MMASucka

Strikeforce announced at tonight’s “Tate vs. Rousey” event, that the finals to their heavyweight grand prix tournament will take place on May 19th. Josh Barnett will take on Daniel Cormier at the event, which has yet to announce a venue.

The tournament started over a year ago and was built mainly around Russian superstar Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko was upset in the first round by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, leaving the tournament with no clear favourite. The odds appeared to favour then-Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who pulled out of his semi-final fight with rib and toe injuries.

Overeem’s vacant spot was taken by tournament alternate Cormier, who scored an upset first-round TKO victory over Silva. Barnett advanced to the finals with submission victories over Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov

Strikeforce’s upcoming clash for the women’s 135 pound title pits champion Miesha Tate against upstart challenger Ronda Rousey. It is arguably the most-hyped women’s fight since Gina Carano met “Cyborg” Santos. With both Carano and Santos out of the picture, this fight is also for the top spot in all of women’s mixed martial arts.

Somewhat understandably yet disappointingly, a lot of the hype has focused on the women’s looks. Joe Rogan recently said it was going to be the “hottest championship fight ever”. But heading into Saturday’s fight, Tate seems philisophical about being compared in looks as well as martial arts skills.

I think it should be more about the fight, because that’s what we’re doing. You know, we’re not coming there to look like super models, we’re coming there to beat each other up.   And you know that’s what’s exciting to me about it.  Some people I think are kind of may be initially drawn because of the looks or whatnot.  You know, that’s kind of an interesting part of it, is that we are both feminine outside the cage and carry ourselves as, you know, girly girls and whatnot.  But we can get in there and throw it down and so, I think it makes for an interesting contrast.

Rousey has been very verbal heading into the clash with Tate, saying as many outlandish things to as many media outlets as possible in order to try and hype up the fight as a true mixed martial arts event. While Rousey alternately berates Tate and then says, as Michael Corelone would “it’s strictly business”; Tate seems to be keeping a mental note of Rousey’s statements and allowing that to motivate her.

Ronda’s been incredibly disrespectful on a number of occasions.  And you know, she says for her, supposedly,  it’s not personal and whatnot.  But, I mean, there’s things that when you say some things that make it personal.  And so, for me she’s really kind of pissed me off.  You know she just runs her mouth more than I feel that she should.

The fact that she has to fight Rousey at all seems to bother Tate, who name checks both Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis as more worthy of a title shot. While it’s clear Tate respects Rousey’s judo skills, the champion seems intent on testing Rousey in all aspects of MMA.

She’s not a fighter.  You know, I haven’t seen Ronda fight anyone yet.  She’s 4-0 as a professional and she’s gone out there and played judo with these girls that don’t have any judo or wrestling background…so that’s a huge key element that’s going to be a game changer in this fight, I feel, because I do have a wrestling background.  I have a sense of the pushing and the pulling of the feet and how that can work.  So basically, she goes out there and she plays Judo with these girls.  I mean, she doesn’t throw punches, she doesn’t get punched and she doesn’t fight she just, you know,  looks for the submission almost immediately as if she’s just desperate she doesn’t want to be exposed.

The stage is set for Saturday night with a brash, cocky challenger taking on a focused, determined champion. Whatever the result, if the fight lives up to the hype then MMA fans will be asking “Gina who”?

The full MMASucka Radio interview with Miesha Tate can be found here.

Follow Miesha on twitter: @MieshaTate

Related article: Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey’s Greatest Hits

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Follow @CarlinBardsley on Twitter and keep up with the latest news by following @MMASucka on Twitter and on Facebook

This Saturday (Mar.3) night Showtime will be treated to a women’s MMA battle when Miesha Tate defends her Strikeforce bantamweight championship against rising star Ronda Rousey. Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey goes down live from the the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Tate defeated Marloes Coenen back in July of 2011 to become the Strikeforce Champion. She has been undefeated since 2009 when she lost to Sarah Kaufman, who many people believe deserved this title shot over Rousey.

Rousey gained the title shot after going undefeated in her first four pro MMA fights. Not only is she undefeated, but all four of her matches have been finished in the first round, in under one minute and by way of arm bar submission.

Below Strikeforce and Showtime Sports have put together the greatest hits, kicks, and one serious armbar from two of mixed martial arts’ top women.

Former UFC middleweight title-challenger Nate Marquardt is once again swimming in Zuffa waters, just not in the UFC.

Marquardt, a  longtime top-ranked middleweight got released from the UFC last  June when he pissed hot for the second time in his octagon career.

UFC figurehead Dana White wasted no time in letting him go from the organization since Marquardts pre-fight test lost him his main event scrap with Anthony Johnson.

The announcement was made on UFC Tonight on Fuel TV – According to the report, Marquardt has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and he will compete at 170lbs in 2012.

Despite being outside of the UFC for almost eight months and signing with the largest British MMA organization BAMMA he never actually took a fight outside of the Zuffa umbrella.

The former three-time King of Pancrase has one of the most impressive resumes in Strikeforce and freshens up the 17o-pound division that hasn’t had a champion since last September.

Powerhouse wrestler Tyron Woodley is expected among industry insiders to be one of the men to fight for the title in 2012, Marquardt could be the other half of the equation.

Weeeeeeee’re Back…. Trevor Dueck and Jeremy Brand are back with MMASucka Radio. We aren’t pulling anymore strings. We will bring the goods to you straight and raw. Our first guest for our second go at MMASucka Radio is none other than UFC 142 co-main event fighter, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Rumble goes into detail about what he did during his hiatus in 2010, his thoughts on Vitor Belfort and who is going to win the Super Bowl. In the second half of the show we are pleased to welcome UFC.com and The Vancouver Province’s “Keyboard Kimura” E. Spencer Kyte for “The MMASucka Media Rundown”. Sit back relax and enjoy the show folks.

Download this episode (right click and save)

“We were going to hold that division and just do fights with Cyborg whenever there was a new contender. She’s getting stripped of the belt. This pretty much kills the division,”
-Dana White on ESPN1100 Las Vegas, January 6, 2012

Looks like MMASucka.com writer Justin Faux called this outcome in his article HERE, almost exactly.  Cyborg is getting stripped of her title, and without a super star to hold the already thin 145lbs women’s division, the division may be dissolved.

Looking at the positive outcome of only one women’s division, it will bolster the 135lbs roster with the 145′s who can make the weight.  Current top 145lbs prospect Ronda Rousey has already been rumored to be fighting for the 135lbs title, and the likes of Juila Budd, Germaine de Randamie, and others will bring some interesting match ups for the top 135ers.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos Tests Positive for Steroids, Suspended by CSAC
Cyborg Santos: Does Her Positive Test Mark The End of Her Division?

Can you name the Strikeforce middleweight champion? If so, congratulations. I guarantee you the casual MMA fan has never heard the name Luke Rockhold. Rockhold took to the MMA scene in 2007 when a few of his friends convinced him to come down and train with them at American Kickboxing Academy in California. He impressed the coaches during his first sparring session and has been a part of the team since.

His first two fights were for a small promotion in California called Melee on the Mountain. He went 1-1 with that organization when being called upon by Strikeforce. Since joining the Strikeforce organization he has gone 7-0 with notable wins over Jesse Taylor, Paul Bradley and most recently Ronzaldo “Jacare” Souza for the Strikeforce middleweight championship.

Rockhold was originally slated to face former title contender Tim Kennedy, but Kennedy had to pull out due to injury. On short notice Strikeforce place Keith Jardine in the fight against Rockhold for the middleweight strap on Saturday Jan. 7 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. This must have been a tough change going from the traditional Kennedy to the highly unorthodox Jardine.

 My training has changed but not too much just more influence on my offensive wrestling. Never know what to expect from a guy like Jardine so I want to be able to control where the fight takes place and wear him out, do to his suspect cardio.

This will be Jardine’s second fight with Strikeforce, in his first he fought to a draw against former light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Some critics questioned the organization for placing him against Rockhold for the middleweight title. What does Rockhold think of this?

No, I don’t think he deserves a title shot! It was a replacement fight on short notice, so it is what it is. I’m happy to face him and excited about the challenge! I was supposed to fight Tim Kennedy but he pulled out do to injury! He is the fight that makes sense and I want fights that make sense in the future!

If you look at Rockhold’s record you would be shocked to see how many finishes he has. Of his 8 wins he has 7 finishes, with 6 of those coming by way of submission. He holds a brown belt under Dave Camarillo at AKA and feels that jiu jitsu is a huge part of his game, but his striking is definitely elusive as well.

Jiu Jitsu will always be a big part of my game plan. I believe I am one of the elite grapplers in my division and will have a big advantage in this fight. I also believe I’m the better striker. Going to take the fight as it comes, planning on putting him to sleep one way or another!

Strikeforce is now here to stay, other than the heavyweight division that is. Many people in the media are already projecting that Zuffa will send some of their UFC fighters over to Strikeforce if they just don’t stack up in their respective division anymore. I personally would like to see them throw together some dream match-ups between organizations. What would Rockhold like to see happen?

I hope they mix things up, weather they bring fighters over from organization to organization or  co-promote events. We have some of the best fighters in the world in Strikeforce and fans need to see who the true champions are!

One of Rockhold’s training partners and friends, Jon Fitch fought this past weekend at UFC 141. He was surprisingly upset by Johny Hendricks in the first round. The folks over at MMAFighting.com put together a Fighter vs. Writer feature and Rockhold did not hold together so well, going 2 for 5.

Ever since Ronda Rousey finished Julia Budd in 39 seconds and called out the Strikeforce bantamweight women’s champion Miesha Tate, they have both been going back and forth with each other in a bitter twitter quarrel. It now looks like the quick armbars and Chael Sonnen like comments have gotten Rousey her wish as MMAWeekly.com broke word today that she will face off against the champ Meisha Tate on March 3 in Columbus, OH.

Rousey who is a former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo rose to fame in the MMA world by going 4-0 in her pro career with all four of wins coming by way of armbar submission in under one minute time.

Tate last fought in July when she won the belt against Marloes Coenen at the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson card in Chicago.

Most folks including Tate believed that Rousey did not deserve the title shot and former champ Sarah Kaufman (who previously defeated Tate) did. Critics will obviously be critics, but this is going to be a fight for the masses.

Tate has won six fights in a row and will look to challenge the budding starlet Rousey on March 3 in Columbus, OH and the Nationwide Arena.

In a lot of ways, Jordan Mein sounds like your typical 22 year old Canadian. He is brimming with optimism, rarely going more than a few sentences without chuckling. He’s got a lot to smile about these days, riding a six fight winning streak that has seen him go from fighting in small Alberta towns to the bright lights of Strikeforce where he is set to fight the undefeated and self-proclaimed number-one welterweight contender Tyron Woodley. That fight will happen on the undercard of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on January 7th.

The results he’s produced combined with his tender age have caused some to label him an “overnight sensation”. But to hear Mein tell it, his current run is based on a lifetime of work and a childhood passion for the sport that more and more youngsters are finding these days.

“I started really young, I had my first pro fight at 16 and was fighting amateur before that. I started with jiu-jitsu tournaments, kickboxing tournaments. We did a little bit of sport jiu-jitsu which was striking, standing and then takedowns with grappling on the ground. So that was like MMA for kids then. Then that evolved into me going for amateur MMA fights around Canada, travelling around Alberta and Saskatchewan. Now you’re starting to see much younger kids who are just strictly doing MMA, which is a real strong point. [Training] everything off the bat. Learning all the techniques and fighting rather than thinking just wrestling or just thinking boxing. An overall fight is a lot different than one specific area.”

“I’d be a mess I think. I’d be sitting on the couch getting fat. Probably taking that to the extreme. I don’t really think about it that much, I just focus on what I’m doing. I don’t really know where I’d be at, I don’t really know what I’d be doing. I’m really thankful that I have MMA to keep me in line.”

“All my friends play hockey and they’re still trying to get me to strap on some skates and go play with them. I just stay on the bench and coach. But I think I just stuck with MMA because I started it so young. It was always my passion, I loved watching all the Bruce Lee movies, loved everything about fighting and I just kind of stuck with it and never got into anything else.”