We’re just two weeks out from “Strikeforce at the Mansion II,” which takes place on Saturday, September 20 at the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
It’s been up in the air whether or not the event would be aired on live television. According to a press release sent out by company Vice President Mike Afromowitz this week, however, it will not.
The good news is that the San Jose-based MMA organization has forged an agreement with Sherdog.com to stream two preliminary fights along with the entire main card live on its Web site.
Here’s a snip from Strikeforce CEO and Founder, Scott Coker:
“We are looking forward to bringing fight fans around the world a great night of professional MMA action from the Playboy Mansion on a major web platform. Sherdog has been cutting edge in its delivery of MMA coverage since the sport’s early days so showcasing this event is a natural fit for its brand.”
The last event for the organization — Strikeforce: “Melendez vs. Thomson” — was aired on HDNet back in June. The fact that the Playboy Mansion event will not be on the premium cable/satellite channel does not mean the two parties are not still working together because the October 3 “Payback” show is still scheduled to air live on the network.
Perhaps being at the Playboy Mansion has something to do with the change. Whatever it may be, Strikeforce has opted to use Sherdog to air this particular event instead. And the card, despite a couple of withdrawals from injuries, looks pretty decent.
Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth was set to defend his title against Brazilian Renato “Babalu” Sobral, but an injury forced him off the card, leaving a big opportunity for former number one contender Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz to work his way back up the ladder. Company Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson will also be in action in a non-title bout against Ashe “The Machine” Bowman.
The main event is a middleweight tilt between Joe “Diesel” Riggs and former Pride FC veteran Kazuo Misaki, which should make for an exciting scrap.
Catch it if you can!
5 Comments »
cant beat free mma.
I wonder how sherwood’s boss dana is gonna react:)
I was just about to ask when things start, because the Strikeforce site has a time, but doesn’t list time zone. Assume it’s California time, but it doesn’t say. I Googled for the Sherdog article, found it, and it says this:
“The stream, free of charge to viewers, will begin at 7:30 PM PST (10:30 PM EST) with two preliminary bouts and will include the main fight card in its entirety.”
Sweet!
Can we also watch these at channelsurfing.net and mmalinker.com? Or is it just exclusively found at the Strikeforce website or somethin’? Jeff Sherwood should stream this to as much channels as possible!