Tag: Jorge Masvidal

Strikeforce Fight Card: Melendez vs. Masvidal

Filed under: StrikeforceThe final Strikeforce fight card of 2011 features Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka, two championship bouts on Dec. 17 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Melendez, who is on a f…

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Gilbert Melendez battles Jorge Masvidal on the Dec. 17 Strikeforce fight card.The final Strikeforce fight card of 2011 features Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka, two championship bouts on Dec. 17 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Melendez, who is on a five-fight win streak, will look to defend his Strikeforce lightweight title for the third time. Masvidal is 2-0 this year and defeated K.J. Noons via unanimous decision in June to earn this title shot.

Cyborg, who is making her return after having her Strikeforce contract renewed in August, last fought back in June 2010. She’ll defend her 145-pound belt against Yamanaka, a fighter who’s made her name through the Smackgirl and JEWELS promotions in Japan.

The current fight card is below.

Showtime Bouts
Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal
Cris “Cyborg” Santos vs. Hiroko Yamanaka
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux
Billy Evangelista vs. K.J. Noons

Preliminary Bouts
Caros Fodor vs. Justin Wilcox
Devin Cole vs. Gabriel Salinas-Jones
Roger Bowling vs. Jerron Peoples

 

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Gilbert Melendez Looking to Prove to Himself, Not Others, He’s a Worthy Champion

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Watch below as Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez talks about why he didn’t move over to the UFC, whether he’s upset he’s still in Strikeforce, whether the UFC talk has been a distraction to him, fighting Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 17, and his good friend Nick Diaz.

 

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Watch below as Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez talks about why he didn’t move over to the UFC, whether he’s upset he’s still in Strikeforce, whether the UFC talk has been a distraction to him, fighting Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 17, and his good friend Nick Diaz.

 

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Apparently Melendez Will Have to Get Past Masvidal in Dec. Before Heading to the UFC


(Gilbert is just going through the motions until he gets to the Octagon.)

Zuffa announced today that tickets for its planned December 17 Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal event will go on sale next week, meaning Gilbert Melendez likely won’t be heading to the Octagon as planned until at least 2012 if all goes well.

It makes sense that they would have the San Francisco-based fighter headline the event, which will take place in San Diego at the Valley View Casino Center, but the question is, who will UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar fight in the meantime? Since “El Nino” likely won’t be ready to go again until at least February, it’s unlikely that the UFC will keep “The Answer” on the shelf for five months.

The card will also include a women’s featherweight championship bout between Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Hiroko Yamanaka, KJ Noons against a yet-to-be-named opponent, as well as the return of Gina Carano.


(Gilbert is just going through the motions until he gets to the Octagon.)

Zuffa announced today that tickets for its planned December 17 Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal event will go on sale next week, meaning Gilbert Melendez likely won’t be heading to the Octagon as planned until at least 2012 if all goes well.

It makes sense that they would have the San Francisco-based fighter headline the event, which will take place in San Diego at the Valley View Casino Center, but the question is, who will UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar fight in the meantime? Since “El Nino” likely won’t be ready to go again until at least February, it’s unlikely that the UFC will keep “The Answer” on the shelf for five months.

The card will also include a women’s featherweight championship bout between Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Hiroko Yamanaka, KJ Noons against a yet-to-be-named opponent, as well as the return of Gina Carano.

———-

Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal
December 17, 2011
Valley View Casino Center
San Diego, CA

Main Card

Lightweight Championship Bout
Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal

Women’s Featherweight Championship Bout
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Hiroko Yamanaka

Gina Carano vs. TBA

KJ Noons vs. TBA

MMA Monday Headlines with Mercedes Terrell and Jade Bryce Playing in Your Hot Tub

Don Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson set for UFC 141 in the Las Vegas, December 30th. Dana White gives In-Depth interview on his childhood, acquiring the UFC promotion and respecting Donald Trump. Lyoto Machida tweets.

Don Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson set for UFC 141 in the Las Vegas, December 30th.

Dana White gives In-Depth interview on his childhood, acquiring the UFC promotion and respecting Donald Trump.

Lyoto Machida tweets he is likely not fighting for rest of 2011.

Dana White says Brock Lesnar is 100 percent healthy and quite pleasant these days.

Dana White admits to inviting Kurt Angle to fight in TUF 10 but Angle did not pass his medicals.

Countdown to UFC 136 airs tonight on Spike TV.

Jorge Masvidal still plans fight with Gilbert Melendez on December 17th despite announcement that Melendez will be leaving Strikeforce for UFC ASAP.

Daley Has Back-to-Back Fights Lined Up Against Radev and Fioravanti in September and October



(Semtex is doin’ work to get back in contention.)

Paul Daley will have a busy next two months with back to back fights under two different banners in two different continents.

The 27-11-2 British knockout artist who is 0-2 in his last two fights against Tyron Woodley and Nick Diaz is slated to take on Bulgarian welterweight and fellow UFC vet Jordan Radev (23-4) at BAMMA 7 September 10 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

If all goes well and he walks away from the bout unscathed, six weeks later “Semtex” will hop a plane to Quebec, Canada where he will square off with another fellow UFC vet, Luigi Fioravanti (22-10) at Ringside 12 on October 21 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.



(Semtex is doin’ work to get back in contention.)

Paul Daley will have a busy next two months with back to back fights under two different banners in two different continents.

The 27-11-2 British knockout artist who is 0-2 in his last two fights against Tyron Woodley and Nick Diaz is slated to take on Bulgarian welterweight and fellow UFC vet Jordan Radev (23-4) at BAMMA 7 September 10 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

If all goes well and he walks away from the bout unscathed, six weeks later “Semtex” will hop a plane to Quebec, Canada where he will square off with another fellow UFC vet, Luigi Fioravanti (22-10) at Ringside 12 on October 21 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Daley is likely hoping to get his sagging career back on track with two quick wins, but overtraining, fatigue and jet-lag are a few factors that may prove more difficult than anticipated. Prior to his loss to Diaz in April, Daley was undefeated in his previous four outings includiong wins over Jorge Masvidal and Scott Smith. His last win came via first-round knockout in his BAMMA debut against Yuya Shirai in February. His bout with Fioravanti will be Daley’s first in Montreal since losing to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 last May. He was fired by Zuffa immediately following the event after lobbing a suckerpunch at Koscheck out of frustration at his unwillingness to engage during the fight and comments the cocky AKA fighter made to him during the bout.

 

Gilbert Melendez to Defend Strikeforce Belt Against Jorge Masvidal in Late Fall

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, News Gilbert Melendez’s desire to fight in the UFC will have to wait. The Strikeforce lightweight champion will square off with Jorge Masvidal in his next title defense, which will take place in the fal…

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Gilbert Melendez‘s desire to fight in the UFC will have to wait. The Strikeforce lightweight champion will square off with Jorge Masvidal in his next title defense, which will take place in the fall, according to Melendez’s trainer Cesar Gracie.

In a Friday interview, Gracie told MMA Fighting that a date had not yet been decided upon, but that the camp had been informed of the championship pairing.

Strikeforce has not yet announced any events past September, but it is not expected to host any major events in October, making November or December the likely target for the bout.

The fight comes as no surprise. It had previously been rumored after Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker called the winner of June’s Masvidal vs. KJ Noons fight a “frontrunner” to face Melendez. Masvidal won the bout via unanimous decision.

In his most recent bout, Melendez returned after a one-year layoff to crush the “Crusher,” Tatsuya Kawajiri, in a 3-minute, 14-second TKO. The victory was the fifth straight for Melendez, who improved to 19-2.

Afterward, he spoke about the possibility of moving over to the UFC like teammate Nick Diaz, but it appears that possibility has been shelved for the time being.

Masvidal’s win over Noons in June was his second straight win and third in his last four outings. The victory helped him improve to 22-6.

 

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