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Guest Column: One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

("So long, losers!" / Photo courtesy of sports.sho.com)
By CagePotato Comment-Section "Godfatehre" [sic] Old, Bald and Irish
I was recently greeted with the news that Strikeforce would not only be releasing current Middleweight C…

Jake Shields MMA Strikeforce
("So long, losers!" / Photo courtesy of sports.sho.com)

By CagePotato Comment-Section "Godfatehre" [sic] Old, Bald and Irish

I was recently greeted with the news that Strikeforce would not only be releasing current Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (25-4-1), but they are not even going to bother negotiating with him or making counter-offers.

W.T.F.?

This latest thumb-in-the-eye just adds to the disrespectful treatment that Shields has received at the hands of Coker and Company. Since when does a committed professional fighter who is a former Rumble on the Rock champ, SHOOTO Middleweight champ, EliteXC’s first and only welterweight champ, who just happens to be on a 14 fight win streak, become an unwanted commodity?

We all saw the CBS ads for Strikeforce: Nashville. You know, the flashy ones showing DAN HENDERSON punching! DAN HENDERSON kicking a bag! DAN HENDERSON standing there, making no expression, yet at the same time, being a living legend! And he’s gonna fight outside of the UFC! And it’s for the CHAMPIONSHIP BELT! Yeah, bitch…that’s right! And he’s gonna fight some guy! Some "Shileds" fella….but we don’t have time to talk about him because we just spent all the time in this commercial talking about how wickedly awesome DAN HENDERSON is!

If you were Jake Shields, how could you not feel insulted?

Further Proving the Theory that Japanese MMA is F’ed Up: DREAM Execs Deny Alistair Overeem vs. Ricco Rodriguez is Off

(SURPRISE! Just shittin’ you, Ricco. The fight’s still on.")In spite of Alistair Overeem’s public statement to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani today that he never agreed to face Ricco Rodriguez at DREAM 15 this weekend, executives from the Japanese MM…

(SURPRISE! Just shittin’ you, Ricco. The fight’s still on.")

In spite of Alistair Overeem’s public statement to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani today that he never agreed to face Ricco Rodriguez at DREAM 15 this weekend, executives from the Japanese MMA organization are denying that the Strikeforce heavyweight champion has declined a slot on the card.

According to sources close to the fighter, who is currently aboard a plane to Japan under the assumption that the fight is still a go, DREAM officials have denied the reports that have surfaced about Alistair bowing out of the event and they have held steadfast to their claim that Rodriguez will indeed face Overeem.

Sarah Kaufman: The Perfectionist

(Photo courtesy of sarahkaufman.ca)
The Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion talks about her upcoming title defense, her desire to fight on a major Showtime/CBS card, and the potential of a superfight with 145-pound champ Cris Cyborg.
B…

(Photo courtesy of sarahkaufman.ca)

The Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion talks about her upcoming title defense, her desire to fight on a major Showtime/CBS card, and the potential of a superfight with 145-pound champ Cris Cyborg.

By CagePotato contributor Brian J. D’Souza

When fans think of women’s MMA, their first thought is often a tossup between pinups like Gina Carano and Miesha Tate or a 2-2 Kim Couture aided by a last name she married into. But sitting pretty at 11-0 with possession of the Strikeforce bantamweight championship belt is Victoria, BC’s Sarah Kaufman, who fights Friday, July 23rd, on the ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers event to be held in Everett, Washington. It will be her first defense against 15-5 Roxanne Modafferi, but she’s driven not just to get the win, but also by the goal of making it to the next level.

“I started out in dance when I was about two,” explains Kaufman of her earliest pastime, which was interrupted when she took her first Muay Thai class at age 17. “Adam Zugec opened Zuma (MMA gym) underneath my dance studio — when I started that, it was something fun that just took over my life.”

Later, she even tried to work her University classes around her training schedule for MMA, but there was just no compromising her passion.

“After two years of University, I decided it wasn’t really where I wanted to go. Now I’m doing MMA fulltime”

Scott Coker Lobbies for Fedor vs. Overeem, Defends Negotiations With Batista

(Batista vs. Undertaker, reffed by Ricky Hatton. A terrifying glimpse into the future of MMA.)
We all go a little crazy sometimes. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker can certainly be forgiven for losing his mind in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko’s upset loss…

(Batista vs. Undertaker, reffed by Ricky Hatton. A terrifying glimpse into the future of MMA.)

We all go a little crazy sometimes. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker can certainly be forgiven for losing his mind in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko’s upset loss against Fabricio Werdum, which wrecked Coker’s chance at a heavyweight title fight between Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem on pay-per-view, and even now seems unreal, a bad dream suffered after a night of torture porn and Indian food. But this is the topsy-turvy world of Strikeforce, where up is down, and guys who just got their asses kicked are #1 contenders. As Coker recently said on Sherdog Radio: “My feeling is maybe Fedor should fight Alistair Overeem and whoever wins that fight gets to fight Fabricio Werdum. Alistair vs. Fedor? I’d love to see that fight happen.”

LOL at "gets" to fight Fabricio Werdum. Is he the champion now? Is that how it works in your little club? Look genius, everybody would like to see Fedor vs. Overeem happen, but unless you want your titles to lose all significance and your matchmaking to devolve into utter chaos, you probably shouldn’t have Fedor challenge for Overeem’s belt after getting subbed in 69 seconds. I know, Brett Rogers got a title shot after being dunced by Fedor, but that situation was different, as Emelianenko was unavailable to fight at the same time Overeem was. In this case, the deserving #1 contender is available (even though he’s asking for an immediate rematch with Fedor, God knows why).

It should be mentioned that M-1 Global has also formally requested a rematch between The Last Emperor and Werdum. The logical title fight, Werdum vs. Overeem, is the only fight that nobody seems to want. Forget it Jake, it’s Strikeforcetown. But Coker’s suggestion of a title shot for Fedor isn’t the only alarming thing he said last week…

Dan Henderson Likely Returning to Light-Heavyweight

It wasn’t long ago that things were in play to have Dan Henderson become the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion; with Jake Shields ready to test free agent waters, what better way to find a new waist for the belt then to have him fight the former Pride champ? (At 183 and 205lbs lets not forget- […]

It wasn’t long ago that things were in play to have Dan Henderson become the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion; with Jake Shields ready to test free agent waters, what better way to find a new waist for the belt then to have him fight the former Pride champ? (At 183 and 205lbs lets not forget- guess that was kind of a big deal…) Of course, other than flooring Shields in the first round Hendo didn’t make out so well, and spent most of the next 20 minutes scrambling from his back.

Well, with Shields now officially exited from the promotion (and likely walking towards the monolithic UFC door), Strikeforce boss man Scott Coker has announced that they will put together a middleweight tourney to crown a new champ at 185. Naturally, one would think Henderson is a lock for the competition, but in a recent interview on MMA Weekly Radio, Coker stated this:

“Dan I believe when I talked to him over the weekend, I talked to Jordan, his manager, and they said they probably want to fight at 205 instead of 185,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker when appearing on MMAWeekly.com Radio. “(They) felt that the weight cut was too much, and Dan would welcome to fight Babalu again, Gegard Mousasi, for a 205-pound contender’s bout.”

Huh. Of course, as Coker mentioned, there a few interesting options for Hendo at 205 and since “Babalu” Sobral recently called for a rematch with the accomplished wrestler, why not? (Hendo beat Sobral by Majority Decision in 2000, back when the acronym ‘MMA’ meant nothing to 90% of the population). Maybe Henderson vs. “King Mo” Lawal down the road? Former teammates? We’d be watching.

Fedor Emelianenko’s Loss To Fabricio Werdum May Help Strikeforce Re-Sign Him

When Fedor Emelianenko submitted to Fabricio Werdum last Saturday, most analysts were quick to say that the loss would be damaging for Strikeforce, whose big hopes were tied to the Russian star fighter.
While the loss doesn’t provide the best of …

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Fedor Emelianenko’s Loss To Fabricio Werdum May Help Strikeforce Re-Sign Him