Strikeforce will return home to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 19, 2009, for its next major event titled, “Evolution,” according to promotion officials.

While a headlining bout for the card is still up in the air, Strikeforce Director of Communications, Mike Afromowitz, confirmed an intriguing middleweight battle between 2008 DREAM middleweight grand prix runner-up, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (10-2), and 13-year mixed martial arts veteran, Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-6), is set for the main card of the Showtime network event.

Besides his impressive run through the DREAM tournament last year, “Jacare” is probably best known for his rivalry with the flamboyant host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown,” Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

The Brazilian defeated “Mayhem” in the quarterfinals of the DREAM tournament in a close decision. After numerous verbal jabs from both men, the pair agreed to a rematch in May of this year to erase any doubt about who is the better fighter. However, the encore also ended in controversy because Souza was unable to continue after an illegal kick from Miller cut him wide open.

It was later ruled a “No Contest.”

Then, this summer, both “Jacare” and “Mayhem” signed on with Strikeforce, making a potential third installment of their rivalry on U.S. soil a real possibility. However, Miller got the call to face Jake Shields for the company’s title, meaning “Jacare” would have to debut for the promotion against a different opponent.

Apparently Matt “The Law” Lindland was eager to step up to that plate after sitting on the sidelines since a January loss to current UFC number one contender, Vitor Belfort.

Continue reading ‘Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza vs Matt Lindland booked for Strikeforce: ‘Evolution’ on Dec. 19′

World Victory Road (WVR) held the weigh-in and pre-fight press conference earlier today for Sengoku 11, which takes place on Nov. 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

It’s a a fight card stacked from top to bottom that includes several high-stakes battles heading into the colossal New Year’s Eve event. Sengoku 11 will airs LIVE in North America on Nov. 7 at 2:00 AM ET (Friday night running into Saturday) courtesy of HDNet.

The event sees a pair of veteran fighters — Kevin Randleman and Akihiro Gono — return to action. The night of action culminates with co-main events that feature the reigning middleweight champion, Jorge Santiago against the Polish standout and Sengoku newcomer, Mamed Khalidov, as well as the showdown between featherweight top contenders, Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa.

Maniacs, stock up on Red Bull and midnight munchies!

Click here for the event preview.

Check out the complete Sengoku 11 weigh-in results after the jump:

Continue reading ‘Sengoku 11 weigh in results for Nov. 7 event at Ryogoku Kokugikan on HDNet’

Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” is set to go down this Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, from The Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., live on CBS starting at 10 p.m. ET.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates with blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action on fight night at this time, as well as deliver the latest quick results of all the under card action earlier in the evening.

To get us pumped for the event, MMAmania.com Editor and Senior Writer Jesse Holland (that’s me) will break down the main event matches and take a closer look at the intricacies of each contest.

One of the big stories coming into this event is the historical significance of Strikeforce, cementing its place as a major player in the MMA market with a CBS prime time special.

What kind of numbers will the promotion do with a Russian cyborg fighting a former tire mechanic in the main event?

The main card also answers some questions about the credibility of Jason Miller and Jake Shields. Who’s the contender and who’s the pretender?

Antonio “Junior” Silva is making his return to the United States MMA scene after a falling out with the California State Athletic Commission in 2008. Will the grappling of Fabricio Werdum send him back to Japan?

And let’s not forget about Gegard Mousasi, who won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title from Renato Sobral but doesn’t think Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has earned the right to compete for it.

It’s certainly going to be an interesting night of fights.

I’ve also included the current betting lines for each fight so that you can get a feel for what the money has to say about the chances of each combatant.

Now, enough with the formalities … let’s get cracking:

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce: ‘Fedor vs Rogers’ predictions, preview and analysis’

“We know Alistair (Overeem) will be fighting in the first quarter of next year. Depending on the outcome of this fight and the next, we can work on putting a fight together. You see the match up potential between the winner of the Silva vs. Werdum fight and the winner of the Fedor vs. Rogers fight.  I think it would make sense for those two guys to fight each other in the future depending on how things go. Then, Alistair can come in later and fight the winner of that fight.  We have some great heavyweight fights upcoming and we are looking forward to promoting them. I believe Alistair will be available in the first quarter.  We will get him in the mix as well as some other heavyweights we will announce here in the next week or so.”

– Strikeforce Founder and CEO, Scott Coker, lays out the likely plan for his heavyweight division during a recent press conference to promote the “Fedor vs. Rogers” event this weekend at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Coker and Co. went all in to secure the services of Fedor Emelianenko this summer, who is widely regarded as the top fighter in the division and perhaps in the entire sport. He’s taking a relative long road to a potential title shot, however, against reigning Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Emelianenko has to first get past the hard-hitting Brett Rogers on Saturday night (Nov. 7) and then take on the winner of the fight between Fabricio Werdum and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Is the patient strategy with its biggest asset a wise one for Strikeforce or will it prove to be an utter disaster?

Strikeforce is now set to kick off an action-packed weekend of mixed martial arts action tomorrow night (Friday, Nov. 6) from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., with its latest “Challenger Series” installment.

The main card is set to hit the Showtime airwaves, beginning at 11 p.m. ET.

Today the 18 fighters set to compete on the card finished off the last of the pre-fight formalities at the World Sports Cafe with the official fighter weigh ins.

The two lightweight main event participants, Jorge Gurgel and Billy Evangelista, have agreed to compete at a catchweight of 159 pounds instead of the normal division limit of 155 pounds.

Under card fighter, Chris Culley, came in more than two pounds heavy for his featherweight contest against Maurice Eazel. He’ll have some additional time to shed the excess weight or he’ll likely have to forfeit a portion of his purse to Eazel.

Check out the full Strikeforce: “Challenger Series IV” weigh in results below:

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce Challengers ‘Evangelista vs Gurgel’ weigh in results’

Check out Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Jake Shields eying each other up after the jump. For the complete photo gallery of the Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” pre-fight press conference head over to CombatLifestyle.com.

Continue reading ‘Strikeforce press conference pics: ‘Fedor vs Rogers’ face off and more’

Famed heavyweight striker Mirko Filipovic (25-7-2) is reportedly considering a return to the Octagon to face fellow MMA transplant Ben Rothwell (30-7) at UFC 110, tentatively scheduled for the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21 according to Sherdog.com.

“Cro Cop” threw in the towel in his submission (verbal) loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19. He was beaten to the punch, and pretty much beat up, in what essentially turned out to be a striking match for two-plus rounds.

The Croatian waved off the Brazilian in the third after eating a brutal knee to the face that wiped out his vision. It marked his third loss inside the Octagon in five attempts — a far cry from the world beater who was scalping his opponents just three years ago under the Pride banner. In fact, he has not defeated a top-level fighter since he made Josh Barnett quit at “Final Conflict Absolute,” which earned him the Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Championship.

According to Filipovic, he’s battled depression and other psychiatric issues since the September loss and spoke of his inability to break a “mental block” that’s prevented him from returning to his old self.

It’s not unreasonable to think a knockout win over Rothwell could do more in one night than two years of ongoing therapy.

Continue reading ‘Report: Mirko Cro Cop vs Ben Rothwell being considered for UFC 110′