Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

“EA Sports is the premiere game manufacturing company in the world and I’ve been an EA Sports fan since Madden 1! For them to have Strikeforce in their game as the premiere league, we’re very honored.”

–Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker reacts favorably to the inclusion of his San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion in the upcoming release of “EA Sports MMA” video game. UFC President Dana White had a very public war of words earlier this year after White accused the gaming giant of turning down his offer for a video game partnership only to then create one of their own after the massive success of THQ’s “UFC Undisputed.” EA Sports will feature Fedor Emelianenko as a digitized version of himself facing any and all challengers — including UFC star Randy “The Natural” Couture, who retains control over his ancillary rights and has language in his contract that allows him the freedom to use his likeness outside of the UFC. Any Maniacs out there interested in adding a primarily non-UFC based video game to their collection? And what can EA do to separate itself from “Undisputed?” Opinions, please.

World Victory Road presents Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle,” taking place in the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 7, has come to a close.

The event delivered a nine-fight card live via HDNEt and more than fulfilled the MMA enthusiasts’ thirst for thrilling competition, showcasing several wars of attrition, a barn burner of main event and a number of quick finishes that kept the live and TV audience on the edge of their seat.

As the last event of the year before the Sengoku Raiden Championship on New Year’s Eve, Sengoku 11 served as an invigorating prelude to the year-end extravaganza.

Without further ado, check out our complete fight recap after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Sengoku: ‘Eleventh Battle’ recap and final thoughts’

On the heels of his decision to vacate the Strikeforce middleweight title due to his budding Hollywood acting career, former 185-pound champion Cung Le could return to the San Jose-based promotion as early as next month for a war of attrition against the always-game Scott Smith.

MMAmania.com learned of the potential match-up from sources close to the event earlier today.

Strikeforce: ‘Evolution’ has been announced by the promotion as its next televised Showtime event, set for the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on Dec. 19.

Le already has two movies set to be released in the near future, including the big screen version of the popular video game “Tekken” in which Le will play the role of Marshall Law. With three more movies in progress, the San Shou disciple was not expected to be back in action earlier than Spring 2010.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had considered creating an interim title in his absence; however, Le agreed to vacate the title altogether so that his part-time fight schedule no longer held the belt hostage.

Now Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Jake Shields will fight for that title tonight (Nov. 7) live on CBS. It’s already been well over a year since Le captured the gold from Frank Shamrock in his hometown and one has to wonder if the 37-year-old Le still has the chops to compete in the new-look Strikeforce.

Scott Smith could help answer that question if they do indeed throw down in December.

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce: ‘Evolution’ could feature the return of Cung Le against Scott ‘Hands of Steel’ Smith’

CHICAGO, IL (Nov. 5th, 2009) – The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA), today announced it will sanction the STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global fight between undisputed WAMMA reigning heavyweight champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko and undefeated challenger, Brett “The Grim” Rogers, which will air live on CBS from Sears Centre Arena on Saturday, Nov 7th.

“It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this incredible fight card that our partners at STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global have put together,” said WAMMA Rankings Chairman, Andrew Falzon. “It is another landmark night for the sport on national television and a rare opportunity for fans nationally to see top WAMMA-ranked fighters compete on free TV.”

STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global have welcomed the presence of the WAMMA title at the milestone event, which will air live across the country on CBS Saturday Night Fights on Saturday, Nov. 7 (9:00 PM, ET live/ delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Fedor’s manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein said
“Recognizing Fedor as the undisputed WAMMA heavyweight champion means that Fedor is the world champion wherever and whenever he fights.”

“Putting a title on the line just provides the fighters with more incentive to perform at their best,” said Scott Coker, CEO of STRIKEFORCE.

Continue reading ‘WAMMA sanctions ‘Fedor vs. Rogers’ Strikeforce fight; will unveil new championship belt and logo’

With the penultimate month of the year under way, World Victory Road (WVR) is set to host Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle” TONIGHT (Nov. 7) at the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan, in Tokyo, Japan.

This will be the final event before WVR inaugurates the new “Sengoku Raiden Championship” banner on New Year’s Eve.

Sengoku 11 will air LIVE via HDNet beginning at 2:00 AM ET.

Besides boasting several marquee names, the fight card also serves as a prelude to the year end event: With at least three title contests scheduled on NYE, several fighters on the card will enter the ring for high-stake battles to earn the title shots.

For those of you Maniacs following the fights as they go down (or those of you that are just along for the ride), go ahead and sound off in the comments section with any results, news, photos and videos — it’s an open thread, so go crazy.

Just try your hardest to keep it Sengoku related.

Be sure to check back a little later this morning for our results and complete recap. In the meantime, have at it.

We want to hear from you.

If you need to get up to speed on what’s happening with this card be sure to check out our comprehensive “Eleventh Battle” preview here.

Strikeforce’s weekend of mixed martial arts action is officially halfway over as “Challenger Series IV” is now in the books from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Former UFC lightweight fighter and jiu-jitsu stud Jorge Gurgel squared off against hometown favorite Billy Evangelista in the night’s main event, and as expected it was an all out war.

Gurgel is known for abandoning his ground game in favor of a more entertaining stand up fight, which usually means a good scrap for the fans and a close loss on the scorecards for him, which is exactly what happened again tonight.

Evangelista traded blow for blow with the Cincinnati resident and used timely takedowns to squeak out a judge’s decision.

Afterward, the undefeated hometown winner was asked how he felt about a potential match up with Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson, and he surprisingly didn’t seem too warm on the idea, stating that he and Josh were friends but he would do whatever Strikeforce wanted.

We’ll have to wait and see how the Strikeforce brass handles that scenario, but a Josh Thomson vs. Billy Evangelista title fight certainly sounds like it would be a fun one to watch.

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce Challengers: ‘Evangelista vs Gurgel’ recap and post-fight discussion’

Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: “Evangelista vs. Gurgel.”

Preliminary card fights are officially in the books and round-by-round coverage of the main card action is underway with the Showtime telecast at 11:00 p.m. ET.

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main “Evangelista vs. Gurgel” results post and not this one.

Enjoy the show, Maniacs!

“Mayhem” Miller monkeys around at the Strikeforce weigh-ins earlier today for “Fedor vs. Rogers.” More exclusive pics after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce ‘Fedor vs Rogers’ weigh in photos and gallery for Nov. 6′