StrikeForce News - Page 42

White told UFC fans today that he's still interested in Diaz, the older brother of current UFC lightweight Nate Diaz, just hours before the brash welterweight headlines DREAM.14 in Japan against Hayato Sakurai. "I like Nick Diaz, and I've talked to Nick Diaz many times about coming back to the UFC," White said during a keynote speech at UFC Fan Expo 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. But there are conditions to White's interest – to say nothing of the Strikeforce contract Diaz currently holds. "The problem with Nick Diaz is that he won't even play the game this much," White said. "You can't be crazy all the time."

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You won't find many people who think Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz is a better mixed martial artist than UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. But Diaz thinks he's better than GSP -- and better than every other fighter in the sport as well. Asked what he wants Japanese fans to see when he fights in Japan on Saturday, Diaz answered, "I'd like them to see that I'm the best mixed martial arts fighter pound for pound in the world."

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The Tennessee Athletic Commission is considering disciplinary action – including fines and suspensions – for five individuals following a post-event brawl at the April 17 "Strikeforce: Nashville" event at Bridgestone Arena. The state will not release the identities of the individuals until administrative actions are finalized. In three of the cases, the commission found probable cause to authorize a formal hearing for a civil penalty of $20,000 each and associated costs, as well as a nine-month suspension. Each individual can agree to a "consent order" that would allow him to skip the hearing and agree to a $5,000 fine and three-month suspension. In the fourth case, all of the particulars are the same except that the settlement fine would be $7,500. The larger amount represents an additional civil penalty because the individual did not respond to the commission's inquiry as instructed. A fifth case also recommends the larger $7,500 settlement fine because the individual did not respond to the commission's inquiry. The individual is not licensed with the state, and the complaint also alleges "unlicensed activity." State officials did not immediately confirm when the hearings would take place in the event one or more of the individuals requests one.

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While one rising star gets his big-time shot at the next Strikeforce event, another star again must wait longer. Tim Kennedy has been added to the main card of SF's June 16 event and will face Trevor Prangley, but Bobby Lashley is now off due to a knee injury suffered in training. He was to have faced Ron Sparks.

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The Oregon State Athletic Commission has announced the medical suspensions coming out of last weekend's Strikeforce Challengers event. All 12 pro fighters in action were suspended but the majority were for only 7-14 days with just 4 fighters getting more than 2 weeks. Only 2 fighters-Kevin Casey & Roger Bowling-got longer than a month off. Both are suspended indefinitely pending release by a physician.

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The Oregon State Athletic COmmission has revealed the official fighter payouts from last weekend's Strikeforce Challengers event. The total disclosed payouts was $46,500 with the biggest share-$10,000-going to Kevin Casey. And while Matt Lindland is listed as only making $1000 for his fight, it's important to note that the salary figures from the commission do not include any undisclosed bonuses paid by the organization. For instance, Lindland was paid an official $50,000 purse for his December 2009 debut for Strikeforce, and it is highly unlikely "The Law" would sign-off on a 98 percent decrease in salary. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi was compensated in a similarly undisclosed fashion when his Aug. 2009 official fight purse was listed as just $2,000.

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Nearly 300,000 Showtime viewers tuned in for this past Friday's Strikeforce Challengers 8 headliner between MMA legend Matt Lindland and middleweight prospect Kevin Casey. Ratings information indicates the main event drew 294,000 viewers, which was the peak of the entire broadcast that drew an estimated 249,000 viewers. That was down about 22,000 viewers from the last Challengers event, but that event ran during a "free preview" weekend. The event also drew just 14,000 fewer viewers than the heavily-hyped 5/15 event in St. Louis.

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A lot of competitors can talk a good game, but the true test of a fighter is how he performs in the ring. We have heard a lot about EA Sports MMA, from the developer’s goals when crafting the game to detailed descriptions about the controls, but it wasn’t until yesterday at the EA3 event that we were able to take the Xbox 360 controller and step into the ring. Read on for our impressions of how the controls feel, as well as more details on how submissions are handled (hint: frantic button mashers need not apply).

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Six fighters from this past Saturday's "Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery" event have tested negative for performance-enhancers and drugs of abuse in the organization's independent testing. Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz confirmed the news today with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). Included on the list of clean fighters is Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who faced accusations of performance-enhancer use leading up his headlining fight with challenger Brett Rogers. Overeem won the bout in dominating fashion with a first-round TKO.

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Because opponent Matt Lindland says, among other things, it's embarrassing. "Another embarrassing thing for him. He's rapping and his claim to fame is hanging out with Spencer Pratt? I mean, I actually feel sorry for the guy. Does he not have any friends who can give him some advice? You know, someone should be there to tell him, 'Stop rapping, and stop hanging out with this guy Spencer who's a complete douchebag.' What is he doing? I mean, I haven't met Kevin. He seems like a quality individual, but people are going to question your character when you're hanging around jokers like Spencer Pratt. And the ridiculous rap videos don't help with that either." They headline tonight's Strikeforce Challengers event.

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According to Josh Gross' latest column for SportsIllustrated.com, Strikeforce 185-pound champ Jake Shields' manager and father, Jack Shields says that the promotion has yet to bother to contact them to attempt to negotiate a new contract. "The time is ticking. We'd like to move forward as soon as possible,"the elder Shields told Gross on Monday. "I'd like to be negotiating right now." Strikeforce reps blamed their busy event schedule for the delay, but a source told Gross that they have actually considered releasing Shields before an exclusive negotiating period that expires in three weeks. Even after that period ends, the promotion still has the right to match any offer made by any other promotion, but the fact that they are pretending Shields doesn't exist and discussing life after he leaves the organization essentially all but says they are conceding he will not be back. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker seemed irritated by Gross' inquiry about the possibility that they may release the talented welterweight who has spent the last year moonlighting as a middleweight so he could ensure he had challenging fights. "Can I guarantee that we won't release him? No, I can't. It depends on how the last two or three weeks of negotiation go. I won't be able to answer until negotiations are over. Is it a possibility? It's a possibility. If we're not going to be in the Jake Shields business, let's just move on," Coker said. "That's how I feel. This is a business. Jake has a career and a life and it's not fair to him. But Jake is a guy we've appreciated having him as part of the family."

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After a controversial ending to the Lyle Beerbohm vs. Vitor Ribeiro fight from last Saturday's "Heavy Artillery" card in St. Louis, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras and Ribeiro manager Alex Davis will appeal the official decision that saw Beerbohm take the split decision. Pederneiras takes exception to the 30-27 scores and is hoping for a "No Contest" in his appeal. They told this to the TATAME website: "Man, it's the first time I see a guy spending all the fight defending himself and getting off there with a loss. There were a lot of critics, because Shaolin attacked all the time and there was a judge that gave 30 to 27 for the other guy...I think they missed his name on the paper, it's not possible. They can't do that, is absurd, it's not right. Even if I have to ask the help of a lawyer, I will change this outcome."

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KJ Noons will rematch Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett at the June 26 Strikeforce event in San Jose, CA. Krazy Horse won by first rd KO in their first meeting at EliteXC: Destiny in February 2007. Fight Card: Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum Cris 'Cyborg' Santos vs Jan Finney Cung Le vs Scott Smith KJ Noons vs Charles Bennett

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And he's not telling us either. "This is my life fight, a very good opportunity. I'm training every day for six months because my last fight was in November. I want this fight. I have a lot of respect for Fedor, he's very good, very tough, but it's my opportunity and my turn now. Fedor's a very good puncher, very strong with his right cross. Everybody tries the same game every time. Cro Cop, Arlovski, Minotauro -- everybody tries the same thing. I'm trying a different technique this time. I have a good surprise. I have a good strategy but it's a secret."

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Dan Henderson is looking to get back into the cage following a tough loss to Jake Shields in his Strikeforce debut, and Hendo knows who he wants:

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This past weekend's "Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery" event, which featured the long-awaited return of heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem to the U.S., drew an average of 308,000 viewers on Showtime. Compared to Strikeforce's most-recent Showtime-broadcast event, January's "Strikeforce: Miami," the numbers were down 40.43 percent from the 517,000 viewers that tuned in to see a pair of title wins by Nick Diaz and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos along with performances by Bobby Lashley and Herschel Walker. However, the numbers were comparable to, though down 9.68 percent from, the 341,000 viewers that tuned into this past December's "Strikeforce: Evolution" event. That event featured Scott Smith vs. Cung Le and a lightweight title-unification bout of Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson. Showtime is available in 12 million homes.

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So he says. "I surround myself with people who have the same attitude, intelligent people which you can learn from and develop yourself. In the gym my sparring partners don't really like me. There's nobody else out there with the speed, technical ability and the sharpness [to beat Fedor]. I know how to turn myself into a very dangerous weapon." Said fight could become a reality should Fedor beat Fabricio Werdum on June 26.

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I feel kind of upset because I put down my trainers. We had a great camp. I don't know, after 11 months (out of action) it's kind of hard to come back, but I think I did okay. I took his couple of shots on my chin. I guess I showed the fans my chin's not weak. It was a tough fight. He's tough. It just wasn't my night. Right now I'm focused on my MMA career because when I took the fight on short notice against Brett Rogers my mind was focused on my pro boxing and as a result he knocked my ass out in less than 20 seconds. Of course I wanted to box, but in MMA I have three losses in a row. I'm 15-8 right now and it's horrible. I just have to train I guess even harder and try to fight even harder. I feel great. I could fight maybe tomorrow. It's up to Scott Coker. I want to fight, fight, fight.

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Once one of the most-followed mixed-martial-arts fighters of any gender, Gina Carano has all but disappeared from the public eye following her August 2009 Strikeforce title loss to Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and subsequent acting gig. Carano, who appears in famed director Steven Soderbergh's 2011 film release "Knockout," hasn't fought professionally since that loss, which was the first of her career. And while she isn't booked for Strikeforce anytime soon, SF CEO Scott Coker intends to reach out to her soon. "We will be reaching out to her soon," Coker said after Saturday's latest Showtime-televised event. "She's still part of the family. "We miss you Gina."

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YEAH...I guess time will tell

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