Strikeforce

Strikeforce Challengers 18 betting odds and picks

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.
Pat Healy rising through Strikeforce ranks after tough journey

By Case Keefer

Dan Hardy, Paul Daley and Carlos Condit have more in common than the fact they all ascended to nearly the top of the UFC welterweight division within the past two years. All three respected mixed martial arts veterans hold a loss to current Strikeforce lightweight Pat Healy within the first five years of his career. Healy, who fights Eric Wisely on the Strikeforce Challengers 18 card at 6 p.m. Friday at the Palms, didn’t take a traditional route and ease into MMA.
Dan Henderson stops Fedor Emelianenko in first round of Strikeforce bout

By Case Keefer

History has shown a number of legendary fighters reaching the end of their careers after a string of uncharacteristic losses. Fedor Emelianenko may have joined that unfortunate group after a first-round TKO defeat to Dan Henderson in Chicago.
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson betting odds and picks

By Case Keefer

The fight with the highest stakes at Saturday’s Strikeforce card in Chicago will come before the main event. A heavyweight clash between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson is arguably the most notable bout ever promoted by Strikeforce.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson: A fun fight for the fans

By Case Keefer

It’s inaccurate to assume that matchmaking in major mixed martial arts promotions has gotten away from booking fights solely for fans’ enjoyment. The main event of Saturday’s Strikeforce card in Chicago, which will air via tape delay on Showtime at 11 on the west coast, proves otherwise. A heavyweight matchup between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson has fans clamoring, but it’s a bout that doesn’t make much sense for either fighter. Emelianenko and Henderson are two of the most popular and well known mixed martial artists in the world, but their careers are in drastically different places.
Strikeforce Challengers gives fitting introduction in first Las Vegas show

By Case Keefer

The decision to permanently relocate the Strikeforce Challengers series to the Pearl at the Palms earlier this year turned the venue into mixed martial arts’ ultimate proving ground. The Challengers cards are unique in that they make up the only major mixed martial arts series solely dedicated to developing up-and-coming talent. It’s a place where some fighters work their way up to a shot at the big time, while others find out they’re not ready to rise beyond the minor leagues.
Strikeforce Challengers 17 betting odds and picks

By Case Keefer

Trilogies are always special in combat sports. A third meeting between two fighters can only take place if the first two matchups were both indecisive and exciting. Welterweights Bobby Voelker and Roger Bowling add a third chapter to their rivalry Friday at The Pearl at The Palms in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 17.
Strikeforce's Lavar Johnson wants to be known for more than being injured in shooting

By Ray Brewer

Mixed martial artist Lavar Johnson knows his fight Friday could be his last. You see, he lost his most recent fight, and in the “what have you done for me lately” world of MMA, a second consecutive loss for a relatively unproven fighter could spell disaster.
Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett move on in Strikeforce heavyweight tourney

By Case Keefer

The two remaining favorites in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix advanced to the semifinals of the tournament Saturday in Dallas. Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett defeated Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers, respectively, to reserve their spots in the final four. “I’ve got a tournament to fight, bit-by-bit, inch-by-inch, one-by-one,” Barnett said in a spirited speech to the American Airlines Center crowd after his win. “I’m going to take them down one by one. One skull to the collection to the next to the next until I’m standing on top of a pile of bodies with a pile of gold in ...
Daniel Cormier uses Olympic pedigree to rise up Strikeforce ranks

By Case Keefer

The man competing in tomorrow’s Strikeforce: Dallas card who is most likely to hold a major heavyweight championship belt in two or three years might not be any of the four fighters in the much-publicized Grand Prix tournament. Some would argue that distinction belongs to Daniel Cormier, an up-and-comer who meets Jeff Monson in the second bout on the main card, which Showtime airs via tape delay at 10 on the west coast.
Fighters in Strikeforce heavyweight tournament hope for shot at UFC belt

By Case Keefer

UFC President Dana White prides himself on putting together the fights everyone wants to see. Because of that reputation, it’s hard to imagine a bout pitting the eventual winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and the UFC heavyweight champion not happening sometime next year. As the Grand Prix marches on with its second slate of opening round matches Saturday in Dallas, demand is growing from fans and fighters alike about a future showdown between the two champions.
Strikeforce's K.J. Noons returns this weekend with Nick Diaz still on his mind

By Case Keefer

Strikeforce lightweight K.J. Noons believes he can break everyone in professional mixed martial arts into two categories. “There are people in this game who are athletes and there are people in this game who are true fighters,” Noons said while in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Televised card revealed for first Strikeforce Challengers show in Las Vegas

By Case Keefer

Two of the better-known women in mixed martial arts will face each other when the Strikeforce Challengers series begins its residency at the Palms on July 22. Strikeforce officials announced Tuesday that Sarah Kaufman (13-1) and Liz Carmouche (5-1), the last two victims to welterweight champion Marloes Coenen, would meet in the co-main event of Strikeforce Challengers 17 in Las Vegas.
Strikeforce Challengers series makes Las Vegas its new home

By Case Keefer

UFC 132, which is slated for July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, will not serve as Las Vegas’ last major mixed martial arts event of the year as previously expected. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced before Saturday’s UFC 130 that the promotion’s Strikeforce Challengers fight cards will permanently move to Las Vegas later this year. The first event is scheduled for Friday July 22 at the Palms’ Pearl Theater.
Strikeforce Notebook: Nick Diaz explains showmanship toward Paul Daley

By Case Keefer

SAN DIEGO — A lot of Nick Diaz’s supporters stressed the importance of fighting “smart” against British knockout king Paul Daley heading into their Saturday bout. Dropping his hands, sticking out his chin and shouting at Daley at the beginning of the fight probably wasn’t what they had in mind for the champion. “It could have been a little cleaner for me,” Diaz said. “I think I was still pumped up from the weigh-in. It could have been working with me or against me.”
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