(“I got your marketing and PR right here, King Whatever the Fuck Your Name Is. Come and get it.”)

When Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal was asked last week about the lack of media turnout for last weekend’s Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov event in Cincinnati, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ admitted that he was put off by the situation, but there wasn’t much he or anyone else in the promotion could do about it.

“I was hoping there would be more people out here, more media, more questions, but really I guess ya’ll don’t care about us that much because everybody’s worried about other issues instead of the fights this weekend — I’m just being real,” Lawal said, referring to the fact that the media and fans were more enamoured by the soap opera Nick Diaz was involved in during the week leading up to Strikeforce event, than they were the event itself.  ”[Luke Rockhold]‘s fighting for a title, you got two fights in the heavyweight tournament. …It’s not to me, but it’s a slap in the face to them [that there isn't more coverage of the event]. I don’t know what happened [with Diaz] but it’s not like he was speaking his mind, saying ‘I think this press conference is dumb.’ He just didn’t show up. Now, speaking out and telling the truth is a different story than not doing something that helps the fight. That’s on Diaz. I think he’s a hell of a fighter, but like I said, here we are talking about Diaz instead of this event.”

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ClinchGear)

MMA’s top free agent Dan Henderson sat down Monday with Clinch Gear Radio to talk about a number of topics including his last fight with Fedor Emelianenko, whether or not he thinks the Russian fighter can return to his former glory and where his own career stands as of now.

For those of you whose ADHD makes it impossible to pay attention or whose workplace Internet filters make it impossible for you to watch YouTube videos, we have you covered with the transcription of the meat and potatoes after the jump.

“This hurts me more than it does you.” PicProps: Esther Lin

Bad news for all you rabid Daniel Cormier fans: the big guy confirmed yesterday that his right hand is indeed broken after he used said hand to bludgeon Bigfoot Silva into La-La Land and out of the heavyweight grand prix:

Cormier worked his way from an alternate slot in the Strikeforce GP to a finals matchup with Josh Barnett, but his victories may be all for naught if he doesn’t heal quickly enough.

Great belt, or the greatest belt? PicProps: AnnieSHOSports/Twitter

After another fun night of heavyweight action, the Strikeforce Grand Prix finals are set: Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier will fight to be recognized as the best heavyweight in the world, except for those guys in the UFC. Or the guys that have left Strikeforce in the past few months. Whatever.

Anywho, you may have seen pictures of the GP championship belt that showed up last week, and heard that Coker and company are still lukewarm about the idea of calling the GP winner the Strikeforce champion. We thought that didn’t really make sense, and Josh Barnett agrees. At the Strikeforce press conference Saturday night, Barnett tried to twist Coker’s arm a bit, asking: “Why don’t we sweeten the pot?” Barnett asked. “Why don’t we put that title on the line between me and Cormier?”

Coker, bless his heart, didn’t want to commit to that, and you have to wonder: “Why?”

(Arona’s finally ready to put down the surfboard.)

Ricardo Arona has been pledging a return to action pretty much every year since his last bout in 2009 against Marvin Eastman at Bitetti Combat 4, but has failed to deliver on the promise. According to the former Rings middleweight champion and former PRIDE standout, by “this year” he actually meant “next year,” meaning 2012. If the world doesn’t end like some whack jobs believe it will, Arona says we can expect to see him make his triumphant return.

In an interview he did recently with Globo, “The Brazilian Tiger” says the reason he’s had to push back his MMA return was that life got in the way, but that he’s had no shortage of offers from promotions.

“I went back to prepare myself physically and to finish building a training center in my house in Niterói. It’s pretty big and full. I want to return early next year. First I want to be ready to compete in anything, God willing,” Arona explains. “My goal is to do that, no doubt. I received an invitation from Strikeforce and several national events, but did not close anything. I’m hoping to be ready to return.”

The UFC announced today that it will be holding an impromptu media conference call tomorrow at 1:00 pm ET, during which Dana White is expected to make a “major announcement.” It didn’t take long for the UFC president to reveal via his favorite communication channel, Twitter, that the announcement will be the two main event combatants in the promotion’s inaugural show on Fox which will also feature a featherweight scrap between Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza.

Some are hypothesizing that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who was dropped by the promotion last month for what Zuffa termed as “an issue with his management team” Golden Glory, will make up half of the bout and that his opponent will either be Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin or Frank Mir.

(Sometimes these things happen in MMA. RouseyGifProps: Fightlinker)

Ronda Rousey (3-0) — the badass Cali chick and Judo champ who has submitted her three professional opponents in a combined 99 seconds — will make her next appearance at a November Strikeforce event, likely a Challengers card in Las Vegas. Rousey last competed three weeks ago, earning a somewhat controversial technical submission win over Sarah D’Alelio. During the fight, Rousey shouted at referee Steve Mazzagatti that D’Alelio had verbally tapped from an armbar, while D’Alelio claims that she was only screaming in agony.

Rousey will be facing Canadian striker Julia Budd (2-1), who most recently outpointed Germaine de Randamie at Strikeforce Challengers 16, but is perhaps more famous for getting dummied by Amanda Nunes. No other bouts for Strikeforce’s November card have been announced yet.

“And then the hair on my arms stood up, and I  felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and a voice saying … “Well, well, well, motherfucker.” PicProps: AllElbows

Scott Coker commented today during a media call today about the possibility of awarding the Strikeforce heavyweight championship to the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, saying that the decision hasn’t been made, but that the company probably would not do so.

Because, you know, why would you?

After promoting a tournament as a way to “finally answer once and for all who is the world’s most dangerous man” (uh, hello? Ken Shamrock.  /thread), obviously the most rational thing to do is hand the winner a large trophy or a poster-sized check, right? But to go ahead and award that winner the title of “champion”, a title that is currently vacant? Well that’s just not a decision they’re in any hurry to make.

Now call me crazy, but it seems Scott Coker believes that the belts he gives to fighters are cursed. I mean cursed like “made from the skin of blind puppies”, “hexed by crazy-haired blood witches”, “directly connected to Cenobites” cursed. Nothing else could explain the ghost town that is Strikeforce Championville, USA, but that it’s been built on the sacred land of indigenous peoples whose souls rest uneasily.

Zuffa may be looking to bring Alistair Overeem back into the fold, but there is one Golden Glory fighter who is moving on to greener other pastures. Former Strikeforce 135lb Women’s Champion Marloes Coenen has signed a three fight, non-exclusive contract with North Carolina-based BlackEye Promotions.

Coenen was cut from the Strikeforce roster following her failed title defense against Meisha Tate last month, though the exile was more political than a reflection of her performance. The drop from Showime to an unknown regional promotion isn’t a glamorous one, but BlackEye is trying to establish itself as a player in the WMMA game. Its upcoming October 1^st card—The Breast Cancer Beatdown–boasts six female bouts that include fighters Erin Toughill and Roxanne Modafferi.

It is a somewhat curious move, considering that Golden Glory and the UFC are once again on speaking terms. Though her contract with BlackEye is non-exclusive, we all know that Zuffa doesn’t like to share its toys, so even if her current promotion is cool with a return to Strikeforce it isn’t likely to happen unless she breaks free of those ties. “Rumina” expects to return to action sometime in February. We’ll be watching…if that’s an option.

(“Hey, remember when I punched you in the face? That was awesome.” Photo courtesy of Esther/Strikeforce)

Inactive for 14 months (and counting), Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos confirmed via Twitter last night that she has finally re-signed with Strikeforce. The 145-pound women’s champ officially became a free-agent in June, when her champion’s clause expired before she and Strikeforce could come to terms on a new deal. Though she had been negotiating with other organizations — and was even courted by the WWE — Santos is back where she belongs, and will face Opponent TBA at Event TBA.

Of course, Cyborg’s original problem still remains — that there are no credible challengers ready to fight her. I have a bad feeling that Ronda Rousey is about to get a life-changing phone call very soon.

(Imagine getting into a bar fight with these guys?)

The head of Golden Glory, Bas Boon released a press release Thursday that further explained some of the behind the scenes happenings that may have led to the recent sudden firings of Team Golden Glory fighters Alistair Overeem, Marloes Coenen, John Olav Einemo.

According to Boon, he was working hand-in-hand with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker to form strategic partnerships with a number of organizations like K-1 and DREAM and had been involved in meetings with television networks with Coker in an effort to make the promotion a viable competitor to the UFC. Unbeknownst to Boon, while he was making connections and setting up these meetings, Coker was already in talks with Zuffa about selling the struggling promotion.

It’s not unforeseeable that when Coker informed the UFC that Boon had been instrumental in Strikeforce making a full-court press at competing with them, that they took umbrage with his effort to aid the competition.

Another interesting tidbit Boon dropped in the statement was that Golden Glory had made arrangements, with the help of the UFC, for its fighters to be paid directly by Zuffa/Forza and for them to cash their checks in the U.S. prior to returning back to Holland, where it takes between six and eight business days for their money to clear. According to UFC president Dana White, Golden Glory refused to allow its fighters to be paid directly, which was the reason he says they cut ties with the likes of Alistair Overeem, John Olav Einemo and Marloes Coenen.

Check out the full release after the jump.

This past week has been a wild ride for Golden Glory fighters, one that they’d likely rather get off at this point. With the exception of Strikeforce HWGP competitor Sergei Kharitonov, Zuffa purged its rosters of the Netherlands-based camp, starting with Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Last night “The Demolition Man” joined Inside MMA to give his side of the tale.

Things start off as many would imagine: with Zuffa/Forza management looking like unreasonable assholes. Overeem repeats that he was promised an October date for the second round of the tournament, and when injuries prevented him from competing a month earlier than planned he was removed from the tournament. From there he says the conversation deteriorated:

“Well then the communication harshened a little bit. It was like, ‘If you don’t compete in the tournament then you’re going to be cut from Strikeforce entirely.’ So, that was really like a threat. So I [said], ‘Then go ahead and cut me].’ And they went along and cut me.”

That all sounds pretty cut and dry; he was told to jump, and when he refused he was punished unfairly. As he goes on, however, we see that there was more at play here than petty vindictiveness.

After the jump: More from Overeem on why he was released, and Dana White explains Golden Glory’s management demands and GOES OFF on Fedor supporters.

(..and we want the money in small unmarked bills in a black duffle bag.”

CageWriter’s Steve Cofield has Zuffa’s take on why it cut ties with fighters Marloes Coenen, Valentijn Overeem and John Olav Einemo this week.

Apparently it’s because Golden Glory — the team’s management group — requires promotions to pay its fighters purses directly to trainer and manager Martijn de Jong, who divvies up the monies owing to the respected trainers and managers before paying the fighters. Because the UFC has had issues with managers in the past not paying fighters what is owed to them,  they made it their policy that the checks go to the fighters, who then pay the members of their camp. Zuffa/Forza claims it told Golden Glory to change the way they do business but they refused, so their fighters were released.

(Video courtesy of AOL/MMAFighting)

MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani caught up with former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko to get his thoughts on a number of topics, not least of which being his upcoming Strikeforce bout with Dan Henderson on Saturday night.

According to “The Last Emperor,” although there was much talk about him walking away from MMA after back-to-back losses, he will only retire when it’s God’s will and not a minute before. Hopefully God doesn’t speak to him mid-match Saturday night like he did Paulo Filho during his last bout with Chael Sonnen.

When asked by Helwani to name any weaknesses he thought Henderson has, Fedor said he doesn’t think he has any and although he says that he has slimmed down a bit since his last fight with Antonio Silva, his weight is basically the same.

Check out another vid of Fedor working out in Chicago yesterday, after the jump.

United Glory announced today that Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem is slated to compete in its next event scheduled for October in Moscow, Russia.

According to the poster for the event, “The Reem” will be joined by fellow Golden Glory fighters Sergei Kharitonov and Siyar Bahadurzada on the card.

“Shhhh…don’t cry, I’m sorry! I thought you were into that.”

There is news coming out of Brazil that multiple time BJJ & ADCC champion Kyra Gracie is working her way toward the cage. Given the Gracie legacy in MMA, the move is not entirely surprising, but what is nice to hear is that Strikeforce is still trying to build their female ranks.

Kyra gave Tatame the scoop:

“Ive been training boxing and Judo. It’s something that can happen, too. I already received some proposals and I know MMA is becoming bigger. They (Strikeforce) contacted me, invited me. I also received a proposal from Japan. We’re negotiating, setting some things with them (Strikeforce). Let’s say that, if I already had a contract, I’d be ready to fight today.”

For those of you not fully familiar with Kyra, we’ve taken the liberty to include a complete biography shameless pictorial after the jump.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UliMorse)

Fedor has been taking his training for his last kick at the cat upcoming tilt with Dan Henderson next weekend seriously, enlisting the help of several top-tier training partners like his brother Aleksander and professional boxer Denis Lebedov to prepare for the former PRIDE and current Strikeforce champion.

(“This guy is f*cking fighting on September 10.”)

Well, it looks like there was actually some truth to the rumor that Alistair Overeem was experiencing some friction from Zuffa and could possibly pull out of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

(Lee and Jordan Mein)

According to a Facebook post made by his father Lee, who is also his manager and trainer, Canadian welterweight standout Jordan “Young Gun” Mein has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will likely compete on the promotion’s planned September card.

A native of Lethbridge, Alberta, Mein (22-7) has been fighting since he was 16 years old. He trains out of his father’s Canadian Martial Arts Centre – the gym responsible for also launching the careers of UFC veterans Jason Day and Jesse Bongfeldt.

Mein will be riding a five-fight win streak when he steps into the Strikeforce cage, including a decision nod over DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis in his last bout and wins over Joe Riggs and Josh Burkman. His last loss was a hard-fought decision to Jason High last August.

VidProps: BloodstreamMMA100/YouTube

Strikeforce is forging ahead with this crazy “Grand Prix” gimmick — no telling how they came up with a concept like that, but props to them — and the semifinals could go down in September. If everything goes according to plan, the event should be packed with good matchups. Let’s take a look.

The heavyweight GP will continue with Alistair Overeem squaring off with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, and “War Master” Josh Barnett against “The Russian Concussion” Sergei Kharitonov. Those two fights alone would be enough to carry a card, but Coker and company want to make it worth your while to watch, so they’ve continued to put together bouts with an eye on producing a blockbuster.

Every other bout currently rumored for the show features a current or former champion for the Strikeforce banner, including a title match for current middleweight champ “Jacare” Souza.

(Video courtesy of Ebaumsworld.)

We often joke about female fighters like Cris Cyborg testing her mettle against men in her weight class, but the chances of it ever happening are slim to none.

That is, unless you live in Brazil, where apparently gender bias doesn’t get in the way of a good scrap.

If you booked the day off work this morning to celebrate after reading the announcement on the Strikeforce website today that former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was officially UFC-bound and that an eventual fight with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was in early discussions with the Russian fighter’s management, you’re going to have to call your work back and tell them that the mystery illness that forced you out of the office today is miraculously cured. That way, you can save your sick day for a really momentous occasion, like the day Never Back Down 2 arrives on DVD.

It turns out that the story was a hoax reportedly posted by hackers, though it seems more likely that it was the clever work of a disgruntled former Strikeforce employee who still has access to the company’s servers.

If you didn’t read the story, we’ve got a screenshot and transcription of it after the jump.

(Simple solution: Have Cris arm-wrestle Dana for her desired contract)

In spite of a report released yesterday that quoted Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos’ longtime Chuteboxe trainer Master Rudimar Fedrigo as saying that the Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight champion has re-upped with the now Zuffa-owned promotion, a source with knowledge of the situation informed CagePotato.com today that there is in fact no deal in place at this time.

For your sake, I hope you’ve been good this year.

The year is half way over. Days are longer, flip-flops and shorts have replaced boots and pants and yet, the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire remains as strong as ever. That can only mean one thing – Christmas in July! Most of you couldn’t care less about another holiday you don’t get off from work, but what if I told you this one was special in that you can make a wish list for Wandy Claus and he’ll give you what you want if you’ve been good all year? You have been good this year, right?

On behalf of MMA fans across the globe, I’ve complied a Christmas in July wish list that, if fulfilled, would bring peace on Earth and good will toward man – or at least would appease a large majority of fans of a fringe sport. Click below to see what made the cut and bash me in the comments for not including your idea.

Toughest fight for Crisitane Cyborg so far? Contract negotiations.

Many, many, many moons ago, movie makers were looking to make a sequel to the live action Masters of the Universe movie starring Dolph Lundgren, and film it in North Carolina. Auditions were held for childrens’ roles in Wilmington, and i was one of many (i assume) kids who tried out to be in a movie with He-Man. Alas, the film company had some financial difficulties and the project was scrapped; i never got another chance to be Macaulay Culkin before Macaulay Culkin. The film company had already spent something like 2 milllion dollars producing costumes and sets for the movie, and wanted to re-purpose them to recoup some of the cash they’d put up, so they banged out a script about a dystopian future of plague and anarchy, hired Jean-Claude Van Damme, and that’s how the movie Cyborg came about. All that is 100% true, by the way.

I tell you that because i have no idea how Cristiane Justino Venancio Santos came into existence, although if you told me 2 million dollars, He-Man, surgical bionics augmentation, and JCVD were involved, i’d believe you. Cyborg is just that scary.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/5thRoundVideo)

Don’t expect to see any Strikeforce champions besides Nick Diaz fighting in the UFC anytime soon.

According to Strikeforce president Scott Coker, Diaz’s crossover to the UFC was a one-off exception that was made to prevent the Stockton native from turning his back on MMA in favor of a boxing career.

“Gone to weigh in with Fedor, BRB. -Danny” PicProps: CombatLifestyle.com

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now an appropriate time to start geeking out about the next Strikeforce card — you know the one. Fedor-Hendo goes down at the end of the month and every MMA diehard will be sitting on the edge of their seats to see two PRIDE legends finally come together. Will The Last Emperor regain his classic form? Will Henderson score a victory that would likely be the highlight of his career? Will Fedor’s hilariously bad website gain something new and terribly translated?

(Seriously; the website is worth a look. Engrish motherfucker, do you speak it? An excerpt: “2003 ?. After competitions with Sam Shilt (Holland) and Hiz Hiring (USA), Fedor had a wrestling with Antonio Rodrigo Nagiera; Fedor gained the champion title. Later he gained the upper hand over Kazyuki Fudgita (Japan) and Gary Gudridg (Canada).”)

When Scott Coker first announced the matchup, he said it would be a catchweight bout at 220 pounds — possibly a gambit to get Fedor moving down in weight. Henderson contradicted Coker, saying that according to his contract the fight was at heavyweight, all the way up to 265, so Fedor can go ahead and eat all the ice cream and pickled elk or whatever it is that those Ruskies eat up there in Antarctica.

Continuing in Zuffa’s new social media trend of announcing newly-signed bouts before the MMA media gets wind of them, Strikeforce announced today via Twitter that a middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Robbie Lawler has been added to its July 30 Fedor vs. Henderson card in Chicago.

Damn, Heun’s getting all misty-eyed. VidProps: Strikeforce

Conor Heun and Magno Almeida were on the HDNet undercard card, and they turned in a three round scrap highlighted by some aggressive (and effective) ground work. Both fighters attempted subs early and often, including an omoplata attempt and a toe hold in the first round. Sure, a guillotine is nice, but we’ll take the exotic submissions every time.

Almeida lost a unanimous decision, but he at least left Heun with something to think about, as one of Almeida’s twenty seven arm bar attempts (disclaimer: no, we didn’t count them) left Heun with a serious lack of functionality in his right arm for the next month or so.

Heun got back into the win column after two losses in a row (to KJ Noons and Jorge Gurgel), so he’s understandably stoked about the win. On the other hand, his arm is seriously effed up, so there’s all kinds of emotions and hormones and stuff going on in Huen’s brain; give him a pass if he seems a little emotional in that video.

Yes, “all kinds of emotions and hormones and stuff” is technical language.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAInterviews)

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