Filed under: StrikeforceAfter a couple of slow weekends in mixed martial arts, the action is starting to heat up again on Friday night with a Strikeforce Challengers 9 card on Showtime that features one of the most exciting young heavyweights in MMA an…
After a couple of slow weekends in mixed martial arts, the action is starting to heat up again on Friday night with a Strikeforce Challengers 9 card on Showtime that features one of the most exciting young heavyweights in MMA and one of the best women’s fights of the year. We’ve got the full preview and predictions below.
All 10 fighters involved in Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 9 event successfully made weight for the show.
Main event heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Mahe each made weight without issue, with Del Rosario checking in at 243.6 and Mahe coming in at 264. Meanwhile, Strikeforce welterweight women’s title contestants Sarah Kaufman and Roxanne Modaferri both checked in well under the 135-pound limit, making their championship bout official. The champion Kaufman weighed in at 134 while the challenger registered 133.4 on the scale.
Below are official weights for the televised portion of the event, which takes place at the Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington, and will air on Showtime at 11 pm ET/PT.
All 10 fighters involved in Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 9 event successfully made weight for the show.
Main event heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Mahe each made weight without issue, with Del Rosario checking in at 243.6 and Mahe coming in at 264. Meanwhile, Strikeforce welterweight women’s title contestants Sarah Kaufman and Roxanne Modaferri both checked in well under the 135-pound limit, making their championship bout official. The champion Kaufman weighed in at 134 while the challenger registered 133.4 on the scale.
Below are official weights for the televised portion of the event, which takes place at the Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington, and will air on Showtime at 11 pm ET/PT.
(Del Rosario’s most recent Challengers appearance against Brandon Cash, 11/6/09)
Strikeforce’s next "Challengers" card goes down this Friday in Everett, Washington, headlined by a heavyweight bout between Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Ma…
(Del Rosario’s most recent Challengers appearance against Brandon Cash, 11/6/09)
– Why is a 9-0 steamroller like Del Rosario fighting a 4-1-1 novice who’s coming off a loss?
– Why is that fight headlining this card, as opposed to the women’s title fight?
The answers are: 1) It’s Strikeforce, do you really expect brilliant matchmaking? 2) As rumor has it, Strikeforce is displeased that Kaufman’s last three fights have gone the distance. So they’re pretty much going to stop pushing her. Anyway. Die-hard fightpickers can check out the full set of pool questions for this event after the jump; please make your selections at fightpicker.cagepotato.com or apps.facebook.com/mmafightpicker.
Unrelated: Our good friends at AskMen.com have released their 2010 Great Male Survey, which is honestly one of the greatest sociological research projects of our time. Over 100,000 men participated, giving their opinions on sex, grooming habits, current events, and so much more. Things we learned: 49% of men would punch a co-worker in the face if they could get away with it. 3% of men feel that MMA is too violent for their tastes. 19% of men would track their partner’s movements ("with a GPS implant, for example") if they had the ability. 53% of men feel that "sex addiction" is just a convenient excuse for guys who get caught cheating. Well, obviously.
Strikeforce on Thursday made official the full fight card for its Challengers show July 23 in Everett, Wash.
Heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (9-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Lolohea Mahe (4-1-1) in the main event.
All nine of Del Rosario’s fights have been stoppage victories and just one has gone to the second round. His last win came more than eight months ago, an omoplata victory over Brandon Cash. Mahe is coming off a loss in his Strikeforce debut in March against Lavar Johnson.
In the co-main event, Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman (11-0) puts her title on the line against Roxanne Modafferi (15-5), who upset Tara LaRosa by split decision at Moosin’s God of Martial Arts show in Massachusetts in May. It will be Kaufman’s first defense of the title.