You may have never heard the name Brandon Saling prior to tonight. However, due to some body art, you may be hearing about him quite a bit more. The Ohio native, Saling, was fighting on the Tate vs. Rousey undercard against fellow Ohio native and fan favorite, Roger Bowling, with both fighters taking the fight on short notice.
The trash talking is all but over between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey and the two ladies will settle their squabble inside the Strikeforce cage. The women’s bantamweight title is on the line tonight, but before that happens, Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis will fight on the night’s preliminary card to determine the number one contender and next in line for whomever walks away with the belt.
The fighters for tonights’s Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey card stepped onto the scales last night in Columbus, Ohio. All 18 fighters made weight and will begin stepping into the cage tonight at 8pm ET / PT for the preliminary card that will be airing on Showtime Extreme. The night main card will start at 10pm ET / PT time and is headlined by the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title bout between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
It was first thought to be headlined by the heavyweight grand prix final between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier. When that didn’t work out, Strikeforce then promoted the women’s bantamweight title fight between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey to headliner status. Strikeforce then surrounded is second card anchored by a women’s title fight with several of the promotions top fighters.
What a year Strikeforce has had with the heavyweight grand prix, being bought by ZUFFA and most recently signing a new deal with Showtime for 2012. The promotion closed their year out with a fight card filled with lightning quick finishes, grinding decisions and two dominate champions retaining their titles.
As the final Strikeforce event of the 2011 came to a close the resounding question echoing throughout the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California was “who’s next?” The two champions on the card last night had their hand raised in victory but have now essentially cleared out their respective divisions and what’s on the horizon for them is unknown.
If you missed the news, Strikeforce has signed a new deal with Showtime and the promotion will put on up to eight shows next year. Before that new deal kicks into gear the promotion has one final event of 2011 this weekend as Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal hit San Diego, California.
The seventeenth Strikeforce Challengers event took place tonight from the new home of the Challengers series, the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Airing live on Showtime the card was headlined by the first ever trilogy bout between Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker.
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.
TUF Live Finale Weigh-in Results and Pictures
All the fighters for tomorrow’s TUF Live Finale were on weight as they stepped onto the scales inside the Pearl at the Palms. The 20 fighters, including 12 of the 16 TUF Live fighters will begin entering the Octagon tomorrow starting at 2:45pm PT / 5:45pm ET.
