(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

If there’s anything positive for Alan Belcher to take away from his loss to Michael Bisping in the co-main event of last night’s UFC 159, it’s that he was right about Bisping being unable to knock him out. Bisping had plenty of opportunities to do so throughout the fight, yet Belcher was too resilient of an opponent. Unfortunately, that’s right about where the positive notes end. Bisping not only outstruck Belcher by a considerable margin throughout their fight, but also avoided all of Belcher’s takedowns. Simply put, Belcher didn’t have any answers for Bisping’s jab-n-jog offense.

And then there was the eye poke that ended up stopping the fight, awarding Michael Bisping the technical decision victory. It was a disappointing way to end an otherwise decent scrap – especially considering Belcher’s previous troubles with that eye. Fortunately, Belcher has since tweeted that he is doing okay.

Perhaps the strangest thing about the eye poke is that this fight wasn’t the only bout on the card to end in technical decision due to an eye poke. Earlier in the evening, the light heavyweight bout between Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante also ended when St. Preux inadvertently poked Villante in the eye. St. Preaux walked away with a technical majority decision victory. Kind of makes a case for changing the design of MMA gloves.

Elsewhere on the card…

Look, Ovince, all I’m saying is that maybe Lane Kiffin is slightly underrated and doesn’t deserve so much hatred. Props: fightinginsider.com

You could make the argument that Strikeforce has been more relevant since its demise in January than it was during its final year of existence. With Gilbert Melendez earning an immediate title shot against Ben Henderson and Strikeforce veterans pulling off massive upsets at UFC 156, it seems like we’re spending more time talking about it now than we were when it was still in business.

It is now being reported by Long Island Newsday that two of Strikeforce’s best light heavyweights, Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante, will fight each other at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey.

A former college football player for the University of Tennessee, Ovince St. Preux went 4-4 before being signed to fight on the undercard of Strikeforce: Nashville in 2010. St. Preux provided more than just a cheap pop for the organization, as he would defeat Chris Hawk in only forty-seven seconds. OSP would win his next six fights before dropping a unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in December of 2011. St. Preux’s most recent fight was a knockout over TJ Cook at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman in August.

“It’s okay. He probably didn’t know you were a Strikeforce fighter when he told that last joke…”

Strikeforce is continuing to add fights to its August 18th card, which will go down at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Headlined by Ronda Rousey’s first title defense against Sarah Kaufman, the promotion has announced three more bouts for the event.

It may be an exercise in futility to rank Strikeforce bouts in terms of significance, but there are still some interesting matchups on this card. Perhaps the most intriguing of the three recently announced matches is a middleweight showdown between former champion Ronaldo Souza and Derek Brunson. Since losing the strap to Luke Rockhold last September, ‘Jacare’ scored a third round arm-triangle choke over Bristol Marunde in March. Jacare looks to maintain momentum with a win over NCAA D2 All-American wrestler Derek Brunson, which is far easier said than done. Brunson is coming off of an extremely close loss to Kendall Grove at ShoFIGHT 20 two weeks ago after accepting the fight on four days’ notice. That fight, which was the first loss of Brunson’s career, could have easily gone his way. Expect a close fight here.

Yeah, she spent more time on the cage than in it. (Photo: Las Vegas Sun)

Since the late 90′s I’ve seen the same assertion rear its head on MMA email lists, usenet groups, and internet forums from time to time: The best fighter in the world isn’t in the cage or the ring. He’s toiling away in a South American coal mine or defending his land in Sub-Saharan Africa. His legend will never extend beyond the shores of his remote Pacific island and he’ll never be able to prove his abilities to the world. To a certain degree, this must be what life is like for Gilbert Melendez.

Finding out that your company is staying afloat and that your job is secure would normally be terrific news, but despite his admirable towing of the company line, you have to know that “El Niño” was gutted when he realized that Strikeforce wasn’t going anywhere and neither was he. The bright lights, big networks, and top paydays of the UFC will not be his. More importantly, neither is the opportunity to prove himself against the best in the world.

(Oh man. This is not going to end well. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Can you believe it’s been over three months since Strikeforce put on a legit non-Challengers card? The promotion finally gets back to business tonight with two title fights — Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal in the lightweight division and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka at women’s featherweight — plus a light-heavyweight bout between Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux that could produce a contender to the vacant belt.

Round-by-round results from the “Melendez vs. Masvidal” main card broadcast on Showtime will be collecting after the jump beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET, courtesy of CagePotato liveblog rookie Steve Silverman; please do your best to make him feel welcome. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

(Photo via Strikeforce.com)

By Anton Gurevich

This weekend, Ovince St. Preux will step inside the Strikeforce cage to face the former Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi as part of the stacked Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal fight card in San Diego, California. Representing Knoxville Martial Arts Academy, 11-4 St. Preux will look to prove a point about his future as one of the best 205′ers on the planet.

Twenty-eight year old Ovince St. Preux turned his career around after fighting six times (!) in 2010, improving his MMA record from 3-4 to a more appropriate 9-4. In 2011, St. Preux recorded two important victories against Abongo Humphrey and Joe Cason that eventually solidified his place on the Light Heavyweight landscape.

Speaking in an interview to LowKick.com, St. Preux gave Gegard Mousasi the credit for being the biggest name he ever faced inside the cage or ring. The Haiti-born fighter expects a well-rounded game from Mousasi, who he considers as one of the 10 best Light Heavyweights in MMA.

Check out this interview on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com!

Referee Josh Roshenthal and his evil, goateed twin declare Voelker the winner. (Pic: Strikeforce.com)

It’s been clear in recent months that Strikeforce is losing its grip on its top talent, but last night its Challengers series continued to plug away in its mission to develop the MMA stars of tomorrow. The action yielded a few decisions, a couple of exciting stoppages, and some much needed direction for Strikeforce’s female fighters.

For the third time in fourteen months, Bobby Voelker and Roger Bowling locked horns under the Strikeforce banner, and the rubber match did not disappoint. Bowling was the energetic aggressor from the onset, mixing up his strikes and throwing numerous hard body kicks in the first round. Voelker landed a few shots of his own, but he was too passive and flat-footed to answer most of Bowling’s attacks. A first round eye-poke bent Bowling over, bringing fears of a second early stoppage via inadvertent foul in this series, but “Relentless” was able to continue. Round two saw Bowling pushing the action again as he worked tirelessly for the takedown, but Voelker landed a big knee with his back against the cage that rocked Bowling backward. A few follow-up punches dropped Bowling and a few more on the ground sealed the deal, earning Voelker the win and the tie breaker by TKO.

Different styles make for an interesting fight.

Though Zuffa officials have yet to announce the fight, Sherdog.com reports that Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko have officially signed bout agreements to face one another. This match-up has been in the works for a while now and will add some major firepower to the July 30^th event at the Sears Center in Chicago.

This is a big fight for everyone involved. Following two consecutive stoppage losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, Fedor’s unbeatable mystique has been shattered. With Strikeforce’s top heavyweights competing in the Grand Prix Tournament from which he was exiled, this bout gives Fedor a shot at a meaningful win against a highly respected legend. After all the talk of his possible retirement from the sport, a victory here would prove that Fedor is still very relevant in the MMA landscape.