Diaz vs. Noons 2 Open Workout Video

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MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon was at the Diaz vs. Noons 2 open media workouts at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom with K.J. Noons, Josh Thomson and Sarah Kaufman in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday.

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MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon was at the Diaz vs. Noons 2 open media workouts at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom with K.J. Noons, Josh Thomson and Sarah Kaufman in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday.

Sarah Kaufman Says Fighters Need to Stand Up for What They Deserve

Filed under: StrikeforceStrikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Sarah Kaufman will get her wish when she takes on Marloes Coenen on the main card of Strikeforce’s next big Showtime event on October 9 in San Jose, and she has no regrets about what she ha…

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Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Sarah Kaufman will get her wish when she takes on Marloes Coenen on the main card of Strikeforce’s next big Showtime event on October 9 in San Jose, and she has no regrets about what she had to do to make it happen.

“I think it’s important for fighters to stand up for what they deserve,” Kaufman said on Friday afternoon’s Strikeforce media call, responding to questions about her post-fight remarks following a victory over Roxanne Modafferi on a Strikeforce Challengers card in July.

“You don’t want to make your organization look bad, but if your issue needs to be said, I’m happy I said what I said and I think my fight kind of backed that up,” Kaufman added. “Whether it was me talking or the fans reacting or the fight itself getting highlighted on ESPN, I think they all worked together in helping push the division and have a title [fight] on the main card.”

That title fight pits the undefeated Kaufman against a Dutch challenger who posted a loss in her last outing – a 145-pound title scrap against Strikeforce champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos – only don’t try telling Coenen that she doesn’t deserve back-to-back title shots in different divisions.

‘Don’t Be Scared Homey’ Is Pretty Much the Official Slogan of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II

(Props: youtube.com/shosports)
It’s not quite Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller, but Strikeforce is going to do its very best to convince you that Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons — who’s fighting for the title in his Strikeforce welterweight debut…

(Props: youtube.com/shosports)

It’s not quite Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller, but Strikeforce is going to do its very best to convince you that Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons — who’s fighting for the title in his Strikeforce welterweight debut! — is the grudge match you’ve been begging for. And how do they plan on accomplishing that? By staying on message. As you’ll see, the famous phrase "Don’t be scared, homey" pops up twice in this one-minute hype clip for Strikeforce’s next event at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on October 9th. Which begs the question: If "DBS,H" is the theme of the night, why not hold the event in Stockton? What, too real for you guys? Violent crime rate too high? Pussies.

At this point, only two other fights have been booked for the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II. After earning her employers’ respect with a slam-knockout of Roxanne Modafferi at the last Challengers card, 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman will make her next title defense against Marloes Coenen, who was sacrificed to Cris Cyborg earlier this year at Strikeforce: Miami. Also, Matt Lindland will follow up his TKO win over Kevin Casey with a bout against hot middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold (7-1), who has ended all six of his Strikeforce appearances by first-round stoppage, including wins over Jesse Taylor and Cory Devela. Christ, good luck Matt.

Miesha Tate vs. Sarah Kaufman Should Happen Next

Filed under: StrikeforceMiesha Tate put on a great show on Friday night, solidifying her position as one of the toughest women in mixed martial arts by defeating Hitomi Akano and Maiju Kujala, and wasting no time in starting to build her next fight by …

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Miesha Tate put on a great show on Friday night, solidifying her position as one of the toughest women in mixed martial arts by defeating Hitomi Akano and Maiju Kujala, and wasting no time in starting to build her next fight by calling out the Strikeforce 135-pound champion, Sarah Kaufman.

The bad news is that Strikeforce has already announced that Kaufman’s next fight will come against Marloes Coenen, not Tate.

The good news is that there’s a simple solution to that problem: Strikeforce needs to reverse course and book Tate vs. Kaufman right away.

One-Night Tournament Sounds Great, But Is It a Relic Better Left in MMA’s Past?

Filed under: StrikeforceFor the old school MMA fans, there’s something about the one-night tournament that we can’t resist. It’s the siren’s song of nostalgia, I suppose. We hear it and immediately go sailing off into the rocky cliffs, even though we r…

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For the old school MMA fans, there’s something about the one-night tournament that we can’t resist. It’s the siren’s song of nostalgia, I suppose. We hear it and immediately go sailing off into the rocky cliffs, even though we really should know better by now.

I’m just as bad as anyone else in this regard. I hear about a night that begins with several fighters and ends with one champion, and suddenly I feel like it’s 1996 and I should be going over to a friend’s house to watch it on VHS while we figure out how to sneak a beer or two out of the fridge without his parents noticing.

That’s not to say I necessarily think that either the one-night tournament or the surreptitious underage drinking (smart parents count those beers, as it turns out) are a good idea. But as I expect Friday night’s women’s 135-pound Strikeforce tournament will prove, every once in a while we need to be reminded why some things in the past didn’t make it into the present.

The 9 Greatest Moments in MMA Herstory

(Carano and Cyborg: Godmothers of the game. / Photo courtesy of SI.com)
By CagePotato.com contributor Jim Genia
First there was the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which empowered the women of the United States with the right to vote. The…

Gina Carano Cris Cyborg women's mma photos videos history
(Carano and Cyborg: Godmothers of the game. / Photo courtesy of SI.com)

By CagePotato.com contributor Jim Genia

First there was the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which empowered the women of the United States with the right to vote. The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s followed, providing them with birth control and shifting values, and liberating them from the social constraints of a rigid society. Then came Gina Carano vs. Cris “Cyborg” Santos, which showed that when you put two well-trained ladies in a cage and pay them to fight, they can really beat the crap out of each other (or at least one can thoroughly whoop the other).

Yes, great strides have been made in equality for the fairer sex, and thanks to the likes of Carano and Cyborg, this equality has stretched into the realm of mixed martial arts. Now, there are impending all-female tournaments scheduled for Strikeforce and Bellator, and Sarah Kaufman’s recent violent KO over Roxanne Modafferi made ESPN’s “SportCenter”. Whether you love it or hate it, the female version of limited-rules combat is here to stay. So here’s a look back at some of the greatest moments in MMA herstory. (Get it? “His-story”, “her-story”? Yuk-yuk.)

Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young, EliteXC: “Primetime”

On May 31, 2008, EliteXC broke the live network-television seal with “Primetime”, a CBS-broadcast event that saw Kimbo Slice smash James Thompson’s ear, Robbie Lawler poke Scott Smith in the eye, and an overweight Carano batter a smaller Kaitlin Young. Overweight? That’s right, for the first-ever female bout on free TV, ultra-popular fighter and former American Gladiator Carano failed to make the contracted 140-pound weight limit, coming in instead at 144.5 pounds. This wasn’t the first time the “Face of Women’s MMA” had failed to make weight. In fact, EliteXC had tailor-made the 140-pound division for her because making the standard 135-pound limit would’ve required too much cardio and crystal meth. To ensure that she didn’t miss weight at her next fight, which was a pairing in Miami against Kelly Kobold, Carano stepped on the scale buck naked. Thankfully, the towel held up by her father to conceal her nude form from the crowd only slipped once.

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