Oh, Jesus Christ Alert: Fedor, Overeem Officially Acting Like Third Grade Girls

(Fight Fedor? He’s got a thing that night. PicProps: K-1)
After months of Alistair Overeem publicly blaming M-1 Global for keeping him from fighting Fedor Emelianenko, the “Last Emperor” finally came out this week and said he would fi…


(Fight Fedor? He’s got a thing that night. PicProps: K-1)

After months of Alistair Overeem publicly blaming M-1 Global for keeping him from fighting Fedor Emelianenko, the “Last Emperor” finally came out this week and said he would fight Overeem by the end of the year. Great news, right? Well, it would be, except that Overeem now says he doesn’t want to fight Fedor. At least not until the former consensus No.1-ranked heavyweight gets back on the winning track. Instead, Overeem says he’ll compete in K-1’s 2010 Grand Prix, which could keep him tied up from October to December.

That faint crashing sound you just heard was us throwing our favorite coffee mug – the “I Love Iowa” one we got in grad school – against the wall.

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How Do We Fix MMA’s Officiating Issues? Training and Accountability

There’s no getting around it, MMA has some problems when it comes to officiating. I’m not just talking about suspect decisions. I’m talking about baffling interpretations of the rules inside the cage, including but not limited to bizarre stand-ups like…

There’s no getting around it, MMA has some problems when it comes to officiating. I’m not just talking about suspect decisions. I’m talking about baffling interpretations of the rules inside the cage, including but not limited to bizarre stand-ups like the one that may or may not have cost former WWE star Bobby Lashley a win against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce: Houston last weekend.

In case you somehow missed it, referee Jon Schorle (who has a bit of a history of flubbing calls) opted to stand Lashley up out of the full mount in the second round. At first it seemed as though he was doing so to check the cut under Lashley’s eye, but MMA Fighting has confirmed that Schorle actually brought the fighters to the feet because he felt Lashley wasn’t active enough from the top position.

I’ll pause a moment so you can take that in. Lashley had achieved full mount, one of the most dominant positions you can have, but he lost it when the referee decided that his occasional bursts of offense weren’t enough to allow him to maintain the position he had earned.

Should that ever happen in an MMA fight? Absolutely not, according to the sport’s most experienced referee, “Big” John McCarthy.

Alistair Overeem Dismisses 2010 Bout with Fedor Emelianenko

Yesterday we passed along the news that Fedor Emelianenko is calling out Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem to be his next opponent in 2010 (we used to say victim, but these days, we’re not so sure). Fabricio Werdum is a no go until 2011 due to elbow surgery, so apparently, Fedor and his M-1 Global […]

alistair-overeem

Yesterday we passed along the news that Fedor Emelianenko is calling out Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem to be his next opponent in 2010 (we used to say victim, but these days, we’re not so sure). Fabricio Werdum is a no go until 2011 due to elbow surgery, so apparently, Fedor and his M-1 Global crew have decided that the Russian heavyweight should throw down with Overeem next.

Well, as well all know (some more than others), often in life you don’t get what you want, and while speaking to MMA Fighting Overeem pretty much dismissed any chance that he’ll face Fedor in 2010.

“No, unfortunately not. The reason is because if I enter the Final 16 and win (in October), I will fight the K-1 Final in December. My decision was made because nothing was certain and Strikeforce and M-1 didn’t act fast enough when I made my decision to start K-1 training. Now I read on the internet that Fedor and his management want to fight me all of sudden. Do they really need two months of thinking and negotiating? I think it’s a little strange to be honest.”

In addition to his K-1 commitments, Overeem also raised the completely rational yet meddling point, regarding the fact that since Fedor just lost to Werdum, why would he get a title shot? (Does Brett Rogers want to field this one?) In Alistair’s Dutch eyes, Fedor is ranked #3 and Antonio Silva is #4, and thus, those two should fight. Well, considering Fedor’s seemingly ever decreasing options, maybe he’ll just have to do that.

M-1 Global / Fedor Announce: “We Want Overeem”

If you’re someone who doesn’t give a damn about whether or not a dude should in fact fight for a championship, you know, after they just lost, you’ve probably been hankering for Fedor Emelianenko to throw down with Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem next. Hell, we all know it would make for an outstanding, edge of […]

aoki-in-fedors-arms

If you’re someone who doesn’t give a damn about whether or not a dude should in fact fight for a championship, you know, after they just lost, you’ve probably been hankering for Fedor Emelianenko to throw down with Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem next. Hell, we all know it would make for an outstanding, edge of your seat fight, so who gives a sh-t if Fedor just lost to Fabricio Werdum right ? (Which originally was supposed to determine who would face the champ Overeem next) Or no?

Well, after having his desire for an immediate rematch with Werdum punted, due to the fact the Brazilian recently had elbow surgery, Fedor is now apparently looking to fight Overeem. After reports surfaced recently stating that “The Last Emperor” might fight Antonio Silva next, M-1 Global (Fedor’s management) sent out a press release today titled “We Want Overeem.” If that wasn’t clear enough for you, Fedor was also quoted saying:

“This is an important match for me and something that I personally want to happen,” says Fedor. “There have been conversations about putting this match-up together in the past and now is the time to begin making this bout possible.”

The release also said that “roadblocks”, which were previously preventing Overeem vs. Fedor, “seem to be disappearing.” New deal in the works? Anyways, this all jives with a post on the MixFight.ru site earlier today, which according to the translation by MMA Bay, also quoted Fedor saying he wants to fight Overeem next.

Strikeforce Confirms KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz II

Despite Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s recent trash talking efforts, which included throwing down some of his hard earned money on a “Don’t Be Scared Homie” t-shirt, the middleweight will not get a crack at Nick Diaz as his angry heart so desires. Instead, the promotion has announced today that Diaz will rematch KJ Noons, October 9th, in […]

6925-Noons-vs-Diaz

Despite Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s recent trash talking efforts, which included throwing down some of his hard earned money on a “Don’t Be Scared Homie” t-shirt, the middleweight will not get a crack at Nick Diaz as his angry heart so desires. Instead, the promotion has announced today that Diaz will rematch KJ Noons, October 9th, in San Jose.

Now although Miller’s feud with Diaz may be more current, due to the ‘oh how barbarous’ post-fight brawl in April that involved Mayhem, Jake Shields, the Diaz brothers and crew, it wasn’t that long ago that the Diaz / Noons rivalry was the current feud of the month. Diaz never got over the stoppage loss due to cuts he incurred vs. KJ in November, 2007 (the last time Nick lost), and of course, if you need a little in the cage, post-fight brawl action to make a feud credible, there was this little ‘incident.’

Noons vs. Diaz II will be a great, great fight, and as we just noted, there’s a rather unhealthy history here to make it that much more interesting, but that said, it is somewhat surprising that Strikeforce didn’t roll with Miller on this one no? After all, Miller is a MTV star and can hype up a fight with the best of them. In a report earlier today from MMA Junkie, however, Diaz’s trainer Cesar Gracie said that a fight with Miller wouldn’t happen unless he agreed to a catch-weight. One would think this could have gotten worked out but…It’s going to be interesting to see how Noons looks at 170.

Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons Welterweight Title Bout Being Targeted for October 9 Strikeforce Event

 (I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)
It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller&quo…

 
(I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)

It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller" and Nick Diaz and will instead once again pair the latter up with KJ Noons in a rematch of their 2007 EliteXC title bout. In that fight, Noons emerged victorious due to doctor stoppage resulting from a cut sustained by Diaz. More memorable than their bout was the in-cage melee between Team Cesar Gracie and Noons’ father a year later after Noons’ fight with Yves Edwards in Hawaii during which Nick’s immortal "Don’t be scared, homie," line was born. EliteXC brass orchestrated a rematch-hyping staredown between KJ and Nick, but as we have learned, whenever a Diaz is involved, anything can, and usually will happen.

This time around Diaz’s welterweight strap will be up for grabs, which makes perfect sense according to Strikeforce calculus. Anywhere else Noons may have to…I don’t know…win a fight at 170 perhaps before getting a shot for the belt. But this is Strikeforce, where logic is overrated and matchmaking is easy if you have a magic eight ball.

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