Strikeforce arrives in Miami tonight with a packed card at the Bell Atlantic Center in Sunrise, FL. Prelminary bouts begin at 7:30pm, with the televised card airing on Showtime at 10pm EST. Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis will square off for the vacant welterweight title while Christiane “Cyborg” Santos will make her first defense of the women’s featherweight title against Marloes Coenen. Also featured on the card are the Strikeforce debuts of former NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and former WWE pro wrestler Bobby Lashley.
Benchwarmers United will bring you the play-by-play call of the action throughout the evening:
Preliminary Results:
John Kelly def. Sabah Homasi via rear naked choke submission at 2:48 of Round 2.
Hayder Hassan def. Ryan Keenan via knockout at 2:42 of Round 2
Pablo Alfonso def. Marcos da Matta via arm bar submission at 1:47 of Round 1
David Gomez def. Craig Oxley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Ray def. John Clark via technical knockout at 3:14 of Round 1
Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
Round 1
The fighters come out cautious feeling each other out. Hieron attacks first, lunging for body which he misses badly. Hieron follows the missed body shot with a weak front kick. Hieron nails Riggs with a solid right. Riggs appears shaken but is able to compose himself. Hieron launches head kicked that Riggs blocks. Riggs lunges with a Superman punch and misses, Hieron counters with a head kick that misses. The fighter toss jabs at each other. Hieron lands an inside leg kick and follows with a combination. Hieron lands kick to midsection. Another inside leg kick for Hieron. Riggs attempts another Superman punch and misses. Hieron follows with a takedown as the bells sounds.
Hieron easily takes Round 1, 10-9
Round 2
The fighters come out cautious again to start the round. Hieron attacks first with a right, followed a combination that Riggs ducks away from. Hieron throws a head kick and follows through with a takedown. Hieron gets inside Riggs’ guard and lands a flurry of shots to the ribs. Hieron goes for the head and misses, then returns back to the ribs. Hieron continues to work the ribs, but doesn’t appear to be hurting Riggs. Hieron now mixes in a few shots to the head, as Riggs is unable to get out from underneath. Riggs is able to gain wrist control and halts the Hieron assault. Hieron goes back to the ribs and Riggs midsection is beginning to turn purple from the barrage of shots he’s taken. Hieron postures up and lands a big shot to the head. Riggs scrambles and gets back to his feet. Hieron lands a nasty knee to the body as the round closes.
Another clear and dominating round for Hieron, 10-9.
Round 3
The fighters touch gloves in the center to start the round. Riggs strikes first, landing a hard right hook. The fighters scramble to the mat and Hieron gets the advantage position. Riggs is bleeding heavily from the left eye now. The blood is clearly affecting Riggs. Hieron is doing little and the ref stands them up. Hieron nails Riggs as he charges in, flooring the him. Hieron scrambles for an advantage position and gets it on the mat. Hieron begins working the ribs again as Riggs tries to work his way back to his feet along the cage wall. Riggs attempts a kimura, but doesn’t have the position or leverage to hit it. The ref stands the fighters up with 10 seconds lift, but there is not enought time for Riggs to pull out a miracle.
Another round to Hieron, 10-9
Official Result: Hieron by unanimous decision 29-28, 30-27, 30-27
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
Round 1
Sims has a huge reach advantage over Lashley, as he towers over Lashley with his 6′8″ frame. Sims looks like he took the fight on short notice, looking very soft in the belly. Sims comes out as comedian asking for a pro wresting test of strength. Lashley lunges for a shot due to the reach disadvantage. Sims attempts knee but Lashley gets double leg takedown. Sims is in full guard and Lashley pounds on the side of his head. Lashley postures up and lands a couple of hard shots to Sims head. Sims scrambles to his base position, Lashley takes his back and lands a shot or two. Sims collapses from his base and is flat on mat. Lashley lands a glancing shot and the referee jumps in to stop the action. A very premature stoppage. Sims is very upset and arguing with the ref that he was not hurt.
Official Result: Lashley by technical knockout at 2:06 Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
Round 1
The fighters meet at center and begin feeling each other out in preparation for a stand up war. Manhoef lands a front kick to the midsection. Lawler lands a left head kick. Manhoef lands a roundhouse kick to the ribs. Lower leg kick by Lawler, Manhoef responds with the same. Manhoef lands a combo and follow with flying front kick. Another combo and kick to midsection again. Manhoef lands some harsh lower leg kicks that appear to be bothering Lawler. Manhoef lands a flurry of shots. More lower leg kick by Manhoef and Lawler is limping. Another combination by Manhoef. Manhoef look to land another lower leg kich and Lawler connects with a vicious overhand right counter that knocks Manhoef out cold. A stunning knockout as Lawler limps around the ring in celebration. Manhoef is still down on the canvas being attended to by doctors. Manhoef is finally up and alert.
Official Result: Lawler by knockout at 3:33 of Round 1
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Round 1
Walker looks in great physical shape. Walker sticks a stiff lab jab to start the action followed by a leg kick. Walker calls on Nagy to fight him. Nagy attempts a takedown but Walker defends and gets a front headlock. Walker circles around and scoops an ankle. Walker gets a half mount and begins to tee off on Nagy. Walker exposes his leg and presses his knee to Nagy’s chest. Walker begins landing shots to the head. Nagy goes for a heel hook but Walker rolls through. Walker takes front headlock again. Walker is now in side control and is landing to the head. Walker now has a crucifix, pinning Nagy’s arm to mat as he lands lefts to the head. The round comes to an end.
Clear round that goes to Walker, 10-9.
Round 2
Walker lands a leg kick and Nagy moves in for a clinch. Walker locks up Nagy and takes him to the canvas. Walker is on Nagy’s side raining down blows. Walker now moves to Nagy’s back and flattens Nagy to the mat. Nagy rolls to his back and Walker get a full mount, but is a little too high to land anything solid. Nagy scrambles and Walker loses the mount. Nagy stands up and Walker lands a knee to the head. Walker has the front headlock again but is doing little with it. Walker now circles around and gets Nagy’s back. Walker is working for the choke but can’t get it. Walker starts hammering blows to open up Nagy. Walker is landing hammerfists to the back of the head and Nagy rolls to his back. More shots to the head by Walker as the round comes to an end.
Pure dominating round by Walker, 10-8.
Round 3
Nagy comes out aggressive and lands two shots to Walker’s head. They move to the cage wall and Walker gets the takedown. Nagy goes for an arm bar, but Walker is able to defend. Walker is again too high with the full mount and is unable to land anything damaging. Nagy goes back to his stomach and Walker begins landing blows from Nagy’s back. Nagy is told by ref to work and defend as Walker lands more blows. The ref has seen enough and calls an end to the fight.
Official Result: Walker by technical knockout at 2:17 of Round 3
Christiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
Round 1
The ladies come out with a flurry, both attacking. The fighter clinch. Coenen backs out and lands a shot on Cyborg. Takedown by Cyborg, but Coenen is in guard along the cage. Cyborg steps up and lands a hard shot to the head. Cyborg back to the mat, but stands up again and lands some big blows. Cyborg pulls out again, lands a leg kick and pounces back on top. Cyborg postures up and Coenen lands an upkick. Refs stands them up. Coenen lands a big right and Cyborg responds with a left hook. The fighter exchange blows. Cyborg continues to land the left hook. Coenen grabs a clinch and pins Cyborg to the cage. Foot stomp by Coenen. Coenen lands a right elbow, followed by an uppercut backing away. Coenen misses with a right and gets nailed with a counter from Santos as the bell sounds.
Solid round for both fighters, but Cyborg gets the round, 10-9.
Round 2
Cyborg lands a left hook which floors Coenen and rushes straight into an upkick which stops her cold. Cybord postures over top and picks up Coenen for a slam. Cyborg circles like a hyena and pounces Coenen again. Coenen has a solid guard and ties up Cyborg. Coenen is nullifying Cyborg and she finally pulls out to stand up. Refs calls them to the center. Left kick to the body by Cyborg. Stiff jab by Cyborg, Coenen counters with right and Cyborg responds with another jab. Coenen goes for takedown, but Cyborg defends and gets it. Cyborg pulls off and Coenen looks for an upkick. Cyborg lands leg kicks and pounces with a head punch. Cyborg is over top Coenen along the cage as the round comes to an end.
Very strong round for Cyborg, 10-9.
Round 3
Cyborg’s cardio looks good as they open the round. Coenen goes under but Cyborg fends her off. Coenen doesn’t give up and drive Cyborg into the cage wall. Cyborg circles off the cage and lands a flurry of punches and kicks. Coenen goes for takedown and Cyborg overpowers her again. Cyborg lands a few blows to the head. Coenen is in solid guard position and is working her leg up for a triangle choke. Cyborg steps up and slip, allowing Coenen to stand up. Coenen lands a right hand bomb, but Cyborg is unphased. Cyborg lands a few shots, as Coenen goes under again only to be denied the takedown again. Cyborg is posturing up and landing blows at will. Coenen balls herself up and is showing no defense. The referee steps in and halts the fight.
Official Result: Santos by technical knockout at 3:40 of Round 3
Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis
Round 1
The fighters stare each other down as they receive their instructions. The fighters are exchanging big blows on each other. Zaromskis lands a knee which slows Diaz and Diaz moves for a clinch. Diaz is hammering knees to Zaromskis’ right leg. Diaz keeps working that leg, hoping to take Zaromskis leg kicks out of the fight. Zaromskis scrambles off the cage wall. The fighters exchange with Diaz getting the better of the exchange, beating Zaromskis to the punch. Zaromskis land a big left hook that floors Diaz. Zaromskis pounces and lands a hammer fist. Diaz is bleeding. Diaz recovers and gets to his feet. Diaz again beats Zaromskis to the punch and is landing sharp blows. Big right by Diaz rocks Zaromskis. A combination by Diaz. Zaromskis is taking a boatload of shots. Huge uppercut by Diaz and Zaromskis is hurt badly. Diaz is unloading punches and Zaromskis is somehow still standing. A right cross floors Zaromski, Diaz pounces and the referee halts the fight. Diaz wins the welterweight title.
Official Result: Diaz by technical knockout at 4:38
After numerous injuries, bout changes, last minute fight matchmaking and fan outcry about the televised main card, Strikeforce: Miami is finally here. You can bet Scott Coker and his team are happy this one in almost in the books and they can move forward towards their next event after the roller coaster they have been on for the last six weeks. The bright side after all of the craziness is that the fight is a can’t miss event in the middle of the two week NFL party leading up to the Super Bowl in South Florida.
Diaz Fights For Welterweight Title
The evening is highlighted by two championship bouts and two major name debuts. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will defend her championship against contender Marloes Coenen and Nick Diaz and Strikeforce newcomer Marius Zaromskis will square off for the vacant welterweight championship that was vacated by Cung Le. Former NFL running back Herschel Walker and former WWE professional wrestler Bobby Lashley will make their debuts with Strikeforce on the undercard.
Here’s the breakdown of the night’s main fights:
Jay Hieron vs Joe Riggs
Hieron is the jilted former lover of Strikeforce. Signing a contract with the promotion with the understanding he’d fight for the welterweight title, his bout with Nick Diaz was canceled in August after Diaz was unable to obtain a fight license. Now he’s fighting on a Diaz undercard, his title shot given to another fighter, and to top it off his fight won’t be telecast on Showtime. Something tells me I wouldn’t want to be Scott Riggs on Saturday night.
Hieron (18-4) will look to apply his boxing and wrestling skills to his advantage against the journeyman Riggs (32-10). Making his return to Strikeforce, Riggs poses a solid matchup for Hieron to prove the hype that is surrounding him. Riggs, a former UFC vet, holds victories over Diaz, Kendall Grove and Phil Baroni and is no slouch, ending 29 of his 32 victories before the bell.
Expect Hieron to exact some damage and send a message that he’s next in line for the title shot that was rightfully his. The Hierson vs. Riggs fight will be available via free internet video stream live at EASportsMMA.com.
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Former NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will make his MMA fighting debut versus Greg Nagy (1-1). Given the marketing dollars put behind Walker, you can expect that Nagy is a carefully chosen opponent that will make Walker look good. At age 47, Walker’s best days are way behind him and his body is worse for wear after the pounding he took in his NFL career. Expect a carnival show as Walker gets his first MMA victory.
Bobby Lashley vs Wes Sims
The former WWE’s pro wrestler’s debut had been up in the air as two fighters backed out on Lashley in recent weeks. Strikeforce was able to obtain a solid last minute replacement in securing former UFC vet and recent TUF 10 contestant, the resident comedian Wes Sims. Lashley (4-0) will make his Strikeforce debut and significantly step up his level of competition with the veteran Sims (22-12-1). After watching Sims get choked unconscious and having the cockiness slapped out of him by Justin Wren, expect Lashley to pound it out and dispatch of Sims with relative ease. It will be a solid stepping stone for Lashley as he becomes acclimated with the sport.
Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef
The likely fight of the night candidate for the event. Lawler (16-5) is coming of a bad loss to Jake Shields and hops back into the cage against the dangerous striker Manhoef (24-6-1). Both are finishers on their feet, with Lawler registering 13 stoppages in his 16 victories, while Manhoef has finshed 23 of his 24 victims with his strikes. You can bet the house that this fight will not end by submission. The key for Lawler is to get this fight to the canvas and take advantage of Manhoef’s weak defense. If Lawler keeps it on his feet, expect him to get rocked consistently by Manhoef’s shots.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
The champ Santos returns to the cage to make her first defense of her belt after a brilliant and dominating performance that ended the reign of Strikeforce’s female face, Gina Carano. Cyborg (8-1) will be pushed a little more by the accomplished Coenen (17-3). Coenen will want to get this fight to the ground quickly and test Cyborg’s cardio by taking the fight deep. The Carano fight showed some weaknesses in Cyborg’s game on the ground and Coenen will look to exploit this and fend off the expected all-out assault Cyborg will deliver in the first period. If Coenen can take this fight past the 2nd round, her chances of victory increase dramatically. Don’t be surprise if Coenen pulls out an unexpected victory.
Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis
Diaz (20-7) has been on a tear since his departure from the UFC, with only a doctor’s stoppage loss to K.J. Noons blemishing his record. Zaromskis (13-3) makes his USA and Strikeforce debut after winning the Dream 10 Welterweight Grand Prix with a vicious knockout of Jason High. For Diaz to pull out the victory, he will need to rely on his ground game as it appears that toe-to-toe, Zaromskis will eat him alive. Expect to see Diaz bring this fight to the mat and display the wide range of skills he has honed against top-level talent to hammer out a victory against the untested Zaromskis.
Strikeforce: Miami will air live on Showtime this Saturday night, with the main card beginning at 10pm EST.
In an interview with the Vancover Sun, the UFC has vowed to take legal action against both the companies broadcasting the pay-per-view events illegally across the web as well as the individuals who knowingly are watching these broadcast to avoid paying fees associated with the event.
UFC Preparing Piracy Crackdown
Zuffa head and casino magnet Lorenzo Fertitta recently testified in front of the US House Judiciary Committee during a referendum on internet piracy of sporting events. Fertitta shared on the record that his company monitored internet activity and uncovered 271 illegal streams of UFC 106, which aired on November 21, 2009. The streams had generated over 140,000 viewers.
Sites such as these have proliferated the web. One of the more visible players in this space is Justin.TV. Most of website are hosted in foreign companies, making it difficult for broadcast to bring legal suit in countries where copyright infringement is given a pass. These companies utilize blog boards to post comments and links to their websites that will air the fight illegally.
(At BenchwarmersUnited.com, it is our policy to delete comments promoting these illegal practices and we can share that we deleted more that 150 comment post over the last 2 weeks leading up to UFC 108 promoting internet piracy)
UFC President Dana White told the Vancouver Sun, “It’s going to be a battle, man, but I’m ready to [expletive] fight. We’re gonna go after them, we’re gonna go after them hard, and we’re gonna hurt them. When people start going to jail, people will stop doing it.”
The timing of UFC announcement that they plan to crackdown on internet piracy is interesting to say the least. The organization is struggling to generate the quality fight cards it once did, its top stars are aging and the UFC has been hit heavily by the injury bug.
While UFC boasts PPV sales in the six-digit neighborhood, most industry observers believe the numbers fall quite short of these figures given that UFC refuses to allow a third-party audit their books. Following a head-to-head competition in September between the Mayweather/Marquez boxing match and UFC 103, Golden Boy Promotions President Rich Schaefer challenged UFC to an audit of PPV sales after Dana White said the UFC would outsell them that night. The UFC declined the invitation as rumors circled that sales were less than 20% of the boxing card. That night’s headliner was a “contender” fight between soon-to-be-retired Rich Franklin and previously-UFC-banished Vitor Belfort,
More concerning are the inroads being made by other organizations in obtaining television deals that offer fans MMA fights for free or at less substantial costs. Strikeforce has struck a deal with Showtime and CBS to air its events. Bellator scored a major deal with FoxSports Network, Univision and NBC. And Dream and Sengoku have deals with HDNet to air their events. Free mixed martial arts is proliferating the television cable box.
The once mighty UFC is facing strong competition like never before and it has found itself in the middle of a struggling economy where consumers will choose free MMA rather than paying $50 per event, especially when the pay-per-view cards don’t carry a title fight. The announcement of fighting piracy comes about shortly after what most industry observers deemed a lackluster event at UFC 108.
Is the timing a coincidence. We shall know more as 2010 plays out and UFC is stuck with a second-tier TV broadcasting arrangement with Spike TV.
Scott Smith (17-6) stole the show in San Jose, scoring a stunning come-from-behind knockout of former Strikeforce middleweight champions Cung Le (6-1). Smith was being dominated in all aspects of the fight before landing a short left hook that dropped Le to a knee. Smith pounced to close out the fight, scoring the knockout at 3:25 of the third round.
The fight marked the comeback of Le, the previously undefeated MMA champ and world champion kickboxer. Le had taken a 20 month hiatus from the sport since his highlight reel victory over MMA legend Frank Shamrock to win the championship. Instead of defending his title, Le set out on a movie career with a successful release of his movie “Fighter” in April 2009 and the upcoming Tekken. Strikeforce subsequently stripped Le of his belt due to inactivity.
Le’s defeat is stunning in of itself, but more shocking in that this was considered to be a tune up fight. Smith, while a solid fighter, had no victories against substantial competition, losing all the major fights of his career. Le’s resume included a 22-0 kickboxing record and a 17-0 record in Sanshoum, a form of Chinese Kung Fu. Tonight’s defeat was the first in Le’s career in any fighting style. It was a mismatch of grand proportion on paper, but that why they keep the cage locked until the final bell.
The defeat halt’s Le’s progression back to the top of the middleweight conversation at Strikeforce. Le’s inactivity, coupled with his relative MMA inexeperience does not warrant contender status in the division. While his Jackie Chan style of fighting is exciting to watch, total reliance on spinning back kicks and leg strikes leaves a fighter open to counter attacks. And that’s exactly what happened this evening when a second-tier fighter such as Scott Smith knocked him out, leaving him bloodied at the nose and with multiple hematomas on his forehead.
Le still has tremendous upside, but it will take learning how to grapple and dedicating himself to the sport.
Gilbert Melendez (17-2) shed the interim title from his Lightweight championship belt, unifying the division title with an impressive victory over Josh Thomson. With the victory, Melendez avenged a previous loss to Thomson (16-3), to whom he lost the title. In the process, they may have just earned 2009’s fight of the year. Although Melendez won the fight convincingly, earning scores of 49-47, 49-46 and 49-46, Thomson showed heart and determination by continuously coming forward.
Right from the bell, this fight was an all out brawl. Both fighters put martial arts techniques aside and turned this bout into a street fight that rarely found the canvas. Each fighter stunned the other and both had their opportunities to take the upper hand.
The difference in the fight came down to Melendez’s ability to get his punches off quicker, stay more active and unleash flurries of punches. Punch stat number showed that Melendez threw more than double the strikes of Thomson, frustrating Thomson throughout the bout due to Melendez’s speed and counter strikes. Melendez also fended off Thomson’s takedown attempts, a big difference from their first fight.
Thomson entered the cage after a 15 month layoff due to various injuries. His time away from the cage was evident, as he appeared slow and loafing from the start. Melendez took advantage, getting a clear cut victory with a dominating performance.
Despite the Melendez showcase, it was disappointing to see Strikeforce force Thomson back into the cage not only too soon, but also without a primer fight to get back into a fighting groove. Where former champ Cung Lee gets a warm-up fight as the night’s headliner, Thomson’s desire to schedule the fight in January due to his injury recovery was declined by Strikeforce executives.
Strikeforce owes Josh Thomson a re-match with Melendez soon given their actions that may have led to Thomson being unprepared for the bout. Hopefully this matchup will occur sooner than later, as it will no doubt be another entertaining affair. While Strikeforce is in a heated battle with UFC, the promotion’s success should not supercede the welfare of the fighter.
UFC 107 has come and gone, finalizing a less than exciting year for the leading mixed martial arts promotion. Racked with injuries, fighter defections, controversial results and upstart promotional competition from Strikeforce and Bellator, the year couldn’t have ended sooner for Zuffa and its President Dana White. UFC enters 2010 in a very weird position and last night’s awful mismatch between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez personifies the problem.
The UFC, outside of its Light Heavyweight division really doesn’t have one marketable championship fight any time in the near future. Its champions BJ Penn, George St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar really don’t have any competitive fights on the horizon. These are the headline fighters of the organization and the UFC basically has nobody of quality for them to fight.
BJ Penn’s destruction of Diego Sanchez last night was the prime example. Dana White gave us the Vince McMahon sale that Diego Sanchez was the unquestioned second best lightweight fighter in the world and that Penn was going to get his first real test. Sanchez told us he was going to storm across the cage, attack Penn like nobody has before and take him down to the mat for a beating.
None of this transpired.
Instead, Penn manhandled Sanchez like a rag doll and displayed just how weak the talent level is in the UFC at lightweight. Sanchez, the former TUF 1 Champion, displayed no real martial arts skills. His fighting approach that got his the championhsip fight invite was to bullrush, takedown and pound. Last night, the talented Penn nullified these basic skills, fended off every weak takedown attempt and handed out one of the most brutal beatings ever seen in the cage. So if Sanchez really was #2 as Dana White told us, Penn is out of competitors to fight under the UFC banner.
This leads us to the problem with the UFC…its refusal to cross promote. What killed boxing were promoters that overprotected their fighters, controlled the matchups and didn’t deliver the fights people demanded to see. Multiple title holders from different organizations that were not making the fights to protect and hold their crowns. Dana White is displaying his Napoleanistic complex and is dooming the sport in front of our eyes.
Fans are calling for the UFC to sign new top lightweight fighters. The bloom is off the rose. The fans will only drink so much kool-aid. People have figured out that they are not being served shinola now.
Every forum board last night online had discussion threads discussing what fight matchups would look like for Penn with all the great lightweights that are not fighting at UFC. Even commentator Joe Rogan called for it during the broadcast, something I am sure he will get admonished for by Zuffa. The UFC can make these matchups and they don’t have to sign anybody.
Penn is in the driver seat now to help take MMA mainstream. He can push UFC to start cross-promoting to make the biggest fights for him or threaten to bolt to another promotion that will do so. He has reached the point in his career where he controls his destiny, not the UFC.
The fights that matter for Penn which hold the greatest monetary take for him reside with fighters in other organizations. The fans don’t want to see him maul another second-rate UFC fighter. They want to see him fight Dream’s Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri or Joachim Hansen. They want to see him square off against Bellator’s Eddie Alvarez or Jorge Masvidal. Or perhaps throw him in the cage with Sengoku’s Mizuto Hirota. These are the fights that fans want to see, not matchups against an overrated 10 loss fighter like Joe Stevenson or a wrestler with no martial arts skills like Gray Maynard.
As this year comes to end, UFC needs to make some big decisions on how it runs its business and its impact on the sport as a whole. The WWE coattails that have been ridden thus far need to be cut and the UFC needs to recognize it is a promotion, not a league or “sports entertainment”. The sooner this happens the better.
Strikeforce announced today they have signed the immensely popular former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley (4-0) to a multiple fight contract. Lashley will compete in the heavyweight division at Strikeforce, adding to a division group that includes Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and former Olympian Daniel Cormier. Lashley is expected to debut on Strikeforce January 30, 2010 card.
The major signing comes on the heels of Strikeforce’s reported signing earlier this week of former UFC star Dan Henderson who will likely compete in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. Lashley bolsters the heavyweight division given his name recognition and solid start to his MMA career. Choosing to go with Strikeforce has the industry abuzz Strikeforce now has more talent depth than the UFC, a huge chink in the armor for the leading promotion.
Leading up to the Strikeforce signing, Lashley’s career has been more carnival than sport. In his bout under Maximum Fighting Championships, his opponent Mike Cook (7-5) donned a mask during his cage entry to mock Lashley’s former professional wrestling gig. Lashley went on to dispatch Cook in 24 seconds.
Lashley’s handlers made matters worse with his next MMA fight, pitting him against Bob Sapp under the Fight Force International promotion. Sapp is a Japanese fighting treasure due to unusually large size, but brings forward limited fighting skills. Lashley won the circus-natured fight by submission through punches at 3:17 of the first round.
Regardless of where Lashley has come from, he is a true athlete with real fighting skills. To date, he has just taken bad advisement from his management team and focused on quick money by utilizing his name recognition. In signing with Strikeforce, it shows Lashley is committed to the sport. It will be interesting to see how he fares against increasing competition and whether he can make a similar transition such as Brock Lesnar.
It has been a whirlwind week in the sport of MMA with a rash of signings of top talent. Strikeforce’s announcements of Lashley and Henderson coupled with Bellator’s announcements of former Olympian Ben Askren and Jacob McClintock have highlighted a big week of news. Interestingly, the UFC has been dropping fighters while losing out on major signings. A new day appears to be dawning and UFC’s grip on the MMA appears to be loosening.
The Bellator Fighting Championship today announced the signing of former Olympian and 2-time NCAA Champion Ben Askren to compete in its upcoming 2nd season. Askren, sporting a 3-0 MMA record, is a 2008 Olympian and 2-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, NCAA wrestling’’s version of the Heisman Trophy. He comes to Bellator as the most decorated United States wrestler ever to enter the MMA cage.
Considered to be the top MMA prospect not aligned with a major MMA promotion, the signing of Askren is a major coup for the upstart Bellator on the heels of its announcement of a national broadcast deal just a few weeks ago. Speculation on what major MMA promotion would sign Askren had been in the air for weeks. MMAJunkie.com incorrectly reported an imminent contractual signing in October with Strikeforce.
With respect to Askren’s decision to sign with Bellator, it signals a wake-up call to organizations such as Strikeforce and UFC to develop the next wave of fighters. Given just 3 professional fights, Bellator’s tournament approach provides a platform for the budding MMA superstar to hone his skills and grow as a fighter as he moves through the tournament.
In contrast, organizations such as Strikeforce and UFC would have rushed Askren to the cage and paired him with its top talent immediately to monetize the marketing value of his name. Recently, UFC cut 3-time NCAA champ Jake Rosholt after losing his second fight despite many observers believing that Rosholt is on track for future stardom.
“I am very happy to welcome Ben to Bellator,” said Bjorn Rebney, founder and CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships. “Ben’s an exciting fighter with unlimited potential and an unparalleled list of Olympic and collegiate accomplishments. We believe he can become a true force in this sport. As an MMA fan, I can’t wait for Ben’s first fight in our tournament on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo this April.”
Bellator, which sports a tournament style approach, pits 8 mixed martial arts fighters in a standard tourney bracket in a winner-takes-all approach. Unlike other promotions, Bellator does not create handpicked matchups for its fighters competing for the championship belt. In the upcoming season 2, the winner of the tournament receives an automatic shot at the current titleholder in the weight class.
Askren, on his decision to sign with Bellator shared, “I like that my fights are going to broadcast nationally, I like the tournament-style format and I love the opportunity to be a part of something exciting and new. I plan on winning Bellator. My goal, as it always has been, is to be the best in the world.”
With his signing, Askren will enter the welterweight (170 lbs.) tournament division. If he is able to pull of three victories, he will earn the right to fight current Bellator champion, undefeated Lyman Good (10-0).
Bellator’s will be featured live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates beginning April 8, 2010. A weekly 30-minute highlights show of each week’s events will be aired every late nights on Saturdays on NBC. Telemundo will carry a taped-delay Spanish-translated replay every Saturday night at midnight.
Many questions were in the air in Las Vegas on Saturday, as Kimbo Slice took to the octagon for his first official UFC fight. While much of the focus was on Slice, the spotlight should have been placed on Dana White.
Once upon a time, Dana White told MMA fans that Kimbo Slice was a joke to the sport and would never see the inside of the octagon unless he won The Ultimate Fighter. Well, Kimbo didn’t win TUF and was invited into the octagon anyways. So what’s the deal?
The deal is that the UFC is more about sports entertainment than it is about sport these days. Built on the foundation of following WWE shows on Spike, UFC sold itself out long ago by appealing to folks that think Vince McMahon’s product is actually real. The recipe: build story lines, deliver the drama and then send some sensational athletes out there to display their acrobatic skill.
During the TUF 10 Finale last night, UFC came closer to becoming sports entertainment than any time in its history. Kimbo Slice was matched up with an undersized light heavyweight named Houston Alexander, a huge flop in the UFC that got brought back for a staged feeding. The story line we were sold was that Alexander was a skilled fighter that was desperately trying to get back into the UFC and that Slice was his way back in.
In my years of watching MMA, this fight now rates #1 on the worst fights I’ve ever seen. It made me come away with a feeling like it was staged. This is not just because of the EliteXC debacle with Slice, its what was displayed in the cage. Alexander refused to initiate action, circling and running throughout. He never attempted an aggressive move for 15 minutes. This was not a guy desperate for his path back in.
Here is my analysis of what went down:
First, Alexander was taken down into a ground-and-pound position with Slice in side control. As most wrestlers know, you never lay on your hips on the side without your leg hooks in, otherwise the other guy will step over or roll you. But here was Slice, lying on the side of his hip with Alexander making no attempt to breakout despite his center of gravity being higher. Needless to say, a bantamweight could have turned the tide on Slice given his awful positioning. These are basic you learn during pee wee wrestling.
Second, Alexander was continually attacking with lower leg kicks. Part of the “story” was that Slice was experiencing serious arthritis in the knee. At one point in the fight, Slice was chopped down to the mat by a leg kick from Alexander. Rather than pouncing on the fallen opponent, Alexander hesitated, backed off and then made a half attempt to make it look like he thought about attacking. It was pathetic.
Finally, in the closing seconds, Alexander clearly rocked Slice with a shot to the head as the fighters brawled. Slice went stumbling backwards, clearly affected by the shot with less than 10 seconds left. Given the closeness of the fight, Alexander needed the round to win. Again, instead of pouncing like a fighter “desperate” for a victory, Alexander hesitated and never tried to go for the kill.
Needless to say, this was one of the most despicable displays of fighting I’ve witnessed in the cage. More shocking is the commentary on MMA blogs and forums off people discussing the fight that have limited to no knowledge on fighting skills.
The final word. Kimbo Slice’s skills have not improved at all. Houston Alexander never attempted to fight him and we’ll all be left puzzled to the answers behind his decision not to aggressively attack.
The UFC will likely continue to promote this carnival sideshow that is Kimbo Slice. Basically, Kimbo equals dollar signs. While he seems to be a nice guy, he’s just not a skilled fighter and he hurts the credibility of the sport. He’s become the Mike Tyson sideshow of MMA.
The UFC went back on its word that Slice would never enter the ring and not one media outlet and saying boo. Where was the media hammering Dana White for not keeping his word? Why was he not taken to task as a sellout?
Congratulations Dana White, the crown has been passed from Vince McMahon as the greatest promoter of sports entertainment.
Thankfully for sports purists, Strikeforce is making in roads in great strides and Bellator will be back in April with live weekly telecasts.
A mystique hovers over this man, simply known as Fedor by mixed martial arts fans. Having fought almost exclusively in Japan, Fedor was an unknown entity to most MMA fans here in the USA, leaving them blood thirsty for a chance to learn more about him. Last night, the Russian phenom was given his grand stage, a national primetime broadcast audience on CBS, and he didn’t leave the fans disappointed as he pushed his record to 31-1 with a TKO victory over previously unbeaten Brett Rogers (10-1) at the Strikeforce / M-1 Global event.
A matchup between a standup brawler in Rogers and the sambo expert Emelianenko was sure to be electric with action and it started right at the bell. Rogers was the first to draw blood, literally, with a snapping jab that broke Emelianenko’s nose just seconds into the fight, sending a flow of blood streaming onto the fighters’ bodies and the mat.
Rogers was able dictate the pace early in the first round and place Emelianenko on the defensive. Rogers even impressed on the ground, Emelianenko’s domain, fending off a quick submission attempt with relative ease. The nine-year veteran Emelianenko maintained his calm demeanor in the cage and waited for his opening as Rogers continued his aggressive approach. As the first round wore on, Emelianenko shifted the momentum of the fight, scoring both on his feet and on the ground as the round came to a close.
As the second round began, Emelianenko had the air of confidence as he came to center while Rogers appeared somewhat winded. Rogers showed hesitancy to keep the fight in a boxing / striking mode given the shots delivered by Emelianenko and changed his strategy to clinchig along the cage wall. After some inaction, referee “Big” John McCarthy moved the fight back to center and that is where it ended. With a cat-like pouncing attack, Emelianenko landed a right hook that crumpled Rogers to the canvas and brought the TKO stoppage at 1:48 of the second round.
The six-plus minutes that Emelianenko waged in the cage displayed to Americans that the title of best pound-for-pound MMA fighters is certainly deserved. Emelianenko brings forward a combination of power, agility, precision, determination and technique that is not present in other fighters within the sport. He displayed capabilities that showed exactly how far behind his opponents are in the heavyweight division. It is a rarity to see a man of this size put on an exhibition of skills normally seen in fighters half his size.
So what does Emelianenko’s victory and Strikeforce’s CBS event mean to the sport of MMA? First, it displayed that the UFC has not cornered the market on talent. Placing the current UFC champ Brock Lesnar into the cage with Emelianenko would be criminal given Lesnar’s complete lack of martial arts experience. Strikeforce, along with other burgeoning MMA promotions like DREAM and Bellator, are showing MMA fans that they can look beyond the recent slate of disappointing UFC events.
Second, it has brought a spotlight to the mainstream sports viewing audience that MMA is more sport than carnival atmosphere that has been radiating from UFC’s entanglement with Spike’s pro wrestling audience and the TUF reality show which is more like the TV show Big Brother than a training ground to find the next contender.
For Emelianenko and Strikeforce, the question is what’s next? With reports circulating at Sherdog that Emelianenko broke his nose and injured his hand, there may be a delay until the next fight as he recuperates from the injury. Rumors are swirling that his next fight under the Strikeforce banner will come against Fabricio Werdum, a unanimous decision winner on last night’s undercard. After that, it appears a matchup against Alistair Overeem should he re-dedicate himself to MMA rather than dallying in kickboxing. But are these the fights we want to see?
Inevitably it comes down to Emelianenko finding a way to come to terms with Dana White and the UFC to end the debate, as it will not cease until Emelianenko figuratively puts a sock in White’s mouth once and for all and dismantles his overhyped champion Brock Lesnar. Here’s hoping that White will see the light and realize the sport of MMA needs fights across promotions for its long-term success and that Emelianenko can take MMA to the next level of respectability in sports fan eyes.
