Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Recap

The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will finally have a winner when Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier do battle on May 19th.

Here’s a recap of how the tournament got down to these two fighters.

Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey Strikeforce Promo

Here’s the promo for the eagerly-awaited title fight between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey, which takes place March 3rd on Showtime. My only hope is that this lasts more than one round. Tate and Rousey dislike each other, so that makes the run-up for this fight all the more fun.

Ronda Rousey: Miesha Tate is ‘Whiny, Annoying’

With the possible exception of Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg, I have never been as jacked for a women’s MMA fight like I am for the March 3rd Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey bout for the Strikeforce bantamweight championship.

The continual trade of insults and disparagements signifies to me that their words are more than just propaganda to sell a fight. These two genuinely dislike each other.

Does that make for a better fight? Not necessarily, but it sure doesn’t hurt. Rousey added more fuel to the fire when she said that Tate is annoying and whiny in an interview with Chicagoan Jennifer Swift for TapouT Magazine.

The Tate vs. Rousey fight is the main event of a stacked card. There’s also the return of Paul Daley and Sarah Kaufman, plus KJ Noons vs. Josh Thomson. You can check out the event on Showtime.

King Mo KO’s Larkin, Rips Ref Winslow

King Mo needed just one minute and thirty-two seconds to put away dynamic striker Lorenz Larkin on Saturday night. King Mo had little problem scooping up Larkin and tossing him to the mat. Then he administered a beating on Larkin, one that he thinks shouldn’t have been as bad as it was. He thought referee Kim Winslow’s stoppage was entirely too late, and let her know about it in the cage.

Here’s a gif of the final moments:

In the post-fight interview with Mauro Ranallo, King Mo said he respected Winslow’s decision after speaking with her about the stoppage. Apparently he had a change of heart, as he ripped Winslow in an interview with MMA Junkie:

“I’m going to put it like this: The commission, they need to do something with [Winslow],” Lawal said. “Let her take a fight or something and give her a bad ref.”

“Let [Winslow] fight ‘Cyborg,’ and let’s do a late stoppage with her,” Lawal said. “I watched her almost get Jan Finney killed by ‘Cyborg.’ I think maybe the tables need to be turned. Put me in there as a ref, and I’ll just do a terrible job like her.”

The image above clearly shows nine strikes from King Mo that are barely contested. On some of them his arms are completely down. It’s definitely one of the worst late stoppages I’ve seen.

Five UFC Fights For Fedor

The rumors about Fedor coming to the UFC are likely exaggerated. But it’s still intriguing to most fight fans, even after his three straight defeats. Fedor recently notched his first win in over two years by beating Jeff Monson. If you don’t think that Fedor is still UFC-worthy, tell that to Monson. According to Monson, Fedor broke his femur and ruptured his patella tendon. Ask Dan Henderson. Fedor rocked Hendo before he was caught by that uppercut.

Would he come into the UFC and be a contender? Not necessarily. But there are still some fights that would make sense, make the UFC money and thrill fans. Here are 5 of them.

Fedor vs. Fabricio Werdum

I would bet a HUGE chunk of coin that Fedor would win in a rematch with Werdum. There’s no way he would approach Werdum the same way he did when he was submitted by him in June of 2010. Fedor would pummel him in the standup. Werdum would have to come back to the UFC, but with Strikeforce seemingly dead that shouldn’t pose any problem.

Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar

Conventional wisdom — and I’m not saying I agree — is that Lesnar will lose to Overeem at UFC 141. How absolutely insane would it be for Fedor to sign with the UFC and step into the Octagon against Lesnar for his first fight? The people at TopBet Sportsbook would have their heads, servers and bankrolls explode. You don’t think that would set some PPV records?

Fedor vs. Overeem

Let’s say that Brock Lesnar beats Overeem. The exact same scenario from above could take place with Overeem, especially since he would not be ready for a title shot, or even the top contender at that point. These two should have fought many years ago. I still believe that people are overrating Overeem. An all-out brawl with Fedor? Yes, please!

Fedor vs. Cro Cop

Cro Cop keeps mentioning retirement but you can bet your life he’d love a rematch with Fedor — and so would the fans. Cro Cop had Fedor reeling in the first round of their 2005 PRIDE battle, but Fedor came back to win the bout by unanimous decision. They are both still willing to brawl and a rematch would be epic, even at their advanced age.

Fedor vs. Roy Nelson

I like this match stylistically. They both like to throw bombs and they both have different types of ground games. Fedor is more ground and pound while Nelson is a BJJ black belt. They would no doubt throw down in the center of the Octagon, but when Nelson gets rocked or runs low on gas he likes to shoot on his opponents. The fight would then get to the ground with either Fedor taking the top and pounding away or Big Country working subs until he catches Fedor or the fight gets back to standing.

Julia Budd’s Arm Snapped by Ronda Rousey [Video]

Ronda Rousey is taking the world of MMA by storm — or perhaps by armbar. Friday night she added another win via armbar submission, and almost took Julia Budd’s arm home with her as a trophy.

Rousey now has 6 wins in her career: 4 pro and 2 amateur. All of them have come by way of armbar. What’s interesting is that in her last bout she actually let go of a hold on Sarah D’Alelio, telling the ref to stop the bout because D’Alelio verbally tapped. It was a bit controversial, but there was none of that this time. She simply snapped Budd’s arm when she refused to tap. Budd will be on medical suspension for six months unless she is cleared by a doctor before then.

Here is a look at the snap on loop.

MMA Fighters Playing Golf?

This ought to be good — MMA fighters taking it to the golf course to strike the white orb.

C’mon Cung Le! Don’t you know you have to wear a collared shirt out on the links! They don’t allow ‘Clinch Gear’ tees. But, it was all for charity, so it’s cool. Too bad they didn’t show more of these guys shanking and duffing it. Hitting some worm burners. That would have been great.

Jordan Mein Dissects Evangelista Cyborg

I don’t know that I have ever seen a fighter go from fighting for a title to a spot on the undercard in his next fight. But that’s exactly what Evangelista Cyborg just did. He fought Nick Diaz in January for the Strikeforce title, and fought Jordan Mein on the undercard at the Strikeforce event in Ohio on Saturday night.

He also got dissected by Mein, and it’s kind of painful to watch.

Mein hasn’t lost since 2009. Since then he has beaten Cyborg, Joe Riggs, former UFC fighter Josh Burkman and Marius Zaromskis, stringing together 9 straight wins. Just 21 years old, Mein looks like a fighter to watch. He improved to 22-6 after defeating Cyborg on Saturday.

Daniel Cormier KOs Big Foot Silva [gif]

Daniel Cormier finished off Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in a big way on Saturday night, propelling himself into the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals. He’ll face Josh Barnett, who took care of Sergei Kharitonov. Overeem’s leaving the tournament may have been the best thing for fight fans. Cormier gets his chance to shine and Overeem goes to the UFC to battle Brock Lesnar. Awesome.

Cormier certainly has no problem adding a few for good measure. Do you think he should have backed off? Or was it right for him to throw down on Silva two more times after he was knocked down?

Fedor the Best? Dana White Says No Way

Mauro Ranallo has Dana White on his show on “The Score”, and he and Dana debate about why Fedor Emelianenko is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time.

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