All eyes in the MMA community will be on Strikeforce this Saturday night as they crown their Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, when Daniel Cormier squares off with Josh Barnett. What people will be seeing in three of the four main card bouts, are American Kickboxing Academy fighters trying to win a Grand Prix, a Lightweight Championship and a Number One contender-ship. It’s a big night in the south bay.
Let’s play a little game; now it’s not as cool as 52 card pick up but it is very similar in nature, it’s called “sorting out the top of the Strikeforce divisions”.
When ZUFFA (parent company of the UFC) purchased Strikeforce last year, a handful of the promotion top talent include champions Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem defected to the UFC. This would leave a gaping hole that the promotion has yet fill, and really doesn’t have any sense of urgency to do so.
The semifinal round of the Strikeforce Grand Prix is in the books and it time to move onto December’s Strikeforce event and the Grand Prix final in early 2012. Before we officially close the book on Saturday’s exciting card, the Ohio Athletic Commission and handed out it medical suspensions along with the reported fighters pay.
The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-finals last night wasn’t just about the big boys, but about the disproportionately large amount of prospects making promotional debuts. Some of these fighters brought nothing more than a record, while others came in with extraordinary expectations upon them. The beauty of the fight game though, is that a hype train can be knocked off the tracks and burst into flames at any time, and we certainly saw plenty of that.
With two events happening at nearly the same time, MMA fans were given the full of MMA overload. The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov undercard fights aired on HDNet with five exciting fights. With upsets, finishes, debuts and a little dancing, the undercard had a little bit for everyone.
It took seven long months but finally the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals are here. With a two spots in the finals on the line, four men will step into the cage at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday September 10th looking to punch their ticket.
Taking place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Strikeforce presents Two Title fights as the Co-Main event features Marloes Coenen takes on title challenger Liz Carmouche for the Women’s Welterweight Championship.
Dan Henderson is no stranger to championships or accolades when it comes to his combat sports experience. From representing the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling or to holding two world championships simultaneously in Pride, Henderson has a resume most fighters would love to have.
Bellator 100 Weigh-in Pictures
Last night the fighters for tonight’s Bellator 100 stepped onto the scales with all 24 fighters making weight. The historic 100th event for Bellator takes places tonight from the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix, Arizona and features an all welterweight main card on Spike TV.
UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez Weigh-in Pictures
Due to a previously scheduled Arena Football game at the HP Pavilion, today’s UFC on FOX 7 weigh-ins were held less than a mile away at the California Theater. The small theater was completely filled with cheering fans and all the fighters they came to see made weight.
The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale Weigh-in Pictures
Amidst everything else going on, the UFC has themselves a busy day today with the UFC on FX 6 taking place in Australia and The Ultimate Fighter 16 finale weigh-ins. All 24 fighters made weight today for tomorrow’s event that will crown The Ultimate Fighter 16 welterweight winner.
UFC on FUEL TV 4 Weigh-in Results and Photos
SAN JOSE, Cal. – Still recovering from Saturday’s UFC 148, MMAValor.com was inside the HP Pavilion for today’s UFC on FUEL TV 4 weigh-ins. A few of the fighters would need to step onto the scale behind a towel but all 22 fighters on the UFC on FUEL TV 4 fight card made weight.
TUF Live Finale Live Results and Event Pictures
The long grind of the first live version of The Ultimate Fighter ends tonight at the TUF Live Finale in Las Vegas. Featuring 12 of the 16 TUF Live contestants, the 10 bout card will be headlined by an important match-up in the welterweight division between Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann.
