Tag: Strike Force

Strikeforce Eyeing July 30 For Major Event

Strikeforce has been trying to put together an event for July that would feature a potential heavyweight matchup between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson. It appears that the promotion is targeting a date of July 30 for the show, and will look to broadcast the event on Showtime instead of attempting a rumored pay-per-view […]

Strikeforce LogoStrikeforce has been trying to put together an event for July that would feature a potential heavyweight matchup between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson. It appears that the promotion is targeting a date of July 30 for the show, and will look to broadcast the event on Showtime instead of attempting a rumored pay-per-view show.

MMAjunkie.com posted the news Tuesday morning, noting that the Sears Centre in Chicago was one of the leading candidates to host the event.

The event would follow the upcoming Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event set for June 18 in Dallas, Texas. That event features the second set of quarterfinal bouts for the promotions Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament.

After the acquisition of Strikeforce by Zuffa, I fully expected to see less of the “Yes, No, Maybe” booking of past Strikeforce events. It appears that despite the UFC running the behind the scenes activities at the recent Diaz vs. Daley event, they have yet to influence the Strikeforce Executive staff with building shows long before the event date and will leave us with the last minute booking of fights once again.

Josh Thomson Ready To Face The Best 155 Lbs Fighters From Strikeforce Or The UFC

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (18-4, 1NC) is looking to climb back to the top to regain his title once more.
Despite a loss in his last fight, a last minute fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri at the Dynamite!! 2010 event last New Years Eve, Thomson still feels he’s one of the top 155 […]

Josh_Thomson iiFormer Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (18-4, 1NC) is looking to climb back to the top to regain his title once more.

Despite a loss in his last fight, a last minute fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri at the Dynamite!! 2010 event last New Years Eve, Thomson still feels he’s one of the top 155 lb fighters in the world.

Now that Zuffa has purchased Strikeforce, “The Punk” says he’s ready to face the best from the UFC or Strikeforce.

“I really don’t care who they match me up against. Even if they want to bring someone over from the UFC, I’d definitely love to fight them. It doesn’t matter. I’m at the stage of my career where I feel like I’ve already won my world title. I’m going to make a run at it and make sure I try to get my belt back, but the biggest thing is that I’m not going to sit here and say who I want to fight next because ultimately it’s not my decision. So I don’t really care. I just want to fight the best guys …

“With the merger of STRIKEFORCE and the UFC, we’re going to have the option of saying, ‘Hey, I’d like to fight that guy. I think it’d be an exciting fight.’ They put their matches together based on what they think is best, and as a fighter, you just go out there and fight. But, yeah, of course, I’d love to see those fights. Gil [Melendez] and I have put up with that conversation for awhile. ‘How do you feel you match up against Frankie [Edgar],’ etc. I always felt like Gilbert and I matched up well against any of those guys. But I think it’s going to be great. I definitely want to fight the best guys, and if the UFC feels they have them, I wouldn’t mind that. Whoever the best guys are, that’s who I want to fight. Everyone talks about being the best, and I guess I need to go out there and prove I’m the best guy.”

Rumored Bout Between Gilbert Melendez vs. Jim Miller Not Happening, But It Should

Despite some apparent rumors of a possible title fight between Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez (19-2) and UFC lightweight Jim Miller (20-2), Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed that it is just that, a rumor.
After Melendez recent win over Tatsuya Kawajiri he started campaigning to unify both the UFC and Strikeforce 155 lb […]

MelendezDespite some apparent rumors of a possible title fight between Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez (19-2) and UFC lightweight Jim Miller (20-2), Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed that it is just that, a rumor.

After Melendez recent win over Tatsuya Kawajiri he started campaigning to unify both the UFC and Strikeforce 155 lb titles. While Miller, who has won seven straight, has talked about wanting a title shot but seems content to sit and wait till the UFC offers him one.

In my opinion, bringing UFC fighters over to Strikeforce would alleviate the backlog of fighters waiting for a chance at the title. Anthony Pettis had earned the next shot after a win over Ben Henderson at WEC 53, but was told to wait after champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were booked for their title rematch. Now Pettis meets Clay Guida later this summer, and somewhere in there Miller has to fit in the pecking order, so why not give him a title shot with Strikeforce.

Here are Coker’s comments on the rumored bout during a recent interview on the “Savage Dog Show” with Sherdog.com.

“There’s going to be a lot of rumors flying back and forth, around fights and what’s going to happen, but they’re not based on fact. They’re just based on rumors and people just trying to start a story or keep legs on the story. The truth is there has not been any dialogue on that.”

“Who knows when those other fights (UFC vs. Strikeforce) will happen, but I think that Gilbert will be able to hold his own and prove to the world that he is the number one fighter in the world.”

“I’ve been feeling that he’s the number one lightweight in the world for the last 18 months or the last year at least. I think if you look at his performance over Kawajiri … I think it’s well deserved.”

Women’s Welterweight Contender Miesha Tate Ready To Return End May

Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Tournament winner Miesha “Takedown” Tate (11-2) had been scheduled to meet women’s 135 pound champ Marloes Coenen last month in Columbus, Ohio, but a knee injury at the last minute forced her out of the fight.
Now, in a recent interview with Strikeforce.com, Tate says she’ll be ready to fight by the end […]

Miesha-TateStrikeforce Women’s Welterweight Tournament winner Miesha “Takedown” Tate (11-2) had been scheduled to meet women’s 135 pound champ Marloes Coenen last month in Columbus, Ohio, but a knee injury at the last minute forced her out of the fight.

Now, in a recent interview with Strikeforce.com, Tate says she’ll be ready to fight by the end of May, and as far as she knows she’s still the #1 contender for the Women’s Welterweight title.

It’s unlikely that we’d see a Coenen vs. Tate bout slotted for Strikeforce’s Dallas event, but July’s Fedor vs. Henderson event, if that ends up being the event title, would be a great event to feature a women’s title match.

“It’s April now, and I think by the end of May that I could be ready. Reasonably, with a six-week training camp now, I could be ready by the end of May. As far as the injury itself, I’m completely done with therapy on my knee. This is my third week of normal training, and other than being stiff and sore, I think my knee is fine … ”

“As far as I know, that’s what the plan is. I’m still the number-one contender. Due to the injury, I lost the shot at that time. But I didn’t lose all the work I put in to get that number-one slot, and STRIKEFORCE has done a great job of working with me through that. So I don’t see any reason I wouldn’t be fighting for the title next … ”

“Honestly, I think that once I get that takedown that it’s going to be my playing field entirely. Whether it be a TKO or a submission victory, that’s how I see the fight ending. I feel it’ll be in the first round, but I’ll be prepared to go all five [rounds].”

Rumor: Gina Carano To Meet Sarah D’Alelio On June 18

A report from NonStopWmmA.com has fan favorite Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-1) meeting Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (4-1) in a 145 lb bout at the upcoming Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event in June. The website specifically stated that their source wished to remain “anonymous” so the validity of the report cannot be verified at this […]

Gina Carano - Feb 2011A report from NonStopWmmA.com has fan favorite Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-1) meeting Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (4-1) in a 145 lb bout at the upcoming Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event in June. The website specifically stated that their source wished to remain “anonymous” so the validity of the report cannot be verified at this time.

Strikeforce has been looking for an opponent to face Carano, and had been in talks with Cinday Dandois but she turned down the fight due to pregnancy.

Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum is expected to take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on June 18. The event features the remaining two Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal bouts between Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers.

Carano hasn’t fought since August of 2009 when she lost a women’s middleweight title fight with Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos at the San Jose event. Since that time she has spent some of it acting where she plays the main role in director Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” spy thriller. Before the loss, “Conviction” had won seven straight. She is currently training with Jackson’s MMA for this upcoming bout.

D’Alelio also enters the fight on a loss, a unanimous decision to Julie Kedzie in December at a Jackson’s MMA Series event. All five of her professional fights came last year, with her winning four straight matches, including three submission wins and one TKO victory.

Gilbert Melendez Talks Nick Diaz, 155 Lbs Division, “Business As Usual” & More

Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez was a guest on ‘Inside MMA’ on HDNet this past week, he spoke with hosts Kenny Rice, and guest host, Michael “The Voice” Shiavello.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez was a guest on ‘Inside MMA’ on HDNet this past week, he spoke with hosts Kenny Rice, and guest host, Michael “The Voice” Shiavello.