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MMA Top 10 Women: Ronda Rousey Enters the Top 5

Filed under: Strikeforce, Bellator, Rankings, Women’s OverallRonda Rousey is the next big thing in women’s mixed martial arts.

The undefeated Rousey, who beat Julia Budd on the Nov. 18 Strikeforce Challengers card, has been running through her competi…

Filed under: Strikeforce, Bellator, Rankings, Women’s Overall

Ronda Rousey is the next big thing in women’s mixed martial arts.

The undefeated Rousey, who beat Julia Budd on the Nov. 18 Strikeforce Challengers card, has been running through her competition like few fighters, male or female, we’ve ever seen: Rousey is 4-0, and incredibly all four of her wins have come in less than a minute, all by armbar. Before turning pro she had three amateur fights, and she won all three of those by armbar in less than a minute, too.

And so, although she’s still new to the sport and still hasn’t been tested against the best women Strikeforce has to offer, Rousey makes my Top 5 as we rank the top pound-for-pound fighters in women’s MMA. She looks that good.

What we don’t know yet is whether Rousey is more than just a one-trick pony: If she faces an opponent who’s able to keep the fight standing, will she be able to hold her own exchanging punches? And although she’s not going to face anyone who’s on her level as a judo player, will she be able to execute more than just her go-to arm bar if she faces an opponent who’s sophisticated enough on the ground not to let Rousey get her arm?

It remains to be seen. But I think she’s a future champion, and I think she deserves her place on the list of the top women in the sport, which is below.

Top 10 pound-for-pound women in MMA

(Editor’s note: The ranking from the last time we ranked women are in parentheses)

1. Cris Cyborg (1): After more than a year away, Cyborg returns to defend her women’s 145-pound title against Hiroko Yamanaka. That’s an interesting matchup; Yamanaka has a 12-1 record and will have a height and reach advantage over Cyborg. But Yamanaka has never fought outside Japan before, and Cyborg has been so dominant that at this point it’s very tough to see anyone beating her.

2. Zoila Gurgel (2): It’s unfortunate that after Gurgel’s huge win over Megumi Fujii, she’s only been able to fight once. She’s currently nursing a torn ACL and won’t be back any time soon. It would make sense for Bellator to arrange another women’s tournament for the right to take on Gurgel, although it’s not clear whether that’s in the promotion’s plans.

3. Miesha Tate (7): Tate turned in a great performance against Marloes Coenen to win the Strikeforce 135-pound women’s championship. What really worked for her in the Coenen fight was her superior wrestling, and it’s her wrestling that would make her a favorite to beat almost any female fighter in the world.

4. Megumi Fujii (3): In the year since suffering her one and only loss to Gurgel, Fujii has gone back to Japan and won a couple of unanimous decisions. I’d like to see her back in the Bellator cage in 2012, and a rematch with Gurgel would be the biggest women’s fight Bellator could make.

5. Ronda Rousey (NR): Rousey has been calling out Tate, and although the next shot at Tate’s 135-pound title was supposed to go to Sarah Kaufman, Zuffa may decide that Rousey is too hot to hold off on right now. Rousey is an easy sell for promoters because she’s smart and articulate and an Olympic bronze medalist in judo, and putting her in the cage with Tate would be one of the most marketable female fights that Strikeforce could arrange.

6. Marloes Coenen (4): First Coenen lost her Strikeforce title to Tate, then she lost her contract when her management at Golden Glory feuded with Zuffa. Now it’s anyone’s guess when or where she might fight next; she’s with an organization called BlackEye Promotions, which has no events scheduled.

7. Sarah Kaufman (5): Kaufman’s only loss was to Coenen, and since then she’s won two in a row, supposedly earning a title shot against Tate, whom Kaufman beat in 2009. The question is whether Strikeforce will push Kaufman aside to put Rousey in the cage with Tate.

8. Jessica Aguilar (8): Aguilar looked great in her unanimous decision win over Lisa Ellis-Ward at Bellator 58. Aguilar has now won seven of her last eight fights, with the only loss coming by split decision to Gurgel.

9. Tara LaRosa (6): LaRosa has been inactive since her great heel-hook submission of Carina Damm in March, and as a result a couple of more active fighters have leapfrogged her in the rankings. LaRosa is one of the real pioneers for women’s MMA. Let’s hope she’s back in the cage soon.

10. Alexis Davis (NR): Davis has had a couple big wins since we last updated our women’s rankings, beating Julie Kedzie by unanimous decision in July and then beating Amanda Nunes by TKO in September. I hope Zuffa keeps Strikeforce’s 135-pound women’s division alive, because Davis could be a great opponent for Tate, Kaufman or Rousey.

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Bas Rutten Gives More Details About Golden Glory-Overeem Falling Out and They Are Doozies

(“He’s behind me, isn’t he?”)

Bas Rutten spoke with longtime MMA reporter and color analyst Paul Lazenby earlier this week and when talk turned to the dispute between his fellow countrymen and longtime friends with Golden Glory and Alistair Overeem, “El Guapo” revealed a few interesting tidbits from conversations he had with both sides. They say that in any dispute there are two sides to the story and that the truth lays somewhere in the middle and being that he has relationships with both parties, Rutten’s view is a bipartisan one.

According to Bas, contrary to what Alistair is telling everyone, it was him and Not Golden Glory who are to blame for the situation and that the split came because Overeem has no loyalty to the people who were behind him through the good and bad times in his career.

(“He’s behind me, isn’t he?”)

“It’s a money thing. He simply doesn’t want to pay the people who made him. When he lost three fights in a row…well, like pretty much five, I mean, he lost, won, lost three times in a row, won, and lost again…and nobody wanted to have him. But his management kept pushing and using the power that they have because they have other great fighters. Like, for example [they would say],’If you want Semmy Schilt to fight, then you have to take Alistair as well.’ It’s funny how fighters think,” Rutten explains. “When it goes bad with them, their team is everything to them, and they love their team. In interviews after they win a fight, they say: “I owe everything to my team”. Then when the management starts to put great fights together for them, directing their careers and the fighter gets better and better, some of them simply can’t handle it, and it gets to their head.”

Rutten says he predicted that bad things were coming when he heard Overeem bragging about his K-1 title.

“I had a bad feeling already when he called himself, after he won the K-1 Grand Prix, ‘a legend.‘ He actually said in an interview right after he won, ‘I am a legend now.’ I don’t think a fighter can ever make that comment about himself. And talking about the Grand Prix, let’s face it, he had a great deal of luck as well there,” Bas says. “He fought Peter Aerts who had a WAR with Semmy Schilt [previously that night] and was completely banged up, and then he fought [Gokhan] Saki, who had a broken arm AND hand, in the finals! At that moment when you win, you should say, ‘I’m very happy with the result, the stars were in line for me tonight, I also got a little bit of luck.’ Because everybody is going to say that about you anyway, you might as well simply say it yourself to keep the people respecting you, but NOT, ‘I’m a legend.’”

Bas says that without his trainers and management team at GG, Overeem may never have achieved the level of success that he did and that he had no problem with his deal with them until the seven figure contracts came.

“I KNOW what Golden Glory did for him. He couldn’t punch or kick when he came to them, and I mean, HE COULDN’T PUNCH OR KICK! Some fighters get big and then forget who was fighting for them when they were losing. Two months ago, he wanted to make a belt for the Golden Glory team with, ‘FOR CHAMPION MANAGEMENT,’ engraved on it. Those were HIS words after they made this huge [UFC] contract for him, and now he says they are morons? He used them to negotiate the best deal and when they did it, now suddenly they are morons? Explain that to me. It’s unreal. Also, a few months ago, when they started to get close to a good deal with the UFC, he realized that he could make a lot of money. The first thing he did was go to Cor Hemmers, his striking coach, and tried to renegotiate the 10% trainer’s fee. You have to understand, [a deal like Alistair’s UFC contract] is a dream for trainers, because there is a possibility that they create, with the help from management of course, a fighter who can make some REAL money for them. Because let’s face it, most trainers don’t live in a huge house, don’t drive a big car, they do it for the love of the fighter they train. They put their whole heart and soul in there.”

Einemo Headed Back to UFC; Bahadurzada Could Soon Follow According Golden Glory Head Bas Boon

(The team during easier times.)

According to Golden Glory head Bas Boon, fences have been mended between the UFC and his management group and fight team — so much so that the promotion is bringing back heavyweight John Olav Einemo and is in discussions to sign K-1 standout Siyar Bahadurzada as well.

“John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract,” Boon wrote in an email received by CagePotato earlier today.

The email went on to state that Golden Glory’s relationship with the UFC is good and that contrary to media speculation, neither side is guilty of any wrongdoing during the recent negotiations to sign former Golden Glory star Alistair Overeem to a contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I want to make the following statement to clear up any speculation.The UFC did nothing wrong and neither did Golden Glory management – when signing up Alistair Overeem with the UFC. It is public knowledge how the UFC does business,” Boon explained. “ALL correspondence between the UFC and Golden Glory was also shared/CC’d to Alistair Overeem who finally made a decision to sign the agreements. There will be a lot of rumors like in thet recent past when 4 Golden Glory fighters were released from the UFC and Strikeforce and that was the so-called end of GG’s relationship with the UFC. Not long after this rumor Golden Glory made a mega deal with Alistair Overeem signing with the UFC.”

(The team during easier times.)

“John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract,” Boon wrote in an email received by CagePotato earlier today.

Boon says that the current dismal state of MMA in Japan and Golden Glory’s home base in Holland is making it difficult for fighters to carve out a living outside of North America, which is likely why they decided to forgo the addition of a clause in Overeem’s UFC contract to ensure that he could continue to compete for K-1. Another fact that likely played into that decision was that “The Demolition Man” still hasn’t been paid for winning the K-1 World Heavyweight Grand Prix last year.

“These are difficult times in the fighting industry; we are still waiting for payment of FEG as Alistair said in the press and the future of FEG is still unclear. There is a Dutch law called bibop in the Netherlands which makes promoting events there extremely difficult.”

Boon, who revealed after the sudden firings of his fighters from Strikeforce and the UFC,that he was working with Strikeforce, K-1 and DREAM to form a partnership between the three promotions prior to the purchase of SF by Zuffa says that there is progress in Japan, but points out that he can’t say what just yet.

“There is also some really good news coming soon about the situation in Japan and I really want to let everybody know the details, but I have signed multiple non-disclosure agreements and I have to wait,” Boon explained.

Hopefully it’s that they have a suitable financial backer to revive JMMA, which has been on life support the past few years. Fighters and fans need another viable MMA option outside of the UFC umbrella.

Exclusive: Alistair Overeem Announces Split From Golden Glory; Bas Boon Responds to Situation

Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem made a shocking announcement via Twitter today that he has decided to part ways with his longtime team and management at Golden Glory, citing “differences that [led] to a breach of trust” as the cause of the split. Although he didn’t mention any one incident, it’s likely that the recent rift between Golden Glory and Zuffa that saw Overeem and a handful of his teammates including former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and former UFC heavyweight John Olaf Einemo released within a week of one another was at least part of the reason for his departure from the Dutch kickboxing-based team.

“I would like to make a statement regarding the recent news of the separation from my long-time management Golden Glory. As with any relationship, there are good times and bad times – you have your common ground and your differences. As with any relationship, you have trust,” Overeem wrote. “When differences lead to a breach of trust, there’s no turning back and no way to continue a positive, working relationship. I don’t air my dirty laundry. I would appreciate the respect regarding my privacy to not disclose any further details on this matter. Again, I would like to thank team Golden Glory for all the years we worked together and wish them success for the future.”

“The Demolition Man,” who taped a cameo appearance in California recently for LMFAO’s latest video has been stateside for the past few weeks. In a recent interview he told MiddleEasy that he was visiting a number of U.S. cities and was deciding whether or not a move to New York, Hollywood or Miami was in the cards. The problem with joining a team like Kings MMA and American Kickboxing Academy is that past and potential future opponents like Fabricio Werdum and Daniel Cormier train at those respective California-based facilities. With the recent departure of Junior dos Santos, Black House could be a good fit as would American Top Team, considering its lack of heavyweight contenders he may one day have to face. Either gym would make sense as long as he has enough suitable training partners his size at one of the locations.

When contacted for comment prior to the release of the statement by Overeem after we received word earlier this morning that the announcement was imminent, Golden Glory head,Bas Boon, who was taken aback by the news that his longtime protegee was moving on, had the following to say about the situation:

“We regret that after 12 years of working together and friendship has come to an end. I can not really comment on any details as I do not have them myself yet. We don’t air our dirty laundry,” Boon responded via email. “There is a management contract in place and as long as this is honored we are fine with the decision. We wish Alistair much success in his further career.”

Dana White Won’t Rule Out Move to UFC for Alistair Overeem, Says ‘We’re Talking’

Filed under: UFC, NewsRIO DE JANEIRO — The bridge between UFC president Dana White and former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem may have been scorched a bit in recent weeks, but it apparently never caught fire and burned.

Even after Zuf…

Filed under: UFC, News

RIO DE JANEIRO — The bridge between UFC president Dana White and former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem may have been scorched a bit in recent weeks, but it apparently never caught fire and burned.

Even after Zuffa removed Overeem from the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix and released him from his contract, citing problems with his Golden Glory management team, the two sides are discussing a potential future together, White confirmed following the UFC 134 post-fight press conference.

“We’re talking,” White said. “You guys know how that whole thing went down. Golden Glory was in this position where we couldn’t do business and they changed their position, which I respect. Now we can do business.”

That position, of course, was an insistence on having all fighter purses funneled through Golden Glory rather than paid directly to the fighters themselves, according to White.

That was an arrangement that Zuffa simply couldn’t work with, the UFC president said, and disagreements over it brought about the release of Overeem, as well as fellow Golden Glory fighters Marloes Coenen and Jon Olav Einemo.

“We’re never going to be in a situation where we pay managers and not fighters,” White said. “We pay fighters, and fighters pay managers. We’re never going to be in that situation. I don’t care who the guy is.”

Then again, it didn’t seem to help matters that Overeem had refused to fight on the September 10 date set for the semifinal round of the Grand Prix, insisting he wouldn’t be ready until October.

But now that Golden Glory has softened their stance on payment issues, according to White, there’s once again dialogue between the two sides regarding the Dutch heavyweight.

The question is, are they talking about bringing him back to Strikeforce, or injecting him into the UFC’s heavyweight division, which could certainly use the infusion of big name talent right about now? After all, Golden Glory has expressed interest in signing a new contract with the UFC, so could that be Overeem’s new home sooner rather than later?

“We’ll see what happens,” White said with a shrug.

In other words, nothing is out of the question at this point.

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Marloes Coenen Signs Three Fight Deal with BlackEye Promotions

Zuffa may be looking to bring Alistair Overeem back into the fold, but there is one Golden Glory fighter who is moving on to ~~greener~~ other pastures. Former Strikeforce 135lb Women’s Champion Marloes Coenen has signed a three fight, non-exclusive contract with North Carolina-based BlackEye Promotions.

Coenen was cut from the Strikeforce roster following her failed title defense against Meisha Tate last month, though the exile was more political than a reflection of her performance. The drop from Showime to an unknown regional promotion isn’t a glamorous one, but BlackEye is trying to establish itself as a player in the WMMA game. Its upcoming October 1^st card—The Breast Cancer Beatdown—boasts six female bouts that include fighters Erin Toughill and Roxanne Modafferi.

It is a somewhat curious move, considering that Golden Glory and the UFC are once again on speaking terms. Though her contract with BlackEye is non-exclusive, we all know that Zuffa doesn’t like to share its toys, so even if her current promotion is cool with a return to Strikeforce it isn’t likely to happen unless she breaks free of those ties. “Rumina” expects to return to action sometime in February. We’ll be watching…if that’s an option.

Coenen was cut from the Strikeforce roster following her failed title defense against Meisha Tate last month, though the exile was more political than a reflection of her performance. The drop from Showime to an unknown regional promotion isn’t a glamorous one, but BlackEye is trying to establish itself as a player in the WMMA game. Its upcoming October 1^st card—The Breast Cancer Beatdown–boasts six female bouts that include fighters Erin Toughill and Roxanne Modafferi.