CaranoMOVIE

It's not looking good for female fighters with the biggest promotions. This week's Strikeforce Challengers card in Washington and next month's Strikeforce cards in Las Vegas and Chicago feature some female fights. After that, who knows?

The two biggest female names under the Strikeforce banner still don't have fights scheduled.

We're now a few weeks removed from Gina Carano bailing on her Strikeforce: Dallas fight and there's still official no word on what the injury was, or a timetable for her return. When Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker spoke with AOL, he still had no answers.

"Gina is feeling much better after having undergone some medical attention and is looking forward to getting back into training very soon. She would like to express thanks to Team Jackson for a wonderful training camp, Strikeforce and the fans," said Coker, reading from a text message he received from Carano's management team.

Beyond that the boss didn't have any details.

"She evidently had some medical attention

IMG_1022If you are a Nate Marquardt fan, clear the decks on Sunday. Set your DVR, order some dinner and dig in for a NATE-tastic evening.

As the headline for UFC on Versus 4, Marquardt will face Rick Story. This will be Marquardt's first bout at welterweight, and Story's second bout in less than a month. But that's not all, Marquardtians.

He will also be the focus of an all-day marathon on Spike, with UFC Unleasheds and full replays of events that will feature Marquardt's bouts with Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, Martin Kampmann, Ivan Salaverry, Wilson Gouveia, and Rousimar Palhares.

The marathon starts 1 p.m. ET and will end at 11 p.m. ET, which means it will overlap with the live fights on Versus. It's a curious strategy for Spike to use, since few people would rather watch an old fight than a new one unfolding before their eyes. Perhaps the Spike programming execs are really huge fans of Nate the Great.

* Not actually official.

titoGOLF

Tito Ortiz is making a pretty hefty paycheck by MMA standards and he's lost four of his last five fights. Is he earning his keep? Well, that's a matter of perspective. Either the UFC believes Ortiz isn't keeping up his end of the bargain or it's concerned for his safety because the promotion asked him to walk away from the sport after his last fight against Matt Hamill.

"The UFC called me after that fight and said 'we want you to retire.' I was shocked, I thought they were kidding around. I took it as they didn't want to pay me, to give me what I'm worth. I'm competing against the top guys and I'm not getting dominated," Ortiz told The Telegraph.

Ortiz (15-8-1, 14-8-1 UFC) went into salesman mode.

"I pretty much begged for my job, to show how much I want to fight, but I still have it in my heart to compete, to fight. I told them I want to still fight against the top guys, I want to put on a show," Ortiz said. "I've just turned 36, but when they put me against the top guys, I

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

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

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

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