Miesha Tate, Sarah Kaufman still not convinced Ronda Rousey should be challenging for a title

Ronda Rousey has dislocated and or broken an arm in three or her four fights and she's got a big mouth and decorated history as a Judo practitioner interntionally. Apparently, that's been more than enough to sell them that Rousey challenging Miesha Tate will make for a great promotion come Mar. 3 in Columbus, Oh.

The 135-pound champ Tate isn't convinced Rousey should be in there.

"There are more deserving in the sport of MMA, such as Sarah Kaufman," Tate said on HDNet's "Inside MMA" (1:20 mark). "I don't feel that Ronda isn't going to necessarily going to be a competitve fight or that she's not talented or anything of the such. I do feel that she kind of talked herself into this title fight more than anything else. But what's done is done. My job is to shutup and fight, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Kaufman brought it even stronger.

"I've earned the title shot. I've had the Strikeforce title; I've had two good wins coming off my only loss in 15 fights, and I've earned and deserve the right to fight for that title," Kaufman told MMAjunkie. "Having Ronda have the option of coming in and fighting at 145 pounds, having two fights with Strikeforce, and all of a sudden, she gets a title shot at a division she doesn't fight in, it's a slap in the face."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker disagrees with Kaufman's assessment.

"The way I look at it, she already has the martial arts combat experience to fight at any level, and she's proven that to use two or three times. A girl that's that explosive, Olympic judo background, probably been on the mat more than Miesha, maybe, more than any female fighter we have in our roster ? how can you say she's not title-worthy?"

He also had a message for his jilted former champ.

"You know what, you'll get your shot at some point, but you gotta win," Coker said during the Strikeforce postfight press over the weekend. "If she had continued to win, this would've never happened. She would be the one getting in there against Miesha. You do your part, let us do our part. We'll see each other March 3 and maybe thereafter she'll get her shot."

Kaufman faces Alexis Davis the same card.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/miesha-tate-sarah-kaufman-still-not-convinced-ronday-212007197.html

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

GSP video: Welterweight champ targeting November return

The sharks are circling in the welterweight division. The target for potential feasting is this November. That's when UFC welterweight champ George St-Pierre is anticipating his return to active fighting.

GSP tore his right ACL in December and underwent surgery shortly after. Several fighters have tried to return from a similar injury too quickly and paid the price.

On this HDNet Inside MMA video, Phil Davis tells St-Pierre to take his time. GSP agreed saying that he suffered the injury by rushing back from a less severe ailment to his left knee.

"Hard training will be in July and fighting again in November, I'd say could come back in November," said St-Pierre.

St-Pierre thinks he'll be fighting before the end of 2012. Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit meet for the interim UFC 170-pound title at UFC 143. But, it's anyone's guess who makes it to November in possession on the interim strap.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/gsp-video-welterweight-champ-targeting-november-return-172158094.html

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

?King Mo? Muhammed takes Lorenz Larkin into his realm to force stoppage at Strikeforce

LAS VEGAS - Muhammed Lawal's ready to reclaim his crown. Make that another crown.

Nicknamed "King Mo," Lawal is a nasty ground artist and put the hurt on Larkin, stopping him at 1:32 of the second round in fight No. 3 of the main card at Strikeforce inside The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Lawal got off 15 unanswered shots before referee Kim Winslow saved Larkin. Some in attendance thought it was a late stoppage, including Lawal, who yelled something in disgust about the ref.

"She explained to me that she wants to give us a fair chance to keep on continuing," Lawal said once he calmed down a bit. "If it was me, I'd rather be put to sleep, too."

Lawal, a former star on the international wrestling scene, has developed his striking, but there was little sense in banging it out on the feet with Larkin. Larkin is a dynamic striker with very little grappling experience.

King Mo played to his strength early by scoring a takedown just 27 seconds into the fight. Larkin got back to his feet after a shaky standup by referee Kim Winslow.

Lawal was good on both of takedown attempts and landed 58-of-94 shots on the ground.

In essence, this was a light heavyweight title qualifier. Lawal should be line to face someone for the title later this year. Former champ Dan Henderson vacated the title when he left to return to the UFC.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/king-mo-muhammed-takes-lorenz-larkin-realm-force-043832129.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine Draws $68,805 Live Gate

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Strikeforce gave away more tickets than it sold at its Jan. 7 "Rockhold vs. Jardine" event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

According to figures released Wednesday by the Nevada athletic commission, the event sold 927 tickets for a live gate of $68,805. A total of 1,992 were in attendance, 1,065 of which watched for free. Meanwhile, 727 tickets were left unsold.

As previously reported, the total fighter payroll was $566,000.

The previous event, "Melendez vs. Masvidal," fared better, drawing an attendance of 2,995 for a $154,075 gate. The amount of tickets sold/papered at the Dec. 17 event in San Diego were undisclosed. The fighter payroll for "Melendez vs. Masvidal" was $580,000.

"Rockhold vs. Jardine" was the first Strikeforce card under the promotion's new deal with Showtime. The main card was televised on Showtime and the preliminary card aired on Showtime Extreme.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/18/strikeforce-rockhold-vs-jardine-draws-68-805-live-gate/

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

Jose Aldo?s post-fight celebration spills into crowd at UFC 142

UFC feather weight champion Jose Aldo adopted Rio de Janeiro as a home when he started fighting. After he beat Chad Mendes to defend the belt, they adopted him right back.

Immediately after the fight was stopped, Aldo ran out of the cage and into the crowd. The raucous crowd swarmed around him, all hoping to touch their triumphant fighter. The featherweight was lost among the bodies until he emerged on a cornerman's shoulders and finally made it back to the cage.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/jose-aldo-post-fight-celebration-spills-crowd-ufc-055023672.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez