Yeah, we were praying for something to happen in that fight, too.

Heading into last night’s Strikeforce card, there were a lot of potential storylines. There was Werdum continuing to clean out Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. There was Overeem avenging his loss to Werdum five years ago in devastating fashion. There were the returns to relevance of Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson, the rise of Daniel Cormier and “Othereem” getting the fans to learn his name. Yet after the event was over, the most compelling thing we can take from it is that Dallas has some educated MMA fans. While your average Affliction clad meathead was booing from the start of Cormier vs. Monson until the end of the night, Dallas fans only booed during Overeem vs. Werdum.

Normally I hate when fans boo fighters, but to say Overeem vs. Werdum was boo-worthy doesn’t begin to capture what a disappointment the main event was. We expected fireworks, and instead were given an even less relevant version of Silva vs. Leites (at least that fight was for a title). If that fight was under the UFC banner, Dana White would have immediately issued an apology to the fans and a threat to fire Werdum over another performance like that. To say the least, Werdum’s chances of getting back into the UFC were more than likely squashed by that fight three round Thales Leites impression.

Yeah, if you’re looking for warm fuzzies, you can stop reading now. These two aren’t on the list. (Pic: MMAConvert.com)

Being a father must be one of the most thankless jobs on Earth. I say this not as a dad, but as a son who can only imagine what I put my father through. Sure, there are probably some happy times, like watching your son get his first hit on the baseball court, but largely it’s a never ending torrent of putting up with your son’s immature bullshit, and for that you get thought of one day a year at which time you’re rewarded with an ugly ass tie and a “Free Oil Change” coupon for the truck your son smashed up.

On this special occasion, take a few minutes to grab your old man, have a seat, and enjoy some good old fashioned shadenfreude with some of our sport’s less celebrated father-son moments. You may laugh, you may cry, but hopefully you’ll both realize that things could be a lot worse. Who knows, after a beer or two you may even decide to celebrate your strengthened bond by taking a class together.

To all the dads out there, keep fighting the good fight.

(Where’s your creepy joker-smile now, playboy?)

The latest installment in Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament goes down tonight at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, featuring the long-awaited rematch between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett’s promotional debut against Brett Rogers. Plus, KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal jockey for #1 contendership in the lightweight division, and 14-year veteran Jeff Monson collides with rising heavyweight star Daniel Cormier.

Handling the play-by-play for this evening will be the Shemp Howard of CagePotato’s liveblog-rotation, Matt Kaplan, so let him know you care in the comments section. Live results from the Showtime broadcast of “Overeem vs. Werdum” will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

Is it odd that Paulo Filho seems like one of the more normal aspects of this picture?

Just over a month out from the UFC’s Wisconsin debut, Stephan Bonnar has announced that he is no longer able to compete at UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee. Originally scheduled to face off against Karlos Vemola, Bonnar has suffered a torn MCL while training. According to MMAFighting.com:

Saturday, Bonnar told MMA Fighting the injury is a Grade II tear of his medial collateral ligament, or MCL. Bonnar said the injury will not require surgery, but will have him in a brace for six weeks. He said the injury is similar to ones that recently sidelined Rashad Evans and Kenny Florian.

(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.

Just think of the captions that a lesser journalist would come up with. Seriously, just think it this time.

You had to see this one coming. Three weeks out from his unanimous decision defeat to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130, the UFC has decided to part ways with TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove. After defeating Ed Herman to win The Ultimate Fighter 3 back in 2006, Grove has gone 6-6 in the UFC, including losses to Patrick Cote, Mark Munoz and Demian Maia. Aside from Ed Herman, the only fighter that Kendall Grove holds a win over who is still fighting in the UFC is Alan Belcher, who he defeated by D’Arce choke back at UFC 69 in April of 2007.

(“It took 47 seconds for your last sparring partner to piss his pants. Alistair, we can do better.”)

Tonight, Alistair Overeem will make his Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament debut, fighting the man who already defeated him back in PRIDE, “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum. Overeem will step inside the Strikeforce cage as the K-1 2010 World Grand Prix Champion, DREAM Heavyweight Champion and of course Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. One of the people standing behind the success of Alistair Overeem and other Team Golden Glory fighters is the coach Martijn “The Specialist” De Jong.

De Jong is a 2nd degree Black Belt in traditional Jiu-Jitsu, 1st degree Black Belt in Kyokushin Budokai and a 1st degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. “The Specialist” is also a president of Shooto Europe, ADCC Europe and the CEO of the successful United Glory MMA promotion.

We had an opportunity to speak to the legendary coach about his expectations from Alistair Overeem this weekend, Team Golden Glory and the state of Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing in The Netherlands.

Click here to read this article on Lowkick.blitzcorner.com

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAInterviews)

- Stanley Cup Riot Gallery: The Faces of Vancouver’s Horrific Sportsmanship (WithLeather)

- Griffin Wants to Prove that Win Over Shogun Was No Fluke (Tatame)

- E3 Exclusive: 1 on 1 with Gears of War 3?s Cliff Bleszinski (TheRugged)

- Chad Griggs Plan Against Overeem: Forehead Down, Throw Bombs (MMAJunkie)

- An Important Message From Dave Chappelle (Clutch.MTV)

- How to Open a Beer With Anything (MadeMan)

- Strikeforce Enacts Same “Sponsor Tax” as UFC (FightersOnly)

- Holy Taco’s Guide to Writing a Good Cover Letter (HolyTaco)

- Second ’30 Seconds or Less’ Red-Band Trailer (ScreenJunkies)

- Rick Story Thinks He’s Knock Out Jon Fitch (FiveKnuckles)

- The WAGS of Wimbledon (FHM)

Apparently MMA doesn’t pay if you’re just a regional fighter.

A Fresno, California fighter named John Reedy is facing multiple felony counts including residential burglary and receiving stolen property after neighbors, who witnessed the 29-year-old removing appliances and fixtures from a vacant property Thursday, called police.

According to authorities, Reedy, who fought under the nicknames ”Wild Child” and “Cen-Cal Kid” is responsible for a string of burglaries from vacant residential and construction properties over the past few months, including at least three thefts at the location he was caught robbing this week.

Crazy Martial Arts Demo – Watch more Funny Videos

The long skirts, the nonsensical shrieking — all these dudes need is a rolling pin to shake at the camera, and this would basically be what greets me at the door when I come home drunk every Saturday night. Props to HolyTaco for the find.

(The only person who doesn’t like Dan spits at cornermen and says Americans are cocky.)

Since our first offering of Breakfast With a Champion with Strikeforce and K-1 champ Alistair Overeem was such a success, we have set the wheels in motion for subsequent editions of the series, starting with our next one with Strikeforce light heavyweight kingpin Dan Henderson.

Just like last time, we’re asking for your input on what questions you want answered as well as any suggestions for future guests for the column. The only criteria be that they be current or retired champions. Again, we ask that you keep your questions for Hendo respectful, but really, how would they not be?

In the meantime, check out some highlights featuring the man himself courtesy of MachineMen after the jump for inspiration.

(Since this sculpture seemed to be a major talking point…)

Minoru Suzuki was born 43 years ago.

Why he matters: One of the co-founders of Pancrase — the pre-cursor to the UFC — Suzuki was of the best Japanese submission specialists of his era. He holds wins over Ken Shamrock, Vernon White, Matt Hume and Guy Mezger and Maurice Smith. A former Olympic alternate freestyle wrestler for Japan and former Japanese freestyle wrestling national champion, Suzuki retired from MMA competition in 2002 with a record of 27-20 to focus on professional wrestling, in which he is still active today.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MrDartzero)

Many MMA luminaries from Bas Rutten and Ken Shamrock to Josh Barnett count Suzuki as one of THE best catch wrestlers the sport has ever known.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/scientificwrestling)

(The phrase “f*cked with the wrong Mexican” comes to mind. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Lorenzo Fertitta has revealed that Cain Velasquez‘s first heavyweight title defense against Junior Dos Santos is slated for UFC 138 (November 19th; HP Pavilion; San Jose, CA), according to a new LA Times report. It would be the UFC’s first event at the “Shark Tank,” which has been the longtime home-base for Strikeforce events. It’s a natural fit, considering Velasquez’s affiliation with San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy.

If you’re like me, you are a YouTube Genghis Con subscriber, and you have a fondness for the theater of Japanese MMA. Also, you write rebuttal articles completely off the cuff, you’re not getting any younger, and you’re frustrated at the extra weight you’re putting on. And you’ve also been known to cry over Disney movies and those damn Pedigree commercials. Long story short, you’re a pretty cool person, and we should probably hang out and share some Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream and talk about fighters with heart.

Ok, you’re probably not like me, and that’s probably just fine with you. But if you don’t enjoy a good scrap from the land of PRIDE, Shooto, and DREAM, then we probably shouldn’t hang out, because chances are we’re going to have less in common than Miley Cyrus and Emanuel Yarbrough. By the way, Ben says that picture is a celebrity with a random-ass fighter, which is totally different.

If you do dig JMMA and Genghis Con, go ahead and enjoy his latest effort, “Honor Among Champs”. Then you can rag on me for being a fifteen year old girl in the comments.

[RX]

(“Overeem is my son. Scott Coker is my uncle. Gina Carano is my hot cousin. Josh Barnett is my sister’s meathead boyfriend.”)

Betting odds for the complete lineup of tomorrow night’s Strikeforce card were released yesterday, and looking over these numbers, it seems like the perfect opportunity to dig yourself out of the hole you put yourself in by following our previous gambling advice. Now, we don’t actually recommend the use of off-shore gambling sites these days, in light of the government’s recent eRaids, but hey, entertainment purposes and all, right? Check out the juiciest lines for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com, then listen very carefully to what we have to say…

Main Card (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Alistair Overeem (-321) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+300)
Josh Barnett (-319) vs. Brett Rogers (+309)
K.J. Noons (-144) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+135)
Daniel Cormier (-300) vs. Jeff Monson (+325)
Valentijn Overeem (+111) vs. Chad Griggs (-122)

So”heart of a champion” is just a meaningless phrase?     PicProps: Esther Lin

Heart is awesome. Guts are more important to cage fighting than Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Balls sell more tickets than Olympic medals. Heart is an intangible, an ethereal quality that fighters seem to either have in abundance, or sorely lack. And while intangibles may offend the sensibilities of those who would analyze fights like they’re backward engineering a damn nuclear centrifuge, it’s that very quality that motivates fans to buy tickets, buy shirts, buy pay per views, buy hotel rooms.  It isn’t simply some writer’s trope that we use to fill space; this is an attribute that, however hard to pin down, has a demonstrable effect.

There is something about competition in sports that speaks directly to primal emotions in all of us. Ok, apparently not all of us, but still. Fans tend to be emotional people, and not always rational. So a non-tangible quality like “heart” is important, if for nothing but a fighter’s popularity.

Guys like Ox Wheeler or Leonard Garcia or Scott Smith that seem to just go out there and wing it, wind up getting in a war with some guy and they beat the piss out of one another and everybody in the crowd goes bonkers and throws their hotdogs in the air and the collective cry is a noise like the damn building is yelling–that’s why that happens. And everyone goes home horny and it’s generally a good time had by all. It’s a purely emotional response, and base, and uneducated…and it’s totally valid.

(Shane may have had heart, balls, guts, and a chin, but they were no match for Junior’s elite-level anatomical-metaphor defense.)

We’re almost a week removed from the magnificent beatdown that Junior dos Santos laid on Shane Carwin, and it’s probably safe to assume that all of the post-fight articles have been written about the main event at UFC 131. Well, all but one.

This article is not specifically about UFC 131 or Shane Carwin — it’s about a certain phrase that has been tied to Carwin’s performance following his three-round beating, and that phrase is “He showed a lot of heart.”

Do a Google search on MMA “showed heart” and look at the names associated with the term: Shane Carwin, Paul Daley, Roy Nelson, and Andrei Arlovski, just to name a few. Any fighter that stood in there and took a beating, yup, he “showed a lot of heart.”

It’s time to retire that phrase, and here’s why…

(Thank Crom somewhere along the way, they decided to wear shorts.)

36 years ago: MMA’s version of Yoda, Greg Jackson, was born in Washington, DC.

34 years ago: UFC middleweight and former CagePotato TUF 11 guest blogger Rich Attonito was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Check out the rest after the jump.

(Sergio flanked by biggest supporters: his oldest brother Rey, Anthony and their mom.)

Although you likely haven’t heard the name Sergio Pettis yet, the surname is a familiar one thanks to his older brother Anthony, who introduced the Pettis pedigree to the MMA masses fans with his underdog WEC lightweight championship win over Ben Henderson. His breakout performance was capped off by a highlight reel kick that fans and pundits alike are still talking about.

Sergio is Anthony’s younger brother, who shares not only his older brother’s passion for the sport, but also his innate fighting abilities. Dubbed “Phenom” by his Roufusport teammates, Sergio, who at 17 sports a 4-0 amateur tally, is set to make his professional debut September 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada under the Canadian Fighting Championships banner.

He credits Roufusport head Duke Roufus and his brother for helping mould him into the fighter he’s become, but says his goals are simply to keep winning and to hopefully one day follow in Anthony’s footsteps and make it to the UFC. Although that may seem like a lofty aim, for a teenager who abstained from partying and pigging out like most teenagers partake in, in favor of rolling and sparring in the hopes that he would one day reach his goal, it would be more of a surprise to see him not get there.

We spoke with Sergio recently and touched on a number of topics from why he got into fighting to if he ever claimed to be the inventor of the Showtime Kick.

Check out what Sergio had to say after the jump.

(Props: MMAFighting)

Brett Rogers has been publicly M.I.A. since February, and it was starting to worry us a little bit. So it was a relief to see this interview he did with Ariel Helwani yesterday, in which the Grim appears to be in a healthy but reflective state of mind before his match with Josh Barnett this Saturday. Discussing his two-fight losing streak at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem, Rogers said:

“I was moreso in that mindset of my amateur days, you know, I was kind of like ‘just give me a date and I’ll be there,’ and hope for the best. The proof is in the pudding, I can’t always flow with that mentality. That attitude will get me in a hole.”

Just a friendly reminder that we will have the stream of the UFC 134 press conference for your viewing pleasure starting at 2:00 pm ET.

Here are a few of the faces you can expect to see at the event:

I may be way off, but why would the UFC fly in a bunch of fighters for a press conference for an event that will likely be a guaranteed sellout unless it was to announce an exciting ‘special’ addition to the card, like say Royce Gracie vs. Cris Cyborg or Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie.

Let the baseless speculation begin. Best answer gets to slap ReX next time you see him.

Check out the presser stream after the jump.

It’s no Ghengis Con joint, but it’s something. VidProps: ShoSports

Nation, amongst all the large names and ginormous dudes fighting this weekend, you may have overlooked Daniel Cormier. This weekend’s bout with heavyweight submission grappler/anarchist/tattoo enthusiast Jeff Monson will be Cormier’s fifth fight for Strikeforce since his debut in September of 2009 under the Challengers banner. Perhaps it’s no shock that Cormier isn’t a household name, considering the lack of promotion from his, uh, promotion, but he’s nonetheless a dude you should know.

Come on in past the jump and better know Daniel Cormier, so you’ll have something intelligent to say at the bar while his fight is on.

(Quinton Jackson warily high-fives Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at the 1st Annual Pornstar Ball in Las Vegas, back in 2009. Seriously.)

The UFC announced yesterday that light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have agreed to square off at UFC 135, September 24th at the Pepsi Center in Denver. It will be Jones’s first title defense, after winning the belt from Mauricio Rua in March. Meanwhile, Jackson is riding back-to-back decision wins over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill. It may not pack the kind of grudge-match heat that Jones vs. Rashad would have had, but at least Jones and Jackson disagree on the motorboating issue. So, anybody think Rampage actually has a chance against the young phenom?

A pair of heavyweight scraps have also been reportedly added to the event…

Our friends at Victory Belt just hooked us up with a copy of Anderson Silva‘s new book, a semi-autobiographical collection of short fiction titled Ghosts of the Favela. Just kidding. The book’s actually called MMA Instruction Manual: The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns, Takedown Defense, and Ground Fighting. A follow-up to Silva’s guide to striking, it focuses on the other aspects of hand-to-hand combat that have made the Spider so dangerous in the cage. And you can have it, as long as you can predict the future.

This Saturday night, Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum goes down in Dallas, featuring two more bouts from the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

Dan henderson first fight by MMAGLORY

We’re going to try to do an almost daily “On This Day in MMA History” series starting with this appropriate first instalment that features one of the sports most popular and successful fighters, former Pride welterweight and middleweight and current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.

14 years ago today “Hendo” made his MMA debut in Brazil against Crezio de Souza in the opening round of the Brazil Open ’97 lightweight (176lbs and below) tournament.  Henderson’s bracket of the one-day grand prix also featured Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons, while the heavyweight side featured Kevin Randleman and Tom Erickson.

(Spit-bags: The sure sign of a bad time. Photo courtesy of TMZ.)

By Ben Goldstein and Jason Moles

The rule applies in any profession: For every law-abiding nice-guy, there’s an unstable son-of-a-bitch who you’d never want to leave your kids alone with. In honor of Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season being released on DVD and Blu-ray, we decided to take a ride through MMA’s shadowy history of assault, robbery, vandalism, drug-smuggling, and other nasty behavior — the most infamous examples of fighters living dangerously and paying the price…

For more thrills, check out the latest Sony Action Unleashed DVDs!

#16: Jeff Monson
Arrested for: First-degree malicious mischief; assault on a female and injury to real property

It’s never a good idea to have evidence of your law-breaking published nationally. In a bizarre lapse of judgment, heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson was busted after he allowed ESPN the Magazine to photograph him spray-painting an anarchy symbol on the Washington state capitol building. Though the charge packed a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the Snowman was able to plead down to three months. Just days later, Monson was arrested again when a domestic dust-up with one of his many love-interests resulted in an overturned grandfather clock and a fist-shaped hole in the wall; those charges were later dismissed.

#15: Kim Couture
Arrested for: Domestic violence

(Video courtesy YouTube/StocktonHeyBuddy)

We know from experience that dealing with government types is shady business, but when idiots like Bob Reilly continue to distort the truth and screw with the livelihoods of countless people in the process, it starts to grate on our nerves.

Reilly was front and centre in the news today telling anyone who would listen that, like he’s been saying for weeks, the MMA legalization bill in New York likely won’t make it to the Assembly floor for a vote because there isn’t enough interest or support for the bill.

“If something does not have the votes to pass, we don’t bother taking it to the floor,” Reilly said.

So rather than prove there isn’t any underhandedness in deciding whether or not there really isn’t enough support for the bill by putting the issue to a vote, the opposition Democrats like Reilly and Speaker Sheldon Silver are likely to stall the bill in the Assembly’s Ways & Means Committee. That kids, is how a bill doesn’t become a law.

(“…and I want water made from the iceberg the Titanic hit and….”)

When Strikeforce announced over the weekend that Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, who lost to Nick Diaz in his last fight in January, would  be facing Paul Daley – Diaz’s last victim – on SF’s July 30 card,  it was surprising to hear murmurs that the winner might take home the promotion’s vacant strap for a number of reasons.

(In this photo alone, there are at least 25 crimes taking place…most of them involve God-awful $45 t-shirts and shirtless grown men holding signs or covered in body paint.)

Remember when Vancouver City Council demanded that the UFC shell out the cash to pay for additional policemen and the big news was that the promotion had told them to get bent?

Well, it turns out the money would have been a big waste.

The city’s police service are reporting that there were no major incidents reported following Saturday night’s event.

“They didn’t report in any incidents of note,” Jana McGuinness, a Vancouver Police Department media relations officer told The Vancouver Courier Tuesday. “There was good dialogue with the police and the community since last year and their concerns were brought forward and we responded with increased patrols.”

According to one Vancouver man, however, who took it upon himself to personally sniff out any wrongdoing by UFC fans, there actually was some depravity and defilement that took place after the fights.

If you are a child of the 80s, Richard Dean Anderson will probably forever hold a special place in your heart as one of the coolest heroes ever. Why there isn’t still a show running in which a non-violent genius improvs helpful gadgets and kludges with a few innocuous articles from his lady friend’s purse is beyond us. Luckily, the spirit of MacGyver lives on in us all, and that includes Mr Josh Barnett.

The Babyface Assassin was having interview funtime with Karyn Bryant of MMA HEAT when a mishap with free weights put a damper on some dude’s day, leaving him with a dinged schnoz. Weightlifter guy is doing the whole routine: yeah, this is like the other times I broke it, nah, it don’t hurt that bad, yeah, I’m ok, nah, I ain’t got time to bleed.

Barnett springs into action! Using a couple of ballpoint pens, our buddy Josh manages to open and straighten Mr Bad Snatch’s nasal passages. It’s no field tracheotomy, but still probably a handy bit of knowledge to have, especially if people punch you in the face a lot.

Weightlifter dude walks away to cry off-camera, Josh does his PSA about bad snatch, end scene. While you probably didn’t learn anything, we at least distracted you for three minutes, so you’re welcome. If you’ve ever performed some oddball first aid using the field medic training you received in ‘Nam, tell us about it in the comments. (No need to share your own stories of snatch encounters, thanks.)

[RX]