Strikeforce

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Photo: Ronda Rousey questions referee Herb Dean while cat

Ronda Rousey submits Miesha Tate in familiar fashion to win Strikeforce belt: Sunday, March 4, 2012; Josh Thomson, Kazuo Misaki and Jacare Souza also nab big victories; By Case Keefer; Ronda Rousey collected yet another arm at Saturday’s Strikeforce event in Columbus, Ohio. Rousey, a former Olympic judoka, became the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion by submitting Miesha Tate with an armbar. It was Rousey’s fifth professional fight. All five have ended via first-round armbar.

Photo: Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold pounds Keith J

Strikeforce stars concerned with what's next after Saturday night victories: Sunday, January 8, 2012; Luke Rockhold and 'King Mo' Lawal barely touched in easy victories; By Case Keefer; Luke Rockhold wants what he can’t have. Immediately after defending his Strikeforce middleweight title by defeating Keith Jardine on Saturday night at the Hard Rock, Rockhold requested a bout against one of the top 10 185-pound fighters in the UFC. “Those are the guys I want,” Rockhold said. “I want to climb to the top and fight the best in the world. I think they should bring over some top contenders.”

Photo: Tarec Saffiedine hits Tyler Stinson during their m

Strikeforce live blog: Luke Rockhold retains belt by knocking out Keith Jardine: Saturday, January 7, 2012; 'King Mo' Lawal, Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler score dominant victories; By Case Keefer; Keith Jardine wasn't the opponent Luke Rockhold hoped to face in the main event of Saturday's Strikeforce card at the Hard Rock. The result, however, was exactly what Rockhold was looking for. Rockhold rocked Jardine with a right hand late in the first round and followed it up with ground-and-pound strikes to win via TKO at 4:26 of the first round.

Photo: Strikeforce middleweight challenger Keith Jardine

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine betting odds and picks: Friday, January 6, 2012; Champion Rockhold a big favorite over veteran Jardine; By Case Keefer; Strikeforce officials rallied to put together Saturday’s fight card at the Hard Rock when it became obvious that the company’s television deal with Showtime would extend another year. Strikeforce booked matches and promoted the card in less time than normal at the end of last year.

Photo: Strikeforce light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal boxes

Luke Rockhold, 'King Mo' Lawal push each other to Strikeforce headliner status: Wednesday, January 4, 2012; First Strikeforce event of 2012 takes place Saturday at the Hard Rock; By Case Keefer; Luke Rockhold gave sparring partner Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal a nasty black eye a few weeks ago. Lawal didn’t mind. It was only fair after he nearly broke Rockhold’s nose days earlier. The teammates have also come close to knocking each other out on multiple occasions.

Photo: Gilbert Melendez throws a punch at Josh Thomson du

Strikeforce results: Gilbert Melendez presents case for supremacy: Sunday, December 18, 2011; Melendez and Cyborg Santos keep championship belts; By Case Keefer; SAN DIEGO — The best lightweight in mixed martial arts may not fight in the UFC. It’s a possibility that at least merits consideration as long as Strikeforce 155-pound champion Gilbert Melendez keeps plowing through opponents. Melendez cruised again Saturday night at the Valley View Casino Center, thoroughly out-boxing Jorge Masvidal to earn a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-48) victory.

Photo: Shawn Jordan makes his way to the cage for his mat

Showtime extends Strikeforce deal for next year: Thursday, December 15, 2011; Challengers series, heavyweight division on their way out from Strikeforce; By Case Keefer; Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC and Strikeforce, will continue to run two mixed martial arts promotions in 2012. UFC President Dana White announced Thursday afternoon that the company had come to a new agreement with Showtime to continue airing Strikeforce events. Although some changes are in store, Showtime will broadcast six to eight Strikeforce cards next year.

Photo: Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez

Jorge Masvidal is a worthy challenger for Gilbert Melendez: Wednesday, December 14, 2011; Melendez and Masvidal headline first major Strikeforce card in three months; By Case Keefer; Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is cautioning everyone not to write him into the UFC just yet. Melendez is widely considered one of the two best 155-pound fighters in the world and speculation about him meeting the UFC champion has raged over the past eight months. But Melendez (19-2 MMA, 9-1 SF) will first have to get by Jorge Masvidal (22-6 MMA, 4-0 SF) first in the headlining bout of Saturday’s Strikeforce card, which will air on Showtime via tape delay at 9 on the west coast, in San Diego.

Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal betting odds and picks: Wednesday, December 14, 2011; Two Strikeforce champions favored to keep belts in San Diego; By Case Keefer; Mixed martial arts’ most dominant champion returns this weekend. Women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos puts her belt at risk for the first time in 18 months against Hiroko Yamanaka in the co-main event of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in San Diego.

Photo: Strikeforce middleweight Antwain Britt stands in h

Antwain Britt comes full circle with Strikeforce main event bout at the Palms: Wednesday, November 16, 2011; "The Ultimate Fighter" 8 alum hopes to surge with move to middleweight; By Case Keefer; Antwain Britt will make a long overdue appearance at the Pearl at the Palms Friday in the headlining bout of Strikeforce Challengers 20 against Lumumba Sayers. Britt was a cast member on the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, the UFC’s biannual reality show. Although Britt won his first fight on the show, he had to pull out of the competition before the quarterfinals with a broken hand.

Photo: Strikeforce light heavyweight Lorenz Larkin delive

Prospect Lorenz Larkin looks to bring excitement to Strikeforce Challengers 19: Wednesday, September 21, 2011; Larkin fights Nick Rossborough in Friday's main event; By Case Keefer; Everything about Lorenz Larkin screams flashy. Even though he only turned to professional mixed martial arts two years ago, the 25-year-old Strikeforce light heavyweight has developed a creative striking game. Larkin’s first two Strikeforce bouts have included flying knees, front kicks, spinning elbows and a handful of unorthodox moves.

Photo: Luke Rockhold celebrates after winning a Strikefor

Strikeforce results: Cormier, Barnett make finals in heavyweight tourney: Sunday, September 11, 2011; By Case Keefer; A decorated veteran of mixed martial arts will meet a star in the making in the finals of the Strikeforce World Grand Prix heavyweight tournament. Josh Barnett, a 33-year old former UFC champion and PRIDE standout, and Daniel Cormier, a 32-year old Olympic wrestler who started training in mixed martial arts two years ago, advanced to the championship with semifinal victories Saturday in Cincinnati.

Photo: Antonio Silva smiles after upsetting Fedor Emelian

Strikeforce World Grand Prix semifinals betting odds and picks: Friday, September 9, 2011; Barnett vs. Kharitonov and Silva vs. Cormier finish off busy week in MMA; By Case Keefer; Reports out of Strikeforce media events this week in Cincinnati indicate the fighters on Saturday’s card are upset with the lack of attention they’re receiving. They can blame their old colleagues. Former Strikeforce champions Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem have dominated mixed martial arts news this week.

Photo: Derrick Mehmen bleeds heavily from a cut inflicted

Joe Duarte, Derrick Mehmen among winners at Strikeforce Challengers 18: Saturday, August 13, 2011; Ronda Rousey arm bars third straight opponent in less than a minute; By Case Keefer; Derrick Mehmen surely startled more than a few people roaming the Palms casino floor Friday night when he made his way to a press conference after Strikeforce Challengers 18. The white t-shirt he threw on after his light heavyweight fight against Roy Jones had changed colors. It was dominantly red as he exited the Pearl, stained with pints of Mehmen’s own blood.

Photo: Danillo Villefort reacts after a loss to Jesse Len

Strikeforce Challengers 18 betting odds and picks: Thursday, August 11, 2011; Jorge Gurgel vs. Joe Duarte headlines nine-fight card at the Palms; By Case Keefer; Jorge Gurgel suspects that Strikeforce didn’t do him any favors and gave opponent Joe Duarte added motivation heading into their main event bout at Strikeforce Challengers 18 Friday. Gurgel’s picture is prominently placed in the middle of the event’s poster, while Duarte is nowhere to be found.

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Jon Jones defends belt for third time, downs rival Rashad Evans

Jon Jones had already gotten past three former light heavyweight champions in the last 13 months — Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida. Now, Rashad Evans can be added to the list. Jones put Evans away in Atlanta with a unanimous decision victory, taking a combined 13 rounds out of a possible 15 combined on the three judges' scorecards. Jones rebuffed all of Evans' takedown attempts to keep the fight against his former training partner standing. Jones' striking was at another level, as he flawlessly mixed elbows, jabs and leg kicks to keep Evans guessing for the duration of the fight.

Main Card Results -
Winner	Loser	Method
Jon Jones	Rashad Evans	Unanimous Decision
Rory MacDonald	Che Mills	TKO
Ben Rothwell	Brendan Schaub	Knockout
Michael McDonald	Miguel Torres	Knockout
Eddie Yagin	Mark Hominick	Split Decision
Mark Bocek	John Alessio	Unanimous Decision

Date	Event	Headlining Match	Location
June 1	"The Ultimate Fighter Live" finale	Jake Ellenberger vs. Martin Kampmann	Las Vegas: The Pearl at the Palms
June 8	Boxing: ESPN2 Friday Night Fights	Kelly Pavlik vs. Scott Sigmon	Las Vegas: The Joint at Hard Rock
June 8	UFC on FX 3	Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall II	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
June 9	Boxing: Pacquiao vs. Bradley	Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley	Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 22	UFC on FX 4	Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida	Atlantic City, N.J.
June 23	UFC 147	Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin II	Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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