Tag: Luke Rockhold

Aw Geez, Now Luke Rockhold is Injured and Off of Strikeforce’s Final Card


CagePotato Conspiracy Theory: Rockhold isn’t hurt, but he already sold the belt on eBay while people were still willing to bid on his treasure.

There’s no need for a wordy introduction here: Strikeforce has officially become so incompetent that it can’t even die correctly.

After canceling two consecutive events, Strikeforce planned to have an absolutely stacked grand finale on January 12, 2013 featuring three title fights and Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier. Much like everything else that Strikeforce has planned since being purchased by Zuffa, things quickly went wrong. First, lightweight kingpin Gilbert Melendez got injured/realized he was in a no-win scenario fighting for Strikeforce again and pulled out of the event. Now, middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is also off of the card, citing a wrist injury as the reason for his departure. According to The MMA Corner:

The MMA Corner has learned from sources close to the camp of Rockhold that the middleweight champion has suffered a wrist injury and has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled Jan. 12 title defense against Lorenz Larkin.


CagePotato Conspiracy Theory: Rockhold isn’t hurt, but he already sold the belt on eBay while people were still willing to bid on his treasure.

There’s no need for a wordy introduction here: Strikeforce has officially become so incompetent that it can’t even die correctly.

After canceling two consecutive events, Strikeforce planned to have an absolutely stacked grand finale on January 12, 2013 featuring three title fights and Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier. Much like everything else that Strikeforce has planned since being purchased by Zuffa, things quickly went wrong. First, lightweight kingpin Gilbert Melendez got injured/realized he was in a no-win scenario fighting for Strikeforce again and pulled out of the event. Now, middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is also off of the card, citing a wrist injury as the reason for his departure. According to The MMA Corner:

The MMA Corner has learned from sources close to the camp of Rockhold that the middleweight champion has suffered a wrist injury and has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled Jan. 12 title defense against Lorenz Larkin.

Rockhold and Larkin were previously slated to meet on Strikeforce’s Nov. 3 card, but Rockhold was forced out of that contest with an injury to the same wrist and the entire card was subsequently canceled.

For those of you keeping score, Strikeforce’s final card, Strikeforce: Champions, now features only one champion. That champion, welterweight champion Nate Marquardt, will be defending his title against Tarec Saffiedine, assuming Nate the Great doesn’t also pull out of this utterly pointless title defense. Also on the card, Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier will beat up Dutch veteran Dion Staring and Mike Kyle will fight former champion Gegard Mousasi.

Anyone out there want to bet that this event ends up getting scrapped as well?

@SethFalvo

Luke Rockhold Pulls Out Of ‘Strikeforce: Cormier vs. TBA’ Card With Wrist Injury


(Between the facial hair and the t-shirt, the dude was kind of asking for it. / Photo via @RockholdMMA)

Strikeforce’s already-struggling November 3rd event just lost a title fight. Multiple sources have reported that middleweight champ Luke Rockhold recently suffered a wrist injury, and has withdrawn from his scheduled belt-defense against Lorenz Larkin next month in Oklahoma City.

The 11/3 event was originally headlined by Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir, before Mir dropped out last month due to an injury of his own. A replacement opponent for Cormier still hasn’t been booked yet — no thanks to Meathead — and now that the card has lost its co-main event as well, the lineup has gone from “damn good” to “damn, are they going to cancel this one too?”

The supporting bouts still scheduled for the card include Jorge Masvidal vs. Bobby Green, Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith, and Sara McMann vs. Liz Carmouche. We’ll update you when Strikeforce figures out what the hell its going to do. Our suggestion: Put the remaining fights on Showtime Extreme, and use the original timeslot for Gigolos reruns.


(Between the facial hair and the t-shirt, the dude was kind of asking for it. / Photo via @RockholdMMA)

Strikeforce’s already-struggling November 3rd event just lost a title fight. Multiple sources have reported that middleweight champ Luke Rockhold recently suffered a wrist injury, and has withdrawn from his scheduled belt-defense against Lorenz Larkin next month in Oklahoma City.

The 11/3 event was originally headlined by Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir, before Mir dropped out last month due to an injury of his own. A replacement opponent for Cormier still hasn’t been booked yet — no thanks to Meathead — and now that the card has lost its co-main event as well, the lineup has gone from “damn good” to “damn, are they going to cancel this one too?”

The supporting bouts still scheduled for the card include Jorge Masvidal vs. Bobby Green, Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith, and Sara McMann vs. Liz Carmouche. We’ll update you when Strikeforce figures out what the hell its going to do. Our suggestion: Put the remaining fights on Showtime Extreme, and use the original timeslot for Gigolos reruns.

Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir Slated for November 3rd Strikeforce Event in Oklahoma City [UPDATED]


(“Hey girl, you must be a comb because you’re been running through my hair all day. Wait, no, I fucked that up.”)

The previously reported UFC/Strikeforce crossover bout between Frank Mir and Daniel Cormier finally has a date and location. According to new reports from MMAFighting and USA Today, the fight will headline a November 3rd Strikeforce card at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Barring some bizarre post-fight fiasco, both fighters are expected to head (back) to the UFC after the event, no matter the outcome of the match.

As Cormier told USA Today, “I am excited to be going back to Oklahoma for this fight because it’s been like my second home. My first fight was in Oklahoma, and the biggest fight of my Strikeforce career will be there…Fighting Frank Mir is an honor, as I’ve always viewed him as a great warrior and champion of the sport. This matchup shows that Zuffa is committed to putting me in big fights, and for that I thank them.”

Cormier is a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career, most recently outpointing Josh Barnett in the finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix. Cormier broke his right hand during the fight and was forced to undergo surgery. Mir’s last performance was a TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, which snapped a three-fight winning streak in the Octagon.

Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is also expected to be on the 11/3 card, against an opponent to be named later. Update: Rockhold will defend his belt against former light-heavyweight contender Lorenz Larkin, whose middleweight debut in July resulted in a unanimous decision victory over Robbie Lawler.


(“Hey girl, you must be a comb because you’re been running through my hair all day. Wait, no, I fucked that up.”)

The previously reported UFC/Strikeforce crossover bout between Frank Mir and Daniel Cormier finally has a date and location. According to new reports from MMAFighting and USA Today, the fight will headline a November 3rd Strikeforce card at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Barring some bizarre post-fight fiasco, both fighters are expected to head (back) to the UFC after the event, no matter the outcome of the match.

As Cormier told USA Today, “I am excited to be going back to Oklahoma for this fight because it’s been like my second home. My first fight was in Oklahoma, and the biggest fight of my Strikeforce career will be there…Fighting Frank Mir is an honor, as I’ve always viewed him as a great warrior and champion of the sport. This matchup shows that Zuffa is committed to putting me in big fights, and for that I thank them.”

Cormier is a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career, most recently outpointing Josh Barnett in the finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix. Cormier broke his right hand during the fight and was forced to undergo surgery. Mir’s last performance was a TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, which snapped a three-fight winning streak in the Octagon.

Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is also expected to be on the 11/3 card, against an opponent to be named later. Update: Rockhold will defend his belt against former light-heavyweight contender Lorenz Larkin, whose middleweight debut in July resulted in a unanimous decision victory over Robbie Lawler.

Gross Video of the Day: Luke Rockhold Writes ‘Champ’ In Ear-Pus

(Hey, who says we don’t give this guy enough coverage? Props: TheSHOOT! via MMAMania)

We’re no strangers to cauliflower-ear draining videos around these parts. But Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has definitely raised the grossness bar here by draining his ear, then — after threatening to eat his harvest — shooting it out into his bathroom sink, spelling the word “champ” in perfect cursive. Fuck, dude. No.


(Hey, who says we don’t give this guy enough coverage? Props: TheSHOOT! via MMAMania)

We’re no strangers to cauliflower-ear draining videos around these parts. But Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has definitely raised the grossness bar here by draining his ear, then — after threatening to eat his harvest — shooting it out into his bathroom sink, spelling the word “champ” in perfect cursive. Fuck, dude. No.

Survey: Which Current Champion Has the Most Impressive Win Streak in MMA?


(I’ve got 25, 25, do I hear 26 for this authentic Cuban-born champion? I’ve got 25, do I hear 26? 26?! 26?!!! Sold at 25!) 

After battering and busting up Urijah Faber en route to his 29th straight victory, newly-crowned interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao proved to the world at UFC 149 that his win streak was the product of hard work and dedication, not the culmination of years spent crushing cans that seemed to be the case for a certain somebody making his long awaited debut just one fight before. This is not to say that Hector Lombard doesn’t push himself as a fighter — by all accounts he does the exact opposite, in fact — but to say that Lombard was the first fighter to come to the UFC on a huge win streak, only to have said streak invalidated almost immediately would be a bold faced lie (Jason Reinhardt, anyone? How about our buddy Sean McCorkle?).

But when guys who have spent years fighting below their level come up short on the big stage, it just makes it all the more impressive to see the Barao’s and Ryan Jimmo‘s of the world succeed in living up to their hype. Simply put, it’s no coincidence that most of the guys with the greatest win streaks in the sport are all champions, and the rest are either made up (I shall refer you to the infamous tale of Craig Rehage as my primary example) or busted as soon as the fighter faces some legit competition.

However, when trying to determine which champion has the most impressive win streak of them all, we surprisingly found ourselves at odds. Some of us went with the obvious choice in Anderson Silva, some of us thought that Jon Jones’ streak was more impressive, and ReX thought that Ronda Rousey’s run stood atop them all before snatching a copy of her ESPN magazine shoot and running off to our executive bathroom. He has yet to return.

So as is often the case when we are struggling to decide upon an issue, we will hand the power over to you, Potato Nation. After the jump, you will find a survey. The topic: “Which Current Champion Has the Greatest Win Streak in MMA?” You WILL vote on this poll, and you WILL leave us your convincing arguments in the comments section. Sound good?


(I’ve got 25, 25, do I hear 26 for this authentic Cuban-born champion? I’ve got 25, do I hear 26? 26?! 26?!!! Sold at 25!) 

After battering and busting up Urijah Faber en route to his 29th straight victory, newly-crowned interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao proved to the world at UFC 149 that his win streak was the product of hard work and dedication, not the culmination of years spent crushing cans that seemed to be the case for a certain somebody making his long awaited debut just one fight before. This is not to say that Hector Lombard doesn’t push himself as a fighter — by all accounts he does the exact opposite, in fact — but to say that Lombard was the first fighter to come to the UFC on a huge win streak, only to have said streak invalidated almost immediately would be a bold faced lie (Jason Reinhardt, anyone? How about our buddy Sean McCorkle?).

But when guys who have spent years fighting below their level come up short on the big stage, it just makes it all the more impressive to see the Barao’s and Ryan Jimmo‘s of the world succeed in living up to their hype. Simply put, it’s no coincidence that most of the guys with the greatest win streaks in the sport are all champions, and the rest are either made up (I shall refer you to the infamous tale of Craig Rehage as my primary example) or busted as soon as the fighter faces some legit competition.

However, when trying to determine which champion has the most impressive win streak of them all, we surprisingly found ourselves at odds. Some of us went with the obvious choice in Anderson Silva, some of us thought that Jon Jones’ streak was more impressive, and ReX thought that Ronda Rousey’s run stood atop them all before snatching a copy of her ESPN magazine shoot and running off to our executive bathroom. He has yet to return.

So as is often the case when we are struggling to decide upon an issue, we will hand the power over to you, Potato Nation. After the jump, you will find a survey. The topic: “Which Current Champion Has the Greatest Win Streak in MMA?” You WILL vote on this poll, and you WILL leave us your convincing arguments in the comments section. Sound good?

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

–J. Jones

Anderson Silva Camp Doesn’t Want Weidman or Lombard, Brings Up Luke Rockhold Just to Be Difficult


(This. / Photo via Sherdog)

Yesterday, Jared wrote up a detailed assessment of the UFC’s middleweight contenders in an attempt to bring some clarity to the pecking order at 185, because sometimes we want to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Anderson Silva‘s management is doing the opposite of that — shooting down logical suggestions and casually calling out a guy who can’t even fight Silva, contractually speaking. It’s a bit of a dick move, to be honest. Here’s the current situation, as reported on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight (via MMAMania):

“One of Anderson Silva’s managers said that one of the issues with Hector Lombard is he thinks he needs at least three more impressive wins* in the UFC. He said that 85 percent** of UFC fans don’t even know who Hector Lombard is, who is of course making his Octagon debut on Saturday night…As for Chris Weidman, he said, ‘Well, there’s another great unknown fighter.’*** He doesn’t see those match ups as being money making pay-per-view events…He did mention Luke Rockhold, who is the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Alas, Rockhold is contractually tied to Strikeforce, so that fight’s not happening.**** We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, the Anderson Silva camp [is] not too excited about the options out there.”*****


(This. / Photo via Sherdog)

Yesterday, Jared wrote up a detailed assessment of the UFC’s middleweight contenders in an attempt to bring some clarity to the pecking order at 185, because sometimes we want to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Anderson Silva‘s management is doing the opposite of that — shooting down logical suggestions and casually calling out a guy who can’t even fight Silva, contractually speaking. It’s a bit of a dick move, to be honest. Here’s the current situation, as reported on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight (via MMAMania):

“One of Anderson Silva’s managers said that one of the issues with Hector Lombard is he thinks he needs at least three more impressive wins* in the UFC. He said that 85 percent** of UFC fans don’t even know who Hector Lombard is, who is of course making his Octagon debut on Saturday night…As for Chris Weidman, he said, ‘Well, there’s another great unknown fighter.’*** He doesn’t see those match ups as being money making pay-per-view events…He did mention Luke Rockhold, who is the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Alas, Rockhold is contractually tied to Strikeforce, so that fight’s not happening.**** We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, the Anderson Silva camp [is] not too excited about the options out there.”*****

* Anderson Silva got his first UFC title shot after a single win over Chris Leben. Just thought that was worth mentioning.

** All percentages provided by Brazil’s National Department of Just Makin’ Shit Up.

*** You know, there was a time when winning five straight fights would automatically get you a middleweight title shot in the UFC. (See: Patrick Cote, Thales Leites.) More importantly, Weidman’s not exactly “unknown” after that hurting he put on Mark Munoz. He’s finally caught the attention of UFC fans, and they want to see more of him.

**** How fucking convenient. YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYBODY, ANDY. Besides, that’s kind of a kick in the nuts to Rockhold, who would love the chance to fight Anderson. Maybe you two can just spar on the weekends?

***** “What about meeeeeeee?!” But seriously, remember when Silva used to spend his down-time destroying light-heavyweights? Those were fun days. We all know the middleweight contender ladder is chaotic right now, but it’s not like Silva doesn’t have other options until things clear up, if he really wanted to compete. Unfortunately, that might entail the possibility of losing, which, as any traditional martial artist knows, could bring great dishonor upon one’s endorsement portfolio.