By Andre Fleites How would you like to have MMA's next big superstar on your event before he gets the call up to the "BIG SHOW?" Allow me to introduce you to Cristiano "Soldier" Souza. Cristiano is one of the elite up-n-comers out of the famed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL. Being a 17 year Capoeira practitioner, Soldier or Soldado to his Brazilian friends and fans, is a superb striker which is obviously most appealing to all. Souza is also a BJJ Brown Belt under Master Ricardo Liborio, which is quite an honor in and of itself. Having competed ...
by Dann Stupp on Jun 14, 2011 at 8:20 am ET Jorge Masvidal (21-6 MMA, 2-0 SF) and opponent K.J. Noons (10-3 MMA, 2-1 SF) both know they have a tough fight ahead of them at Saturday's "Strikeforce: Werdum vs. Overeem" event. The hard-hitting sluggers, who are cut from the same cloth, kick off the event's Showtime-televised main card at Dallas' American Airlines Center. But while Saturday's fight is priority No. 1, it's hard not to look ahead to a possible title fight with Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. "I'm definitely not overlooking K.J. Noons," Masvidal recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I want to ...
by Mike Whitman (mwhitman@sherdog.com) Gina Carano will not compete on June 18 at Strikeforce “Overeem vs. Werdum.” Strikeforce executive Scott Coker announced the news during a Tuesday conference call, revealing that Carano failed her pre-fight medical examination and will be unable to fight at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Details regarding the nature of Carano’s medical issues were not immediately available. “I know that that she’s really disappointed,” said Coker. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but we have no further information at this time.” In light of Carano’s absence, Sarah D’Alelio is now left without an opponent. According to Coker, no decision has been ...
DORAL, Fla. -- Alexis Vila has been fighting all of his life. Now he wants his chance to do it on the biggest stage. With an undefeated record, the Cuban-born flyweight feels he has done more than enough to deserve a spot with major promotions like the UFC. “I want the opportunity to fight in the UFC,” says Vila between sessions at American Top Team’s location in Doral, where he was met with hugs and kisses from supporters as he entered the gym to train. “I’ll fight in whatever weight class. I’ll even fight with ...
TORONTO — Toronto's appetite for the UFC is proving to be near insatiable. The mixed martial arts juggernaut enjoyed a record day at the box office Thursday, selling more than 42,000 tickets -- its entire original ticket block -- for UFC 129 on April 30 at the Rogers Centre. And they went in the first day of a pre-sale, with some paying a premium of almost $90 to join the fan club that had first crack at the tickets for the UFC's first show in Ontario. "I LOVE CANADA!" UFC president Dana White told The Canadian Press in a text message. The previous UFC ...
By Andre Fleites
How would you like to have MMA’s next big superstar on your event before he gets the call up to the “BIG SHOW?” Allow me to introduce you to Cristiano “Soldier” Souza. Cristiano is one of the elite up-n-comers out of the famed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL. Being a 17 [...]
Two new bouts have been added to the Internet-broadcast preliminary card for Bellator Fighting Championships 58, this Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Promotion sources Monday confirmed to Sherdog.com that Kyrgyzstani wrestling convert Farkhad Sharipov will take on Brazilian import Fabio Mello at bantamweight, while American Top Team submission artist [...]
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 21, 2011 at 3:30 pm ET
Veteran welterweight fighter Ailton Barbosa (8-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) was the winner of this past weekend’s Bellator open tryouts in Hollywood, Fla.
Officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Barbosa topped the 60-man field and now has earned a spot on the Bellator 50 fight card.
The [...]
by Dann Stupp on Jun 21, 2011 at 12:05 pm ET
Ratings for this past weekend’s “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” event, which continued the organization’s heavyweight grand prix, scored the second biggest ratings in Strikeforce-Showtime history.
Overall, the June 18 event earned a 1.7 household rating, an average audience of 624,000 viewers, and a peak audience of [...]
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 20, 2011 at 4:00 pm ET
All of the fights from the UFC’s upcoming card will be available for free.
Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 main card airs live on Versus with a Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story headliner from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
UFC officials since have revealed that all eight [...]
by Steven Marrocco on Jun 20, 2011 at 2:45 pm ET
Rich Attonito got hip to the arms race of weight-cutting pretty quickly.
It was one thing to fight on the local circuit against part-timers who, like him, probably liked a trip to the buffet every once and a while. But the more success he had in [...]
by Mike Whitman (mwhitman@sherdog.com)
Jorge Masvidal’s path to victory at Strikeforce “Overeem vs. Werdum” was paved by one of the most elementary techniques in all of combat sports.
The Floridian lightweight used his jab to establish range against K.J. Noons Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, gauging his distance before inflicting serious damage to [...]
by John Morgan and Steven Marrocco on Jun 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm ET
Jorge Masvidal might have lost the foil-shirted, metal-loving, intoxicated market of MMA fans, but that’s a price he’s willing to pay.
He’s going to stick to what he knows best, no matter how much criticism he may or may not receive for shirking [...]
by John Morgan on Jun 17, 2011 at 12:15 pm ET
DALLAS – When 40-year-old Jeff Monson (42-11 MMA, 0-0 SF) makes his Strikeforce debut at Saturday night’s “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” event, it won’t exactly be a new experience.
The near-14-year veteran has more than 50 fights to his credit, including a failed bid for the [...]
Friday, June 17, 2011
by Sherdog.com Staff
Jorge Masvidal isn’t certain a win over K.J. Noons will earn him a Strikeforce lightweight title shot, but he’ll be fighting Saturday with the expectation that a crack against champion Gilbert Melendez is on the line.
“I didn’t have Dana White tell me that or nothing, but that’s what they’ve been [...]
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