How terrible is the state of Strikeforce’s marketing department? Well, if relying on the acting abilities of Frank Shamrock to promote their upcoming events (which I will admit I found a little more humorous than most) wasn’t bad enough, it seems that they have moved onto phase two of Operation Penny Scrape: reusing footage from previous promos. So goes the trailer for Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman, which begins with the same footage from the Rousey vs. Tate promo that we previously commended. It even goes as far as to use a shot of Miesha Tate clenching her fists before rapidly cutting to Kaufman, like we are all Alzheimer’s patients who couldn’t spot dat ass in our sleep.
How terrible is the state of Strikeforce’s marketing department? Well, if relying on the acting abilities of Frank Shamrock to promote their upcoming events (which I will admit I found a little more humorous than most) wasn’t bad enough, it seems that they have moved onto phase two of Operation Penny Scrape: reusing footage from previous promos. So goes the trailer for Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman, which begins with the same footage from the Rousey vs. Tate promo that we previously commended. It even goes as far as to use a shot of Miesha Tate clenching her fists before rapidly cutting to Kaufman, like we are all Alzheimer’s patients who couldn’t spot dat ass in our sleep.
Check out the video after the jump.
OK, so it isn’t as bad as we let on. It even has Ronda bouncing around in a pink gi, which is one of the most arousing yet simultaneously horrifying things we have seen since Gina Carano beat up that old hag on American Gladiators. And honestly, considering the UFC’s recent run of luck, we’re just excited for any fight that actually makes it to the card at this point.
Rousey will be looking to score her first title defense (and sixth consecutive armbar) on August 18th at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.
Zuffa has been killing it lately with the professional quality of its promos like the one they put out for the Rousey-Tate bout and the “Believe Your Eyes” recap of Jon Jones’ win over Lyoto Machida.
The most recent addition to the list is this pre-UFC 145 spot featuring Rashad Evans, titled “The Payback.” Clips like these remind me of the top-tier promos boxing fans have been spoiled with the past few years. Hopefully they keep making them to keep fans interested when there’s a lull in action like we’ve experienced the past month.
Now we know how fans of sports like hockey, baseball, football and basketball feel.
Check out the short after the jump.
(“Is this angry enough for you?”)
Zuffa has been killing it lately with the professional quality of its promos like the one they put out for the Rousey-Tate bout and the “Believe Your Eyes” recap of Jon Jones’ win over Lyoto Machida.
The most recent addition to the list is this pre-UFC 145 spot featuring Rashad Evans, titled “The Payback.” Clips like these remind me of the top-tier promos boxing fans have been spoiled with the past few years. Hopefully they keep making them to keep fans interested when there’s a lull in action like we’ve experienced the past month.
Now we know how fans of sports like hockey, baseball, football and basketball feel.
(Gentlemen, THIS is what happens when you refer to Ronda as “sugartits.”)
Well, here you have it, Potato Nation: photographic proof that Bryan Caraway‘s days are numbered.
After nearly taking Miesha Tate’s arm home with her on March 3rd, newly crowned Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champ Ronda Rousey will be featured in the April issue of FitnessRX magazine, a health and fitness publication devoted entirely to the ladies. Being that Ronda considers herself the most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet (with an emphasis on the “unarmed” aspect), she seems as good a choice as any. Just ask Nick Diaz.
Check out a few more photos of Ms. Rousey after the jump, along with a video interview in which she recalls how she beat up a crew of dudes in a movie theater in full, gory detail. These are the pitfalls of universal suffrage, my brethren.
(Gentlemen, THIS is what happens when you refer to Ronda as “sugartits.”)
Well, here you have it, Potato Nation: photographic proof that Bryan Caraway‘s days are numbered.
After nearly taking Miesha Tate’s arm home with her on March 3rd, newly crowned Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champ Ronda Rousey will be featured in the April issue of FitnessRX magazine, a health and fitness publication devoted entirely to the ladies. Being that Ronda considers herself the most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet (with an emphasis on the “unarmed” aspect), she seems as good a choice as any. Just ask Nick Diaz.
Check out a few more photos of Ms. Rousey below, along with a video interview in which she recalls how she beat up a crew of dudes in a movie theater in full, gory detail. These are the pitfalls of universal suffrage, my brothers.
In a recent interview with the Miami Herald’s Dan Le Batard, who is undoubtedly the most excited interviewer we have come across in some time, Rousey dishes on everything from the likelihood that she would take Bryan Caraway in a fight to the movie theater incident in which she beat up no less than four adult males in front of their dates. Something tells us her mother was a proud Feminist.
Here are a few of our favorite tidbits.
On whether or not she wanted to break Tate’s arm: “The extent of the damage is up to them, not me. I don’t feel bad at all. She chose to have her arm broken.” [This is where Ms. Rousey and Mr. Palhares differ.]
On Bryan Caraway: “I just said that I could beat up [Meisha Tate] and her boyfriend in the same day. Which, you know, he’s like some average to below-average MMA guy, and I’m the women’s world champion. It would be expected that I would be able to beat the average MMA guy at my weight, right?” [We’re not touching that one with a fifteen centimeter pole.]
A brief synopsis of the theater incident: “I got jumped by a bunch of guys in a movie theater and I beat them up and then everyone clapped. They were that group of people that were just rude and loud throughout the movie.” [You mean these kind of people?]
“They wouldn’t let me leave, so I was technically in a kidnap situation. I learned this from my lawyer. I was fearing for my life, so I had to defend myself. So I defended myself very well, and so they sued me.” [Oh, you’re referring to these kind of people.]
On her childhood: “I was never very popular in school. I was made fun of for being muscular a lot, so I always wore really baggy clothes. I had two lives; I would go to school and I would be kind of like this introverted, loser kid that no one really knew, and then I’d go out on the weekends to these Judo tournaments and everyone was like ‘Oh Ronda, Ronda! Hey, what’s up! You know what I mean?” [Sadly, we do not Ronda. Every member of the CP staff was both a gifted athlete AND extremely popular in high school. At least that’s how we remember it.]
On whether or not she enjoys hurting people: “……………………..no.”
Snapping the honor away from Tate (pun intended) was Bryan Jones Jr. who had his leg snapped by a slam executed by opponent Justin Lee Fowler at CageQuest 1 on Saturday. Even better than the first video of the injury below is the crowd’s reaction from the second one.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/stp0311)
(Video courtesy of YouTube/kcairns1)
Just so we don’t leave you wanting more, here’s a gif of Rousey’s armbar on Tate, which shockingly didn’t inflict any broken bones. According to Miesha, there is likely some ligament damage, which is sometimes more of a bitch to repair.
And it was here, in this blighted place, that Strikeforce learned to live again… (Props: FoxSports.com)
The fact that a Strikeforce aftermath is being broken down into two separate posts is probably confusing most of our longtime readers, considering we’ve had so little to say about the organization leading up to last night’s Strikeforce card. Ever since Zuffa’s acquisition of the organization, our post-event recaps have focused on Strikeforce’s lack of a direction, now-meaningless titles and ever-diminishing roster. The organization clearly wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. going under), yet it also, well, wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. it wasn’t planning future growth). Yet last night, for the first time in a while, Strikeforce looked like an organization that could consistently provide MMA fans with intriguing, relevant matchups.
After all of the hype that Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate managed to create for last night’s bout, the ending could not have possibly gone better for Strikeforce. Exciting fight? Check. Dramatic finish? Check. And most importantly, Sarah Kaufman’s victory over Alexis Davis on the undercard established a clear challenger for the new champion who actually stands a chance at beating the champion. The biggest problem with Strikeforce’s title fights as of late has been the fact that the champions are simply too much better than anyone that Strikeforce can match them up with (Rockhold vs. Jardine, anyone?). While Rousey continued to look phenomenal in her short MMA career last night, former champion Sarah Kaufman provides another intriguing matchup for her. Back to back championship fights in a Strikeforce weight class that will pit the champion against a formidable opponent who is coming off of a victory: Now that’s encouraging.
And it was here, in this blighted place, that Strikeforce learned to live again… (Props: FoxSports.com)
The fact that a Strikeforce aftermath is being broken down into two separate posts is probably confusing most of our longtime readers, considering we’ve had so little to say about the organization leading up to last night’s Strikeforce card. Ever since Zuffa’s acquisition of the organization, our post-event recaps have focused on Strikeforce’s lack of a direction, now-meaningless titles and ever-diminishing roster. The organization clearly wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. going under), yet it also, well, wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. it wasn’t planning future growth). Yet last night, for the first time in a while, Strikeforce looked like an organization that could consistently provide MMA fans with intriguing, relevant matchups.
After all of the hype that Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate managed to create for last night’s bout, the ending could not have possibly gone better for Strikeforce. Exciting fight? Check. Dramatic finish? Check. And most importantly, Sarah Kaufman’s victory over Alexis Davis on the undercard established a clear challenger for the new champion who actually stands a chance at beating the champion. The biggest problem with Strikeforce’s title fights as of late has been the fact that the champions are simply too much better than anyone that Strikeforce can match them up with (Rockhold vs. Jardine, anyone?). While Rousey continued to look phenomenal in her short MMA career last night, former champion Sarah Kaufman provides another intriguing matchup for her. Back to back championship fights in a Strikeforce weight class that will pit the champion against a formidable opponent who is coming off of a victory: Now that’s encouraging.
For that matter, the victories from both Kazuo Misaki and Jacare Souza are significant for reasons other than a potential UFC call-up. After surprising Paul Daley with a diverse striking attack and surviving a nasty elbow from “Semtex”, Misaki pulled off the upset and won by split decision (don’t ask me what fight that third judge was watching). Even though Misaki doesn’t quite look ready for the UFC, Strikeforce actually has another competent challenger ready for him in Nate Marquardt, who holds two victories over Misaki in Pancrase. Pitting the two against each other makes sense, and should earn the winner a call-up to the majors. Likewise, Jacare displayed a much improved striking attack in his victory over Bristol Marunde. Given that his willingness to stand and trade punches with opponents essentially cost him his first fight against Luke Rockhold, it would be interesting to see how he matches up with the middleweight champion this time around. The bottom line here is that rather than shrugging our shoulders and asking “Okay, now what?”, there are logical matchups awaiting both fighters. It’s refreshing, to say the least.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t any reasons to keep being concerned for Strikeforce, as the event certainly produced some low points. After all of the talk about meaningful championship fights existing for Strikeforce, it’s sort of anti-climatic to bring up that Gilbert Melendez is going to fight Josh Thomson again, especially after his yawn-inducing fight against KJ Noons. Dana White’s recent announcement that he has essentially washed his hands of Strikeforce definitely doesn’t help matters either. And let’s not even start on how a major organization could allow a pedophile with white supremacist tattoos on television.
But after listening to Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier hype up their clash on May 19th- no matter how insignificant the heavyweight tournament may be at this point- I genuinely feel excited about an upcoming Strikeforce card. I am genuinely curious about future Strikeforce title fights, even if the men’s belts have become meaningless. It’s been a while since I’ve been optimistic about Strikeforce- that’s got to be worth something.
Last night’s Strikeforce card was a memorable one — even though there were a couple aspects of the show that we’d love to forget. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look back at Tate vs. Rousey’s thrilling highlights and awful lowlights…
The Good
– First and foremost, this gif from the weigh ins. Oh, Ronda. [*flexes butt seductively*]
– Ronda Rousey‘s title-winning performance against Miesha Tate. We finally learned what Rousey’s “Plan B” is when she’s unable to armbar you within the first minute — unsurprisingly, it’s another armbar. Rousey kept her head when Miesha stormed out at her in the beginning of the fight, calmly extracted herself from bad positions on the ground, and didn’t get discouraged when her first nasty armbar attempt failed to break Miesha’s elbow. Instead, she relied on the judo expertise that has carried her to a title shot in less than a year of professional MMA competition, and got the inevitable snap/tap at 4:27 of round 1. During her post-fight interview, Rousey proved that her heat-seeking personality doesn’t turn off just because the match is over. (Yes, she holds grudges, and yes, she still thinks Tate sucks.) A meeting with former champ Sarah Kaufman is next, but I can’t be the only one looking ahead to a possible 135-pound superfight against Cris Cyborg.
– Ronaldo Souza‘s striking. In the past, Jacare’s occasional tendency to keep fights standing has struck me as a frustrating betrayal of his bread-and-butter. (See also: Demian Maia.) But against Bristol Marunde, Souza’s striking looked just as dangerous as his grappling; his ferocious overhand rights and unconventional kicks brought to mind other Brazilian bangers like Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Edson Barboza. Jacare is still evolving as a fighter, and Luke Rockhold should watch his back.
Last night’s Strikeforce card was a memorable one — even though there were a couple aspects of the show that we’d love to forget. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look back at Tate vs. Rousey’s thrilling highlights and awful lowlights…
The Good
– First and foremost, this gif from the weigh ins. Oh, Ronda. [*flexes butt seductively*]
– Ronda Rousey‘s title-winning performance against Miesha Tate. We finally learned what Rousey’s “Plan B” is when she’s unable to armbar you within the first minute — unsurprisingly, it’s another armbar. Rousey kept her head when Miesha stormed out at her in the beginning of the fight, calmly extracted herself from bad positions on the ground, and didn’t get discouraged when her first nasty armbar attempt failed to break Miesha’s elbow. Instead, she relied on the judo expertise that has carried her to a title shot in less than a year of professional MMA competition, and got the inevitable snap/tap at 4:27 of round 1. During her post-fight interview, Rousey proved that her heat-seeking personality doesn’t turn off just because the match is over. (Yes, she holds grudges, and yes, she still thinks Tate sucks.) A meeting with former champ Sarah Kaufman is next, but I can’t be the only one looking ahead to a possible 135-pound superfight against Cris Cyborg.
– Ronaldo Souza‘s striking. In the past, Jacare’s occasional tendency to keep fights standing has struck me as a frustrating betrayal of his bread-and-butter. (See also: Demian Maia.) But against Bristol Marunde, Souza’s striking looked just as dangerous as his grappling; his ferocious overhand rights and unconventional kicks brought to mind other Brazilian bangers like Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Edson Barboza. Jacare is still evolving as a fighter, and Luke Rockhold should watch his back.
– The Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis fight on the prelims. If you were able to catch it on Showtime Extreme, consider yourself lucky. Kaufman/Davis was the kind of three-round brawl that you don’t often see in women’s MMA, and it went a long way in securing Kaufman as the rightful next-in-line for a bantamweight title shot. Kaufman will surely be a big underdog against Rousey, but her sprawl-and-brawl style is the perfect skillset for a fight against the champ.
The Bad – Scott Smith‘s physique. Judging by his soft midsection, Smith didn’t take preparations for his return to middleweight seriously enough, and it showed in his performance, where he was manhandled and out-grappled by relative newcomer Lumumba Sayers. The fight was over before Smith had a chance to make one of his miraculous comebacks. With four losses in a row, Smith’s time on the big stage might be over.
– The referee in Tate vs. Rousey not stopping the fight until about eight seconds after Tate’s arm had grown a new elbow. Tate showed her warrior heart by not tapping until the pain was overwhelming; the ref showed his ignorance by not stopping the fight until that moment.
– Josh Thomson‘s safety-first performance against KJ Noons, and his graceless analysis of it: “It was shit…My conditioning was shit, so my fight was shit.” Cool story, bro. Thomson made a big show of his anti-Obama t-shirt after the fight, but at least you have to give him credit for not being a creep about his political opinions, unlike some people we know.
The Ugly
– Kazuo Misaki’s face after his decision win over Paul Daley. After suffering a Marvin Eastman-caliber head gash in the third round, he also ended up with a Ryan McGillivray-style broken nose.
– The Nazi pedophile on the undercard. In an attempt to add more local flavor to the prelims, Strikeforce booked Ohio native Brandon Saling to fight Roger Bowling. Not-so-fun fact: Saling previously did time in prison on a “gross sexual imposition” charge for raping a 12-year-old girl. And he didn’t generate any sympathy last night when he stepped into the cage rocking white supremacist tattoos, including an ’88′ on his shoulder which is Neo Nazi code for “Heil Hitler.” To make a long story short, he’s a shit-stain on the underwear of humanity, and Strikeforce screwed up royally by not doing a basic background check before booking him on their televised prelim broadcast. This is not who we need representing us, guys.
