Jorge Masvidal Hoping to ‘Score One for Miami’ in Dallas

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DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to lightweight contender Jorge Masvidal about his upcoming fight against KJ Noons at Overeem vs. Werdum, his take on his recent Strikeforce win over Billy Evangelista, whether he will receive a title shot if he beats Noons and his thoughts on how the fight will play out.

 

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DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to lightweight contender Jorge Masvidal about his upcoming fight against KJ Noons at Overeem vs. Werdum, his take on his recent Strikeforce win over Billy Evangelista, whether he will receive a title shot if he beats Noons and his thoughts on how the fight will play out.

 

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(You know, there probably is a dude out there whose ‘ultimate fantasy’ involves Arianny Celeste and a few thousand limes, and when he sees this video he’s going to absolutely lose his shit. Props: officialbudlight)

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…

– Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum Head to Head: Who Will Win This Saturday? (LowKick)

– TUF 12 Winner Jonathan Brookins Returns to Featherweight This September Against Eric Koch (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Shane Carwin: “I Can’t Recall Much of the Fight” (5thRound)

– What’s Next for UFC 131’s Winners? (NBC Sports MMA)

– UFC May Enlist Retired NBA Superstar Shaquille O’Neal as Ambassador (MMA Fighting)

– Brendan Schaub: ‘A Win Over Nogueira Puts Me Right In The Number One Contender’s Spot’ (MMA Convert)

– Shane Del Rosario Discusses His Injury, Recovery, and the ‘Supremacy MMA’ Video Game (TheFightNerd)

– Is the Lightweight Division Really the Toughest in MMA? (MMA Mania)

– The 25 Greatest “Changing of the Guard” Fights in MMA History (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

– Jorge Masvidal Talks to Us About Streetfighting, Machetes and Making KJ Noons Shoot on Him (MiddleEasy)


(You know, there probably is a dude out there whose ‘ultimate fantasy’ involves Arianny Celeste and a few thousand limes, and when he sees this video he’s going to absolutely lose his shit. Props: officialbudlight)

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…

– Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum Head to Head: Who Will Win This Saturday? (LowKick)

– TUF 12 Winner Jonathan Brookins Returns to Featherweight This September Against Eric Koch (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Shane Carwin: “I Can’t Recall Much of the Fight” (5thRound)

– What’s Next for UFC 131′s Winners? (NBC Sports MMA)

– UFC May Enlist Retired NBA Superstar Shaquille O’Neal as Ambassador (MMA Fighting)

– Brendan Schaub: ‘A Win Over Nogueira Puts Me Right In The Number One Contender’s Spot’ (MMA Convert)

– Shane Del Rosario Discusses His Injury, Recovery, and the ‘Supremacy MMA’ Video Game (TheFightNerd)

– Is the Lightweight Division Really the Toughest in MMA? (MMA Mania)

– The 25 Greatest “Changing of the Guard” Fights in MMA History (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

– Jorge Masvidal Talks to Us About Streetfighting, Machetes and Making KJ Noons Shoot on Him (MiddleEasy)

Check Out Episode 1 of Season 2 of Genghis Con’s ‘Miami Hustle’

(Video courtesy of YouTube/GenghisConFilms)

Oftentimes the best artists are self-taught ones who become masters of their respective crafts because of their love of their art and a constant desire to be better at it.

Genghis Con (AKA Isaac Kesington) is the epitome of such an artist.

Genghis polished his filmmaking chops by making incredible MMA highlight reels and eventually after doing work for MMA promotions like the MFC, branched out into the web-documentary genre.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/GenghisConFilms)

Oftentimes the best artists are self-taught ones who become masters of their respective crafts because of their love of their art and a constant desire to be better at it.

Genghis Con (AKA Isaac Kesington) is the epitome of such an artist.

Genghis polished his filmmaking chops by making incredible MMA highlight reels and eventually after doing work for MMA promotions like the MFC, branched out into the web-documentary genre.

His latest project is the “Miami Hustle” series, which follows Jorge Masvidal, Alexis Vila, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, Jorge Santiago and Juan Carlos Faraldo through both their professional and personal lives. The segments are raw, gritty and washed out by design, but the story lines and backgrounds of the fighters make the series a powerful one.

Check out the first episode of season 2 and go to GC’s YouTube channel to watch last season and to check out the rest of his work if you haven’t already. It’s well worth your time.

KJ Noons: ‘Of Course I’m Looking Past’ Jorge Masvidal

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KJ NoonsIt’s perhaps the most common refrain in sports: “I’m not looking past (insert opponent here).”

But KJ Noons has a slightly different take on the adage that nearly all title contenders wind up saying at one point or another. And it just might make sense.

“Of course I’m looking past (Jorge Masvidal),” Noons told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” “because I want a title shot.”

Noons fights Masvidal on Saturday in what Strikeforce has deemed a No. 1 contenders fight for the lightweight belt held by Gilbert Melendez. It will be Noons’ first fight since a welterweight title fight loss to Nick Diaz last October.

Noons (10-3, 2-1 Strikeforce) and Masvidal (21-6, 3-0 Strikeforce) were slated for the preliminary card of Strikeforce’s show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which features the next two quarterfinal fights in the promotion’s heavyweight tournament on the main card. But when Gina Carano had to pull out of her return last week, Noons-Masvidal was bumped up for the Showtime audience instead of a prelim card that will air live on HDNet.

And Noons told Helwani he’s put in more work for this fight than he did for his title shot with Diaz, which saw him go up a weight class on relatively short notice.

“He’s definitely top notch, and I think he makes for an exciting fight,” Noons said. “This has been probably the hardest camp I’ve ever had to train for, this fight. This is actually harder than the Diaz fight. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or we’re trying to get things more fine tuned.”

With a wedding to his longtime girlfriend looming in the fall, Noons said he would love to make quick work of Masvidal to get his shot at Melendez, then get right back in there with the champion.

“I heard there’s rumors Gilbert wants to fight in August,” Noons said. “I’ve never trained so hard. Once I get my hand raised, I would love to get one more fight before I tie the knot.”

With a layoff of more than eight months, Noons told MMA Fighting earlier this month in Las Vegas that he was itching to get back in the cage. Noons fought four times in 2010 going 3-1, but the Masvidal fight will be his first in 2011 – making this his longest layoff in four years.

And even though he said he’s willing to go back to 170 pounds if the right fight is there, saying he just wants to put on exciting fights, Noons believes 155 is where he’s supposed to be.

“This is definitely my weight class,” Noons told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas. “I was supposed to fight for a title at 155 before the Nick Diaz fight, but they asked me if I wanted to fight Nick Diaz in six weeks at 170. I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t care.’ I fought him in his hometown, on his turf, in his weight class. And you know the outcome. You can’t leave it to the judges, right?

“I’m just ready. It kind of sucks being on the sidelines – but it’s kind of fun, being on vacation. But I’ve still got to pay the bills and fight.”

Noons said the sting of his loss to Diaz will hopefully make him a better fight. Especially since it was to a heated rival whom he had beaten to win the EliteXC lightweight title in November 2007, when Diaz’s cuts were too bad to continue into the second round.

“It always hurts when you lose,” Noons said. “You put in all that time, all that effort with your team. It’s always tough to take a loss. But that’s what makes really good fighters – everybody wants to see somebody rise from the bottom back up top. If you can do that, that’s pretty good. I’ve gotta dust myself off and try to get better, win some more fights and try to get up there again.”

Noons’ loss to Diaz snapped a six-fight winning streak. Masvidal beat Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce’s March show in Columbus, Ohio, but has not won two straight since 2009.

Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place Saturday in Dallas. The main card, featuring heavyweight tournament bouts between champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. Eastern. The prelims air live on HDNet at 8 p.m. Eastern.

 

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KJ NoonsIt’s perhaps the most common refrain in sports: “I’m not looking past (insert opponent here).”

But KJ Noons has a slightly different take on the adage that nearly all title contenders wind up saying at one point or another. And it just might make sense.

“Of course I’m looking past (Jorge Masvidal),” Noons told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” “because I want a title shot.”

Noons fights Masvidal on Saturday in what Strikeforce has deemed a No. 1 contenders fight for the lightweight belt held by Gilbert Melendez. It will be Noons’ first fight since a welterweight title fight loss to Nick Diaz last October.

Noons (10-3, 2-1 Strikeforce) and Masvidal (21-6, 3-0 Strikeforce) were slated for the preliminary card of Strikeforce’s show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which features the next two quarterfinal fights in the promotion’s heavyweight tournament on the main card. But when Gina Carano had to pull out of her return last week, Noons-Masvidal was bumped up for the Showtime audience instead of a prelim card that will air live on HDNet.


And Noons told Helwani he’s put in more work for this fight than he did for his title shot with Diaz, which saw him go up a weight class on relatively short notice.

“He’s definitely top notch, and I think he makes for an exciting fight,” Noons said. “This has been probably the hardest camp I’ve ever had to train for, this fight. This is actually harder than the Diaz fight. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or we’re trying to get things more fine tuned.”

With a wedding to his longtime girlfriend looming in the fall, Noons said he would love to make quick work of Masvidal to get his shot at Melendez, then get right back in there with the champion.

“I heard there’s rumors Gilbert wants to fight in August,” Noons said. “I’ve never trained so hard. Once I get my hand raised, I would love to get one more fight before I tie the knot.”

With a layoff of more than eight months, Noons told MMA Fighting earlier this month in Las Vegas that he was itching to get back in the cage. Noons fought four times in 2010 going 3-1, but the Masvidal fight will be his first in 2011 – making this his longest layoff in four years.

And even though he said he’s willing to go back to 170 pounds if the right fight is there, saying he just wants to put on exciting fights, Noons believes 155 is where he’s supposed to be.

“This is definitely my weight class,” Noons told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas. “I was supposed to fight for a title at 155 before the Nick Diaz fight, but they asked me if I wanted to fight Nick Diaz in six weeks at 170. I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t care.’ I fought him in his hometown, on his turf, in his weight class. And you know the outcome. You can’t leave it to the judges, right?

“I’m just ready. It kind of sucks being on the sidelines – but it’s kind of fun, being on vacation. But I’ve still got to pay the bills and fight.”

Noons said the sting of his loss to Diaz will hopefully make him a better fight. Especially since it was to a heated rival whom he had beaten to win the EliteXC lightweight title in November 2007, when Diaz’s cuts were too bad to continue into the second round.

“It always hurts when you lose,” Noons said. “You put in all that time, all that effort with your team. It’s always tough to take a loss. But that’s what makes really good fighters – everybody wants to see somebody rise from the bottom back up top. If you can do that, that’s pretty good. I’ve gotta dust myself off and try to get better, win some more fights and try to get up there again.”

Noons’ loss to Diaz snapped a six-fight winning streak. Masvidal beat Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce’s March show in Columbus, Ohio, but has not won two straight since 2009.

Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place Saturday in Dallas. The main card, featuring heavyweight tournament bouts between champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. Eastern. The prelims air live on HDNet at 8 p.m. Eastern.

 

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Gina Carano Off Strikeforce Card, Pregnancy Rumors Swirl

Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah.

Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah D’Alelio would be replaced by KJ Noons vs. Masvidal. At the press conference today, Coker said he hadn’t spoken directly with Carano but that her representative released the statement:

“I’m seriously disappointed not to be fighting on June 18. I’d like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback.”

A replacement for Carano has not been announced and no further information has been released regarding her medical condition. Thus, rumors are born and bred and one in particular is that Gina Carano is pregnant. We will have to wait for further announcements or maybe we can pay off a close friend of Carano’s to get the scoop. In the meantime, D’Alelio tweeted: “DAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMIT!!!”

Well, with a reaction like that, we don’t expect to see D’Alelio invited to the baby shower.

Hump Day Headlines with Stephanie Ann Cook

Chael Sonnen‘s indefinite suspension sticks; says he will retire. Jorge Masvidal vs. KJ Noons set for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Frankie Edgar pushing off surgery for bulging discs; opts for epidural injections for pain. Shinya.

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Chael Sonnen‘s indefinite suspension sticks; says he will retire.

Jorge Masvidal vs. KJ Noons set for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum

Frankie Edgar pushing off surgery for bulging discs; opts for epidural injections for pain.

Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi on for DREAM 17.

Matt Hamill has a movie coming out. Yep, probably with subtitles.