Strikeforce held a press conference yesterday plugging this weekend’s “Rockhold vs. Jardine” card at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Some highlights…
– Keith Jardine hasn’t weighed 185 pounds since the ninth grade.
After the jump: A highlight reel of the fighters in action. The editor wisely chose to use a clip of Jardine’s TKO of Forrest Griffin from 2006 rather than his sole appearance in Strikeforce.
Strikeforce held a press conference yesterday plugging this weekend’s “Rockhold vs. Jardine” card at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Some highlights…
– Keith Jardine hasn’t weighed 185 pounds since the ninth grade.
After the jump: A highlight reel of the fighters in action. The editor wisely chose to use a clip of Jardine’s TKO of Forrest Griffin from 2006 rather than his sole appearance in Strikeforce.
Reminder —Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal goes down tomorrow night in San Diego, and we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Strikeforce recently released this promo video focusing exclusively on the lightweight title competitors and Cris Cyborg; Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux are nowhere to be seen, and the only glimpses we get of KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista are brief clips of them getting beat up by Jorge Masvidal. Still, this could be a surprisingly entertaining card for those who actually care enough to watch it. Either way, that clip of El Nino ruining Kawajiri’s life with elbows never gets old.
After the jump: Jorge Masvidal gets interviewed by three hot Spanish chicks, nearly slaps the crap out of one.
Reminder —Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal goes down tomorrow night in San Diego, and we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Strikeforce recently released this promo video focusing exclusively on the lightweight title competitors and Cris Cyborg; Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux are nowhere to be seen, and the only glimpses we get of KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista are brief clips of them getting beat up by Jorge Masvidal. Still, this could be a surprisingly entertaining card for those who actually care enough to watch it. Either way, that clip of El Nino ruining Kawajiri’s life with elbows never gets old.
After the jump: Jorge Masvidal gets interviewed by three hot Spanish chicks, nearly slaps the crap out of one.
Props: Republica Deportiva via MiddleEasy. The weird slapping demonstration starts at the 5:20 mark. No, I don’t know what they’re saying either, but they’re called “Las Senadoras,” and you should probably watch this video too.
If Strikeforce gave out performance bonuses like their big brothers at the UFC, the “Barnett vs. Kharitonov” prelim match between Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and rising Canadian star Jordan Mein would be a front-runner for Fight of the Night. After two entertaining rounds of stand-up, Mein ended the match in the third frame with the nastiest display of standing elbows in MMA history. Seriously, that’s not an exaggeration. Skip to about the 1:45 mark and tell me I’m wrong — this might even give Anderson Silva vs. Tony Fryklund a run for its money. To see the first two rounds of the fight (and everything else from the prelims), swing by IronForgesIron.
Mein’s victory upped his career record to 23-7, and lengthened a win streak that includes victories over Joe Riggs, Josh Burkman, and Marius Zaromskis. He’s been fighting professionally since 2006, and he’s 21 years old. You do the math on that one.
After the jump: Another highly satisfying knockout from the Strikeforce prelims, this one involving former light-heavyweight champ Rafael Cavalcante and Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist (and Strikeforce first-timer) Yoel Romero. We set up the video to skip past the first ten minutes of Romero avoiding the fight and taunting Feijao at every opportunity; trust us, we’re doing you a favor. When Cavalcante finally catches up with his dick-headed opponent, it is so, so good.
If Strikeforce gave out performance bonuses like their big brothers at the UFC, the “Barnett vs. Kharitonov“ prelim match between Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and rising Canadian star Jordan Mein would be a front-runner for Fight of the Night. After two entertaining rounds of stand-up, Mein ended the match in the third frame with the nastiest display of standing elbows in MMA history. Seriously, that’s not an exaggeration. Skip to about the 1:45 mark and tell me I’m wrong — this might even give Anderson Silva vs. Tony Fryklund a run for its money. To see the first two rounds of the fight (and everything else from the prelims), swing by IronForgesIron.
Mein’s victory upped his career record to 23-7, and lengthened a win streak that includes victories over Joe Riggs, Josh Burkman, and Marius Zaromskis. He’s been fighting professionally since 2006, and he’s 21 years old. You do the math on that one.
After the jump: Another highly satisfying knockout from the Strikeforce prelims, this one involving former light-heavyweight champ Rafael Cavalcante and Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist (and Strikeforce first-timer) Yoel Romero. We set up the video to skip past the first ten minutes of Romero avoiding the fight and taunting Feijao at every opportunity; trust us, we’re doing you a favor. When Cavalcante finally catches up with his dick-headed opponent, it is so, so good.
(Barnett has his throat-slash. Roy Nelson has his belly-rub. Lorenz Larkin just stands there and poops in his diaper. Props: Strikeforce)
Tomorrow night, Strikeforce returns to the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington for one of the most compelling ‘Challengers’ events in recent memory. “Fodor vs. Terry” kicks off on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET, and features a pack of exciting prospects. Here’s a quick rundown of the five-fight main card, plus videos of some of their recent performances…
Caros Fodor (10-3) vs. James Terry (10-2)
Fodor is a Washington native who trains under Matt Hume at AMC Pankration. Eight of his ten victories have come by way of submission, but he was able to score his first stoppage-via-strikes in his last fight, battering a worn-out David Douglas until he earned a standing TKO in the third frame. He’s a perfect 3-0 in the Strikeforce organization, and will be looking to move another rung up the lightweight ladder against Cung Le protege James Terry, who has won his last three fights, two by first-round knockout.
(Caros Fodor’s TKO of David Douglas, 4/1/11)
(James Terry’s KO of Josh Thornburg, 4/1/11)
(Barnett has his throat-slash. Roy Nelson has his belly-rub. Lorenz Larkin just stands there and poops in his diaper. Props: Strikeforce)
Tomorrow night, Strikeforce returns to the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington for one of the most compelling ‘Challengers’ events in recent memory. “Fodor vs. Terry” kicks off on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET, and features a pack of exciting prospects. Here’s a quick rundown of the five-fight main card, plus videos of some of their recent performances…
Caros Fodor (10-3) vs. James Terry (10-2)
Fodor is a Washington native who trains under Matt Hume at AMC Pankration. Eight of his ten victories have come by way of submission, but he was able to score his first stoppage-via-strikes in his last fight, battering a worn-out David Douglas until he earned a standing TKO in the third frame. He’s a perfect 3-0 in the Strikeforce organization, and will be looking to move another rung up the lightweight ladder against Cung Le protege James Terry, who has won his last three fights, two by first-round knockout.
(Caros Fodor’s TKO of David Douglas, 4/1/11)
(James Terry’s KO of Josh Thornburg, 4/1/11)
Ryan Couture (2-0) vs. Matt Ricehouse (4-0)
Usually, you have to be a former WWE star to have your first two MMA fights broadcast on national television. Ryan Couture has been granted that honor due to his lineage in the sport, but he’s taken the opportunity and ran with it. After a successful stint as an amateur, Randy’s son has shown off his formidable grappling skills in Strikeforce, ending his first two bouts by choke — then doing post-fight interviews in which everybody marvels at how much he sounds like his dad. His next opponent has more experience, but far less acclaim. Ricehouse is a Missouri-based lightweight prospect who’s already tasted victory on two Strikeforce undercards. He’s also tall for the lightweight class (just like Ryan), and a proficient grappler (again, just like Ryan). There can only be room for one of them.
(Ryan Couture’s rear-naked choke submission of Lee Higgins, 2/18/11)
Lorenz Larkin (10-0) vs. Gian Villante (7-2)
With a combat background that includes boxing, BJJ, and kung fu, Larkin is becoming known as a knockout machine, ending eight of his ten fights with his heavy hands and feet. His Strikeforce debut was a second-round demolition of Scott Lighty in April, in which he came in on a week’s notice to replace Satoshi Ishii. With momentum behind him, the California native is the favorite in his fight against Gian Villante, who returns to the cage after losing a wild slugfest to Chad Griggs in February. Villante, a former heavyweight champ of the New Jersey-based Ring of Combat promotion, drops back down to 205 for this one.
(Lorenz Larkin’s TKO of Scott Lighty, 4/1/11)
(Gian Villante’s TKO loss to Chad Griggs, 2/12/11)
Hit the “next page” link to learn about the Kansas City Bandit vs. Campamocha, and the first women’s match in Zuffa history…
(That’s what we call commitment to the bit. Props: MMA.us)
Approximately 1,500 MMA fans swarmed the Roseland Ballroom in New York City yesterday afternoon for a special meet-and-greet with the participants from Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix. T…
Approximately 1,500 MMA fans swarmed the Roseland Ballroom in New York City yesterday afternoon for a special meet-and-greet with the participants from Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix. The action begins this Saturday at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with two quarterfinal matches — Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva and Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov — and three reserve matches, featuring Shane Del Rosario, Chad Griggs, and Valentijn Overeem. If you’re going to be there in person, please swing by the press pit to receive a complimentary fist-bump from BG.
We’ve collected some video highlights from yesterday’s festivities after the jump: First, all eight members of the heavyweight GP are introduced to the crowd by horrific YAMMA/Affliction vet Scott Ferrall. Then, Alistair Overeem talks to Ariel Helwani about his new love of American football, getting ducked by Fedor, and Dana White’s opinion that he’s not a top ten heavyweight. Finally, Fabricio Werdum shows off his special move for the tournament, and we have to admit, it’s pretty damn special. Check it out.
