Tag: Robbie Lawler

State of the Strikeforce Middleweights

Filed under: StrikeforceIn the last three years, the Strikeforce middleweight title has been vacated more times than it’s been defended, and 2010 has been another long year for the promotion’s 185-pound division. Its champion, Jake Shields, whipped its…

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In the last three years, the Strikeforce middleweight title has been vacated more times than it’s been defended, and 2010 has been another long year for the promotion’s 185-pound division. Its champion, Jake Shields, whipped its big free agent acquisition, Dan Henderson — and then promptly bolted for the UFC. And then a much-discussed middleweight tournament failed to materialize.

But there’s some hope that Strikeforce will have big fights in the year ahead, even if the middleweight division fizzled in 2010. Below we look at what some of those big fights might be and where the middleweight belt is headed as we survey the state of the Strikeforce middleweight division.

Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu Conference Call No. 2 Notes

Strikeforce held a media conference call on Tuesday ahead of its December 4 Henderson vs. Babalu show in St. Louis, MO. Taking part in the call were the promotion’s CEO Scott Coker, former Olympian Matt Lindland, Octagon refugee Paul Daley, and Strikef…

Strikeforce held a media conference call on Tuesday ahead of its December 4 Henderson vs. Babalu show in St. Louis, MO. Taking part in the call were the promotion’s CEO Scott Coker, former Olympian Matt Lindland, Octagon refugee Paul Daley, and Strikeforce sluggers Scott Smith and Robbie Lawler.

Though there weren’t any shocking revelations that came out of the call, one thing that stood out was how terrible and predictable the questions were.

I guess most of these MMA "journalists" as we’re so often referred to as being, didn’t bother to read Ben’s list of questions you shouldn’t ask when interviewing an MMA fighter:

The highlights are after the jump:

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Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland Signed for ‘Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu’

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsA middleweight bout between veterans Robbie Lawler and Matt Lindland has been added to Strikeforce’s Dec. 4 show in St. Louis, director of communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed with MMA Fighting on Tuesday.

The event, …

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A middleweight bout between veterans Robbie Lawler and Matt Lindland has been added to Strikeforce’s Dec. 4 show in St. Louis, director of communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed with MMA Fighting on Tuesday.

The event, headlined by Dan Henderson vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, will air live on Showtime from the Scottrade Center.

Lawler vs. Lindland Middleweight Clash Added to December 4 Strikeforce Card

(When Lawler said he’ll beat Lindland with his eyes closed, he was serious.)
Strikeforce announced today that a bout between Matt "The Law" Lindland and "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler has been added to its December 4 show in St. Louis, Mi…


(When Lawler said he’ll beat Lindland with his eyes closed, he was serious.)

Strikeforce announced today that a bout between Matt "The Law" Lindland and "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler has been added to its December 4 show in St. Louis, Missouri.

2-3 in his last five outings, Lindland will be looking to avoid racking up any more brain trauma when he meets the dangerous knockout artist, Lawler, who has also only won two of his last five contests.

Two statistics worth noting are that Lawler has finished each of the six opponents he defeated in his past ten fights by KO or TKO and that four of his six losses have come by submission. Considering that Lindland has submitted a hanful of tough jiu-jitsu black belts including Travis Lutter, Carlos Newton and Fabio Leopoldo, the fight could be more competitive than it seems at first glance.

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MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Respect for Chael Sonnen

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Sengoku, Rankings, MiddleweightsI didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all…

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I didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all that ridiculous trash talk he spewed in the run-up to their UFC 117 fight on Saturday night.

But while Silva did manage to pull off a fifth-round submission victory, I now believe Sonnen has to be considered the No. 2 middleweight in the world, and I also believe the next middleweight title fight should be Silva-Sonnen 2. No one had ever even come close to beating Silva in the UFC, and Sonnen had victory within his grasp on Saturday night. He deserves another chance.

You know Silva and Sonnen are the top two middleweights in the world. Find out about the rest of the Top 10 below.

Dan Henderson Readying for Fall Fight; Babalu Still Hopes to Face Him

It’s been three months since Dan Henderson walked out of the Strikeforce cage in Nashville, and the legendary MMA veteran is awaiting his next assignment from the organization.

According to his manager Aaron Crecy, Henderson is expecting to return in …

It’s been three months since Dan Henderson walked out of the Strikeforce cage in Nashville, and the legendary MMA veteran is awaiting his next assignment from the organization.

According to his manager Aaron Crecy, Henderson is expecting to return in the fall.

“We don’t have a date,” he said. “I’ve heard October or November, but I don’t know that anyone knows for sure just yet.”