(M-Bone is Dougie’ing in his grave right now. Props: Ariel Helwani)

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…

- Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)

- Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)

- The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)

- Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)

- Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)

- Ring Girls Round-Up: Ashleigh Marley (LowKick)

- 28 Reasons We’d Love to Have Dana White’s Job (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber 2′ Conference Call Highlights (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC 133: Jorge Rivera Is Too Old to Keep Getting Punched in the Head (MMA Mania)

- Fedor Emelianenko: ‘Two Mistakes In A Row Cannot Be Coincidence’ (MMA Convert)

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.

(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.

(“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)

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.

(“Most enjoyable thing I’d never do again? Definitely eating that live wolverine.”)

After years of bouncing from one regional event to another, Jeff Monson will finally return to the big leagues next month. ShoSports has confirmed that the former UFC heavyweight title contender will take on wrestling ace Daniel Cormier (7-0, five wins by first-round stoppage) at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, June 18th in Dallas. Cormier was originally supposed to face undefeated rising star Shane Del Rosario at the event, but Del Rosario had to withdraw after being seriously injured in a car accident.

Monson is currently riding an eight-fight win streak (in seven different promotions), including W’s over Jason Guida, Travis Fulton, and former King of the Cage champ Tony Lopez. Oddly enough, this will be Monson’s fifth fight at heavyweight since he announced that he’d be dropping to light-heavyweight to be more competitive. He still hopes to make the drop this year.

At this point, the only non-heavyweight bout on the ‘Overeem vs. Werdum’ main card will be Gina Carano vs. Sarah D’Alelio. Check out the current lineup after the jump…

(Leave it to Strikeforce to try to kill the momentum of a promising prospect.)

CagePotato has learned that immediately following his impressive heavyweight grand prix reserve bout win over Gian Villante at Strikeforce’s Fedor vs. Silva event two-and-a-half weeks ago, Chad Griggs was offered a slot on this weekend’s Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson card. A source we spoke to revealed that “The Gravedigger” turned down both bouts he was offered with fellow tournament reservists Valentijn Overeem and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier as there simply wasn’t adequate time for the full-time paramedic-firefighter to prepare for such a pivotal potential bout.

(OK, Julia watch for the le-. Never mind. VidProps: ProMMANow.)

What’s this? A fairly solid Strikeforce Challengers card that (for once) accomplishes its stated mission of showcasing a bevy of the promotion’s up-and-coming fighters? Believe it, people. Strikeforce managed to prolong some of the momentum it established late in 2010 and took advantage of the Showtime channel’s free preview weekend on Friday night with a decent card that saw a number of its more favored prospects pull off victories. Granted, things dragged a little bit down the stretch with Daniel Cormier, Ovince St. Preux and Tyron Woodley grappling their way to consecutive unanimous decisions, but on the whole this show has to be considered something of a success, at least as far as the often maligned Challengers series goes.

For the more punch-hungry fans out there, Amanda Nunes’ lightning quick 14-second knockout of Julia Budd certainly broke the monotony of the wrestling clinic, too. Video of that at top. After the jump, further musings on what it all means …

(Video courtesy YouTube/LayzietheSavage)

When Cecil Peoples isn’t screwing up the judging of important title fights or telling fans who disagree with his bias towards his fellow karate stylists to "go to hell," he’s causing countless near death experiences like the one above inside the cage.

Our pal Layzie the Savage was cageside at the Long Beach Fight Night event Sunday night to capture the latest in a long line of patented Peoples fuck ups.

I used to think that CePe must be wearing a pair of these when he judges to hide the fact that he’s sneaking a few winks and that he already pre-filled out the scorecards before the show, but now I’m thinking he must have Angry Birds installed on his iPhone because he’s proven himself an equally inattentive in-cage official as he is a cageside one.

Seriously, the dude makes Steve Mazzagatti look like Herb Dean.

(John Howard discusses his path from the Boston projects to the Octagon. Doomsday takes on Thiago Alves next Saturday at UFC 124. Props: FightMagazine.com)

- Scott Coker Says He’s Not Interested in Gerald Harris; Todd Duffee Turned Down an Offer to Fight Antonio Silva (LowKick)

– World MMA Awards Live Chat Tonight (Versus MMA Beat)

– Trial Begins for Man Accused of Manslaughter in Death of Tapout’s ‘Mask’ (MMA Fighting)

– Japanese Fighter Completely Botches Celebratory Backflip (MiddleEasy)

– Dynamite!! in Danger: FEG’s Future Looks Bleak Without NYE TV Deal & Investment Capital (MMA Convert)

– NicktheFace Brings the Goods with ‘Shogun vs. Evans’ Trailer (MMA Scraps)

– Five Fights To Watch For The Rest Of 2010 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Daniel Cormier Gets an Opponent for January Strikeforce bout (Five Ounces of Pain)

– SB Nation Exclusive Interview: Chris ‘Beast Boy’ Barnett Didn’t Enjoy His Trip To Singapore (SBNation.com/MMA)

(Big ups to Team Thirsty, Team Get Dat Paper and Team Having-a-Second-Reconstructive-Knee-Surgery-in-Less-Than-Two-Years. PicProps: Esther Lin, obvi.)

OK, so here’s a textbook example of why fighters need managers (preferably managers who are not also their girlfriends, because that’s a no-win situation for everyone): Word out of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal’s camp in the wake of his loss to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at Strikeforce: Houston on Saturday is that Mo blew out both the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee during the bout. Because he’s an MMA fighter, Lawal wanted to squeeze in one more fight before opting to have surgery, but fortunately cooler (read: sane) heads prevailed. Manager Ryan Parsons now says the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion could be out for up to nine months.

“Mo wanted to take one more fight, but we decided that this injury should be attended to first,” Parsons told Sherdog.com yesterday.  Um, yeah. No shit.

(Reached for comment, Peoples stood by his assertion that the MagnaFlow Exhaust Products corner is the most prestigious corner in the world. VidProps: YouTube/ZombieProphetMMA)

Man, is it really too much to ask that Cecil motherfucking Peoples just referees and/or judges one fight without doing or saying something ridiculous to make himself the center of attention? Apparently yes, it is. Witness this video, in which MMA’s favorite head-in-the-clouds official puts on a command performance of his own tenuous grasp of reality prior to Friday night’s King of the Cage heavyweight title match. Not only does Peoples mutter something into the microphone about the KOTC championship being “the most prestigious belt in the world” during his prefight instructions to Daniel Cormier and Tony Johnson Jr., but then he does some kind of weirdo karate chop bullshit to start the bout. I swear, this guy.

Thankfully Peoples — who ends his comments to the fighters by saying “Let’s dance!” — doesn’t do anything to screw up the actual fight. You have to consider that a cut above his average appearance as an MMA judge/ref. Seriously though, what’s it gonna take before state athletic commissions start looking at Sensei Cecil and thinking, “Do we really want this jackass representing us in any way?”

(Zak Cummings and Tim Kennedy engage in a vicious staredown at yesterday’s weigh-ins. Photo courtesy of Esther Lin / Strikeforce.)

We may be entering a month-long UFC drought until "Machida vs. Shogun," but all is not lost. Strikeforce is putting on its latest "Challengers" event tonight at the SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the main card will be broadcast live on Showtime starting at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. Here’s what’s in store…

Tim Kennedy (10-2) vs. Zak Cummings (10-0)
Army Ranger Tim Kennedy, who most recently scored a TKO over Nick Thompson at the last Strikeforce Challengers show in June, takes on undefeated middleweight prospect Zak Cummings, who enters the fight as a replacement for the injured Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. Cummings defeated Terry Martin by split-decision earlier this year, and most recently scored a TKO victory over Dominic Brown in May.

Ray "Sugarfoot" Sefo (1-0) vs. Kevin Jordan  (11-7)
Five-time Muay Thai world champion Ray Sefo, who hasn’t competed in MMA since a knockout of Min Soo Kim in 2005, tries his hand at cagefighting once again in this heavyweight bout against journeyman Kevin Jordan, who you might remember from his UFC losses to Paul Buentello and Gabriel Gonzaga. On August 1st, Jordan won a unanimous decision over UFC old-schooler Patrick Smith, breaking a two-fight losing streak.