They say you learn the most from your defeats and that losing makes you stronger but Ian Loveland took it to a new level. After losing back-to-back fights in the UFC and being released, Loveland returned to action in May to capture the Tachi Palace Fights bantamweight championship with a late first round knockout.
Tonight’s Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy event will be the third major event in the span of a single week. With the UFC playing host for the first two events, Strikeforce gets their turn in the spotlight from inside the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.
Saturday’s Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy closes out what has already been a great week of Mixed Martial Arts. It all started with the UFC Fan Expo and UFC 148 in Las Vegas last weekend, moved to San Jose, California for Wednesday’s UFC on FUEL TV 4 and concludes in Portland, Oregon tomorrow.
Back at its new home in Las Vegas, Strikeforce Challengers 18 brought a five bout main card to Showtime. Headlined by a lightweight scrap between Jorge Gurgel and Joe Duarte that many thought would be a slugfest. While their bout was a lot more controlled than anyone figured, their 15 minute battle ended the night in entertaining fashion.
Unbeaten in over a year, Joe “The Hybrid” Duarte (9-2) will face-off against Jorge Gurgel (14-7) in the Main Event for Strikeforce Challengers 18 in Las Vegas on August 12th.
Bellator XIII is the first event for them in season 2 and starts both the Featherweight and Lightweight tournaments.
The apparel company Vindication will enter into the MMA fighter sponsorship arena April 8 for Bellator XIII at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
