleticism to compete in MMA but he has now had two consecutive losing performances in Strikeforce and needs to come back strong if he hopes to continue competing at this level. Spang, on the other hand, found an opponent willing to engage in a striking match with him and he showed that he’s dangerous in that aspect of the game. If he continues to develop his overall game, he has a chance to make an impact in the 170 pound division.

Slated for Strikeforce’s Jan. 7 Event, ‘King Mo’ Not UFC-Bound Yet


(“How much will you gimme fo this crown? What about if I throw in the gloves?.” PicProps: Sherdog)

TATAME recently caught up with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal while he was in Belem, Brazil helping former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida prepare for his upcoming UFC 140 championship bout with Jon Jones and according to the former Strikeforce 205-pound champ, he still has at least one fight scheduled under the SF banner.

If he could choose his opponent for the card, he says it would be the man who handed him his sole loss.

“I wanna fight [Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante] again because now I’m healthier. Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m ready,” Mo says. “[I’d fight him] he same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.Hopefully [I’m fighting him in January]. I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.”

As far as his future with Strikeforce goes, Lawal says he isn’t wasting time thinking about all of the “what ifs,” because as he puts it, whatever happens is going to happen and worrying won’t do anything to change it.


(“How much will you gimme fo this crown? What about if I throw in the gloves?.” PicProps: Sherdog)

TATAME recently caught up with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal while he was in Belem, Brazil helping former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida prepare for his upcoming UFC 140 championship bout with Jon Jones and according to the former Strikeforce 205-pound champ, he still has at least one fight scheduled under the SF banner.

If he could choose his opponent for the card, he says it would be the man who handed him his sole loss.

“I wanna fight [Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante] again because now I’m healthier. Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m ready,” Mo says. “[I’d fight him] he same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.Hopefully [I’m fighting him in January]. I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.”

As far as his future with Strikeforce goes, Lawal says he isn’t wasting time thinking about all of the “what ifs,” because as he puts it, whatever happens is going to happen and worrying won’t do anything to change it.

“I don’t know [whats going to happen]. It’s confusing because no one knows what’s going on. I don’t know what is going on, so I’m just gonna say I just wanna fight,” he explains. “Give me fights and I don’t worry about this.”

There are rumors that Strikeforce is very close to coming to terms with Showtime, but they haven’t been confirmed. Judging by the fact that Forza — the Fertitta-owned parent company of Strikeforce — has signed new contracts as recently as this week, it looks like the promotion is planning to stick around for at least a few more months. The organization’s moratorium could come soon after the heavyweight grand prix wraps up whenever finalist Daniel Cormier’s broken hand heals up enough for him to face Josh Barnett to close out the tournament.

Strikeforce: Feijao Set to Face Rising Star Ovince St. Preux

Former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Calvalcante is set to face off against Ovince “OSP” St. Preux at an unannounced event targeted for July. Ariel Helwani reports that although the bout has been discuss…

Former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Calvalcante is set to face off against Ovince “OSP” St. Preux at an unannounced event targeted for July. Ariel Helwani reports that although the bout has been discussed with both fighters, terms have not been finalized yet.   “OSP” went on a tear in 2010, winning all seven of his […]

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Strikeforce: Feijao Set to Face Rising Star Ovince St. Preux