“It quit being fun when I realized I wasn’t getting better. I’m plateauing or almost getting worse sometimes,” said Forrest Griffin, when speaking of his career as a fighter. “One of the essential elements to have in this …
“It quit being fun when I realized I wasn’t getting better. I’m plateauing or almost getting worse sometimes,” said Forrest Griffin, when speaking of his career as a fighter. “One of the essential elements to have in this is your perceived expectation of the future, and I’m a painful realist, so I realized that I’m […]
But while that sort of thing wouldn’t have batted an eye under Scott Coker’s droopy watch, Zuffa runs a much tighter ship, and won’t run the risk of Barnett suffering an injury in a worked puroresu match two weeks before he has to show up for a legit cage-fight. As Fighters Only reports:
But while that sort of thing wouldn’t have batted an eye under Scott Coker’s droopy watch, Zuffa runs a much tighter ship, and won’t run the risk of Barnett suffering an injury in a worked puroresu match two weeks before he has to show up for a legit cage-fight. As Fighters Only reports:
…Barnett has been prevailed upon not to take the gig which, despite being a pre-determined pro-wrestling match rather than a proper fight, could still potentially have resulted in him picking up an injury…With Alistair Overeem having already been removed from the semi-finals thanks to an injury/contract dispute, it would have been disastrous had Barnett been forced out as well.
The August 27th IGF card is still going ahead in Japan. Aside from LeBanner it also features Peter Aerts and Ray Sefo. Why anybody would want to see real fighters having pretend fights is beyond us, but pro-wrestling gigs pay well in Japan and with K-1 on hiatus, these kind of gigs are a good earner for name fighters.
So in a strange turn of fate, Josh Barnett has become the biggest star remaining in Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament — the other semi-finalists are Kharitonov, Antonio Silva, and Daniel Cormier, for God’s sake — and Zuffa actually needs him. Funny how things work out.
The September 10th Strikeforce show will also feature Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s latest middleweight title defense against Luke Rockhold, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal’s return against Roger Gracie, and a lightweight feature between Josh Thomson and former Sengoku stunner Maximo Blanco.
Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsA foot injury has sidelined Strikeforce lightweight Josh Thomson, forcing him out of his September 10 matchup with Maximo Blanco, MMA Fighting has learned.
A foot injury has sidelined Strikeforce lightweight Josh Thomson, forcing him out of his September 10 matchup with Maximo Blanco, MMA Fighting has learned.
Thompson hurt himself within the past week, and tests revealed damage that left him unable to complete his training camp and compete. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed the worst-case scenario for a fighter who has had several injury problems in the past.
The Thomson-Blanco match had been scheduled as a main card bout of Strikeforce’s upcoming show in Cincinnati, an event that will feature Heavyweight Grand Prix fights pitting Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier.
The 32-year-old former Strikeforce lightweight champion hasn’t fought since December 2010, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Tatsuya Kawajiri. He hasn’t competed in the Strikeforce cage since last October, when he defeated Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante via decision.
He is 18-4 with one no contest overall.
Strikeforce officials could not immediately confirm Thomson’s injury, and it is not known if the promotion will seek a replacement fighter to face Blanco (8-2-1, 1 no contest), who was set to debut after six straight wins in Japanese promotions.
Just about a week after the completion of the card he was supposed to fight on, Stephan Bonnar has a new date for his return.
Bonnar will fight Kyle Kingsbury in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 139 in November. The UFC announced the fight on Tuesday.
UFC 139 is scheduled for Nov. 19 in San Jose and features a main event heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Bonnar (13-7, 7-6 UFC) was scheduled to meet Karlos Vemola at UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee earlier this month, but had to pull out in June with a Grade II tear of his MCL. After a three-fight skid, Bonnar has won two straight. He won his rematch with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 by TKO in a Fight of the Night performance. And he dominated Igor Pokrajac for a unanimous decision win at the TUF 12 Finale last December.
Bonnar, the TUF 1 light heavyweight runner-up to Forrest Griffin, has made some waves the last six months or so with a line of shirts started by his company, NGauge Inc., called Trash Talkin’ Kids. The shirts featured cartoon representations of UFC fighters, including Josh Koscheck – which Koscheck threatened a lawsuit over. The shirts have been shelved in favor of a new brand, Punch Buddies. But Bonnar and Koscheck, housemates on TUF 1, have traded barbs through social media. When Koscheck announced Monday he was moving to middleweight to fight at UFC 139, there was speculation that Bonnar might drop down to fight him. But instead, they’ll have to share the same card – just probably not the same locker room.
Kingsbury (11-2, 1 NC, 4-1 UFC), a product of Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has won four straight in the UFC after losing his debut to Tom Lawlor at the TUF 8 Finale. His decision wins over Jared Hamman at Fight Night 22 and Fabio Maldonado at the TUF 13 Finale in June were both Fight of the Night winners.
The fight will be a homecoming for Kingsbury, who went to high school in the San Jose suburb of Cupertino, where he wrestled and played football. He was a walk-on for Arizona State’s football team. He lives and trains in San Jose.
UFC 139 will take place at the HP Pavilion and will be the UFC’s debut in the city, which is about 40 miles south of San Francisco. Aside from the heavyweight title fight and Koscheck’s return to middleweight, UFC 139 is expected to feature a bantamweight contenders bout between former champions Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber.
Filed under: NewsHeading into his 28th pro fight, and just one win over the .500 mark, Phil Baroni admits he’s given serious thought to hanging up the gloves.
But the famed “New York Bad Ass” said just when he thinks he’s ready to be out of the sport…
“Every time I start camp and I’m out of shape, I think I’m done,” Baroni said. “I want to get the hell out of here. Once I start getting in shape and my body starts feeling good, I want to do it as long as I can. When you see guys like (Dan) Henderson – it’s motivating to see guys at 40 looking as good as he looks.”
Baroni (14-13) returned to the UFC in late 2009 for the first time since UFC 51 in February 2005. He lost to Amir Sadollah in his first fight back. And after some time at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, and a decision to return to middleweight, he booked a fight with Brad Tavares at UFC 125 in January. But Taveres landed a big knee in the first round and finished Baroni with strikes, giving the New Yorker a three-fight skid and an exit from the UFC with a 13-13 career record.
It didn’t take Baroni long to get back on the horse, though. At a March Titan FC show in Kansas City, Baroni grinded out a decision win over Nick Nolte – a fight he said was hard on him because of injuries.
“Going into that fight, I was a little beat up,” Baroni said. “The fight was rough. I had some broken ribs, and I just had to get through that fight. it wasn’t so much a great win. It was a relief to get a W. I didn’t win that fight with an exclamation point. It wasn’t a good fight. No one said, ‘Let’s sign this guy up.'”
But though Baroni said he had considered retirement, it might have been an easier choice had he lost to Nolte – especially because no major promotion would have been clamoring to put him on a card.
“You’re done when you give up,” Baroni said. “I would’ve been a really bad position for me (if I lost). I was really hurting in there, but I did what I had to do to get the win.”
Baroni has never put together an MMA winning streak longer than three fights, but he’s had three losing streaks of three fights or more. He won his UFC debut at UFC 30 against Curtis Stout, then lost to Matt Lindland at UFC 34. But after consecutive UFC wins over Amar Suloev and Dave Menne, he dropped four straight in the promotion to Lindland, Evan Tanner twice and Pete Sell, Baroni was cut from the promotion.
Baroni regrouped in Pride, going 4-2 in Japan before returning to the United States to fight Frank Shamrock for the Strikeforce middleweight belt. But a he was choked out by Shamrock, setting off a three-fight skid.
With a return to Asia for the Yoshida fight, Baroni said his first fight outside the U.S. in more than three years, as well as One FC’s use of a combination of unified MMA and Pride rules, bodes well for him.
“I’m a road warrior – I’m excited to go overseas and fight,” Baroni said. “There’s a big diff between Singapore and Japan, but I wanted to fight in the show. I’m in no man’s land right now (in my career). Pride rules … knees on the ground … (no holds barred) – I think it’s good. It’s my style.”
Baroni has regrouped with the American Kickboxing Academy team in San Jose, Calif., for the bulk of his training for Yoshida. He said AKA’s style of hard sparring three times a week helps him be prepared for a fighter the likes of Yoshida (12-6), who also recently snapped a three-fight skid with a win in France after going a combined 2-4 in the UFC and Bellator between 2008-2010.
“His deal in UFC, he choked out War Machine (Jon Koppenhaver), which is no easy task,” Baroni said. “He got knocked out by (Josh) Koscheck, and Koscheck is top five in the world. He’s going to come to fight and try to prove everyone wrong, and that’s going to be his demise – I’m going to knock him out.”
Baroni and Yoshida fight at One FC: Champion vs. Champion on Sept. 3.
Filed under: Strikeforce, News, HDNet HDNet will broadcast the preliminary bouts for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix semifinals and finals, the channel announced in a joint press release with Strikeforce.
HDNet will broadcast the preliminary bouts for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix semifinals and finals, the channel announced in a joint press release with Strikeforce.
The channel will also televise the official weigh-ins for both events.
For the September 10 semifinals, HDNet will televise four fights.
The bouts are Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero, Mike Kyle vs. Marco Rogerio de Lima, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos vs. Jordan Mein, and Amanda Nunes vs. Alexis Davis.
Overeem was removed from the competition due to management issues with Strikeforce parent company Zuffa, according to company executives. The two sides remain locked in negotiations about his future.
A date has not yet been established for the tournament finals.
A foot injury has sidelined 
Just about a week after the completion of the card he was supposed to fight on, 
Heading into his 28th pro fight, and just one win over the .500 mark, 
HDNet will broadcast the preliminary bouts for the