Video analysis: UFC may announce FOX card fighters today, who will it be?

On Thursday, the UFC sent out a late press release to announce that Dana White has a Friday teleconference for the media at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. It was simply slugged "UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE TO MAKE MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW?"
major announcement.

Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to break down the possibilities at the UFC's debut on FOX on Nov. 12.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-UFC-may-announce-FOX-card-fighte?urn=mma-wp6513

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

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/

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Daniel Cormier May Have Broken Hand After Landing First Punch

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CINCINNATI -- MMA Fighting spoke to Daniel Cormier following his knockout of Antonio Silva about the way the fight played out, his patience throughout the fight, his injured right, when he will be ready to fight again and meeting Josh Barnett in the finals.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/11/daniel-cormier-may-have-broken-hand-after-landing-first-punch/

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

Video: Highlights from stellar Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov card

If you were busy doing something nowhere near as important as watching fights last night, and missed Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, here are the highlights from a top-to-bottom fantastic card. Strikeforce commentator Mauro Renallo is slightly excited in this clip, so you may want to turn the sound on your computer down.

The main card featured two submissions, two knockouts and a tight five-round decision. Daniel Cormier delivered an upset, Mo Lawal provided a comeback after more than a year off, and Pat Healy started things off with a come-from-behind victory. Really, what more can you ask from a card?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Highlights-from-stellar-Strikeforce-Barn?urn=mma-wp6827

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

Video: Highlights from stellar Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov card

If you were busy doing something nowhere near as important as watching fights last night, and missed Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, here are the highlights from a top-to-bottom fantastic card. Strikeforce commentator Mauro Renallo is slightly excited in this clip, so you may want to turn the sound on your computer down.

The main card featured two submissions, two knockouts and a tight five-round decision. Daniel Cormier delivered an upset, Mo Lawal provided a comeback after more than a year off, and Pat Healy started things off with a come-from-behind victory. Really, what more can you ask from a card?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Highlights-from-stellar-Strikeforce-Barn?urn=mma-wp6827

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Thailand sport climbing: can you help?

Since an old friend told me about his climbing trips to Thailand it’s been one of my boxes-to-tick. Climbing by the beach and then relaxing in the blue seas sounds too good to be true. I’m about to find out - I’ve decided to do it later this year… Photo kindly shared by HalonaCoast on Flickr I’m [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rock-climbing-blog/~3/38U5UCpl448/philsheard

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

You tell us: What to do with Luke Rockhold?

You tell us: What to do with Luke Rockhold?

Luke Rockhold was one-fourth of American Kickboxing Academy's dominant evening at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov. He predicted an AKA sweep, then delivered with a five-round decision win over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to win Strikeforce's middleweight belt.

But what does that belt mean? After Strikeforce was purchased by the UFC, the promotion's future is hazy. Some of Strikeforce's biggest stars, like Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz and Cung Le, have been cherry-picked by the UFC. With a talent pool that gets shallower with every UFC signing, what would you do with Rockhold?

Give him a bout with Tim Kennedy: He lost his last title shot, but since dropping a tight decision to Jacare, Kennedy won a decision over Robbie Lawler. He seems to be the most likely fighter to Rockhold in Strikeforce, and Rockhold told Cagewriter that he would be open to this fight.

Grant Jacare's wish for a rematch: At the post-fight press conference, Souza said he wanted to fight Rockhold again. This is not a surprise, considering how close Saturday's bout was. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was open to the idea, but wouldn't commit either way. Rockhold said that he would like to see Jacare win another fight before a rematch.

Ship him to the UFC: At 26, Rockhold is young, talented and hasn't lost since 2007. Should he really spend the best years of his career languishing in Strikeforce, the promotion that Mo Lawal called a dying cancer patient? Rockhold told Cagewriter that he isn't quite ready for a fight with Anderson Silva, but he would love to get tested in the UFC.

So what would you do with Rockhold, Cagereaders? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/You-tell-us-What-to-do-with-Luke-Rockhold-?urn=mma-wp6849

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Anderson Silva Likely Out Until 2012 from Shoulder Injury

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva likely won't fight again until 2012 after recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in training before his second-round TKO of Yushin Okami last month at UFC 134 in his native Brazil. Silva is expected to face the winner of a October's UFC 136 matchup between Sonnen and Brian Stann when he can return to the Octagon early next year.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/24317/anderson-silva-likely-out-until-2012-from-shoulder-injury/

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo