Well, it appears that Strikeforce will continue into the next calendar year, as an event scheduled for January 7 now has three fights announced, including a main event.Newly crowned middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his first title defense …
Well, it appears that Strikeforce will continue into the next calendar year, as an event scheduled for January 7 now has three fights announced, including a main event.
Newly crowned middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his first title defense against former UFC light heavyweight Keith Jardine, who will be making his middleweight debut, according to mmaweekly.com.
Rockhold won the title when he defeated Ronaldo Souza in an epic back-and-forth war, which ended with scores of 50-45, 48-47, 48-47.
Jardine will be coming into the fight after a long layoff. His last fight was back in April, when he fought to a draw with Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi had one point deducted for an illegal upkick.
This has got to be one of the most questionable matchmaking choices for Strikeforce, giving a title shot to a fighter coming off a draw in a fight he would have lost.
Especially since the UFC took over, it was assumed that the matchmaking and everything else would take a step up.
However, Jardine will get the nod, and this fight will likely be the main event for Strikeforce 38 on January 7.
Other bouts on the card include Miesha Tate vs. Sarah Kaufman and Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.
After 10 years in MMA and a run in the UFC that included victories over Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, Houston Alexander is just getting started.”I’m healthy,” Houston Alexander told BleacherReport.com. “I’ve been healthy for a long time so I …
After 10 years in MMA and a run in the UFC that included victories over Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, Houston Alexander is just getting started.
“I’m healthy,” Houston Alexander told BleacherReport.com. “I’ve been healthy for a long time so I can go another five, six, seven years. I can do the same thing Randy Couture did minus all the injuries. I’ve never had any major injuries, so as long as I stay in good shape and fight on a high level I can go as long as I want. No bump on Randy Couture, but I want to be the next Houston Alexander.”
What will the Couture-like comeback of Houston Alexander include? Well if the comeback is to happen at all, Alexander must be successful in his outing at Instinct MMA’s inaugural event this Saturday against Steve Bossé.
Bossé has been carving a bloody path throughout the local Canadian MMA scene and has amassed an impressive 8-1 record, with seven of those wins coming in the first round! He was also a feared enforcer in the North American Hockey League.
Alexander couldn’t care less. “I really don’t care where he comes from or what his background is,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, when the cage is closed, we’re on equal terms. So it doesn’t matter who has done what previously.”
Still, Alexander did have some praise for his opponent. “He’s a very tough guy. His Muay Thai is great. He’s just going to be a worthy opponent.”
Fortunately for Alexander, he’s had a star-studded training camp for this upcoming fight, which includes the likes of Jake Ellenberger, the man who recently bested former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields.
“I just sparred with Jake the other day,” said Alexander. “He’s a great wrestler, quick guy, different weight class but he’s still a great partner to spar with.”
“Ryan Jensen is one of my primary coaches. We got a great cast of characters out there. Joe Ellenberger is out there, you got Ryan Jensen, you got Jason Brilz. I think we got a great team of people that you go up against on a regular basis.”
With such training partners, it’s no doubt that Alexander is enjoying a four-fight winning streak (which would be five if not for an accidental eye poke) going into the fight with Bossé.
Under such circumstances, it’d be normal for a fighter to get nervous due to aspirations of returning to the UFC, but Alexander isn’t exactly normal when it comes to such things; he prefers to let the fans worry for him.
“I’m actually on a great streak so it doesn’t matter whether it’s UFC or whoever. I’ve been facing quality opponents, I’ve been beating quality opponents that have been in the UFC or any type of thing—Strikeforce. The fans are gonna see that I’m winning and then the fans are gonna be asking ‘How come he’s not fighting on this type of scale when he’s winning all these fights?’ I’m not worried too much about it; the fans will speak for themselves.”
So should we expect to see Houston Alexander coming to an Octagon near you anytime soon? Perhaps, but that Octagon may not be near you…unless you’re in Japan.
“For me, I would love to go where martial arts started and I believe Japan is one of those places,” he said. “China is one of those places and to go to Brazil—Brazil is the land of Jiu-Jitsu. Even Russia, you got great fighters out there so wherever a lot of these martial arts have gotten started I wouldn’t mind going to and actually being a part of history.”
Whether or not he knows it, Alexander is a part of history because he was present in MMA when the sport was still a sordid one and is still fighting as it enters the main stream.
“I started training in 2001,” Alexander remembered. “Right after my first fight I started training, shortly after that. It’s been about 11 years. The first fight I had—it was unsanctioned—but it was a sign-up deal. So I signed up with a fight and it was one of those things were they having a weekly MMA fight every week. So I signed up for a fight and got in and I ended up winning because I had a background in boxing and wrestling and I was hooked ever since.”
Since that day, the sport has grown leaps and bounds and is going from hole-in-the-wall bars and parking lots to Facebook and FOX and Alexander couldn’t be happier.
“It makes me feel proud to be a part of it. It gives you more incentive to train. It gives you more incentive to get your ass in the gym and put your butt on the line. I’m with the fact that we’re getting the exposure we deserve.”
However, as always, things could be better. As many fighters note, the fans are awfully negative and have a tendency to exaggerate, especially when “lay and pray” is concerned.
Alexander claimed that the fans were “just blowing it out of proportion.” He continued on and said, “You just need to get your ass up. If you can’t get your ass up then something’s wrong. Defend the takedown or do something to make it more exciting. You should want to get up, you shouldn’t want to lay on the ground. That’s what I think about that.”
Concerning the future of MMA criticism as a whole, he had more to say.
“I’m hoping that the fans and all the negative people who are negative towards MMA are getting educated more on the sport,” he said.
“It’s actually a sport that requires a lot of energy and a lot of know-how and a lot of go-getting. I’m hoping that the fans are supportive and most importantly I hope that the fighters getting what they’re worth in payment. I also hope the sponsors, such as Nike and these bigger companies, recognize MMA as one of the sports of the future.”
Tonight at UFC on Versus 6, Dominick Cruz defended his UFC bantamweight title against Demetrious Johnson. Cruz proved tonight that sometimes having awkward and weird movements can work to your advantage. Cruz is not the only fighter who has h…
Tonight at UFC on Versus 6, Dominick Cruz defended his UFC bantamweight title against Demetrious Johnson.
Cruz proved tonight that sometimes having awkward and weird movements can work to your advantage.
Cruz is not the only fighter who has had some questionable movements in MMA.
Here’s a look at some of the other fighters who may make you wonder what exactly they’re doing.
It has taken UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones only three years to soar to the top of the 205-pound ranks.There are world class fighters that have dedicated their entire lives to being the best in MMA, and Jones swoops in and makes it look like …
It has taken UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones only three years to soar to the top of the 205-pound ranks.
There are world class fighters that have dedicated their entire lives to being the best in MMA, and Jones swoops in and makes it look like a cakewalk.
It takes a special kind of fighter to do the things that Jones has done.
Former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jones’ UFC 135 opponent, is willing to give respect where it’s due, despite weeks of trash talk leading up to Saturday night’s championship showdown.
“You’ve got to show Jon Jones respect. He earned his respect, but I think the problem is MMA has a lot of brand new fans. That’s a good thing, and it can also be a bad thing in terms of what you’re talking about,” Rampage said in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio.
“They don’t see Shogun was rusty. He was just coming off an injury. A lot of new fans probably don’t understand that when a fighter takes a year off, coming off of injuries, Jon Jones is a very dangerous opponent for him to come back to.”
After being sidelined for nearly a year, Rua returned at UFC 128 after undergoing major knee surgery to defend his title against the surging Jones.
It’s a rare sight in any sport to see a champion dominated the way Rua was. He didn’t even look like he belonged in the same ring as Jones. Fans watched in awe as the legendary light heavyweight took the beating of his life from the 23-year-old contender.
Seeing Rua’s ring rust as the primary factor behind the outcome of the bout, Rampage isn’t as impressed with Jones as others may be. He believes Rua would’ve been better served taking a warm-up bout than returning to defend his title against someone of Jones’ caliber.
“He probably need to come back and fight somebody that’s, no disrespect to any fighter, but like a Keith Jardine or somebody like that. Honestly, in that weight class, you want to come back and fight somebody like that. You don’t want to come back fighting somebody like Jon Jones, who’s very unorthodox and unpredictable,” Rampage said.
This isn’t about being impressed with Jones’ diverse skill set. Rampage has even said himself in multiple interviews and press conferences that he believes Jones is the future of MMA.
He just feels like Jones hasn’t really faced elite level opposition, and some of the hype surrounding him is undeserved.
“The kid hasn’t fought anybody that’s really tough. He’s fought Vladimir Matyushenko, which is tough, but that wasn’t the same Vladimir Matyushenko that just fought his last fight,” said Rampage.
“Me looking at him as a fighter, I don’t think he’s earned that title and stuff yet. If he beats me on the 24th, then he’s on his way. He can claim all that, but the guy hasn’t defended his belt yet. I think they should wait a little bit before they jump on his jock too much.”
At UFC 130, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill will headline a PPV for the first time in his career against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA….
Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA.
Hamill is riding a five-fight winning streak that dates back to 2008.
Despite this, the odds are against Hamill. Although he has not had a KO victory since 2008, Jackson is still a dangerous striker and considered one of the top five light heavyweights in the world.
This is a fight Hamill had to take in order to prove he wants to make a serious title run.
But Hamill will need to do more than just win this fight to be seriously considered a top contender.
While he has wins over impressive fighters, Hamill’s 11-2 record may not be as impressive as it seems.
For starters, he was completely dominated by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in their fight. Hamill was well on his way to being TKO’d before the referee disqualified Jones.
Hamill’s next fight was a close battle with Keith Jardine. Jardine was deducted a point in the fight leading the judges’ scorecard to give the fight to Hamill by majority decision.
Although Hamill dominated Tito Ortiz in his most recent fight, Ortiz is far removed from the fighter he was when he was light heavyweight champion.
Hamill is a good fighter who has overcome a lot. But he’ll have to win out against top competition if he wants a title push.
That competition will not be easy to get through. The light heavyweight division features the likes of former champions Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, and Shogun Rua fighting for position. Also in the division is up-and-comer Phil Davis, who is a perfect 9-0.
MMA is a sport where anything can go. And with the way things have gone in the UFC lately, a top contender could be moved out of position due to injury.
In any case, Hamill will have some work to do if he wants to be considered a legit title contender. Beating Rampage would be a good start.
What do the Bleachers think? Is Matt Hamill on his way to being a title contender with a win?
Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz earned $175,000 at this past Saturday’s Diaz vs. Daley event in San Diego, Calif., according to salaries released Wednesday by the California athletic commission.
Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz earned $175,000 at this past Saturday’s Diaz vs. Daley event in San Diego, Calif., according to salaries released Wednesday by the California athletic commission.
Paul Daley, who came up short in challenging Diaz for the belt by TKO with three seconds left in the first round, went home with $65,000.
Check out the rest of the reported salaries after the jump.
Well, it appears that Strikeforce will continue into the next calendar year, as an event scheduled for January 7 now has three fights announced, including a main event.
