StrikeForce planning for an 8 man Heavyweight Tournament in 2011

[IC Champion]

http://www.lowkick.com/Strikeforce/StrikeForce-planning-for-an-8-man-Heavyweight-Grand-Prix-tournament-in-2011-11289

StrikeForce planning for an 8 man Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament in 2011

Californian based MMA Promotion StrikeForce are set to hold an 8 man Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament in 2011. The tournament is set to feature some of StrikeForce's best known talent and will include their reigning Heavyweight Champion Alistair ''The Demolition Man'' Overeem, who won the K-1 World Grand Prix last weekend in Saitama, Japan.

Alongside the Reem, fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Big Foot Silva, Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, and Sergei Kharitonov are all set the feature in the tournament. The fighters are all in negotiations about taking part, it is unknown whether or not the scheduled bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Silva will serve as part of the tournament.

The tournament will take place over three different events, unlike some of the Grand Prix's that take place in just one night. The Athletic commissions in America are very hesitant to approve of one night tournaments, so this shouldn't be a problem for StrikeForce.

[IC Champion]

This would be awesome, but I'm not so optimistic Strikeforce can make it happen.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

No lashley?

[IC Champion]

LOL, Lashley has would get murdered by everyone of those guys.

[Impact!]

I doubt it

[Impact!]

Also that's in reference to the tournament, not Lashley getting destroyed (he would absolutely get murdered).

[Next Big Thing]

If Overeem is the champion why the fuck are they doing a tournament? Why can't they just put the match ups people want to see together? It's not hard. Alistair vs. Werdum for the heavyweight title since Werdum beat Fedor. Fedor vs. Big Foot for the # 1 contender spot. Winners fight winners. Losers fight losers and let the other guys sort it out.

[IC Champion]

Because a tournament would be awesome, and give them something to gte noticed by the casual fan.

[Next Big Thing]

I don't see how this gets the casual fan interested. A tournament over three events might as well just be separate matches instead.

Their heavyweight champion has defended the belt once in the last three years but now Coker's going to be able to get him to do a tournament? Fedor has renegotiated with Strikeforce after every fight he's had. They're renegotiating with him now... and he's coming off a fucking loss! Plus Fedor hasn't fought more than two times since 2005 so I don't see him participating in a tournament taking place over three events.

Look at the names they're including outside of Overeem and Fedor. CSAC hasn't even reinstated Barnett yet and Barnett is a guy who has failed a steroid test three times. Doubt the fans will be clamoring to see him. Brett Rogers isn't a name people want to see either. He's already lost big time to Fedor and Overeem. Arlovski, while I love him to death, isn't much better because he's lost to Rogers, Silva and Fedor all consecutively, so if you're the casual fan, you've already seen him get beat on t.v.

And again, it's not like all of these fights would be taking place in one night which would mean at least two of the events will be Fedor and Overeem KOing people they've already KOed. Why not just cut the bullshit and have the top four heavyweights, Fedor, Overeem, Silva and Werdum fight each other for the championship and number one contender spots?

[MoFo]

Im convinced Barnett will fail another drug test and this whole tournament will fall apart.

[Next Big Thing]

Im convinced Barnett will fail another drug test and this whole tournament will fall apart.

Barnett's testosterone is probably so low from the years of steroid abuse that he could get Chael's shady doctor to give him a script.

I think it's more likely that Fedor and Overeem will make it to the finals and the fight will never take place because M1 will demand to renegotiate again. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if Bellator surpasses Strikeforce as the #2 MMA company in the next five years.

James Toney vs. Herschel Walker would probably draw more casual fans than the first two events of that tournament. Hell, a Gina Carano weigh in would probably draw more casual fans than the opening fights of that tournament.

[MoFo]

I think it's more likely that Fedor and Overeem will make it to the finals and the fight will never take place because M1 will demand to renegotiate again.


Yeah, that as well. Way too many obstacles to overcome. It would end up like the Showtime Super 6 with fighters pulling out and shit.

[IC Champion]

If it happens it's gonna be a big deal, the novelty of a tournament alone will attract viewers, and help gain some recognition for Strikeforce.

[IC Champion]

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5989025


Shit starts if feburary, makes me hard to think about it.

[IC Champion]

Fedor/Silva should be interesting, Silva had trouble with Mike Kyle in the stand up in his last fight, so I hope we get to see Fedor smash his face in.

Overeem/Werdum should also be epic.

[IC Champion]

Nobody else gives a fuck, really? Come on people, it a heavyweight tournament with some of the best in the world, no anyone?

[Reavant]

apparently it is happening. andrei has been training for it

[Krimzon7]

and, i give a fuck

[weather vane]

Sounds mint

[IC Champion]

apparently it is happening. andrei has been training for it

I'd love to see Arlovski get a win or two,.

[MoFo]

^^ Same. Think he'll get smashed by Barnett tho, thats if he makes it out of the first round. Such a disappointment recently.

Wanna see Overeem/Werdum pretty bad tho.

[IC Champion]

Whoevers comes out of this will have a very strong case for being the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world, especially if it's Werdum, Overeem or Fedor.

[IC Champion]

^^ Same. Think he'll get smashed by Barnett tho, thats if he makes it out of the first round. Such a disappointment recently.

Wanna see Overeem/Werdum pretty bad tho.

I think Arlovski just needs to find a better camp, like Jackson or Xtreme Couture, I don't think it's so much Arlovski has fallen off as everybody else has gotten that much better. He used to be the best boxer at HW, now he's being outstruck by Antonio Silva.

[IC Champion]

I know Freddy Roach was his boxing coach, no idea who his MMA coach is.

[The Mask]

i care about werdum/overeem and the winner probably fighting fedor. but other than that i don't give a toss. i don't think werdum could beat fedor again anyway, he just overcommitted last time and got caught out.

[Krimzon7]

I'm not sure why, but the brackets have a 'anti climatic' feel to it. I mean if Werdum beats Overeem, then beats Fedor again...I mean it wouldn't matter who came out the other bracket. Barnett and Arlovski are 'names' but c'mon son! I can't see them winning UNLESS this was a one night tourney.

But crazier things have happended.

and I can't wait to watch!

[Krimzon7]

i care about werdum/overeem and the winner probably fighting fedor. but other than that i don't give a toss. i don't think werdum could beat fedor again anyway, he just overcommitted last time and got caught out.


I'm sure we can argue this point down, but Fedor didn't just get 'caught out'.
Werdum put a gorgeous display of jits from his guard. He went for the triangle, transitioned to an armbar, and finished with both! Fedor didn't stand a chance.

And I love you Mask, I just don't want to diminish the beautiful display of Jiu Jitsu that Werdum displayed in closing that fight out.

[The Mask]

i'm not saying he did though :'( its more that when you're whooping a world class bjj guy on his feet in the first minute you don't necessarily have to jump into his guard to finish the fight. anderson silva doesn't jump in when he knocks most guys down.

[Krimzon7]

but GOT DAMN!!!! I wanna see Overeem/Werdum! I wanna see Overeem/Fedor! and I wanna see Overeem/Barnett.

The way it plays out this would definitely cement SF's heavy weight champ as the baddest man on the planet

[Next Big Thing]

but GOT DAMN!!!! I wanna see Overeem/Werdum! I wanna see Overeem/Fedor! and I wanna see Overeem/Barnett.

The way it plays out this would definitely cement SF's heavy weight champ as the baddest man on the planet

It depends on who wins. If it's Overeem or Fedor then yes. If Werdum wins out then not so much considering how Junior Dos Santos dismantled Werdum when they fought.

Of course, there's no real way we can tell because the UFC guys will never fight the Strikeforce guys, but as of right now... in my humble opinion, Strikeforce has the more appealing heavyweight roster on paper.

[Reavant]

I think Arlovski just needs to find a better camp, like Jackson or Xtreme Couture, I don't think it's so much Arlovski has fallen off as everybody else has gotten that much better. He used to be the best boxer at HW, now he's being outstruck by Antonio Silva.

I know Freddy Roach was his boxing coach, no idea who his MMA coach is.

Thats not what his problem was in the silva fight. I didnt find out until recently and it will probably come out after his next fight because he wont be able to hide it.

[IC Champion]

Well now I need to know what it is. Also tell him to fucking shave that ridiculous beard already.

[IC Champion]

I just read that he actually started training with Jackson after he lost to Rogers. Can't blame him, no way someone with his supposed boxing skill should be getting knocked out by Rogers.

[Krimzon7]

Interesting read here...sounds a lot like Pride, but totally feels like a potential clusterfuck.

Humbly submitted for your reading pleasure:

Contrary to initial reports, Alistair Overeem (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alistair-Overeem-461)’s Strikeforce heavyweight title will not be on the line at any point during the promotion’s upcoming heavyweight grand prix.

Since the eight-man, single-elimination tournament was formally announced in early January, word has circulated that Overeem’s title would be up for grabs in each of the champion’s bouts. During a Thursday media conference call (http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Audio-Fedor-Silva-Conference-Call-2824), Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker clarified both the rules and structure of the tournament.

“The winner of the final match will be crowned Strikeforce World Grand Prix champion, and he’ll receive an opportunity to fight for the Strikeforce heavyweight belt at that time,” Coker explained. If Overeem were to come out on top, Coker said that Strikeforce would look at having the reigning champ fight an opponent whom he did not meet in the tournament.

Along with Overeem, the bracket includes such notable heavyweights as Fedor Emelianenko (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Fedor-Emelianenko-1500), Fabricio Werdum (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Fabricio-Werdum-8390), Antonio Silva (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Antonio-Silva-12354), Josh Barnett (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Josh-Barnett-272) and Andrei Arlovski (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Andrei-Arlovski-270). The tournament is set to begin on Feb. 12 at Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Silva,” (http://www.sherdog.com/events/Strikeforce-Fedor-vs-Silva-15667) which takes place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The promotion is still shopping for a location and date for the tournament’s second round. Coker stated that “pending injuries, the semifinals would be late June, July.”

While it was initially thought that each tournament bout would consist of five, five-minute rounds, all quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be scheduled for the standard three five-minute periods. Only the tournament final remains a five-round affair.

“We just didn’t feel that it was fair for one person to fight five rounds, one person to fight three rounds,” said Coker. “There was debate about, well, should the final fight -- which is five rounds -- be a title fight? But then, what if Alistair wasn’t there? It just became very confusing.”

In the case that any of the tournament’s matches are ruled a draw, Coker revealed that a fourth judge will be on hand to score the bout independently and select a winner “based on overall performance.” The rule is similar to that of longtime official Nelson “Doc” Hamilton’s proposed Martial Arts Specific Scoring system.

Of course, with any tournament comes the possibility of a participant being sidelined by injury. While a trio of reserve bouts has been booked for the Feb. 12 event, Coker said that the selection process for a replacement fighter, if needed, would be more involved than a simple swap.

“If a fighter qualifies to advance in the tournament but, for any reason, cannot advance, we’re forming a five-person tournament review committee who will select a fighter to advance in his place,” said Coker. “This fighter will be chosen from a pool of fighters that includes the previous opponent and the winners of the reserve matches.”

Heading the tournament review committee will be Strikeforce rules director Cory Schafer. Names of the other tournament committee members and further tournament rules are expected to be released shortly.

[MoFo]

Dan Henderson is not a heavyweight, but he told Strikeforce he’d consider competing in the promotion’s upcoming heavyweight tournament.

“They had kind of approached me about fighting in that heavyweight tournament just to see how I’d feel about it,” Henderson revealed recently during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I told them I was open to it. It was interesting. Definitely a huge challenge, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m still in the sport, just to challenge myself.”

Henderson is no stranger to fighting in tournaments or against heavier competition. After winning two four-man tournaments to start his career, he captured the 32-man Rings “King of Kings” field in February 2000. En route to the finals he won a split decision over future heavyweight great Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

“I think there’s a couple of matchups that would have been interesting for me or fun to do,” Henderson said of the Strikeforce tournament. “I don’t think I would have won the tournament by any means, but possibly. Of course I said that when I went into that Rings ‘King of Kings’ tournament. I didn’t think I was going to win it, but I was going to do my best.”

Henderson, who has competed as light as 183 pounds, said his participation was nixed because Strikeforce had no trouble finding heavyweights. The field is strong with Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, Andrei Arlovski, Sergei Kharitonov, Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers.

The tournament will play out over multiple events, meaning no one will have to fight more than once in a single night. Although Henderson understands the value of letting fighters come in fresh, he doesn’t disagree with how tournaments were run earlier in his career either. On four occasions he fought multiple times in the same night.

“There’s also something to seeing what some of these fighters are made of on the inside and making them push through two or three fights in a night,” Henderson said.

Strikeforce plans on completing the tournament this year, meaning someone will have to win three fights in 2011. Henderson likes the odds on two fighters in particular.

“I would probably have to put money on either Fedor or Overeem,” he said. “Overeem hasn’t really been tested lately past the first few minutes of a fight. He’s a monster. He’s a beast these days.”

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0TrtpPuDmX8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0vsiY7cGSNM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dGlH8hx5TO0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kV_McBn421I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/shTcywY6_Jg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xifOQyfhaZI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cgkggahjzQo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CU00yxo_Tqs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AqFXA-z-57k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IC Champion]

I want to be more excited, Im sure it will get bigger when Saturday comes.

Also, if Arlovski doesn't win, I'm holding Reavant responsible.

[Reavant]

i trained with him twice before this event and it was before the event was announced. :p

[Grablot]

This will be a moment that define Fedore's future imo. If he loses here he will be realized as washed up. If he wins then his loss will have less impact. But I think there is a good chance he will loose against Silva IMO what do u think?

[Jura]

I'm backing Fedor.

[Next Big Thing]

Antonio Silva's chin is so big he might as well paint a bullseye on it. I think Fedor's gonna get a first round KO.

[Jura]

Arlovski vs the other dude up next.

[Next Big Thing]

Time for Arlovski to hang em up.

[RoXer]

Down goes your boy

[Jura]

Gina Carano to return to the cage soon. Here comes the Last Emperor.

[SuperSlim]

where is everyone watching this?

[Next Big Thing]

That 2nd round was fucking amazing to watch!

[Next Big Thing]

Holy shit. Stoppage! Silva won.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

Fans can boo all they want, Silva fucked him up and no way Fedor should be allowed to continue with his eye like that. Holy shit.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

Fedor just got pwned.

Sherdog forums have crashed.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I bet Fedor is wishing he would have taken that UFC contract.

[Jura]

That sucked. Fight was stopped because Fedor's eye is swollen shut. I was ready for the last round. I was thinking how Fedor constantly goes up against guys much bigger and heavier than him.

[Next Big Thing]

Nothing sucked about that fight at all. Fedor showed a hell of a lot of guts to take those shots when he was mounted and skill in avoiding being submitted by a much bigger BJJ black belt. His eye got thrashed and there was no way he should have been allowed to continue.

Somewhere Dana White has a huge shit eating grin on his face.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

Holy shit, the legend retires?!

[Jura]

Nothing sucked about that fight at all. Fedor showed a hell of a lot of guts to take those shots when he was mounted and skill in avoiding being submitted by a much bigger BJJ black belt. His eye got thrashed and there was no way he should have been allowed to continue.

Somewhere Dana White has a huge shit eating grin on his face.

I didn't say the fight sucked. I said it sucked that it ended early.

Fedor's got a bunch of cuts and bruises all over his face and some nasty ones behind his ear and either side of his neck.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

:)

[Next Big Thing]

I didn't say the fight sucked. I said it sucked that it ended early.

Fedor's got a bunch of cuts and bruises all over his face and some nasty ones behind his ear and either side of his neck.

I kind of felt bad for him when he was walking back down the aisle and I saw how cut up and bruised he was. He stayed so humble throughout and it sucks to see a legend have to go out like that.

Dana did that :) after he lost to Werdum too. I didn't mind it then, but it wasn't necessary this time around.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Holy shit, the legend retires?!

For the best. he went out fighting like a fucking man, and there's no point in just letting his skills deteriorate and trying to recapture oldd glory.

[Next Big Thing]

By the way, who gives a shit about Gina Carano coming back!? Why did they feel the need to hype that. Amanda Nunes ass > Gina Carano anyways.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

By the way, who gives a shit about Gina Carano coming back!? Why did they feel the need to hype that. Amanda Nunes ass > Gina Carano anyways.

Because Gina has a ton of name value? I hate to say it, but the majority of fans in MMA are new fans or casual viewers which means Hot + Name Value (Gina) = Asses in seats. Same reason Arlovski somehow had like 20 percent of the vote tonight and Fabricio only had 3.

[Jura]

I was trying to see if they sold that jacket Fedor was wearing earlier. His shirt looks better on TV than it does on sites.

Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers on April 9th possibly. Will Barnett actually stay clean and get to compete? Kind of freaky how big Overeem looks.

[Icess]

By the way, who gives a shit about Gina Carano coming back!? Why did they feel the need to hype that. Amanda Nunes ass > Gina Carano anyways.

At least announce a fight....

Or talk about something...

Or bite your lip....

Possibly show your tits...

[Jura]

Kharitonov is 1-0 vs Werdum and 1-1 vs Overeem with the most recent win going to Kharitonov so do you guys think there's a good chance this dude will actually win the grand prix if the finals are him going up against either of the two?

[Icess]

If it stays standing, or if a guy just wants to counter.

It's MMA, "where anything is possible".... Really.

[Icess]

Sherdog crashed harder than T-Dub on Diesel's return/

[MoFo]

Josh Barnett has it all bagged up

:D

[Brujesino]

I cried seeing fedor lose.:'(

[IC Champion]

Fedor doesn't need to retire, he needs to drop to LW where he won't have to face monsters who have 55 pounds on him.

[IC Champion]

Or you know, do a pull or two.

[Icess]

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/2/13/1991003/strikeforce-fedor-vs-silva-fedor-emelianenkos-incredible-career

Take his cock out of your mouth, and fuck off with the Randy bit. Fedor is a legend, but this crying over his loss is ridiculous. He should have tested himself, but he didn't. Not saying that he wasn't good, but he could have done more.

[IC Champion]

Josh Barnett has it all bagged up

:D

Barnett very well could win it, he does have some decent wrestling and a good top game.

[Icess]

So could anyone else in a diluted tourney...

Though your sentence is a bit haard to reaed.

[IC Champion]

Sorry, im under the influence and very tired.

[Icess]

No shane in thaat///

No sham in...

Well, u knw wht I meanz :)

[insert cat]

[MoFo]

Lets hope nobody gets injured, cuz those stand by guys are SHIT.

Del Rosario is alright but the rest reads like a whos who of MMA jabronies.

[MoFo]

o wait, they just made Fedor an alternate :|

[Reavant]

:'(

[IC Champion]

:'(

THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!

But seriously, where was Arlovskis boxing defence at, he had his hands down, let Kharitonov take away his space, and while his footwork was ok, he didn't really make much use of it. How does he expect to move to boxing if he's getting knocked out by the likes of Rodgers and Kharinonov. :-\

[Reavant]

he stopped moving and let himself get put into the fence and then got counterpunched off of a power shot.... that would be why he lost

[IC Champion]

I could see that, although he did eat a couple of soild shots before finally going out. So I didn't think it was his chin, so much as lack of protecting the chin.

[IC Champion]

He looked so good for the first 2 minutes too.

[Reavant]

yea it was depressing watching it cuz he came out blazing and looked great, and then he let himself get backed into the fence and didnt move out of the way and then he threw a wild shot and got clipped

[Reavant]

anyone notice the scar on his chest?

[IC Champion]

I kinda did, wasnt sure what i was, he have surgery or something? I know you said there was something wrong with Andrei that was keeping him from performing.

And yes, it was depressing, I was hoping for him yet again, and early it looked like he should be outbox Kharintonov, then he got caught up in a slugfest..

[Grablot]

Fedor got exposed again.

I cant believe so many people call him the best in the world.

Hardly, he got mauled and man handled by Silva like nobody's business.

He could do NOTHING to Silva, it was like watch a 3 year old kid fight a 25 year old man.
Fedor legend? I dont think so. More like washed up former legend with a bunch of wins against cans.

Overeem or Rogers are gonna take this.

[Jura]

Silva's got 4 inches and 30 lbs on Fedor, maybe even more. It's pretty hard to get that off of you. Also he had about a 7 inch reach advantage. Silva had many advantages but Despite being at a disadvantage in many of his previous fights, Fedor has beaten the odds and if the fight stayed standing up he would have had a good chance to take out Silva. He goes into every fight fearless, trying to knock out everyone in his path. Fedor is in the tail end of his career and it's not unexpected for a fighter to lose when they are in this period.

[Next Big Thing]

Honestly, I think the fact that both Werdum and Silva have better ground games than anyone Fedor has faced in about five years played a part in those losses.

People like Arlovski or Rogers didn't present as many problems stylistically.

I think Fedor jumped into Silva's guard so willingly because he underestimated that aspect of Silva's game which led to him eventually getting mounted and taking the beating that ultimately stopped the fight. Hong Man Choi was even bigger than Silva, but not as skilled so Fedor had an easier time with him.

[Reavant]

Fedor got exposed again.

I cant believe so many people call him the best in the world.

Hardly, he got mauled and man handled by Silva like nobody's business.

He could do NOTHING to Silva, it was like watch a 3 year old kid fight a 25 year old man.
Fedor legend? I dont think so. More like washed up former legend with a bunch of wins against cans.

Overeem or Rogers are gonna take this.

The guy went undefeated for 10 years beating some of the best fighters of the time... its not like you can just keep that shit up forever. stop being a troll

[Next Big Thing]

It sucks that so many of the casual fans are going to remember Fedor for the two losses instead of the dominance he displayed prior.

[IC Champion]

The guy went undefeated for 10 years beating some of the best fighters of the time... its not like you can just keep that shit up forever. stop being a troll

I know. Fedors lack of ever touching anything resembling a gym and being 230pounds of mostly chub now has caught up with him. I think if he actually got into some shape and dropped to LW he could be very competitive. I had Fedor winning the first round of the fight. Doesn't take away from anything he's done, ridiculous to state otherwise.

[Grablot]

Yo

I am not saying Fedor wasnt good in the past.

He was. But I am sayin its ridiculous that people keep calling him the best in the world when today he is far from that. And not just because of this loss or Werdum loss, hes been bad before that only he faced inferior opponents like Arlovski. Even Rogers almost beat Fedor.
Fedor USED to be the best ever (argurably) but has not been close to that for years.

Thats all im sayin...

[Krimzon7]

So, did Arlovski have heart surgery?

[Reavant]

nah

[IC Champion]

Was he stabbed, what happpened? Tell us.

[Reavant]

look at his weigh in photos. theres a scar in the middle of his right peck. Im sure ecg or dra will know what its from...

[IC Champion]

i tried looking, half an effort but still didn't find any. Not everyone here in ECG and has an MD.

[IC Champion]

Collapsed lung? Someone I know recently suffered one of those.

[Reavant]

http://mmaaddicts.com/dann/strikeforce-m1-global-fedor-silva/andrei-arlovski.jpg

he must have put makeup over it cuz it stands out in person

[Reavant]

middle of his right... your left

[IC Champion]

I can kinda see it, not clearly though.

[Jura]

<object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d36ENU_mOHU&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d36ENU_mOHU&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>+

Notice how all these dudes act nice like they are friends but at UFC weigh-ins the fighters are all up in each other's faces.

[Grablot]

The only thing Arlovski has going for him these days is that he looks cool and like one of the guys from 300. Thats it...dude looks cool but he is washed up as a fighter. Once his glass chin got exposed, everone goes after his chin and he goes down with a tap.

Well before someone gets on my case, from a tap from a pro. I am sure Arlovski would kick my ass even if he had one hand tied behind his back, but ya know what im sayin.

[CSL]

I bet Fedor is wishing he would have taken that UFC contract.

Dunno, he hasn't really beat anybody worth much since Cro Cop/since the UFC's 'boom period'. I still have problems believing that stuff with him/his management/'shady characters' etc aka the stuff that apparently hindered him signing with Dana White when basically if he really wanted to fight there, where the majority of the world's best fighters are or strive to be, he 100% could have. And he probably would have been pounded even sooner. And maybe he knew that.

[The Mask]

he's probably talking more about the difference in wages since ufc apparently offered a huge one.

[The Mask]

if it's not his lung i'm gonna guess it's his liver or something. fits in because he's eastern european and thus blatantly smashing the vodka 24/7.

[CSL]

o i c. Figured he'd be getting equally huge wages from Showtime.

[Reavant]

Dunno, he hasn't really beat anybody worth much since Cro Cop/since the UFC's 'boom period'. I still have problems believing that stuff with him/his management/'shady characters' etc aka the stuff that apparently hindered him signing with Dana White when basically if he really wanted to fight there, where the majority of the world's best fighters are or strive to be, he 100% could have. And he probably would have been pounded even sooner. And maybe he knew that.

he has no say over his career. Its controlled by the russian mafia. His brother is a higher up in the russian crime syndicate.

[Stickman]

I just watched the fight, I really hope Fedor doesn't quit. He showed a lot in that fight, the guy still has it. He came out swinging and didn't give up in the second round, if they cut they eye he could've kept going and at least tied the fight..

[Grablot]

Also this fight shows that Brock would have killed Fedor so Fedor is lucky he didnt come to UFC cause Brock would have done this to him sooner than Silva and before his lost to Werdum.

[IC Champion]

Also this fight shows that Brock would have killed Fedor so Fedor is lucky he didnt come to UFC cause Brock would have done this to him sooner than Silva and before his lost to Werdum.

You love Brocks dick, dont you? Brock could have easily eaten one of those bombs Fedor was throwing and then Brock would have turtled. It's also worth noting that Fedor would be better suited for LW in todays MMA.

[IC Champion]

BTW I'm not saying Fedor would crush Brock, but I think you're rushing to conclusions.

[The Mask]

Meanwhile, the rest of the heavyweight division was fighting and improving as the talent pool deepened. The UFC offered Emelianenko a reported $5 million per fight and an immediate shot at then-champion Brock Lesnar in the summer of 2009. The offer was turned down, and Emelianenko instead went to Strikeforce.

:'(

[CSL]

Apparently hey made some concessions for him that they wouldn't have made for others as well and he still said no.

[MoFo]

Sure there was something about him (M1 Global) wanting to co-promote with UFC, which is insane.

[Next Big Thing]

he has no say over his career. Its controlled by the russian mafia. His brother is a higher up in the russian crime syndicate.

Along those same lines.... Is Sakuraba in debt to the Yakuza or something? I know they're involved in the fight/wrestling scene over there and the fact that Sakuraba continues to fight despite losing to people like Mayhem Miller makes me wonder. He doesn't even seem to be enjoying it anymore. It's like a death march when he goes out there.

[Reavant]

maybe i dont know much about him outside of fighting other than hes a huge celebrity in japan and the fans there treat him like elvis

[The Mask]

read some stuff last night about doctors saying they won't clear arlovski to fight again. seems fair enough.

also the more i think about it the more i am sad about the whole fedor thing. i fucking loved the guy 5 years ago. such a waste and a tainting of his legacy, there could have been some ridiculous superfights had the ufc thing come to fruition.

[IC Champion]

What, Arlovski will easily be cleared to fight once he is medically able to fight able to fight again, which will be 6 months at most.

[Reavant]

Arlovski was suspended 30 days i know but where did u hear he will never get licenced again?

also im super sad for him because he would have had a huge comeback story if he won :-\

[CSL]

Just saw the Arlovski KO. Was pretty brutal, he didn't need to take the last 2-3 punches.

[IC Champion]

I think he just read an article on bloody elbow or something about a doctor saying he should never be allowed to fight again.

[The Mask]

i dunno. i just typed it in in google and it was there in the news section. i can't find shit now though.

[Reavant]

i saw it... bloody elbow

[Reavant]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tcLPl40dWh4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IC Champion]

He needs a nose job.

Also, Dana White has Josh Barnett winning the tournament, odd since Dana hates his guts, but would probably welcome him back if he thought he would make him money.

[Reavant]

lol... no he wants barnett to win the tournament to discredit it

[IC Champion]

Probably, though Barnet will have to go through some tough competetion to win. Still, I have a feeling Overeem will murder folk and win.

[Reavant]

yea most likely but if barnett wins it, danas going to have a tirade saying how he couldnt cut it in the ufc, he was cut from them, he was a steroid user blah blah blah

[Reavant]

Thinking about it though, I could see maybe him winning it if his opponent in the finals is hurt. I could see him beating rogers and then karatonov, but not silva, werdum or ovareem, but if those guys kill each other in their semifinals fights, I can see barnett beating anyone else the plug in there as an alternate

[IC Champion]

I can see Barnett beating anyone in the tournament, though I don't have alot of faith in that statement, since he hasn't really fought elite competetion in years. He's never been submitted, so if he can get on top Silva or Werdum he could just out grapple and controll them. I think Overeems size and striking could pose the biggest threat.

[Krimzon7]

DUDE WHAT THE FUCK? Come on Reav, what's going on with Arlovski?

[Reavant]

:o

[MoFo]

After the loss, MMAjunkie.com's Dr. Johnny Benjamin wrote a Medical Beat column explaining that Arlovski's recent losses likely will contributed to the "battered-brain syndrome" called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He suggested a prudent doctor and athletic commission will have a very difficult time ignoring the cumulative brain trauma sustained throughout the fighter's career and the growing mountain of evidence related to CTE.

[Reavant]

yea not what we're talking about

[Krimzon7]

Battered brain syndrome resulting on a scar on the chest?


Who's suffering the symptoms?

[MoFo]

NEWS: Remaining Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Fights Will NOT Happen on April 9 As Originally Announced

(Or "Scott Coker determined to destroy Strikeforce more efficiently than even Dana White could do").

How many fights does Josh Barnett have to steal away from MMA fans before promoters stop hiring him? Strikeforce will reportedly now be running in California on April 9, which means that since Josh Barnett failed to piss clean on three separate occasions, refuses to cooperate with the CSAC, and refuses to give one half of one percent of a damn for you, me, and all the other MMA fans in the world, the Barnett-Rogers fight and the Overeem-Werdum fights will be delayed for at least a few more weeks, if not much longer.

Sherdog reported late Monday night that the April 9 event is now looking to have co-main event fights of Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri and Nick Diaz vs. either Paul Daley or Tyron Woodley, with the second set of Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bouts no longer taking place on the card.

Of course, Daley has a fight scheduled for February 26 and might be smart enough to not want to fight Nick Diaz a mere six weeks later. And that's assuming he defeats Yuya Shirai on that night. As for the possibility of Woodley accepting the Diaz fight, Woodley also might be smart enough to not take a fight with Nick Diaz on six week's notice as well. And he's probably smart enough to know that going from Tarec Saffiedine in his last fight to Nick Diaz in his next might be too large of a step up in competition.

So because Scott Coker decided to sign and back an apparently un-licensable Josh Barnett when he could have just as easily slotted a deserving Daniel Cormier into the back-end of the Grand Prix bracket, the following side-effects will damage his company:

1: It looks like we are all going to have to wait at least another month or two (Strikeforce isn't planning on running an event in May, although that might change now) for the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix to finish. The first two fights of the Grand Prix delivered Showtime their best ever ratings for MMA, and that momentum is going to be severely stunted as a result of Josh Barnett's existence in the tournament.

2: If Daley declines to fight Diaz on short notice, if Daley loses in Japan, or if Woodley declines to fight Diaz, then the April 9 card is going to be weak, at best. And once you consider the relative weakness of the March 5 card, that'll be two shows in a row that appear weak on paper. And yes, I realize that a show that is weak on paper can be the best show of the year, and vice versa. But considering how hot Strikeforce has been recently, this would be a real body blow.

3: Strikeforce's credibility will be shot if they can not come through with the remaining quarterfinal fights on the exact date they promised. Strikeforce will forever etch into granite their reputation of being the promotion whose tail wags the dog if they can't deliver what they promise.

4: There is now a MAJOR competitive disadvantage in the tournament. Let's theorize that the remaining quarterfinal fights happen in May. Let's say after those two fights that the two winners (let's call them Barnett and Overeem) want a reasonable 13 weeks between fights. That places the semi-finals somewhere in the middle of August. That would mean Barnett and Overeem on three months notice would be fighting against Kharitonov and Silva respectively on six months notice. Those disparities are, believe it or not, the BEST case scenarios. Check this out...

Showtime and Strikeforce both know that the number one reason that the Fedor vs. Silva card drew so heavily was because they marketed the show as a "Grand Prix." Showtime will of course want the semi-finals to commence as quickly as possible, so as to re-establish the momentum of the Grand Prix. Would you really put it past the corporate overlords at Showtime to pressure Coker, Overeem, and Barnett into accepting semi-final fghts in five or six weeks notice? As if the unbalanced bracket wasn't unfair enough, now we're working short rest into the equation as well? And here's yet another worst case scenario...

Imagine if Overeem and Barnett advance in dominant fashion, and one of them gets slightly injured. Not torn ACL bad, but just bad enough where they might need four or five months instead of three months before either man is ready for the semi-finals. Now that the tournament, which was originally slated to end by September, has already been delayed, would Coker replace a slightly injured fighter for the sake of expediency? Imagine if Alistair Overeem knocks out Fabricio Werdum in 30 seconds, but breaks a bone in his hand and can't take a semi-final fight booking until three or four weeks later than Ken Hershman and Scott Coker want. Do they slot Fedor into his spot? Shane Del Rosario? Do they delay the tournament another handful of weeks, knowing that the world will blow up if they made everyone wait forever for the first round to finish, but then replace a fighter in an attempt to speed things up?

[Next Big Thing]

Scott Coker is a fucking buffoon. How the fuck is he going to have the second matches of the first round tournament take place four months after the first one?

His excuse? "We just ran out of time," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said Tuesday, referring to the second leg of its Heavyeight Tournament quarterfinal round. "I didn't find a venue that we thought would work for everybody, so we decided to move it."

This shit is going to drag out into 2012. He should have just had one show with Silva fighting Fedor to determine who the number one contender is February and then had Overeem fight Werdum for the title in April and had the winners of those two fights meet in July instead of dragging out this gimmicky tournament.

[Reavant]

its because barnett couldnt get licenced... im willing to bet thats why

[Funky Fly]

So why put him in the tournament?

[Reavant]

hes a draw... and coker is stupid apparently

[Funky Fly]

Should have taken this round to Japan.

[Next Big Thing]

Texas would be the place where the next round took place. After all, this is the same commission that gave Margarito a license AND they didn't even test for steroids at the last Strikeforce event held there so Barnett and Overeem have nothing to worry about.

Still looking forward to seeing the fights. I want to know if Barnett still has it.

[Funky Fly]

Ovareem is most likely injecting Japanese nuclear waste at this point. They don't test for that.

[Funky Fly]

... yet.

[MoFo]

Thiago Silva shouldn't of asked for Overeems piss

[Next Big Thing]

Overeem obviously eats children for strength.

http://urdirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Overeem-kicks-little-girl.gif
Tenderizing the meat.

http://coolmmaphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/overeemclimb3-400x600.jpg
5 course meal.

[Reavant]

i think those are just asian women in the last pic

[Next Big Thing]

Nah. When Overeem was in Japan to promote the K-1 finals they had him doing weird ass shit to promote. That's some preteen pop group they had Overeem strip off his shirt for so they could hold on to him.

[MoFo]

The next card looks pretty fucking good -


Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum

Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers

Gina Carano vs. TBA

Daniel Cormier vs. Shane Del Rosario

Chad Griggs vs. Valentijn Overeem

'King' Mo Lawal vs Ovince St. Preux



Barnett v Rogers will be a bit of a rollover so looking forward to the Overeem fight more obvs.

[Next Big Thing]

Damn. Didn't know they were putting King Mo against OVP that soon. That should be a good one.

[The Show Off]

I hope Werdum drags Overeem into the second round, I want to see where is cardio is at. Its been 3 and a half years since the guy has left the first round. In his last 6 fights he's only fought for a little under 9 minutes.

He used to have issues when it came to cardio. Some claim that that was because he had to cut so much to get to 205 and thats why he gassed. But just by looking at him I can't imagine he could go very long with that frame.

[Next Big Thing]

I think the only type of fighter that could really push Overeem in that department would be an aggressive wrestler. I think Werdum is going to get TKOd in the first round.

By the way, Struve vs. Big Foot Silva is something I'd love to see at some point just because of the sheer height those guys.

[Funky Fly]

Poor Struve then...

[Reavant]

By the way, Struve vs. Big Foot Silva is something I'd love to see at some point just because of the sheer height those guys.

big foot is only 6'4 he was the same exact height as andrei

[IC Champion]

Yeah, he just has a huge head and limbs. He has gigantism, but had the surgury at a young age to keep him from being 7 feet 3 and dead at 35.

[Reavant]

tonight man

[Next Big Thing]

Those weigh ins had such a bootleg UFC feel with the 10 Rockstar Energy Drink whores and fat fuck Scott Coker doing his best Dana White impersonation. At least they aren't doing them in hotel lobbies anymore though.

They also changed the draw rules to sudden death instead of that dumb ass dimwit idea of deferring to a fourth judge basing everything on a half point system. If three judges can fuck up a fight why in the hell would they leave the determining of a close fight up to one? Just another reason why Coker is Dana's latest employee.

I'm actually pretty excited for this card though. KJ Noons should bring it. It's fun watching Cormier work over jobbers even though I think he's too small and pudgy for heavyweight and Chad Griggs sideburns= ratings. Not to mention Barnett and Overeem.

[SuperSlim]

I don't have Showtime :( any way I can watch this online?

[Shaved Monkey]

I don't have Showtime :( any way I can watch this online?

Check your rep.

[Funky Fly]

Hook me up. Better yet, put it in The Stream group.

[Shaved Monkey]

Hook me up. Better yet, put it in The Stream group.

Oh yeah. Forgot I was part of that.

[CSL]

lol Josh Barnett cutting a promo right here, legend

[RoXer]

JAB HIM YOU IDIOT

[RoXer]

STICK THAT GIANT PAW OUT AND TOUCH HIS NOSE YOU FUCK

[RoXer]

you have an 80million inch reach, why would you squander that advantage

[RoXer]

ridiculous

neither of them deserve to move on

[Next Big Thing]

I almost want to give the 2nd and 3rd to Werdum. At least the third.

[CSL]

ridiculous

neither of them deserve to move on

dunno, only one person in there interested in fighting. There are a million grappling tournaments on Earth for Werdum to play in.

[Krimzon7]

werdum screwed the pooch right here. I get it, who wanna stand w reem? But have a better strategy than that

[Next Big Thing]

The thing about it was, when he did stand with Reem he had him on the defensive a couple of times and ate some pretty big shots from Reem without going down. I think the Overeem rocket will get pulled back into orbit once he starts facing more legit competition instead of jobbers like Rogers and Duffy.

[IC Champion]

Pretty much have the same feelings about Overeem as I did before, very good striker, lots of power, but no cardio. Overeem and Werdum were both gassed by the end of the second. I don't see Overeem giving any trouble to Veasquez really, if the fight made it into the second, he would get picked apart, on the feet or on the ground. Now Overeem vs JDS would be more interesting, but I think JDS takes that too.

[Krimzon7]

Pretty much have the same feelings about Overeem as I did before, very good striker, lots of power, but no cardio. Overeem and Werdum were both gassed by the end of the second. I don't see Overeem giving any trouble to Veasquez really, if the fight made it into the second, he would get picked apart, on the feet or on the ground. Now Overeem vs JDS would be more interesting, but I think JDS takes that too.


Overeem, oh what could've been...

I think he blasts el gigante's chin off, then he takes the final convincingly. I just don't see a huge bandwagon after tonight. He'll still have the Japanese, they're more loyal than we are

[Jura]

Werdum got noticeably tired much earlier than Overeem but yeah he doesn't seem to have good cardio as you can hear him breathing hard in the post fight interview.

Kharitonov is 1-0 vs Werdum and 1-1 vs Overeem with the most recent win going to Kharitonov so do you guys think there's a good chance this dude will actually win the grand prix if the finals are him going up against either of the two?

This dude might very well win. If he can tire out Overeem without tiring himself out then he could probably get a KO. I don't think Barnett can do what he did last night to Rogers, to Silva when they fight.

[Krimzon7]

The thing about it was, when he did stand with Reem he had him on the defensive a couple of times and ate some pretty big shots from Reem without going down. I think the Overeem rocket will get pulled back into orbit once he starts facing more legit competition instead of jobbers like Rogers and Duffy.

Yes. Top tier talent will be tougher to handle. But reem was very VERY worried about committing to striking and giving up a takedown where werdum had solid position. I wouldn't rate his striking off last nights performance...let's see jds/reem then compare notes(right after I change my undies)

[Krimzon7]

Werdum got noticeably tired much earlier than Overeem but yeah he doesn't seem to have good cardio as you can hear him breathing hard in the post fight interview.



This dude might very well win. If he can tire out Overeem without tiring himself out then he could probably get a KO. I don't think Barnett can do what he did last night to Rogers, to Silva when they fight.

Barnett has karitonov next.:y:

[Next Big Thing]

Yes. Top tier talent will be tougher to handle. But reem was very VERY worried about committing to striking and giving up a takedown where werdum had solid position. I wouldn't rate his striking off last nights performance...let's see jds/reem then compare notes(right after I change my undies)

I don't doubt Overeem's striking abilities at all. It's his well roundedness that I'm wondering about. He's spent the last year and a half training exclusively for K1 and I'm willing to bet that his jiu jitsu and wrestling aren't as honed. Not to mention his cardio.

I think Velasquez would expose him badly. JDS may be more equal, but I think JDS is a better pure boxer. Plus with Overeem, it's his knees that really fuck people up. If JDS avoids those and pushes the pace, it would be a long night for Alistair.

Dude's not invincible either. He's been KOed and you don't suddenly develop a chin overnight or because your concoction of horse beef and special vitamins helped you put on "40 pounds of whoop ass."

He should beat Big Foot Silva though. If Barnett's cardio is up to snuff, his catch wrestling would be a tough match up for Alistair. Kharitonov could go either way since both guys have beaten each other before.

[Krimzon7]

The TDD, and defensive Jiu Jitsu were great last night. I think that Cain/reem would be awesome. While cains wrestling would give reem fits, can velasquez handle an uber knee? And the Uber knee is phenomenal when executed.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

Barnett's post-match promo made me cringe.

[Next Big Thing]

The TDD, and defensive Jiu Jitsu were great last night. I think that Cain/reem would be awesome. While cains wrestling would give reem fits, can velasquez handle an uber knee? And the Uber knee is phenomenal when executed.

Werdum shooting at you and Velasquez shooting at you are two different things though. He was never really put in a position to where he had to employ any real defensive jiu jitsu either. He avoided Werdum's guard for most of the fight and only jumped in at the end of the round when Werdum had little time to work. Don't get me wrong, he fought a smart fight, but it's not like Werdum ever had him in any real trouble and he worked his way out.

I'm not really down on the guy. Werdum didn't give him much to work with anyways and styles really do make fights. I just hope all the dick riders on Sherdog and MMA Junkie who had Reem annointed as the chosen one take a chill pill.

And yes, when Ubereem hits that Uberknee it can be good night Irene. Just ask Kaz Fujita.

[Next Big Thing]

Have they announced dates for the next round or are we going to have to wait for them to venue shop for another state that will let Barnett fight?

[Next Big Thing]

Uh oh! Overeem says he hasn't agreed to fight on September 10th, Zuffa is threatening to cut him from the Grand Prix and he wants to fight Klitschko.

Seems like he's gotten spoiled with Coker bending over and taking it from him. He came out of that fight with Werdum relatively unscathed.

[IC Champion]

I think it's just posturing on Overeems part, seeing if maybe if he can do a "Nick Diaz".

[Next Big Thing]

Overeem's out of the grand prix. Wonder where this leaves him for future bouts.

[IC Champion]

Well this was Overeems chance to prove his worth, so unless he ends up in the UFC, this does very little to help him, and just adds to people questioning his rank among HW. Especially since he didn't look all that impressive against Werdum.

[Jura]

This flew under the radar.

[Jura]

Well Cormier knocked out Big Foot and Barnett submitted Kharitonov so it's gonna be the alternate 9-0 Olympic wrestler vs the white guy who looks out of shape so he's sitting on people.

If Barnett could somehow slap a submission on Cormier he could win but with Cormier being an Olympic wrestler it looks like it will be a difficult thing for him to do.

[MoFo]

I win £50 if Barnett wins the whole thing, bet on him pre-tourny

:D

Please dont take any shady substances Josh :'(

[JERRY]

i google image barnett and this what got

http://www.clublambpage.com/b_r_w/barnett%20images/06older/6-14-06/Barnett-ewe-Monroe.jpg

whats going on

[Next Big Thing]

Love how this tournament was going to be HUGE and the winner of it was going to be the top heavyweight in the world, but now only 3 1/2 people give a shit even though that last fight card was arguably Strikeforce's best ever and could have gone toe to toe with most UFC cards in terms of exciting finishes.

JERRY counts as 1 1/2 people by the way. He's that damn good.

[Jura]

I just read Rodgers was released from Strikeforce. Fedor was released, Overeem is in UFC, Diaz is in UFC, Jake Shields popped on over also so if SF doesn't hold onto their top talent, soon it will probably merge with UFC.

[Jura]

Ok Dan Henderson and Cung Le are fighting at UFC 139 so I'm guessing once SF's contract with Showtime is over, SF will be assimilated into the UFC.

[Reavant]

that was always the plan.... dana is trying to drain showtime's pockets and get them out of the mma business

[Next Big Thing]

I just read Rodgers was released from Strikeforce. Fedor was released, Overeem is in UFC, Diaz is in UFC, Jake Shields popped on over also so if SF doesn't hold onto their top talent, soon it will probably merge with UFC.

To be fair, Rodgers was released for being a piece of shit wife beater, Fedor was released because he isn't Fedor anymore and Shields was in the UFC before Zuffa bought Strikeforce.

A merger does make sense though. Why not make the best matches possible instead of having two separate promotions that have the same parent company?

[Jura]

I read Fedor had a contract with Showtime and fought under the SF banner so he wasn't actually released/cut from SF/Zuffa but that his contract ended with Showtime.

Do UFC events air SF promos anymore? I can't recall seeing an ad for a while now. I hope they keep the women's division alive because they can still make some money off of Gina and a few of the other girls once in a while.

[Next Big Thing]

I read Fedor had a contract with Showtime and fought under the SF banner so he wasn't actually released/cut from SF/Zuffa but that his contract ended with Showtime.

Do UFC events air SF promos anymore? I can't recall seeing an ad for a while now. I hope they keep the women's division alive because they can still make some money off of Gina and a few of the other girls once in a while.

Other way around. M-1, Fedor's owners, have a contract with Showtime. Fedor's contract was with SF/Zuffa, but it included terms that had every card he fought on be a co-promotion between SF & M-1. He was cut from SF/Zuffa.

I hope they keep the women's division around too. The womens fights are just as entertaining. Carano is overrated as hell though.

[Jura]

Of course she's overrated. She's hot as a hell. Her skills will and could never, ever match her hotness.

[Jura]

Strikeforce, Showtime Reach New Deal; Heavyweight Division to be Eliminated

Dana White and Scott Coker
Heavyweight class, Challengers series going away

Strikeforce and Showtime have new life – with some fairly major changes.

The promotion and premium cable channel on Thursday announced a new agreement to extend their broadcast partnership. But as part of Strikeforce going forward, the heavyweight division will ultimately be eliminated, allowing the promotion to focus on deeper weight classes, and the Strikeforce Challengers series will go away.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Showtime will hold six to eight live Strikeforce events in 2012. The new deal will start with the Jan. 7 Strikeforce card in Las Vegas featuring a middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and Keith Jardine, which will be made available to more than 60 million homes on a Showtime free preview weekend.

Sometime in 2012, once Daniel Cormier's hand has healed, he will fight Josh Barnett for the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix title on Showtime. And after that, the winner, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said, will fight once more – and then the heavyweight division will go away.

"We're going to focus on our other weight classes, and focus on the women's divisions, which you'll see after the tournament finals," Coker said Thursday on a call with media members. "You'll see one more fight where the winner will fight a top-rated heavyweight, and then we'll go back to focusing on our other weight classes."

Coker said it's possible the tournament winner would fight a UFC heavyweight in a crossover bout, but speculation that might be the then-UFC champion is premature.

"Nothing is determined, but we'll have some dialogue to determine who that fighter will be," Coker said.

Zuffa and UFC president Dana White said eliminating Strikeforce's heavyweight division makes sense. And with former heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem recently moving to the UFC, and Strikeforce heavyweight Fabricio Werdum moving over this week, two of its biggest names are already gone.

"You guys have heard me say this before, but the heavyweight divisions aren't deep enough," White said. "We're going to focus on the (Strikeforce) weight classes that are strong. I have no idea what's going to happen with (the tournament winner) yet. We'll see. Showtime wanted to have the grand prix winner and have one more heavyweight fight before the division went away."

But Coker and White reiterated that the rest of Strikeforce's divisions will remain – including both the 135-pound and 145-pound women's divisions.

And in a new addition to the Strikeforce-Showtime relationship, the promotion's preliminary card fights will now be televised on the Showtime Extreme channel – which in turn likely will eliminate the current Strikeforce Challengers series.

Speculation built soon after Zuffa bought Strikeforce that the promotion would ultimately be folded into the UFC. And when champions Nick Diaz, Overeem and Dan Henderson all made their way to the UFC, the writing appeared to be on the wall.

But White, who entered negotiations with the network earlier this fall, had grown increasingly confident in recent weeks that a deal extension would be reached with Showtime that would allow Strikeforce to remain a separate entity from the UFC. White entered negotiations with Showtime after Ken Hershman, the former head of Showtime Sports, left the network for HBO. White's frosty relationship with Hershman kept him from being involved in the past.

"He's not a fan of mine, I'm not a fan of his," White said. "He's not there any more. I flew out (to New York), (the new regime and I) liked each other, and we've got a deal. End of story."

Showtime Sports executive vice president and general manager Stephen Espinoza said all parties agree that Strikeforce isn't the "B-level" promotion to the UFC – even though the public might perceive it that way.

"Strikeforce is not a secondary brand," Espinoza said. "Luke Rockhold, Cyborg (Santos), Gilbert (Melendez) are not secondary fighters. It'll continue to be a big brand going forward. Now that we're out publicly with this, it'll be very clear, very shortly. EVeryone's going to know this is not a secondary brand."

In divisions that don't currently have champions in Strikeforce – light heavyweight with Henderson in the UFC and welterweight with Diaz in the UFC – Coker said some resolution will happen, starting in January.

"When you think about the fights we're having Saturday and in January, it'll eventually lead to title fights in the weight classes," Coker said. "We'll put fights together and work toward titles in those divisions."

[Next Big Thing]

It's for the better. Putting the SF heavyweight in the UFC brings fresh blood and intrigue to the division. Hopefully Dana and Barnett drop the bullshit and we get to see him fight in the Octagon again. Barnett vs. Mir would be awesome.

[MoFo]

Ya, hoping Barnett gets another shot too....

Still should of just folded it, IMO...wats the point in keeping Melendez in a company full of stiffs....its like putting The Rock on WWE Superstars ffs

[Next Big Thing]

It's actually smart from a business competitor stand point. There is some talent on that roster that isn't necessarily worthy of placement on a UFC card yet, but could do well for themselves in Bellator or another promotion. By keeping Strikeforce going, Zuffa gets to sign that talent early on and keep them for itself rather than have them go be big stars and help some other promotion stay afloat.

If you're an up and coming MMA fighter, you'd probably rather be affiliated with Zuffa, Dana White, UFC, Showtime, etc... by being a part of Strikeforce as opposed to fighting in Bellator. Especially if Dana gets more involved in promoting it.

It does suck for guys like Gilbert and King Mo though. Then again if Dana is serious about not treating SF like a "B-league" promotion, maybe he plans on sending guys from 155 who aren't likely to compete for the UFC title any time soon there since that division is so deep. If you're still a part of the Zuffa banner and your contract terms stay the same, why wouldn't you want to go to SF to fight a universally recognized top 2 or 3 fighter in Melendez if you're someone like Florian, Guida, Maynard or Guillard?