YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Cagewriter
    • Tournaments are tremendous, but the one downside may be the fighters trying manage fights a little too much. Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett admitted to fighting smart fights, but not very exciting.

      Overeem didn't want to take any risks on the ground against Fabricio Werdum. In the video below, he apologizes for the pace of the fight. Barnett admitted there was a methodology behind his mount without many strikes against Brett Rogers.

      "We emphasis a lot with hip pressure and taking the wind out of people. My mount, the drive from my hips was really killing his wind," Barnett told Showtime. "While not super exciting to watch, ultimately [it was] very beneficial to me. It was a matter of setting things up."

      Barnett faces a more experienced mixed martial artist in the semifinals. Sergei Kharitonov is 18-4 and has been in there with guys like Semmy Schilt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Pedro Rizzo. He's also 1-1 against Overeem.

      "Better all around fighter, sharp boxing and good

      Read More »from ‘The War Master’ Barnett and Overeem admit their fights weren’t exciting
    • Check out pictures from Saturday night's Strikeforce bouts by Tracy Lee. See Alistair Overeem react to Fabricio Werdum's request to fight on the ground, Chad Griggs beat on Valentijn Overeem, and the remains of K.J. Noons face after Jorge Masvidal went to work on it.

    • Strikeforce_grand_prix_bracket_updated_large_large

      The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix is now more than half finished, with just three bouts left to decide a champion. The Final Four of Silva, Kharitonov, Barnett and Overeem isn't exactly what was expected, but every great tournament needs a few wrenches thrown in to make it compelling. Take a look at the first four matches.

      Emelianenko gets overpowered by Silva: In his first fight after sustaining his first loss in nearly a decade, Emelianenko had to fight the much larger Antonio "Big Foot" Silva. He couldn't hold off attacks from Silva, and took several hammer fists when Silva was able to gain full mount. The fight was stopped before the third round could start.

      Kharitonov makes quick work of Arlovski: A veteran of PRIDE and DREAM, the Russian fighter had no problem with the Belarussian Arlovski. A knee and an uppercut ended the bout in the first round, advancing Kharitonov to the semifinals.

      Barnett smothers his way to submission of Rogers: Like Kharitonov, Barnett made his

      Read More »from You tell us: Who will win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix?
    • masvidal

      The latest installment of Strikeforce's heavyweight grand prix delivered a bizarre night of fights that featured a no decision, a submission due to strikes, and a weird main event where neither fighter showed off his best work. But who did stand out?

      No. 1 star -- Jorge Masvidal: As the non-heavyweights on the main card, Masvidal and K.J Noons had the tall order of showing what the little guys can do. Masvidal lived up to expectations, putting on a show with K.J. Noons' face on the unfortunate receiving end. A kick to the neck leveled Noons near the end of the first round, and Masvidal never looked back. Now, he wants a shot at Gilbert Melendez and the Strikeforce lightweight title.

      No. 2 star -- Josh Barnett: After not fighting for nearly a year, Barnett had no problem disposing of Brett Rogers. He used catch wrestling to control Rogers before locking up an arm-triangle choke, and then launched into a speech that showed why fans still love Barnett. Next, he'll face Sergei Kharitonov

      Read More »from Strikeforce’s Three Stars: Masvidal, Barnett and Cormier
    • overeem2

      Alistair Overeem looked to send a strong message in Saturday night's Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals. Instead, he created plenty of questions about his much larger physique and his stamina. Overeem took a sloppy fight via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, in the main event at Strikeforce's Dallas event.

      Overeem, a huge tourney favorite, suddenly looks beatable. All three of the remaining fighters in the field are capable of taking out Overeem (35-11, one no-contest).

      In the semifinals, the 256-pounder will face the massive Antonio "Big Foot" Silva. On the other side of the bracket, is a big puncher in Sergei Kharitonov and a great ground fighter, Josh Barnett.

      Overeem has added 40 pounds to his frame over the last five years, but now it appears he may have gone too far. His gas tank was a real issue and his hand speed was unimpressive.

      "As you know, Fabricio is one of the best grapplers in the world, so we didn't want to play with him on the ground," said

      Read More »from Overeem beats Werdum at Strikeforce, but fails to impress
    • barnett

      Brett Rogers was no match for the experience and grappling of Josh Barnett. Barnett is one of the most controversial characters in the sport, but no one will deny the fact that he's vicious on the ground. Barnett scored a big takedown at the start of the second round and quickly slapped on an arm-triangle choke. He finished Rogers at 1:17 of the round to advance to the semifinals of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix.

      "We can talk, but I still got a tournament to fight bit by bit, inch by inch and one by one. I'm gonna take 'em down one by one," said Barnett, showing off his pro wrestling verbal chops. "I'm going to add one skull to the collection, until the next, until the next. Until I'm standing on top of a pile of bodies with a pile of gold in my hand!"

      Barnett's had a terrible history with athletic commissions in the U.S. He's still not licensed in the state of California, where he tested positive for PED's back in July of 2009. He also tested positive in Nevada back

      Read More »from Barnett steamrolls Rogers at Strikeforce, wins via submission
    • noons

      KJ Noons is a pretty well-regarded striker, but he met his match on the feet in Jorge Masvidal. He played Noons' game and virtually destroyed him over the course of the first two rounds. By the end of the fight, Noons' was bleeding everywhere and had a huge hematoma on his forehead. Masvidal rolled to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all cards, in a 155-pound bout at Strikeforce in Dallas.

      "KJ was more aggressive. He made more openings happen. He's a good striker, but I'm a bad style for him," Masvidal said. "I'm a good counter fighter. I felt comfortable striking with him."

      Noons (10-3) has picked apart just about everyone down at 155, but Masvidal's jab was something he couldn't defend himself against. Masvidal (22-5) also did some great work with his knees.

      A first round round knee split open Noons' forehead. The hematoma on the right side of his head nearly had his right eye closed at the finish of the fight. Masvidal outlanded Noons 102-57. He was good on 53 percent of

      Read More »from Masvidal brutalizes Noons in pulling the upset at Strikeforce
    • cormier

      Daniel Cormier is taking baby steps working his way towards being legitimate heavyweight contender and he's passing each test with flying colors. Tonight, he avoided the clutches of submission artist Jeff Monson and lit up the veteran with a variety of punches and kicks. Cormier cruised to the eighth victory of his young career with a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all cards.

      Cormier's arsenal of left hooks, right hand leads and powerful clinch work tired the 40-year-old. He outlanded Monson 120-40. His combinations confused and startled the former UFC title contender. Cormier also made good on 37-of-47 kicks.

      By the end of the fight, Monson's face was all marked up and he suffered a cut on the top of his head.

    • griggs

      That's not the way you want to start a high level MMA broadcast. Valentijn Overeem, with a spotty 29-25 record coming in, bailed mentally from his fight against Chad Griggs. Overeem submitted due to strikes at 3:28 of the first round of the first Showtime fight on the Strikeforce card in Dallas.

      The American prospect scored a takedown and fell into half guard. Overeem did a nice job of controlling Grigg's left arm. Once "The Grave Digger" freed his arm, he unloaded on Overeem. The older brother of Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, turned to his side where Griggs pounded away. Seconds later, Overeem tapped to alert referee Kerry Hatley that he'd had enough.

      Griggs landed 28 of 40 shots and picked up win No. 3 of his Strikeforce career.

      Griggs (11-1) first exploded onto the scene with a 2010 victory over Bobby Lashley. Showtime announcer Mauro Ranallo foreshadowed the happenings when he said Overeem's less than stellar record was due to the fact that he hasn't always

      Read More »from Older Overeem lacks fighting spirit in loss to Griggs
    • wilcox

      Justin Wilcox was potentially on the way to the biggest win of his career against Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante when a freak poke to the eye ended that hope. The former college wrestler got drilled in his right eye and immediately hit the deck, writhing in pain. The ringside physician came in and tested Wilcox's vision. Seconds later, she recommended a stoppage to the fight. The bout was halted just 31 seconds into the second and called a no decision.

      "I wanted to put more pressure on him in the second. He came forward with the head and I poked him in the eye. It happens. That's MMA," Cavalcante told HDNet. "I did not think I was winning [in the first]. I was patient, trying to see what his gameplan was. In the second, I was getting more comfortable."

      Cavalante (15-4-1) considered by many a top 10 lightweight back in 2008 really needed the win as well. The Brazilian came in a loser of three of four against top notch competition.

      Things didn't go too well in that opening round. He was far

      Read More »from Strikeforce undercard: Cavalcante-Wilcox ends on eye poke

    Pagination

    (7,072 Stories)