Tarec Saffiedine comes back from rough first to get by Tyler Stinson at Strikeforce

LAS VEGAS - Tarec Saffiedine looked beat to hell at the end of 15 minutes, but it was only a few Tyler Stinson shots that busted him open.

Much of the fight was waged on the ground with Saffiedine riding Stinson. The judges chose the fighter who maintained top control giving Saffiedine a split decision victory, 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28, in fight No. 1 on the main of the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce in The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Saffiedine (12-3) was hoping to get one of the slots in an expected title fight for the vacant welterweight belt. He may not have done enough tonight?

He certainly didn't look like a championship contender at the end of the fight. Saffiedine had a cut under his right eye, another over his left eye and one more gash in his hairline.

The 6-foot-1 Stinson got the first round on our scorecard.  He dominated the final 90 seconds after blasting Saffiedine with a left elbow. That was the shot that opened the cut under Saffiedine's right eye. The Belgian fighting out Dan Henderson's camp in Temecula, Ca. was on the run the rest of the round.

Saffiedine wisely turned to his grappling in the second and planted Stinson with a takedown with 2:53 left in the round. He did the same in the third round with 4:36 left.

Stinson (21-8) stayed down until referee Steve Mazzagatti put the fight back on the feet with just over a minute left. The stronger striker landed some good shots down the stretch, but it wasn't enough to the steal the final round on 2-of-3 cards.

Saffiedine outlanded Stinson 106-43, that included 78-4 on the ground.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/saffiedine-comes-back-rough-first-stinson-strikeforce-034359981.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

UFC 142 primer: Anthony Johnson a slight underdog to Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort is booked to face Wanderlei Silva during the summer of 2012. He also fights in two weeks at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro. The fight must be a walkover, right? Not according to the oddsmakers.

Johnson, who is moving up 15 pounds to middleweight, is a small underdog at +110.

Don't be surprised when Johnson stands toe-to-toe with Belfort. He'll appear to be the bigger man.

Check out the extended preview for UFC 142 and you'll see Johnson looks massive as he preps for his cut to 185 pounds (5:17 mark).

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-142-primer-anthony-johnson-slight-underdog-vitor-012817622.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Strikeforce?s Three Stars: Rockhold, Lawler and Lawal

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine started with two decisions before getting all kinds of knockout power from the top of the card. Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars; tell us yours in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Luke Rockhold: The Strikeforce middleweight champion was not exactly enthused with his match-up with Jardine, so he took out his anger on Jardine's face. Rockhold swarmed the UFC veteran, laying down punch after punch until (finally) Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight.

But his frustration came right back after the fight, as he talked about how he wants to take on the great fighters who are in the UFC while he is in Strikeforce. It's just as frustrating for fans, who want to see how Rockhold stacks up against the best middleweights in the world.

No. 2 star -- Robbie Lawler: We all knew that Robbie Lawler had power in his hands, but did anyone expect a flying knee? Adlan Amagov clearly didn't, as Lawler used the knee to stun him before using several more punches to stop the fight in under two minutes.

No. 3 star -- "King Mo" Lawal: Though Lawal used his elite wrestling to control Larkin, it was his powerful punches that put Larkin out. He had to throw a ton of punches before Kim Winslow (finally) stepped in and stopped the fight. The next thing in Lawal's sights is Strikeforce's vacant light heavyweight belt.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/strikeforce-three-stars-rockhold-lawler-lawal-150352863.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

UFC 141 Drug Tests Come Back Clean

Drug tests from last month's UFC 141 event in Las Vegas have come back clean for all fighters who were tested, including headliners Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar, the Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed Monday. Overeem and Lesnar were among the 19 out of 20 fighters who were tested from the card, with the only exception being Jon Fitch for undisclosed reasons.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27129/ufc-141-drug-tests-come-back-clean/

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

Comedian calls out UFC champ Georges St. Pierre

Comedian Chris Gethard appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and announced his grand plan: fight Georges St. Pierre. Gethard, a man with a slight frame and no MMA background, wants to get in a cage with one of the world's best fighters.

He admits that he's not aware of the logistics involved, like if a fight like this is even legal. He also seems to be unaware that GSP has been sidelined with a knee injury, but these are all details than can be taken care of. The man has a dream to maybe, maybe, maybe beat the champ. Who are we to stand in his way?

Because really, it's the dreamers who move our society forward. It's the people who look at untamed wilderness and see a burgeoning city, who look up at the moon and see a place to visit, who see a river and create a bridge to cross it, and who see a Greek god of a UFC champ and think, maybe I can beat that guy.

So let's do it, Cagereaders. Start tweeting Georges St. Pierre about fighting Chris Gethard. Do it on behalf of the lovers, the dreamers and me.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cagewriter/comedian-calls-ufc-champ-georges-st-pierre-204313219.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Strikeforce?s Three Stars: Rockhold, Lawler and Lawal

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine started with two decisions before getting all kinds of knockout power from the top of the card. Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars; tell us yours in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Luke Rockhold: The Strikeforce middleweight champion was not exactly enthused with his match-up with Jardine, so he took out his anger on Jardine's face. Rockhold swarmed the UFC veteran, laying down punch after punch until (finally) Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight.

But his frustration came right back after the fight, as he talked about how he wants to take on the great fighters who are in the UFC while he is in Strikeforce. It's just as frustrating for fans, who want to see how Rockhold stacks up against the best middleweights in the world.

No. 2 star -- Robbie Lawler: We all knew that Robbie Lawler had power in his hands, but did anyone expect a flying knee? Adlan Amagov clearly didn't, as Lawler used the knee to stun him before using several more punches to stop the fight in under two minutes.

No. 3 star -- "King Mo" Lawal: Though Lawal used his elite wrestling to control Larkin, it was his powerful punches that put Larkin out. He had to throw a ton of punches before Kim Winslow (finally) stepped in and stopped the fight. The next thing in Lawal's sights is Strikeforce's vacant light heavyweight belt.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cagewriter/strikeforce-three-stars-rockhold-lawler-lawal-150352863.html

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

?Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine? Results: Rockhold, Lawler, and King Mo Score TKO Wins

Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold knocked out UFC veteran Keith Jardine in the first round to defend the 185-pound title for the first time in the main event of Saturday's "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine event in Las Vegas. Robbie Lawler, "King" Mo Lawal, Tyron Woodley, and Tarec Saffiedine also earned wins on the Showtime-televised card.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27110/strikeforce-rockhold-vs-jardine-results/

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Dana White not surprised by Floyd Mayweather?s jail time delay

Floyd Mayweather helps the city of Las Vegas make millions during his fight weekends. That was enough to convince a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace to delay Mayweather scheduled jail time.

More than a few observers were shocked by Melissa Saragosa's the change of heart, but not UFC president Dana White.

"Nothing surprises me with boxing anymore. Good for Floyd, he must have some damn good lawyers. 'Let's let this guy fight and make a few million bucks, then we'll have him go to jail.' That's incredible," chuckled White (6:33 mark).

Melissa Saragosa pointed to the proposed May 5th date as the reason she'd push back Mayweather's scheduled arrival until June 1. There's little that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will go along with the judge's decision and license Mayweather for the fight.

"What's strange to me is the Nevada State Athletic Commission wouldn't even let Chael Sonnen coach "The Ultimate Fighter and that guy cleared up all his problems. He didn't have a jail date pending and he wasn't even allowed to coach," White said on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas.

Some of the names being mentioned to face Mayweather are lightweight Robert Guerrero and 21-year-old 154-pounder Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Both seem like massive mismatched for the 42-0 fighter, considered top two pound-for-pound in the world.

"Hey listen if these guys can keep milking the public for millions and millions of dollars to put on the fights that nobody is asking to see, why wouldn't they?" asked White. "When you stop making money, they'll put on the fights the fans want to see."

On December 21, Mayweather was sentenced to 90-days in jail in connection with a guilty plea to several misdemeanors. Mayweather originally faced multiple felony charges for incident, that involved hair-pulling, punching and arm-twisting, with the mother of three of his children. He also threatened to beat the children, 12, 10 and 8 years old.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cagewriter/dana-white-not-surprised-floyd-mayweather-jail-time-193546605.html

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

Robbie Lawler stops losing skid with exciting Strikeforce TKO

Robbie Lawler's didn't win in 2011, but started 2012 with a thrilling victory over Adlan Amagov. At Strikeforce in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Lawler won with a quick TKO.

Amagov started well with a takedown, controlling Lawler from the start. Unfortunately, he threw a knee to Lawler's head when Lawler was on the ground, and Amagov lost a point for the first round. When the fight re-started, Lawler threw a nasty flying knee. He landed the knee but still flew over Amagov's head. Lawler spun around to follow up with more strikes until the bout was stopped at 1:48 in the first round.

While Lawler only threw eight punches in the fight, it was all he needed to stop his losing streak. In 2011, Lawler lost to Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. His record is now 19-8, while Amagov falls to 9-2-1.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cagewriter/robbie-lawler-stops-losing-skid-exciting-strikeforce-tko-045048530.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey Among Four Fights Confirmed for Strikeforce on March 3

Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Meisha Tate will face undefeated contender Ronda Rousey at Strikeforce's March 3 event in Columbus, Ohio. Also confirmed for the event were Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki, Josh Thomson vs. KJ Noons, and Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27114/miesha-tate-vs-ronda-rousey-among-four-fights-confirmed-for-strikeforce-on-march-3/

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji AnjoÂ