("Pee-pee-pee" vs. "Wobble-Wobble": Who ya got!?)

Ho, baby. From a new press release sent out by Strikeforce:

The Fight Network (via FiveOunces) passes along these additional details:

(Illegal knee to the shoulder?)

Last night’s Strikeforce Challengers event sought to answer the old question, what’s the most unsatisfying ending to a fight, aside from a draw?  The answer is a questionable disqualification, which is exactly what happened after Billy Evangelista landed what was ruled to be an illegal knee against Mike Aina last night, bringing a stop to the bout in the second round.  Said Evangelista:

“I feel bad at what happened, but I am definitely planning to protest,’’ Evangelista said. “Nothing I did was on purpose. I thought I had timed the knee perfectly and that he was on his feet when it was delivered.’’

If Evangelista really does protest (and he has a decent case, if you bother to take a look at where that knee landed) that will make Strikeforce two for two on Showtime events that result in formal protests with the California State Athletic Commission.  Full results from last night’s Strikeforce Challengers event are after the jump:

(Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina headline tonight’s "Challengers" show in Fresno. Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)

The UFC is taking another weekend off, but there’s still enough MMA action going on tonight to satisfy your thirst for combat — as long as you have a solid cable TV package. Here’s what’s happening…

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 1
When+Where: Tonight at the Save Mart Center in Frenso, California, starting at 6 p.m.
How to Watch: Showtime, 11 p.m. ET/PT
Lowdown: Strikeforce’s new up-and-comer series kicks off with a lightweight clash between undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista and BJ Penn student Mike Aina in the main event. Elsewhere on the main card, Miesha Tate tangles with Sarah Kaufman, and former Strikeforce #1 light-heavyweight contender Anthony Ruiz takes on ShoXC vet Aaron Rosa. The full lineup can be seen here.

(Tate vs. Elaina Maxwell on her previous Strikeforce appearance.)

A few weeks ago Miesha Tate thought she’d be facing Kim Couture at the Strikeforce Challengers event on Showtime this Friday night.  But when Couture pulled out due to “personal reasons” and Tate posted a MySpace bulletin informing fans that “Sugar Free’s” impending divorce from former UFC champ Randy Couture was to blame, things got sticky in a hurry.  

Now instead of facing the 1-1 Couture, she’s facing the 8-0 (all by KO or TKO) Sarah Kaufman, and the fight has grown considerably in magnitude.  Here she talks about the change of opponents, her path to MMA, and what it’s like trying to make it as a female MMA fighter.

This seems like significant change in opponents, and on fairly late notice.  How did that affect your preparation for this fight and what the fight means for you?

It was kind of strange at first, the idea of going from Kim Couture to Sarah Kaufman.  Obviously it’s quite a jump.  I think I have a lot more to gain from this fight.  She’s a very tough and worthy opponent.  I have the opportunity to beat someone who has an established, undefeated record.

Do you think the only reason Kim Couture got this fight in the first place was because of her last name?

(Gracie locks an armbar onto Ron Waterman during his MMA debut at BodogFight: USA vs. Russia in December 2006. Photo courtesy of golpedirecto.)

According to a new report on SI.com, jiu-jitsu savant Roger Gracie is close to signing a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. CEO Scott Coker claims that negotations with Gracie are "pretty much done," and he plans to start off the 27-year-old heavyweight competitor in a Challenger Series event this fall. Said Coker: "We’re going to see if we can create some awareness with him, see how he does fighting-wise, and take it from there. We’re going to give him every opportunity to crossover into MMA. He’s going to have plenty of time to see if he really likes to do it."

Of course, if you’re a follower of competitive grappling, you’re already very aware of Gracie’s body of work…

(By the way, it’s perfectly natural to have thighs like that. Diet and exercise, people.)

After announcing that he would fight anybody at any time in Strikeforce, then turning down a fight against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, then threatening the lives of all the keyboard warriors who pointed out the contradiction, Kevin Randleman has changed his mind and accepted a place on Strikeforce’s June 6th "Lawler vs. Shields" card after all. MMA Fanhouse reports that Randleman will be taking on UFC/IFL/Affliction veteran Mike Whitehead, whose sole loss in his last 15 fights came in a decision against Renato Sobral at Affliction: Banned. Whitehead holds notable victories over Ben Rothwell, Travis Fulton, Mark Kerr, and Krzystof Soszynski, and most recently submitted Leo Pla at an M-1 Challenge event last October. With the addition of the Randleman/Whitehead light-heavyweight bout, the lineup for "Lawler vs. Shields" currently looks like this:

(Hey look, Roy Jones Jr. set his Wikipedia page to music! Props to Sagiv Lapkin)

The UFC might be where the finest mixed martial artists in the world compete, but Strikeforce is cool with their role as the wild-ass cousin who just brings the ruckus. Since they signed their new Showtime contract, Coker and Co. have dispensed with silly limitations like weight classes (see: Diaz/Shamrock, Lawler/Shields, Diaz/Smith, all at unconventional catchweights), and they’re the only major American fight club currently featuring women’s MMA. Plus, unlike Dana "Crabbypants" White, they don’t think putting a legendary boxer against an MMA fighter is below them or bad for the sport. As GracieFighter.com informs us:

(This Cyborg, not this one. Photo courtesy of CageToday.com.)

Maybe Strikeforce‘s roster isn’t so thin after all. According to a new press release sent out by the fight league, Strikeforce will hold its second "Challengers" event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19th — just two weeks after "Lawler vs. Shields" goes down in St. Louis — and a host of prominent names are already booked.

(Photo courtesy of this set on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Nick Diaz half-smiles for maybe the first time in his life after completing the Xterra West Cup Triathlon on Saturday, which involved a one-mile swim, 18 miles of mountain biking, and a 6.2-mile trail run. Due to some difficulties during the biking portion, Diaz only came in 122nd out of 197 racers — but that just meant he had 121 sets of middle-fingers to throw out that day. You can check out photos of Nick’s entire journey here. I wonder how much swimming and biking Scott Smith is getting in to prepare for their fight next month?

(Don’t fear Arona.  Fear his freaking cat-like reflexes.)

Hey there, people who have been following MMA for more than just the last six months, remember Ricardo Arona?  Muscular Brazilian guy, had a rivalry with Wanderlei Silva, got knocked out by Sokoudjou…any of this ringing any bells?  Well now that Dana White has more or less ruled out any possibility of signing Arona to the UFC because, hell, even Dana thinks he can beat Arona, the big man is looking at making a return to action soon, possibly in Strikeforce.

(Well, at least now they’ll have to make a new poster where Miesha’s name is spelled correctly. Image courtesy of FighterGirls.com.)

Friends and fans of Miesha Tate were in for a shock yesterday when this bulletin notice was sent out from Tate’s Myspace page:

Though Tate’s camp confirmed to PRO MMA that her May 15th Strikeforce Challengers bout against Couture had been scrapped, Miesha later took to Sherdog to back off her claim that Randy was headed for his third epic marriage fail:

(Props: D Wizzle’s World)

Above is a video of former UFC champ Kevin Randleman announcing his comeback at a press conference for "Shamrock vs. Diaz" earlier this month, in which he said, and I quote:

Granted, Randleman made it clear later that he’d really like to fight Tito Ortiz, but we weren’t expecting him to turn down the first fight offered to him after his "bring ‘em on" press-conference speech — especially when his employer could use the help. From a new MMA Fanhouse report:

(This pose yielded very different results during the Robbie Lawler shoot.)

Gina Carano and Ariel Helwani continued their star-crossed romance in an interview for MMA Fanhouse, mixing friendly banter with actual questions about when the hell we’ll see Carano fight someone.  Long story short, it’s going to be in Strikeforce, eventually, but they’re still working out the details.  One would assume that the major detail in question is money.  Carano was working extremely cheap for Elite XC, and now she has the chance to hold Scott Coker over the coals and really stack that paper, son.  Only Carano claims – get this – that money is not a big deal to her:

Frankly, I am absolutely unmotivated by money. And I know that maybe people take that and don’t understand what that means, but I am just not. What I am interested in is people that have respect. Not only respect for me, but people who have respect for women in MMA. So, the better that I can do for myself and the better I represent myself – which I have to work on all of this, by the way – the better it is for the sport.

Now I’m no business mastermind, but if I were to write a book about how to negotiate a contract the first chapter would be entitled: “Don’t Publicly Claim That You Aren’t Interested In Being Paid Lots of Money.”  The second chapter would be called: "The Power of Blackmail," so now you know why I’m not writing that book. 

But even if you’re willing to believe that Carano is the kind of idealist who doesn’t want to get paid as much as she possibly can for doing a dangerous and difficult job that has a very limited window of opportunity, then you have to find a way to reconcile that Gina Carano with this Gina Carano:

(Props: MMA Opinion)

Is there any fighter who more closely resembles the animal for which he is nicknamed than Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves?  Just looking at his face makes me want to lock the door and call Animal Control.  He says in this video that he’s been working out at Wanderlei Silva’s new gym/daycare center in Las Vegas, and plans to return there the week before his title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 to get his weight right.  Alves has had some weight issues in the past, and with a title fight he won’t get that extra pound allowance so he’d better be on point.  Something tells me that screwing up a title fight at UFC 100 would be a murderable offense in Dana White’s eyes.

Raw Vegas went by Xtreme Couture to talk with Kim Couture about her upcoming bout.  Am I the only one not buying it at all when she claims to be blissfully unaware of the criticism that suggests she’s only getting these opportunities because of who she’s married to?  Even if she doesn’t "go on the computer," the idea must have occurred to her that it’s not solely her 1-1 pro record that’s landing her on Strikeforce cards.  Whatever you think of Couture though, it’s nice to see a woman fighter slam "Cyborg" Santos’ woman trouble excuse.  It just doesn’t have the same force when we do it, for some reason.

After the jump, American Top Team boxing coach Howard Davis Jr. takes it to the gloves and shows us the hand speed.

(Still the best eva. Props: Genghis Con)

From a recent NerdSociety.com interview with the New York Bad Ass:

Hear that, nerds? Be more like this guy. You can read the rest of this illuminating interview here. Baroni takes on Joe Riggs at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6th.

(Few people can be terrifying while wearing a tiny bikini. Hats off to Cyborg.)

Cris “Cyborg” Santos isn’t going to let Josh Barnett get away with running around on MySpace, calling her unprofessional.  Facebook, maybe.  But MySpace?  Ain’t no way.  She responded to Barnett’s internet assault in a talk with Fighters Only, accusing the "Babyface Assassin" of being, in so many words, a hater, while continuing to use the old menstruation defense:

“I used the same diet that I used to fight Shayana and I made 140lbs, much less than this time. But I had a little problem that all women suffer every month. I had the menstrual period three days before the weigh-in and it put me in trouble.”

Oh, that pesky menstrual period.  Here’s the thing, I’ll admit to not knowing much about woman problems, but I did a little asking around in my social circle and what I learned is 1) women know we menfolk don’t know much about it, and on occasion they’ve been known to take advantage of our ignorance, and 2) they can look at the freaking calendar and know when it’s coming.  

(Much like Bob Reilly, Nick Diaz is very interested in agriculture.)

In a bit of news that escaped our notice due to all the UFC 97 build-up and letdown, but is all too appropriate for today’s date (4/20, get it?), Nick Diaz reportedly tested clean following his TKO victory over Frank Shamrock at Strikeforce in San Jose.  The California State Athletic Commission’s Bill Douglas confirmed the news, saying that Diaz “was fine,” and adding that the test also checked for cleansing agents.

Does that mean that Diaz was jerking our collective chain about smoking weed up until the fight and using “herbal cleansers” to remove any trace from his system before the test, or does it just mean that Diaz has the hookup on the best herbal cleansers around?  If we had to speculate (and we don’t, but we will, because that’s the kind of thing we do), we’d say it’s the latter.  The world where Nick Diaz lies about his weed consumption is just not a world we want to live in.

So now who feels like a little bitch?  Answer: the CSAC.  Diaz beat them and Frank Shamrock all in one weekend.  That’s a moral victory for potheads everywhere.  It’s also enough to make you wonder about how effective the drug-testing system is in catching users of actual performance-enhancers.  If they can’t nail Diaz, who laid out his plan for beating the test beforehand, can they reliably catch steroid-users?

(Nick Diaz: His style is impetuous, his defense is impregnable.)

When Nick Diaz says he’ll fight anybody, anywhere, at any time, he ain’t bullshittin’. Buried in GracieFighter.com’s news section is this little gem about Diaz’s future ambitions (props to BloodyElbow for the tip):

To which RJJ probably responded, "Nick who?" Okay, so it may not quite be the marquee fight that Jones vs. Silva would be, but it’s a pretty decent substitute. I know I’d be curious to see how Nick’s pitty-pat-punches-in-bunches routine would fare against a great boxer (he’s already 1-0 in the sport), and he’s a natural at fight-promotion. Why let Tim Sylvia and Ray Mercer hog all the crossover fun? Don’t be scared, Jonesy!

GracieFighter also had another update on their site that should calm some of the outrage caused by yesterday’s official Strikeforce payouts post:

(Note to self: Don’t fuck with Cyborg when she’s on the rag. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Just in case you’ve forgotten about the Cris Cyborg weight-fiasco at Saturday’s Strikeforce show, Josh Barnett has taken to his MySpace blog to remind you that we shouldn’t let Santos slide so easily (props to FightOpinion for the tip):

(Cheer up buddy, that’s like one viewer for every dollar you made! Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

According to new viewership figures dug up by FightTicker, Showtime’s broadcast of "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz" pulled in 364,000 average viewers on Saturday night, for an average rating of 0.64. While that may sound piss-poor, considering the UFC drew 1.9 million viewers (and an avg. rating of 1.4) for their replay of UFC 94 on Spike TV the same night, there is a silver lining.

First off, that 364,000 figure makes "Shamrock vs. Diaz" the third most-watched MMA event in Showtime history, putting it just behind Strikeforce’s "Shamrock vs. Baroni" event in June 2007 (which hangs on to its #2 spot with 365,000 viewers) and the Kimbo Slice-headlined "EliteXC: Street Certified" in February 2008 (which scored 511,000 viewers). Plus, you have to take into consideration the fact that Spike TV is available in six times as many homes as Showtime. And still, Strikeforce’s 1.53 rating among men aged 18-34 actually beat UFC 94′s rating in that category (1.3).

I’m not an expert in this stuff, but that seems like a decent starting point for Strikeforce 2.0. No, they’re not ready to throw together pay-per-view events, but they managed to make a good showing with a card headlined by a non-title fight involving one guy who was coming off a loss. The event itself was entertaining enough to hook most viewers into coming back for the next installment. Can June’s "Lawler vs. Shields" show keep the momentum rolling — or will it be a ratings disappointment without a big name like "Shamrock" to draw casual viewers?

(Step 1: Do work. Step 2: Receive bread. Photo courtesy of this set on Sherdog.)

The California State Athletic Commission has released payout figures for Saturday’s Strikeforce event, with headliner Frank Shamrock taking home a full 58% of the $633,445 disclosed payroll. And it looks like Strikeforce had to severely underpay a few of its fighters to make up for F-Sham’s hefty purse. Also, they don’t seem to like round numbers. The salaries are below, with some thoughts after the jump…

MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Frank Shamrock: $369,790
– Scott Smith: $49,940 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
– Gilbert Melendez: $49,890 (no win bonus)
– Nick Diaz: $39,950 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
– Brett Rogers: $39,940 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
– Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: $18,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
– Benji Radach: $16,940
– Rodrigo Damm: $9,190
– Ron "Abongo" Humphries: $3,205
– Hitomi Akano: $1,450 (doesn’t include undisclosed extra cash from 11th-hour negotiations)

PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Luke Rockhold: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Buck Meredith $1,540
– Eric Lawson $9,950 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Waylon Kennell $1,950
– Raul Castillo $6,890 (includes $3,500 win bonus) def. Brandon Michaels $1,500
– James Terry $3,940 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Zak Bucia $1,500
– Shingo Kohara $940 (no win bonus) def. Jeremy Tavares $940

(From Sherdog via MMA Scraps)

Renato Sobral — possibly still upset at being called "one of the greatest light-heavyweights, of the night" at Affliction: Day of Reckoning — apparently had some words with Tito Ortiz at Saturday’s Strikeforce show, and had to be restrained by a handler, while Chuck Zito watched on in the background, just waiting for a chance to jump in and prove that he can still mix it up when shit goes down. Any lip readers in the house know what was being said? A Strikeforce fight between Ortiz and Sobral is a possibility for the future, but as Ortiz told Sherdog, “I might need a tuneup before Babalu.”

Before the show even went down, Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock had a moment where Frank referred to Nick as a "faggot" (that damn word again!) and Diaz made it clear that he will slap you in your face, bitch. Check it out below.

There’s only one thing in the world that could have dispelled all these bad vibes…

(Alas, Shamrock’s pleas for Diaz to "mellow out" were all in vain.  Photo courtesy of SI.com)

Strikeforce’s first offering on Showtime yielded some pleasant surprises and some totally unpleasant non-surprises.  We turn now to the arbitrary numerical ranking system of the Potato Index to tell us who’s up and who’s down after this weekend.  Giddyup.

Nick Diaz +123
His biggest win in years proves that Diaz is a true main event fighter who deserves to be taken seriously.  He beat a slower, but still capable Shamrock in every aspect of the game, and even helped him up afterwards.  Now we await the results of his drug test.  Please Nick, tell us you didn’t screw that part up.

Frank Shamrock -68
“The Legend” showed a lot of heart, but not a whole lot of skill or endurance.  Maybe those surgeries and his advancing years are taking more of a toll than he let on, or maybe Diaz really is that good of a boxer.  Either way, if Shamrock can’t do better in the rematch with Cung Le he should seriously consider calling it a career.

(If only you had some of that No Fear Bloodshot energy drink in your corner, Frank. The second round would have been a completely different story.)

It’s official: With a whopping 13 points, CP reader "angry little feet" blew away the competition in last week’s pick ‘em contest, and scores a No Fear prize package for his efforts. Here’s how he did it…

Diaz via Submission round 2 (2 points)
Melendez T/KO round 2 (3 points)
Smith T/KO round 3 (3 points)
Santos T/KO round 1 (2 points)
Rogers T/KO round 2 (3 points)

So, Lil’ Feet, send your address and shirt/hoodie size to feedback@cagepotato.com and we’ll get your bounty right out to you. In second place was G-Smooth with 11 points. The runner-up performance entitles G to a CagePotato t-shirt; send us your address and size if you’re interested. And special CP back-pats go to Burzerkers, joneser5, coach pablo, and Freddy Fangers for racking up 10 points apiece, tying them all for third place.

Coming in with a mad-respectable nine points was our very own Ben Fowlkes, who, like so many of you, got screwed by Frank Shamrock. And slightly further down the list with five points was Ben Goldstein, whose only consolation is that he didn’t score four points, which would tie him for dead last with all those dumbasses who thought Abongo was going to pull out the upset.

Many thanks to everyone who entered, and remember to visit EarnSomeCred.com for your chance to win a VIP trip to an upcoming MMA event.

Nick Diaz Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

Our good buddy Ariel Helwani was on the scene after Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz, and got some camera time with Stockton’s conquering hero Nick Diaz. Diaz was his usual gregarious self — making sure to never make eye contact with either Ariel or the camera — and he attributed his win to intense preparation and top-shelf sparring partners. He also says he could have finished the fight on the ground, but sometimes it’s easier just to throw punches. Does he regret anything he might have said in the buildup to this fight? Not so much, homey.

Below: Tito Ortiz (at left, with sunglasses on the wrong side of his head) says he’d love for Strikeforce to make him a big offer so that the UFC can match it. Ortiz has just finished up physical therapy following his back surgery, and will soon begin training again so he can get back in the cage in August or September.

Tito Ortiz Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

After the jump: Will we see MMA pioneer Royce Gracie return to competition in the near future? Gracie plays it close to the vest, but "anything’s possible." You can see all of Ariel’s recent one-on-ones at Break.com/ArielHelwani.

(Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock, round 1)

(Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock, round 2)

("Y’know, I used to box a little myself. Say, do you party?" Photo courtesy of this great set on allelbows.)

If not for Cris Cyborg’s woman-problems fiasco, last night’s Strikeforce show would have been an unequivocal success. There were memorable knockouts, brilliant performances (we take back every bad thing we ever said about you, Nick), and one fight (Smith vs. Radach) that will probably make year-end lists as one of the best matches of 2009. Here are some of the stories coming out of the event…

— "Shamrock vs. Diaz" pulled in 15,211 fans for an estimated live gate of $750,000. Said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker: "We scaled the tickets back for the economy to make it affordable…We tried to be considerate and make it affordable for everybody. Would we like to scale (up) the prices and bring in more revenue? There will be a time for that. We’ll keep building it."

— In the post-event press conference, Coker stated that he’d like to put together the much-anticipated bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for Strikeforce’s August event, and said it would be for "our first Strikeforce female title belt." As for the ongoing contract talks with Gina Carano, Coker said, "We’re currently negotiating the final touches of this contract. Hopefully we’ll get it to bed here in the next two weeks or a week. I think we’re very close."

— Also during the press-conference, recent Strikeforce signee Fabricio Werdum said that he’d like to be a future opponent for Alistair Overeem; Werdum previously submitted Overeem via kimura at PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute in May 2006. Said Werdum: "I’m going to take the other arm home. And then the third time it’s going to be hard to fight with no arms at all." Overlooked once again, Brett Rogers said "Before everybody walks away, I mean I wouldn’t mind fighting Overeem. That would be nice right there." Awww, of course it would, big guy!

(Photo courtesy of Esther Lin at AllElbows.com. You might also want to check out "Cyborg" Santos’s reaction to missing weight. Does that seem like a woman who is even a little bit sorry?)

The talking is done, the agreed upon weights have been ignored, and the Stockton Heybuddy’s have been thrown out.  That means there’s nothing left to do now but fight.  All you lovers of crazy antics needn’t worry though, because if there’s one thing that’s almost guaranteed in a bout between Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz it’s poor sportsmanship.  

We’ll be liveblogging all the action tonight, so grab a cold one, make sure your CAPS LOCK key is disengaged (you know who are you are) and let’s all jump right in and have ourselves a time.  Remember to hit refresh often.  We’ll get started any minute now.

Our friend Ariel Helwani is at San Jose’s HP Pavilion to cover tonight’s Strikeforce event for JarryPark.com, and he got this fun little surprise when he tried to use their internet connection to check on his favorite non-porn website, Cage Potato.  The HP Pavilion seems to feel that this site is inappropriate, due to "Hate and Aggression."  It’s sadly ironic that the qualities which made us so successful in prison are now hurting our advancement on the outside.

The other interesting thing about this screenshot is the brief glimpse it gives us into the world of Helwani.  His bookmarks feature nothing but sports/MMA websites, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.  In other words, if ain’t about sports or social networking, Helwani ain’t trying to read about it.  What a sad, shallow man.

Stay with us.  Liveblog is coming at you soon.

Josh Barnett Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

After all the drama at yesterday’s weigh-in and the madness that followed Hitomi Akano’s threat to pull out of the bout with Christianne "Cyborg" Santos due to the tremendous difference in weight, the bout is now apparently back on after Scott Coker smoothed everything over in late night/early morning negotiation sessions.  No one is saying exactly what sweetened the deal enough for Akano to jump back in, but we’re guessing it was lots of money and a giant teddy bear.

In the above video, Akano’s trainer, Josh Barnett, talks with Ariel Helwani about his Girlfight Monstrosity of a student, and about his own future.  On Aleks Emelianenko, Barnett again confirms that due to blood test-related issues, that fight could never happen…in a ring.