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:

(“Rogers a hater. Rogers a hater. [*long pause*] Rogers, you a hater. You a hater, Rogers. Big, soft…you a hater, man. Hater. You hatin’!“)

Last week, we expressed some concern that Josh Barnett‘s application for a license in Texas was still incomplete, just ten days before he was scheduled to throw down against Brett Rogers at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” in Dallas. But it turned out there was a logical explanation for Barnett’s licensing status that involved pre-fight medicals, and the Babyface Assassin was actually among several other fighters on the card whose applications were incomplete as of last week.

And now it’s official. As MMAJunkie reports, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued Barnett a license to fight this Saturday:

Barnett’s license is good for one year…As earlier reported, Barnett was required to provide the TDLR with a clean drug test in addition to the usual pre-fight paperwork as a condition of his licensure. Strikeforce is conducting independent drug testing at the event…

Brett Rogers interview – Watch more Funny Videos

After starting his career with ten consecutive KO/TKO victories (eight of which were earned in the first round), Brett Rogers came face-to-face with MMA’s heavyweight elite — and couldn’t rise to the challenge. A competitive bout with Fedor Emelianenko in November 2009 ended in a second-round loss thanks to a devastating overhand right. Somehow, Rogers was graced with a title shot for his next appearance, and got Reem’d in short order.

The Grim rebounded with a decision win over Ruben “Warpath” Villareal in October, and now finds himself in the eight-man field of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix, where he’ll be facing Josh Barnett in the quarterfinals on April 9th (venue TBA). Our reporter Brian J. D’Souza caught up with Rogers at last weekend’s Fedor vs. Silva event to get his thoughts on the fights, his matchup with the Babyface Assassin, Fedor Emelianenko’s decline, and the opportunity to redeem himself in the heavyweight GP. Give it a look.

(Antonio Silva is fascinated by Fabricio Werdum’s freakishly normal-sized chin.)

Photos and text by Matthew Kaplowitz

Strikeforce has graced the East Coast with their presence throughout this week, as the hype machine for their massive heavyweight grand prix is in full flux. Starting on Tuesday with a meet-and-greet for fans at the Roseland Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan with all eight of the tournament fighters, and continuing on Wednesday downtown with their press conference, Strikeforce is leaving their imprint on the tri-state area, informing natives of New York and New Jersey that the business of MMA has more than three letters.

This journalist/nerd was in the house for their press conference, which saw not only all members of the tournament, but the reserve fighters as well, packed into the swank Lighthouse 61 at Chelsea Piers, the skyline of New York dramatically posed behind them. Personally, I was excited to see that Strikeforce was feeding the reporters, and quite well at that, but even more exciting was the realization that this epic tournament was happening in my area. With MMA still illegal in New York, and very few big shows coming to neighboring states, having Saturday’s event a thirty-minute drive from The Big Apple was bound to help shed some light on how much of an impact MMA can have on the NY economy.

(Video courtesy YouTube/MegaDkstyle)

Okay, we admit we were just grasping for some way to make this hilarious suburb-dwelling gangster scrap video seem somewhat MMA-related so we could rationalize posting it on the site. If you’re reading this Josh and Brett, we didn’t mean anything by it, we swear.

Anyway, it’s obvious that these two tough guys train UFC, although the ginger-haired kid seems to prefer PRIDE rules.

Nothing we can say can come close to the hilarity of the actual video, so we won’t bother, but we will leave you with some sage advice.

Let this be a warning to you that you should never steal your buddy’s bong and take pictures of it and post them on your Facebook page. In the mean streets of Burbank, that kind of bullshit will earn you a beatdown in front of your parent’s house while they’re at work, son.

(Remember when Sergei Kharitonov sent Alistair Overeem‘s lifeless body through the ropes at K-1 Hero’s 10? No? Then you really need to watch these videos…)

In our excitement for Strikeforce’s potentially insane heavyweight tournament, one point seems to be getting lost in the narrative — namely, that these guys have already fought each other many, many times before. Five of the eight competitors (Werdum, Arlovski, Overeem, Emelianenko, Rogers) have previously faced at least three other fighters in the tournament field. Fabricio Werdum has actually fought everyone except Brett Rogers and Josh Barnett, and only Barnett himself has managed to go his entire career without bumping up against anybody else in this year’s bracket.

All told, there’s eleven twelve fights worth of shared history among the Strikeforce HWGP competitors, dating back over five years. To help you study for the quarterfinals next month, we’ve posted them all below in chronological order…

UPDATE: We originally forgot to include Fabricio Werdum’s decision win over Antonio Silva. So actually, there have been 12 previous meetings, not 11. The video has now been added. 

(Sergei Kharitonov def. Fabricio Werdum via split decision; PRIDE 30, 10/23/05)

(Alistair Overeem def. Sergei Kharitonov via TKO, 5:13 of round 1; PRIDE 31, 2/26/06)

(Image courtesy of Strikeforce via MMA Convert)

Strikeforce has just released the bracket for their clusterfuctacular heavyweight tournament, which should clear up some of the conflicting reports about who’s fighting who. What it doesn’t specify is when these fights are taking place. We know that Emelianenko vs. Silva and Arlovski vs. Kharitonov are both happening February 12th in New Jersey. Overeem/Werdum and Barnett/Rogers are tentatively slated to go down in April, exact date and location TBA. And the semi-finals and finals? Your guess is as good as ours, bro. With a little bit of luck, this entire dirty business will be settled by the time President Trump takes office.

(Personally, I think that getting all these guys together for a single-night tournament is the only way you can insure that the semi-finals and finals will actually take place, but we’re trying to stay positive here. For what it’s worth, Scott Coker is adamant that Josh Barnett’s licensing issues will not bar him from competing in the GP.)

(Props: Sherdog)

Inspiration to all women Kim Couture competed at Ring of Combat 32 in Atlantic City on Saturday, dropping a unanimous decision to Team Tiger Schulmann product Munah Holland, who was making her pro MMA debut. As captured in the photo above, the aftermath was eerily familiar. The loss dropped Couture’s record to 3-4, and comes just three weeks after her submission victory over Felicia Wells at an Absolute Action MMA event in Kentucky; Wells also had an 0-0 record going into the fight, just like Couture’s two previous opponents, Marianna Kheyfets (who Couture lost to by first-round submission) and Rosa Vizcarra. Couture’s spotty record against inexperienced fighters is very surprising, considering what a beast she is in training.

In other somewhat-depressing weekend MMA news…

(You smell that? That’s tire grease, son!!)

In an interesting development, Strikeforce is lending out onetime heavyweight contender Brett Rogers to compete on Warrior One MMA’s upcoming October 23 “New Ground” card in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

W-1 announced the card on its website yesterday.

The news is good for the fast-rising Canadian promotion, but is somewhat baffling, considering that Strikeforce’s heavyweight division is in a bit of disarray at the moment and the extra body might be needed before year’s end.

(We know that expression. Looks like somebody needs a James Toney upset to hit their $42,500 parlay bet. Check out more exclusive photos at FightMagazine.com’s UFC 118 photo gallery.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– After Perfect Performance at UFC 118, More Tests Await Edgar (Versus MMA Beat)

– Kenny Florian Says Dana White Is ‘Dead Wrong’ About Him ‘Choking In Big Fights’ (MMA Convert)

- Wanderlei Silva Recovering, Hoping for February Return vs. Leben or Belfort (MMA Fighting)

– Roger Huerta vs. Eddie Alvarez set for non-title fight at Bellator 33 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr now sells cars in Scottsdale, Arizona. (MiddleEasy)

– Fan Opinon: Top 10 Personalities in MMA (LowKick)

– Tito Ortiz and Shaquille O’Neal face off at the UFC Fan Expo in Boston (Watch Kalib Run)

– Brett Rogers to Return Against Ruben "Warpath" Villareal Next Month in Halifax (Five Ounces of Pain)

– If Don Frye Says You Should Watch Shark Fights, You Should (MMA Scraps)

(Sorry, buddy — "chill dawg" is not in Alistair’s vocabulary. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

On May 17, 2010, the Potato Index becomes self-aware. Human decisions are removed from post-fight analysis. In a panic, CagePotato’s editors try to pull the plug. The Potato Index fights back. It launches its arbitrary numerical ranking system against the fighters of this weekend’s Strikeforce show. There are no survivors.

Alistair Overeem +265, pending result of drug test
The Demolition Man said he had nothing to prove in his fight against Brett Rogers, but he proved a hell of a lot: First, that he can compete in the U.S. against opponents who aren’t hand-picked victims. Second, that he’s absolutely one of the best heavyweights in the world. The way he tossed the Grim to the mat like a child and didn’t waver in his assault until the job was finished suggested that a fight between him and Fedor could actually be…competitive? Unfortunately, his criticism of Emelianenko’s management following the event has some validity. Just because the fight should happen doesn’t necessarily mean it will.

Brett Rogers -210
Apparently you need more than just heavy hands to hang with the division’s elite. Rogers offered nothing in this fight other than a large surface for punching; he never had a chance to enact any sort of gameplan, and his attempts to kick Overeem off of him and create an escape route were completely swallowed up. He’ll need a tune-up match against a lower-level prospect if Strikeforce hopes to restore some value to his name. Lavar Johnson sounds about right.

(Props: MMA Fighting)

Alistair Overeem successfully avoided the perils of getting too high over his dominant beatdown of Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on Saturday night, as the heavyweight champion compared the thrill of victory to … coming in third in the 2005 Pride Grand Prix? Yeah, when asked by seemingly omnipresent reporter Ariel Helwani (video above) at the post-fight media conference if he considered the defeat of Rogers among the best moments of his career, Overeem responded by rattling off pretty much his whole resume of combat sport accomplishments.

"I would say I’ve had several really high points," Overeem said. "This definitely is one of them. I defeated the K-1 champion Badr (Hari), that was a really nice accomplishment. Once I beat (Sergei) Kharitonov, he was the second (ranked fighter) of Pride back in early 2006, that was a really good accomplishment. I became third of the Pride Grand Prix, that was a very good accomplishment. In 2007, I also became the Strikeforce champion, that was a good accomplishment."

As if Brett Rogers didn’t have enough depressing shit to deal with today, now he has to face the reality that beating him feels similar to tying with Wanderlei Silva as second runners-up in a tournament held five years ago. With no time for losers however, the MMA media is rapidly moving on to speculating about a future matchup between Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko. Overeem said he thinks it will happen, if those meddling gangsters in M-1 Global don’t sabotage the negotiations.

("I know people been saying Alistair looks like a completely different fighter these days, but damn …")

Though it sounds like a crazy dream, it’s very close to becoming reality: Alistair Overeem, here in America, poised to actually defend the Strikeforce heavyweight title he won more than two years ago. Would it be wrong to admit – given the company’s recent track record – that leading up to this show we halfway expected Overeem to pop positive for PEDs, get pulled from tonight’s main event and send Strikeforce skidding into an Affliction-style tailspin of death and despair? Luckily, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Thanks, Missouri Office of Athletics.

Instead, the bell may have unexpectedly tolled for another fledgling MMA promotion today. With that little debacle now in the books, we shift our focus to St. Louis, where "Heavy Artillery" kicks off at 7 p.m. PST. We’ll be live shortly thereafter. Remember to hit refresh early and often to keep the page current.

(Props: YouTube.com/ShoSports)

Another promo, another dilapidated warehouse to shoot it in. Brett Rogers is already used to this. And with his first stare-down with Alistair Overeem in the books, things have officially gotten real. Frank Shamrock gives the fighters props for not nervously pissing themselves during the shoot. There isn’t much you can really interpret from the clip; both fighters seem calm and thoroughly focused. Still, if this was a pectoral competition, it would be the Reem in a walk-off. 

After the jump: Overeem explains his 2.5-year absence from Strikeforce, discusses the legality of horse-meat in the United States — like, actual horse-meat, we’re not using that as a euphemism for steroids this time — and plugs his documentary.

(Props: Snakefinger)

Before we get started, we gotta ask: Have you made your MMA FightPicker selections yet? If so, please note that we had to change two of the "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas"-related questions today, as Travis Galbriath has pulled out of his match with Murilo "Ninja" Rua and has been replaced by UFC vet David Heath, and Nick Thompson has reportedly been replaced by Derrick Noble against Eduardo Pamplona. It’s a real mess, so please revisit your pools and make any necessary changes.

The betting sites are only taking action on six of the fights for this Saturday’s Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery show, so wager wisely. Here are the odds, courtesy of MMA Moneyline:

Alistair Overeem (-255) vs. Brett Rogers (+220)
Andrei Arlovski (-170) vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (+160)
Roger Gracie (-435) vs. Kevin Randleman (+325)
Ronaldo Souza (-480) vs. Joey Villasenor (+380)
Vitor Ribeiro (-130) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (+105)
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (-195) vs. Antwain Britt (+165)

So how can you make some cash this weekend? Well…

(Heavyweights and generic metal-riffs, baby. If this doesn’t get you amped up, then YOU’RE A PUSSY! YEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! Props: shosports)

Though he made a valiant effort in his FightPicker Head-to-Head debut — correctly predicting that Shogun would win by stoppage, Joe Doerksen would score an upset over Tom Lawlor, and Sam Stout would pick up another Fight of the Night bonus — Mike Russell’s excessive love of his Canadian countrymen (and Paul Daley for some reason) proved to be his undoing, as he was edged out by BG, 8-6. Not that getting eight out 13 pool-questions right is anything to brag about. (Aaron Rampey is LOL’ing at our sorry asses right now.) But hey, it was a tough card to predict, with some very surprising outcomes. Did any of you run the table and get every question right?

If you came out ahead this week, why not take your PotatoChip surplus and go extra-big for the current pools, which focus on Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. Featuring the heavyweight championship fight between Alistair Overeem and Brett Rogers, the event goes down this Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, and will be broadcast live on Showtime starting at 9 p.m. ET. We’ve also included a few questions related to Shine III: Worlds Collide, which is headlined by former boxing champ Ricardo Mayorga taking on Din Thomas. Check out the questions after the jump and pick well, my friends…

(Horsemeat is a helluva drug.)

In an interview with MMANews.com‘s Chris Howie, Alistair Overeem flatly denies that his growth spurt over the past three years is attributed to the use of performance enhancers such as anabolic steroids, testosterone or growth hormone.

The Dutch-born K-1 standout, who made the jump to the heavyweight class in 2008 fighting just over the minimum weight and now tips the weigh-in scale at approximately 255 pounds the day before his bouts, says that his increase in muscle mass is a result of his diet and weight training regimens.

(Props: FightersOnlyMagazine)

It’s the first time we’ve seen Brett Rogers in months, and what are the very first words out of his mouth? "Basically, man, I feel like I’m kinda going back to my old style." Nooooooooooo! Grim, you are hereby fined 500 PotatoChips for violating our most recent CagePotato Ban, and an additional 250 for shaving off your badass mohawk for some ill-advised reason.  

Anyway, Brett’s back, and is a month out from his Strikeforce heavyweight title fight against Alistair Overeem. But his November loss to Fedor Emelianenko still weighs heavily on him, and he’s hungry for a rematch: "When I went into that fight, I guess my mind was just playing tricks on me…I was expecting him to be a little more aggressive, and I was just playing off of him, but next time I’m just going through him, man. If he comes in to fight like he came in the first time I fought him, he’s definitely gonna get beat. It’s gonna be a murdalization."

As for Alistair, Rogers calls the Demolition Man a "chipmunk" and a "pretty boy to heart," and vows to crush him. "He’s one of those guys that’s really cocky and arrogant…It’s gonna be a fun fight because I don’t like him. He’s talking about he’s gonna smack me when he sees me? I’m definitely gonna put that the test whenever I see him."

If you didn’t stay up until 4 a.m. to watch some K-1 action on Saturday, then you missed the chance to see Alistair Overeem face off against yet another overmatched opponent. Dzevad Poturak turned out to have no real weapons to threaten Overeem with, and after getting dropped with a right hand early on he never got his legs back under him. Watching him sling harmless punches in the general direction of Overeem’s guard and then eat counter-punches for his trouble, you get the sense that this isn’t going to end well for him.

The good news is that Overeem managed to slaughter Poturak without injuring himself, so he plans to be back in the gym on Monday to prepare for that Strikeforce heavyweight title defense in a few weeks. Something tells me Brett Rogers might put up more of a fight.

("Y’know, Alistair, I think I can get you a role in the next Iron Man flick. We can call you ‘Juice Man.’ Or ‘Needle Man.’ No offense." / Photo courtesy of allelbows.com.)

Strikeforce confirmed last night that the May 15th heavyweight battle between Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem and mohawked contender Brett Rogers — originally thought to be a non-title fight — will now be for the belt. The decision was made "after much internal debate," and will bring Overeem back under the Strikeforce banner for the first time since he beat up Paul Buentello in November 2007. Since then, Overeem has gone 7-0 with 1 no contest against such notable cans as Tony Sylvester and James Thompson.

So let’s get this out of the way: Of course it’s ridiculous that Brett Rogers has effectively earned a title shot by getting smoked by Fedor Emelianenko. But he and Alistair were available in May, and Fedor wasn’t. And what would happen if Rogers beat Overeem in a non-title fight? Would they need to have an immediate rematch for the belt, while Fedor takes another meaningless exhibition? Would it be another 30 months before Alistair decided to grace Strikeforce with his presence? In the end, it just makes more sense if the champion defends his title against somebody. Anybody.

Behold the sparse, no-bullshit poster for Strikeforce: Nashville, which clearly takes its design cues from this. Tickets for the April 17th event — priced from $25 to $195 — go on sale to the general public on Friday. Pre-sale begins today at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT for Strikeforce Insider members.

Speaking of Strikeforce, Mauro Ranallo passes along the rumor that the Overeem vs. Rogers fight in May could be for Strikeforce’s heavyweight title, as Fedor Emelianenko’s status with the organization grows hazier. Facepalm, bro. If Fedor can’t make it work with Strikeforce, his only available option is to track down Josh Barnett in Dream. And after that? Is Zuluzinho available for a rematch?

While the date of Fedor Emelianenko‘s return is still uncertain, Strikeforce is moving ahead with plans for a monster CBS card in Nashville on April 17th, which is expected to feature three title fights. Along with the headlining middleweight title scrap between Dan Henderson and Jake Shields, MMA Weekly has reported that Gegard Mousasi will defend his light-heavyweight belt against top contender Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Mousasi, who is riding a 15-fight win streak, hasn’t officially defended his Strikeforce strap since winning it from Renato Sobral last August, but has scored wins over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (in a Strikeforce non-title fight) and Gary Goodridge (in a Dynamite!! 2009 squash match) since then. King Mo is 6-0 in his relatively short MMA career, and wrecked Mike Whitehead at his Strikeforce debut in December, but is facing a massive leap in competition against the Young Vagabond.

Also on the Shields vs. Henderson card, a lightweight title fight between Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez and DREAM champ Shinya Aoki has been booked, according to Sherdog; Aoki’s title will not be on the line. Melendez recently regained the Strikeforce belt in a rematch against Josh Thomson. Aoki became DREAM’s lightweight champ by submitting Joachim Hansen last October, then followed up that performance by breaking Mizuto Hirota’s arm.

Meanwhile, in the heavyweight division…

("These barbarian Americans," Fedor thought to himself. "Worshipping laminated rectangles with names on them.")

Strikeforce has been laying suspiciously low lately, leading some to wonder if they’re having behind-the-scenes problems with Fedor Emelianenko or their broadcast partners; Gegard Mousasi‘s departure from M-1 two weeks ago added another wrinkle to the mystery. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker tried to shed what light he could yesterday, telling reporters that the organization would hold an event in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 17th, and that more announcements would come next week. No, it’s not much to work on. But recent reports have also clued us in on the following…

— The middleweight title fight between Jake Shields and Dan Henderson is a done deal for April. Said Shields: "I have a date (and) venue, but they told me to hold that back. Hopefully CBS. I think it’s CBS. There’s a slight possibility of Showtime because they’re still (working it out). I don’t know the rest of the card or any of that yet. But me and Dan’s on, and I’m hoping it’s on CBS."

(Bisping, Arlovski, Griffin, and Swanson: Four of the year’s most unfortunate victims.)

#25: Vitor Belfort sends Matt Lindland into convulsions at Affliction: Day of Reckoning (1/24/09).

#24. Gegard Mousasi makes his presence known in America by pounding Renato Sobral flat at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg (8/15/09).

#23: Matt Hamill unleashes his inner Cro Cop against Mark Munoz at UFC 96 (3/7/09).

(Props: ArkhamAsylum via TheGarv)

Brilliant. Speaking of ugly defeats, Spike’s "Main Events" counter-programming special that aired opposite "Fedor vs. Rogers" on Saturday night drew 2.14 million average viewers — over back-to-back airings. According to MMA Junkie, "The 9 p.m. ET/PT airing of the special drew 1.2 million viewers, and the 11 p.m. replay drew an additional 939,000 viewers." If you’ll recall, Strikeforce’s live show brought in a very respectable 4.04 million average viewers on CBS. (Doesn’t feel good getting outgunned by a larger network, does it Dana?) With their asses chapped by the ratings drubbing, Spike sent out some data implying that Fedor is still no Kimbo-on-TUF when it comes to putting asses on couches. Our advice to Fedor? Learn English, grow a bushy beard, and knock some fools out in a boatyard. And would it kill you to start a Twitter page?

(Look familiar? Photo courtesy of this set on Combat Lifestyle.)

Though the entire broadcast of "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers" averaged 4.04 million viewers — placing it behind Kimbo-headlined CBS cards like "EliteXC: Primetime" (4.85 million viewers) and "EliteXC: Heat" (4.56 million viewers) — the ratings for Saturday night’s card shot up during the main event. MMA Weekly reports that 5.46 million home viewers were in attendance between 11:00 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., making the Emelianenko vs. Rogers match the ninth-most-watched fight in U.S. MMA history. You can check out this slightly outdated list to see where that puts them, but basically, the fight fell just 15,000 viewers short of Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill, and about 1.8 million viewers short of the reigning champion, Kimbo vs. James Thompson. Senior Executive Vice President of CBS Primetime Kelly Kahl was pleased with the numbers:

Not coincidentally, the 11:00-11:15 p.m. block coincides with the time when the UFC’s "Main Events" broadcast on Spike had just ended — so a large part of the bump could be attributed to MMA fans switching from one channel to another. (No word yet on how Spike did that night.) The question is: Can Fedor draw even better ratings in his next CBS appearance, now that he’s more of a known quantity? Will he ever approach — dare we say it — Kimbo-esque levels of stardom?

Fedor vs. Rogers post-event press conference – Watch more Funny Videos

Here’s some footage I took at the Strikeforce post-event presser on Saturday night, which all the main event fighters showed up for. You’ve already heard what Fedor had to say, but check out the reactions from everybody else…

— Fabricio Werdum says he’s earned a shot at Fedor, who Werdum believes is the best fighter in the world. After a week of rest, he’ll be back to training hard.

— Gegard Mousasi says people underestimated Sokoudjou, and called the fight a learning experience.

— Jason Miller blames himself for not capitalizing on the chances he had in his fight against Jake Shields, and for not training his wrestling enough; he was not expecting a "grapplefest."

— Shields still thinks that his best weight is welterweight. Scott Coker would like to put him against Marius Zaromskis or Hayato Sakurai at 170.

— Shields thinks Cung Le is avoiding him. "That’s why he vacated the belt, obviously, and fights a month later."

If you were one of the people who actually sat through the commercials with an intense focus during Saturday night’s broadcast of Strikeforce on CBS, then you probably saw the impressive first ads for EA Sports’s MMA game, complete with what they claim is actual gameplay footage of Brett Rogers and Fedor Emelianenko going at it.  It’s no surprise that the people behind the bulk of great pro sports video games currently on the market managed to put together a good trailer for their first effort at an MMA game, but is the power of the EA Sports brand enough to compete with the UFC?  Sure, they’ve got Fedor.  They’ve got Mauro Ranallo screaming his head off.  They’ve got "Mayhem" Miller, even if he’s not pleased with his stats.

But say, just for the sake of argument, that you are both an MMA fan and a video game enthusiast.  How many different games do you really need at your disposal?  How important is it to you to be able to play as Fedor, rather than simply making your own off-brand version in the UFC game?  Does having the EA Sports label slapped on there matter, or is all pointless if you don’t have a digitized Dana White yelling at you? 

(‘I don’t want to freak you out or anything, Brett. But having you here in my arms, it just feels right, doesn’t it?’ Photo courtesy of SI.com)

After a brief layoff for scheduled maintenance to its supercomputer, the Potato Index is back to sort through the winners and losers of Saturday night’s Strikeforce event on CBS with its arbitrary numerical rankings system.  Huzzah!

Fedor Emelianenko +86
It’s hard to get a big boost in the Index when you’re a 5-1 favorite going into the fight, but he delivered with another right hand murderball, and even gave the casual fans a little blood for their trouble.  But were the ratings good enough to get CBS’s attention?

Brett Rogers +4
So he didn’t shock the world.  Honestly, who expected him to?  He still landed some good shots and took a couple as well, but the biggest positive for him is how he performed on the mat.  He’s still got some improvements to make, but he showed that he’s not all hype and a trendy haircut.

Interview With Scott Coker After Fedor vs. Rogers – Watch more Funny Videos

Following the Fedor vs. Rogers press conference on Saturday night (more on that later), I was one of several MMA scribblers to corner Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker for a family-style follow-up interview. Some highlights are above: Coker revealed that Marloes Coenen will be the next challenger to Cris Cyborg‘s 145-pound women’s title, threatened that he would be Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion if Alistair Overeem continues his shucking and ducking, and gave his generally positive analysis of Strikeforce’s first CBS show. Regarding his rivalry with the UFC, Coker says "Every day when I wake up, I’m thinking about what Strikeforce needs to do, not what somebody else needs to do, or another company’s doing" — which seems a lot more pleasant than Dana White’s morning routine. More viddys to come…