Chris Camozzi vs. Francis Carmont Added to UFC 137 Fight Card

The Ultimate Fighter 11's Chris Camozzi will return to the UFC to welcome France's Francis Carmont to the Octagon in a middleweight matchup on the UFC 137 fight card on October 29 in Las Vegas, the UFC announced Monday. UFC 137 is headlined by welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit and also features BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/24328/chris-camozzi-vs-francis-carmont-added-to-ufc-137-fight-card/

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Fedor is ready to take on Pacman and UFC heavyweight title fight

It's not like M-1 is really worried about what's going on halfway around the world, but having Fedor Emelianenko fight on Nov. 12 is a bit ridiculous. If you're a Fedor fan, your schedule may already be jammed that night.

The former PRIDE heavyweight king is set to fight Jeff Monson in Moscow.

In the United States, the world's most popular boxer Manny Pacquiao battles Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, NV. Down the road in Anaheim, Ca., the UFC will make its debut on network television with Cain Velasquez putting his heavyweight title on the line against Junior dos Santos on Fox.

Zuffa parted ways with Fedor (31-4, 1-3 Strikeforce) after he lost his third straight fight against Dan Henderson. By all accounts, M-1 decided to pass on what sounds like a lucrative deal to sign with the UFC. He signed with Strikeforce which was eventually purchased UFC's parent company Zuffa. So now he's headed back to the minors. Monson is 40 and coming off a very one-sided loss against Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce. Fedor will be 35 years old later this month.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fedor-is-ready-to-take-on-Pacman-and-UFC-heavywe?urn=mma-wp6621

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov weigh-in results

CINCINNATI -- A sparse, but knowledgeable and loud crowd watched as all 20 fighters made weight at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov at the U.S. Bank Arena.

There were fireworks early, as Alexis Davis seemed to take offense to Amanda Nunes crowding her space during their staredown. Mike Kyle and Marcos Rogerio de Lima engaged in a intense staredown that lingered to the point of uncomfortableness. As Daniel Cormier and Antonio Silva squared off, Cormier was not pleased with Silva's large fists getting so close to his face.

The weigh-in results:

MAIN CARD (Showtime)
?    Josh Barnett (261) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (256.5)
?    Daniel Cormier (247) vs. Antonio Silva (264.5)
?    Champ Ronaldo Souza (185) vs. Luke Rockhold (185)
?    Roger Gracie (205) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (205)
?    Maximo Blanco (155) vs. Pat Healy (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (HDNet)
?    Mike Kyle (205) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (205)
?    Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (205) vs. Yoel Romero (205)
?    Jordan Mein (170) vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (170)
?    Alexis Davis (135) vs. Amanda Nunes (134.5)
?    Chris Mierzwiak (185) vs. Dominique Steele (184.5)

The preliminary fights will air on HDNet at 8 p.m. ET, and Showtime at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-Barnett-vs-Kharitonov-weigh-in-res?urn=mma-wp6725

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

White shoots down Lesnar retirement rumors

During today's UFC on Fox fight announcement teleconference, Dana White took a minute to address a Lesnar retirement story that made the rounds this morning on the MMA blogosphere.

"That's ridiculous. That's so far from the truth it's not even funny. The guy's a 100 percent. The guy's working up on farm in Canada all summer long," White said. "He's a 100 percent. His surgery went great. He's a 100 percent. He's getting back into training here in the next couple of weeks."

The MMACorner reported that Lesnar's career could be over:

However, multiple sources close to his camp tell a different story about the former champion's condition.  According to the sources, more than one doctor has informed Lesnar that he should no longer compete in the sport due to the stress that training and fighting puts on his body.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/White-shoots-down-Lesnar-retirement-rumors?urn=mma-wp6547

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

?Feijao? returns with a bang at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

CINCINNATI -- Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante took out Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero with a deluge of impressive striking at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov on Saturday night.

A very tentative beginning was broken up in the first round by a  leaping kick from Romero. It didn't do much, but it was pretty. Cavalcante made the first contact, landing a whipping leg kick. Romero continued to move around, leaping out of the way for most strikes. Referee Dan Miragliotta finally stopped the bout to warn Romero that if he didn't engage, a point would be deducted.

In the second round, Romero threw a kick that landed in Cavalcante's crotch. After a break Romero unloaded, hitting Romero with several unanswered punches. Cavalcante tried to answer back with kicks, but Romero deftly moved out of the way from them. He pinned Cavalcante against the fence. After Cavalcante took Romero down, the Cuban pushed him off, then quickly returned to his feet.

Cavalcante threw a kick that missed but then he spun around with a backfist that knocked Romero to the ground. Feijao followed him there with ground and pound. Romero somehow got back to his feet, but Feijao didn't let up. He threw knees and punches until Romero fell to the ground. He then landed one last to knock Romero out at 4:51 in the second round.

For Feijao, this was his first fight back since losing the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt to Dan Henderson. Though his first round was slow, he showed a great chin in surviving Romero's onslaught, and then having the striking skill to end the fight.

This was just Romero's fifth fight. Though his credentials are top-notch, he still clearly has much to learn about striking.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/-Feijao-returns-with-a-bang-at-Strikeforce-Bar?urn=mma-wp6763

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Strikeforce?s Three Stars: Cormier, Lawal and Mein

Strikeforce?s Three Stars: Cormier, Lawal and Mein

Who stood out from the thrilling card delivered by Strikeforce on Saturday night in Cincinnati? Read Cagewriter's picks, then tell us your stars in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Daniel Cormier: When Strikeforce announced the heavyweight Grand Prix, did you ever expect that one of the finalists would be Cormier? The two-time Olympian was given a golden opportunity when Alistair Overeem left the tournament. Cormier seized the moment, knocking out the much larger Antonio Silva in the first round. Unfortunately, he injured his hand in the process. The timing of his finals bout against Josh Barnett will depend on the severity of the injury.

No. 2 star -- "King Mo" Lawal: After a layoff of more than a year, Lawal showed no signs of injury or ring rust, knocking out Roger Gracie in the first round. After the win, he said he is interested in going after the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt again, but not if it's a bout to win a vacant belt. Lawal and Cormier's wins were part of the 4-0 night by American Kickboxing Academy.

No. 3 star -- Jordan Mein: One of the best performances of the evening was on the preliminary card, as Bas Rutten-trained Mein took out Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. With his father in his corner, the 21-year-old Mein handled Santos' leg and body kicks before unloading a flurry of strikes on Santos' face in the third round and then finishing with five right elbows.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-s-Three-Stars-Cormier-Lawal-and-Me?urn=mma-wp6833

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Jack Shields passes away, son Jake facing tough decision with UFN 25 in less than three weeks

A rough month for the mixed martial arts world just witnessed another sad passing. Jake Shields' father Jack passed away on Monday.

"lost my father manager and one of my best friends today!! R.I.P jack you will be greatly missed and loved by many" ? Jake Shields

Jack, 67, was a huge part of Jake's rise over the years. At age 23, the fighter was on the verge of breaking through, but a lack of solid management was holding him back. His father had a little experience working in the music promotion business so he offered to help out.

"Jake asked me to manage him after that and I said, 'I'm sure there's someone down there who knows the business a lot better than I do. I'm all the way up here in the mountains. There's got to be someone closer to you who knows this business,'" Shields told AOL.com back in April. "Six to eight months later he sent me a contract that somebody wanted him to sign and then I took over. It was terrible. I had to [delete] the whole thing and write a new one."

The younger Shields has always been one of the more polite, grounded fighters in the game. It's clear he got that from his father. Jack said being around his son also made him a better person.

"Jake is somebody who fights cool. Before the fight he stays relaxed and he'll be back there joking. I've been back there with other people ? I'm not going to name them, but friends of ours who fight ? and some of them work themselves up to get mad and angry before they go fight. Jake doesn't do that. He's totally relaxed and totally confident. That relaxed confidence tends to wash over me, and I usually go into the fights relaxed and confident as well," said Jack.

In a pivotal welterweight title, Jake is scheduled fight Jake Ellenberger on Sept. 17 in New Orleans at Ultimate Fight Night 25.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jack-Shields-passes-away-son-Jake-facing-tough-?urn=mma-wp6415

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

Josh Barnett Lobbies Strikeforce to Put Heavyweight Title Up for Grabs in GP

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CINCINNATI -- The post-fight press conference had almost wrapped up, but Josh Barnett couldn't resist. When the topic of conversation turned to what Strikeforce was planning to do about its vacant heavyweight title, Barnett just had to put Scott Coker on the spot.

"Why don't we sweeten the pot?" Barnett asked. "Why don't we put that title on the line between me and [Daniel] Cormier?"

As he went on to explain, "Strikeforce needs a real champ. It needs a real champ like me or Cormier. Besides us, who is it?"


Coker, who seemed visibly uncomfortable with the question, gave a meandering answer in the form of a history lesson that eventually boiled down to one main point: "Let's just take it one step at a time, Josh."

In other words, Strikeforce isn't committing to anything just yet. Not until it absolutely has to.

And yet, it seems only logical to use the heavyweight Grand Prix to crown a champion now that Alistair Overeem has fled to the UFC and the title is vacant. As Barnett pointed out while slipping into his pro wrestling schtick at the presser, either he or Cormier could be legitimately dubbed the Strikeforce title-holder after winning this tournament.

"Either one of us is a grand champion," said Barnett. "Either one of us is the kind of guy who can take that belt, hold our hands up with it, and people look at us and say, hey, those guys are champs. That's the people we want representing our company. That's the kind of guy I want to look up to and say hey, you want to see a fighter? You want to see a real bad-ass in the world? There he is, right there. See that gold around his waist? That's not a joke. That's reality. The people he had to step over to get that, he earned it."

As Barnett said later, this was a speech he meant to give in the cage for all to see, but forgot it in the post-fight confusion.

"But I really believe that, once it gets to the finals, there really are no two better fighters to represent Strikeforce as a heavyweight champion," he said. "This is not where we intended to be at this point with the tournament, but the fact of the matter is, this is where we are. We have no champ. It's vacant. We can't walk around like that. We can't hold our heads as high if we don't have a heavyweight champion."

The fact that Strikeforce officials won't go ahead and put the title on the line makes you wonder, what are they saving it for? Or perhaps, is it a decision that's out of their hands, now that Zuffa owns the organization and seems to be picking it apart one piece at a time?

"I don't even want to go there," Barnett said. "I could speculate. I've been in this longer than almost anybody you can find at any of these events. But I just don't want to do it."

At the moment, he said, his more immediate goal is not just beating Cormier in the finals, but getting at least one takedown to prove that he's capable of putting a former Olympic wrestler on his back.

"I've got to get that takedown on DC," he said during the press conference, adding that he knew if he managed to do it, "Mo [Lawal] will never let him live it down, ever."

From the other side of the podium Cormier just grinned and leaned forward into his microphone.

"Not happening," he said.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/11/josh-barnett-lobbies-for-strikeforce-to-put-heavyweight-title-up/

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio