Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson Press Conference Highlights

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Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Dan Henderson, Marloes Coenen, Liz Carmouche, Tim Kennedy and Melvin Manhoef gathered in front of the media Thursday to discuss their respective fights on Saturday’s Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson card from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Check out what they had to say in the video below by MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon.

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Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Dan Henderson, Marloes Coenen, Liz Carmouche, Tim Kennedy and Melvin Manhoef gathered in front of the media Thursday to discuss their respective fights on Saturday’s Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson card from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Check out what they had to say in the video below by MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon.

Melvin Manhoef Says MMA Is His Priority, Expects Epic Fight with Tim Kennedy

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsAfter years of constant back and forth shuttling between mixed martial arts and kickboxing, Dutch striking powerhouse Melvin Manhoef is committed solely to MMA in 2011. His year kicks off at March 5’s Strikeforce: Feijao v…

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After years of constant back and forth shuttling between mixed martial arts and kickboxing, Dutch striking powerhouse Melvin Manhoef is committed solely to MMA in 2011. His year kicks off at March 5’s Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson event, when he takes on former No. 1 middleweight contender Tim Kennedy.

Speaking on a teleconference, the 34-year-old Manhoef said while he was not retiring from kickboxing, he would shelve his pursuits in that sport for the foreseeable future while working to round out his MMA game, which has been criticized for holes in his ground defense.

Tim Kennedy’s Opponent Switched Again, Will Now Face Melvin Manhoef in Columbus

(Melvin Manhoef highlight reel, via StillW1ll)
After his decision loss to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in August, Strikeforce middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has had quite an adventure finding his next opponent. First, everybody in the worl…

(Melvin Manhoef highlight reel, via StillW1ll)

After his decision loss to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in August, Strikeforce middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has had quite an adventure finding his next opponent. First, everybody in the world was ducking him. Then, he was slated to have a tie-breaker match with Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Then, Strikeforce decided to nix that idea and put Kennedy up against exciting prospect Luke Rockhold, who has been inactive for a year due to a shoulder injury. Well, that’s off now too. Due to a reported leg injury suffered in training, Rockhold has been forced to withdraw from his meeting with Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson (March 5th; Columbus, OH). Replacing him? None other than balls-to-the-wall striker Melvin Manhoef.

Manhoef has one of the most impressive finishing percentages in MMA, with 23 of his 24 career victories coming by way of KO/TKO. However, he’s lost four of his last six fights — three by way of submission, and one by Hail Mary KO at the hands of Robbie Lawler. Manhoef last competed at Dream.15 in July, when he lost to Tatsuya Mizuno by kimura. Kennedy’s keys to victory are very simple: Slow the pace down, check (or dodge) Melvin’s brutal leg kicks, and get the fight to the ground as soon as possible. Let’s hope this is the last opponent swap for Kennedy, because we’re actually kind of psyched to see this one go down.

Switcheroo Alert: Kennedy to Fight Rockhold; ‘Mayhem’ Without Opponent for March

("Hey, I thought you guys said you would call me if you were gonna do anything tonight." PicProps: Fighters Only)
Well, this is only going to fuel more speculation about you know what. As Strikeforce moves to finalize its March 5 card in Colu…


("Hey, I thought you guys said you would call me if you were gonna do anything tonight." PicProps: Fighters Only)

Well, this is only going to fuel more speculation about you know what. As Strikeforce moves to finalize its March 5 card in Columbus (tickets go on sale tomorrow, y’all), the recently postponed rubber match between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Tim Kennedy has been scrapped entirely, at least for the immediate future. Instead, Kennedy will fight Luke Rockhold, the company announced on Monday via press release. That’s at least some compensation for an already pissed off Kennedy, who went public recently with a list of fighters he said had turned down bouts with him and his complaints that Strikeforce was leaving him to die on the vine from sheer inactivity.

No reason for the change was given, though MMA Junkie quotes PR spokesperson Mike Afromowitz saying (in fairly typical Strikeforce fashion) that “the matchup had never been signed in the first place.” In any case, it appears to complete a four-fight card for the cleverly named “Strikeforce: Columbus,” and essentially leaves Miller without a date. Interesting (but probably coincidence) that this switch goes down less than 48 hours after middleweight champion Jacare Souza successfully defended his crown against Robbie Lawler and longtime Miller crush object Nick Diaz stretched Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos to retain his welterweight belt. Wild speculation, anyone?

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Strikeforce Adds Tate-Coenen, Kennedy-Rockhold to March 5 Event

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce has officially announced its long-rumored March 5 event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, adding a pair of intriguing bouts with championship implications.

As MMA Fighting first reported, that show will …

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Strikeforce has officially announced its long-rumored March 5 event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, adding a pair of intriguing bouts with championship implications.

As MMA Fighting first reported, that show will be headlined by a light-heavyweight championship main event pitting recently crowned Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante against challenger Dan Henderson.

That, however, will not be the only title match of the evening, as No. 1 contender Miesha Tate will finally get her shot at the belt when she faces champion Marloes Coenen in a women’s lightweight title fight.

Mayhem vs. Kennedy III Bumped to ‘Strikeforce: Columbus’ in March

(I guess you had to be there. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)
Originally slated to go down this month, the long-awaited (at least by us) rubber match between middleweights Jason Miller and Tim Kennedy is now expected for Strikeforce: Columbus, wh…

Jason Miller Tim Kennedy HDNet Fights Reckless Abandon
(I guess you had to be there. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

Originally slated to go down this month, the long-awaited (at least by us) rubber match between middleweights Jason Miller and Tim Kennedy is now expected for Strikeforce: Columbus, which takes place March 5th at the Nationwide Arena. It’s great news for Kennedy, who has been ducked by everybody in the universe since his decision loss to Ronaldo Souza in August. Miller has won his last two fights, scoring a first-round TKO over local yokel Tim Stout at Strikeforce: Nashville last April, and choking out creaky legend Kazushi Sakuraba at DREAM.16 in September.

For the second year in a row, the UFC has decided not to hold an event during the annual Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, and Strikeforce is swooping in to take full advantage. Along with Miller/Kennedy, the event is rumored to feature Rafael Cavalcante vs. Dan Henderson in the main event, a 135-pound women’s title fight between Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate, the possible return of Paul Daley, and maybe (maybe!) even Werdum vs. Overeem

Speaking of Jason Miller, did you know that he once fought a 360-pound man at an Icon Sport event, and held onto a choke for so long that even Babalu Sobral would be disgusted? I just learned that over the weekend, and I’m still confused. Video proof after the jump…

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