http://freefightingillustrated.com/index.htmlHot News!enuser@domain.comCopyright 2011 Enrique Olivieri2011-04-10T12:54:47-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:25:39 -0400user@domain.comStrikeforce results2011-04-10T12:54:47-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/140e85a305ed30e1a2c9ace0867d3201-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/140e85a305ed30e1a2c9ace0867d3201-18.html#unique-entry-id-18 Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley RESULTS; Diaz stops Daily, Melendez storms past Kawajiri, Mousasi and Jardine draw
4/10/11 11:05AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo Courtesy of Strikeforce

If you’re not a Nick Diaz fan by now, once you see his fight with Paul Daley you will be. Diaz did it again, this time it was Paul “Semtex” Daily the knockout artist from the UK who was thoroughly beaten up in this mixed martial arts classic fight.

I don’t think there’s another mma fighter fighting today who comes at you where your strengths are and still beats you up the way Diaz does and did in this fight.

This fight started the way Diaz starts all his fights, challenging who ever he’s fighting to bring it on and usually the opponent tries to bring it as happened in this fight. I don’t think anyone but the guys in Diaz’s corner expected to see Diaz totally outbox Daley, hitting the UK fighter with solid crisp punches and body shots that would stop a heavyweight.

You can’t take anything away from Daley, as he was being pummeled by a Diaz attack. he did what very few mma fighter ever do, he didn’t try to take it down or clinch he fought back and unleashed an attack of his own with a barrage of homerun hitting punches, one connected and dropped Diaz. Though clearly dropped, Diaz never lost his composure and kept moving though it was more than obvious he had been rocked really bad. If in this fight Daley had a chance to win, this was it and Daley just didn’t have the tools to capitalize on it.

The end for Daley’s title quest came next, after a classic exchange of bombs from both fighters where both landed and both seemed rocked, Diaz came true to his form and landed an uppercut that hurt and wobbled Daley and he found himself with Diaz on top. After numerous unanswered punches to Daley’s head, referee John MacCarthy stopped the fight. The end came at 4:57 of round 1.

Melendez stops Kawajiri
Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez succesfully defended his title by totaly blowing out Japanese superstar Tatsuya Kawajirir in what was expected to be Melendez’s toughest test so far.

In the first minute or so of the first round Melendez dropped Kawajiri with a well placed right and that set the tone for the entire fight though it didn’t go too long after that.

There was nothing that Kawajiri could do to stop the Melendez attack. “El Nino” seemed ready for whatever Kawajiri had to offer, if you’re a “Black Ops” player call it “beasting”.

When Kawajiri tried to take Melendez down, “El Nino” sprawled, took a top position and let his punches and elbows finish the job. The end came at 3:14 of round one.

Mousasi and Jardine fight to a draw
A draw? Former Strikeforce Champ Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine’s fight to a draw was more of an eye opener than anything else. The highly touted Mousasi stepped in against Jardine with the expectation by just about everyone but the Greg Jackson Camp that Jardine was going to get knocked out. This happens from time to time, It seems that they just forgot to tell Jardine who took this fight on a “gonna lose fore sure” notice the way the fight should have ended.

Jardine’s chin has always been questioned, Mousasi who’s a known knock out artist must have realized early in the fight that he just might be in for more than he really expected. Mousasi hit Jardine with hard accurate on target punches, bloodying Jardine, wobbling Jardine, but he just couldn’t put the former UFC fighter away. Even with an illegal up kick by Mousasi didn’t change a thing, well wait there was a point deducted which might have caused the scoring of the draw. What was very interesting was Jardines ability to take Mousasi down, time and time again.

For the “Dean of Mean” this fight should be hailed as a moral victory for him due to the extremely short notice in taking this fight and surviving three brutal rounds against Mousasi. Regardless of how the judges scored this fight, everyone who sees this fight will say Mousasi won the fight but lost a ton of credibility in him not being able to take Jardine out and make a statement for himself in the Strikeforce light heavyweight division.

In our great sport of mixed martial arts saying “it happens” as Mousasi said after the fight just doesn’t cut it, after all this is the same Mousasi who said in a pre fight video interview that he was going to make a statement. I’m yet to figure out what statement he made.

I honestly think that a trained and in proper shape Keith Jardine would have given Gegard Mousasi all he could have handled. At this writing a rematch is in the air as it should be to finish what was started.

Here are the complete Strikeforce Results:

• Nick Diaz defeated Paul Daley via TKO (strikes) at 4:57 of RD1
• Gilbert Melendez defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (strikes) at 3:14 of RD1
• Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine fought to a Majority Draw
• Shinya Aoki defeated Lyle Beerbohm by Submission (neck crank) at 1:32 of RD1
• Robert Peralta defeated Hiroyuki Takaya by split decision
• Virgil Swicker defeated Brett Albee via TKO (strikes) at 1:46 of RD1
• Joe Duarte defeated Saad Awad by Submission (armbar) at 2:45 of RD2
• Herman Terrado defeated A.J. Matthews via TKO (punches) at 4:16 of RD1
• Rolando Perez defeated Edgar Cardenas by Unanimous Decision
• Casey Ryan defeated Paul Song by Submission (triangle choke) at 1:39 of RD1

]]>user@domain.comBellator Results2011-04-10T12:48:50-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/37e48e0789f80e0015f27b31e845decc-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/37e48e0789f80e0015f27b31e845decc-17.html#unique-entry-id-17Bellator 40 Results: Askren defeats Thompson, Hieron decisions Weedman
4/10/11 12:45PM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships


Bellator Fighting Championships landed at the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla., on Saturday night for Bellator 40.

Reining welterweight champ Ben Askren dominated against veteran Nick Thompson in a non-title bout in the main event. Welterweight Jay Hieron and lightweight Michael Chandler also punched their tickets to their respective tournament finals.

It was all Ben Askren against longtime MMA veteran Nick Thompson in Askren’s first fight since taking the title from former Bellator champion Lyman Good. Askren started round one with a spinning backfist, but quickly started a three-round grappling clinic, which left Thompson ineffective for almost the entire fight. At the very end of round three, a frustrated Thompson showed a glimmer of hope as he landed a few blows from the top with Askren on his back. It was not nearly enough to impress the judges, who awarded Ben Askren the unanimous decision victory.

“Tonight at Bellator 40 Ben Askren continued to show the world that he’s the best wrestler in all of MMA,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Chandler looked spectacular and Jay put on a very solid performance as well.”

In the second lightweight semifinal of the season, All-American wrestler Michael Chandler met Lloyd Woodard in a tightly-contested match. In round one, Chandler outwrestled Woodard, displaying crowd-pleasing takedowns, which included a powerful belly-to-belly suplex. Woodard found his ground in round two, landing a big knee to the face of a crouched Chandler and, later, locking in a standing rear naked choke. Chandler came out fresh in round three, continuing his wrestling domination and throwing heavy shots from the top position to close out the round. Going the distance, the judges awarded Chandler the victory via unanimous decision, securing his place in a lightweight finals match-up with Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.

Fast-rising Brent Weedman faced MMA veteran Jay Hieron in a hard-fought welterweight semifinal fight. At the outset of round, Weedman landed a left hook, dropping Hieron to the ground. Hieron, an experienced wrestler, quickly took the top position, where he locked in D’Arce chokes on two occasions, but was unable to submit Weedman. An aggressive Weedman had Hieron backpedaling for the majority of round two, initiating powerful leg kicks and strikes. In round three, Hieron took Weedman to the ground, but was unable to remain in control as Weedman attempted a guillotine choke. Weedman continued the round by landing powerful thigh kicks. Hieron retaliated with a few superman punches. Hieron closed out the round from the top position, which made an impression on the judges, as they declared Hieron victorious via a unanimous decision. Jay Hieron advances to the finals where he will face Rick Hawn.

• Bellator 40 Official Main Card Results:
  Ben Askren def. Nick Thompson by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
  Jay Hieron def. Brent Weedman by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  Michael Chandler def. Lloyd Woodard by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 2

]]>user@domain.comBellator Results2011-04-03T10:39:15-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/4d5754a1d1544c1b9335bc3bdbace1d1-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/4d5754a1d1544c1b9335bc3bdbace1d1-16.html#unique-entry-id-16Bellator 39 Results: Alvarez Retains Bellator Lightweight title, Patricky Pitbull, Hawn Advance to Tournament Finals, and Saunders Shines in Bellator Debut
4/03/11 11:00AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez successfully defended his title against Season 2  Lightweight tournament champion Pat Curran in front of a full house at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. for Bellator 39, which aired LIVE on MTV2. The night also saw Patricky Pitbull advance to the lightweight finals via a highlight-reel flying knee TKO (Watch Here: http://bit.ly/dKaDJu), Rick Hawn defeat former champ Lyman Good and Ben Saunders' claim victory in his Bellator debut.  

Eddie Alvarez and Pat Curran did not disappoint MMA fans in the Bellator Lightweight World Championship fight. In front of a partisan crowd for Eddie Alvarez, the champ peppered Curran with punches in Round 1 but was unable to take him down, receiving a knee to the face on one attempt. Round 2 was similar, with Alvarez applying pressure and landing body shots but unable to overcome Curran's takedown defense. Alvarez dominated Rounds 3 and 4 with continuous body shots, continuing the trend for earlier rounds. At the end of Round 5, Curran took Alvarez down and landed blows from the top position, but it was not enough to impress the judges who awarded Alvarez the victory via a unanimous decision.

"Eddie put on another dominant performance and Patricky's Knockout was one of the best knockouts I've seen in the last couple years," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

In lightweight semifinal action, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Patricky Pitbull took on 2009 Submission of the Year Winner Toby Imada. After delivering several solid leg kicks in the first half of Round 1, Patricky landed a textbook flying knee to the face of Imada, followed up with a strong left hook. The referee quickly stepped in front of the relentless Pitbull and stopped the fight, awarding Patricky a TKO victory at 2:53 in Round 1, who now advances to the lightweight finals.

Former Bellator Welterweight World Champion Lyman Good met undefeated Judo Olympian Rick Hawn in the welterweight semifinal fight. Good slightly controlled Round 1 momentum, landing multiple uppercuts.  In Round 2, Hawn executed an outside trip and took Good to the ground, where he held position until the bell rang. Hawn applied the pressure in Round 3 but Good effectively landed strikes. However, neither was able to seal the deal, leaving it to the judges who declared Hawn victorious via a split decision.

In the night's special feature fight, UFC Vet Ben Saunders put on a devastating show against an impressively tough Matt Lee. Saunders set the tone of the fight early in Round 1, landing brutal knees and elbows, resulting in a bloody-nosed Lee. In Round 2, Lee attempted to change levels, but he was unable to take the bigger Saunders to the ground.  By Round 3, the crowd at the Mohegan Sun roared in support of the physically hurt Lee. The referee saw enough and stopped the fight to consult the physician, who awarded Saunders the victory via TKO at 1:24 in Round 3.

Official Main Card Results:
World Lightweight Title Fight: Eddie Alvarez def. Pat Curran by unanimous decision [49-46, 50-45, 50-45]
Welterweight Semifinal Fight: Rick Hawn def. Lyman Good by Split Decision [30-27 Hawn, 29-28 Hawn, 29-28 Good]
Lightweight Semifinal Fight: Patricky Freire def. Toby Imada by TKO [2:53, Round 1]
Catch Fight @ 175 lbs.: Ben Saunders def. Matt Lee by TKO [Doctor Stopppage - cut 1:24, Round 3]]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-03-27T03:14:31-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/cd3bd9948d5bc0555424081237d0b463-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/cd3bd9948d5bc0555424081237d0b463-14.html#unique-entry-id-14UFC Fight Night 24 Results: Davis beats Nogueira, Johnson decisions Hardy, Jung twisters Garcia

3/27/11 3:00AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri

If you’re asking does Phil Davis have what it takes to be in the UFC Light Heavyweight Title race, the answer is yes he does. The former NCAA champion had a tough way to go in earning a well deserved decision over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In the first round of there scheduled three rounder, Davis just couldn’t take Nogueira down after numerous attempts with the double leg take down, Nogueira stuffed double leg after double leg with little effort. After seeing Davis getting stuffed a few times, it was like “OH S#!T this doesn’t look too good for Davis”, but Davis kept his composure and changed the game plan and was able to take the PrideFC veteran down effectively using a single leg.

Towards the end of the second round Davis found his way to a decent top position and unleashed punches and thunderous knees to Nogueira’s exposed body sealing the second round.

In the third round it was Davis’s use of the single leg and a rather cautious approach to control the round from the top position that solidified the decision. All three judges had it scored the same, 30-27.

Not to take anything away from Nogueira but he just didn’t do enough or he just couldn’t do much against Davis. The question still remains even after this fight, “Is Phil Davis as good as many say he is?” I think it’s safe to say after neutralizing the ultra experienced Nogueira, Davis is an evolving fighter who comes with his own set of tools, he just needs to master the other tools of the mma trade, once he’s done that, he’s going to be a serious threat in the UFC Light Heavyweight Title picture.

In other action Anthony Johnson earned a unanimous decision over Dan Hardy by basically beating him up. This was a healthy strong and in shape Anthony Johnson who had his way for all three rounds of the fight. There’s not much you can do when a bigger stronger wrestler takes you down at will, and you don’t have the greatest ground game or even good takedown defense, that’s what happened to Dan Hardy.

After Hardy got dropped by a Johnson kick to the head in the first round and Johnson swarmed on him the tone of the fight was set. For the next three rounds Johnson took Hardy down like it was another day at the office and tried to pound him out. If Hardy had even good take down defense this would have been a way more entertaining fight. All three judges scored this fight 30-27.

In most UFC events there’s always a fight that defines the night, in the Leonard Garcia vs Chan Sung Jung it wasn’t the fight, it was the submission, “the submission of the night”, the Eddie Bravo Twister that earned Jung his first UFC victory. The last time these two met was at WEC 48 about a year ago, that fight was a classic brawl, this was was not.

Unlike the first fight where they both came out swinging for the fences, this time around they both seemed to have a game plan with both being a little cautious until Jung took Garcia down toward the end of the first round and unleashed some hard ground and pound on Garcia.

Towards the end of the second round Garcia found himself on his back and Jung took the fight to him using nasty elbows and punches after getting into Garcia’s guard. When Garcia tried to escape Jung took his back and with only seconds left in the round Jung found the opening and applied the Eddie Bravo Twister forcing Garcia to tap out. This was the first time in UFC history that a fighter had been submitted via a twister, it also earned Jung the Submission of the Night Bonus. The end came at 4:59 of the second round.

Here are the complete event results:
Phil Davis defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by unanimous decision
Anthony Johnson defeated Dan Hardy by unanimous decision
Amir Sadollah defeated DaMarques Johnson by submission (strikes)at 3:27 of RD2
Chan Sung Jung defeated Leonard Garcia by submission (twister) at 4:59 of RD2
Mike Russow defeated Jon Madsen via TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00 of RD2
Mackens Semerzier defeated Alex Caceres by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:18 of RD2
John Hathaway defeated Kris McCray via split decision
Michael McDonald defeated Edwin Figueroa by unanimous decision
Christian Morecraft defeated Sean McCorkle via submission (standing guillotine choke) at 4:10 of RD2
Johny Hendricks defeated T.J. Waldburger via TKO (punches) at 1:35 of RD1
Aaron Simpson defeated Mario Miranda unanimous decision
Nik Lentz defeated Waylon Lowe by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:24 of RD3]]>user@domain.comBellator Results2011-03-27T03:09:23-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/41f85a212cc65856dbf77c15872dc7a5-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/41f85a212cc65856dbf77c15872dc7a5-13.html#unique-entry-id-13Bellator 38 Results: Hale, M’Pumba, Linderman and Carpenter Move on

3/27/11 3:00AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships was LIVE on MTV2 tonight from Harrah's Tunica Hotel & Casino in Tunica, MS with Bellator 38.  The Season 4 event brought action in the quarterfinal round of the first-ever Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament. 
Kicking off the evening was former Marine Chris "The Professional" Davis and Christian "Tonton" M'Pumbu. Both fighters put their technical ability on display in the back and forth fight, but it was M'Pumbu who was able to turn it up late in the third round.  M'Pumbu trapped Davis between his knees, landing crushing unanswered hooks to Davis' head, forcing the referee to step in and award M'Pumbu a TKO victory.
The second quarterfinal of the evening saw Richard Hale taking on Nik Fekete.  Fekete looked to rely on his wrestling skills early with a double leg takedown, but quickly found himself in a compromised position as the 6'4" Hale hung off his opponent's back, locking in an inverted triangle choke with Fekete still standing.  In a déjà vu moment that would make Toby Imada proud, Fekete dropped to his stomach, losing consciousness from Hale's Submission of the Year candidate inverted triangle choke. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/dGZg89

D.J Linderman took on submission specialist Raphael Davis in quarterfinal action at Bellator 38.  In a fight that moved from both the feet to the ground, it was Linderman who won the stand up battle, frequently finding a home for his heavy left hand.  Late in the third round it was apparent that the damage to Davis had accumulated as Linderman forced him to his knees with a jarring left hook, the referee had seen enough, awarding Linderman an amazing third round TKO upset victory.

Jiu-Jitsu legend Daniel Gracie met an undefeated Tim Carpenter in the final Light Heavyweight quarterfinal fight of the evening.  Carpenter surprisingly dominated both the Jiu-Jitsu and standup battle throughout the fight.  Gracie found his legs late in the second round but his efforts were not enough as the fight went to the judge's cards, whom ultimately awarded Carpenter a split decision victory and a spot in the Season 4 Light Heavyweight Tournament semifinals.

"I was hugely impressed with our Light Heavyweights tonight, I never would have imagined that we would see another inverted triangle, from a 6'4" Light Heavyweight," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "We're on a roll - I'm proud to say that we've strung together three back to back world-class, spectacular events, I couldn't be happier."]]>user@domain.comBellator Results2011-03-20T11:28:41-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/86b33543ab0782b58995492347c807a1-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/86b33543ab0782b58995492347c807a1-12.html#unique-entry-id-12Bellator 37 Results: Reis, Pitbull, Straus, and Foster Move onto Semifinals.

3/20/11 11:30AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships

The Bellator Season 4 Featherweight Tournament fighters put on an action-packed show at the Lucky Star Casino as Wilson Reis,  Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, Kenny Foster and Daniel Straus battled their way to the semifinals and one step closer to earning a title shot against Bellator Featherweight Champ Joe Warren.

Kenny Foster pulled off the upset of the night, becoming the first featherweight to move on to the semifinals in a true testament to tournament-style MMA. Avoiding an early takedown, Foster landed a knee to Erik Larkin's face, opening a cut above the four-time NCAA D1 All-American's eye. Foster smelled blood and outwrestling Larkin on the ground to maintain the top position, where he locked in a guillotine choke, forcing an end to the fight at 3:15 in Round 1.

Bellator veteran Daniel Straus and undefeated Argentinean Nazareno Malegarie took to the cage next, putting on a gritty 15-minute MMA show. Straus looked to be in trouble on the ground throughout the fight as Malegarie attempted several submissions. At the end of the three rounds, it was Straus' dominating performance on his feet that caught the attention of the judges. Straus via a unanimous decision earned his way to the semifinals in a hard-fought battle.

Next up, Wilson Reis brought Zac George to the ground and forced him to give up his back early with a flurry of hammerfists. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Reis earned his third trip to the featherweight semifinals and ended George's six-game win streak with a rear-naked choke at 2:09 in Round 1.

All eyes were on Season 2 featherweight standouts Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan as they closed out the night's fights. In Round 1 action, Pitbull lifted Karakhanyan off his feet but Georgi defended with a guillotine attempt. The fighters battled through Round 2 mostly on their feet with Freire appearing to a have a slight edge in the momentum. It was all Freire in Round 3 as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt dropped Karakhanyan to the mat with a left hook to the chin, paving the way for a relentless ground-and-pound assault that ended the fight with a TKO at 0:56 in Round 3.

"The featherweight's put on spectacular performances tonight at Bellator 37," said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Fans have the opportunity to witness amazing fights when you let fighters control their own destiny, and I'm thrilled with the start to our fourth season on MTV2."


Official Main Card Results:
Kenny Foster def. Eric Larkin by guillotine submission [3:15, Round 1]
Daniel Straus def. Nazareno Malegarie by unanimous decision [29-29, 29-28, 29-28]
Wilson Reis def. Zac George by rear-naked choke submission [2:09, Round 1]
Patricio Freire def. Georgi Karakhanyan by TKO [0:56, Round 3]]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-03-20T02:49:07-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/65454440b119c0ca8710f3ae4113cacf-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/65454440b119c0ca8710f3ae4113cacf-11.html#unique-entry-id-11UFC 128 Results; Jones stops Rua to win Title, Faber decisions Wineland, Shaub KO’s Crocop

3/20/11 3:00AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo courtesy of UFC/Zuffa

You wanna talk about living up to the hype and delivering, just think Jon Jones because he’s the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jones came into the fight as the 2 to 1 favorite and showed every fan at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey why by totally dominating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and stopping him in the third round of there scheduled five round UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight.

Jones came at Shogun kind of wild in the first round with a flying knee. Once Jones got the takedown, he worked by getting in a few punches and elbows, Shogun got up to his feet but was met with a numerous punches which had the tough Brazilian on shaky legs. Shogun failed at a leg lock and Jones ended up in his guard. Jones controlled the entire round, he made it look easy. That seemed to be the story of the fight, every time Shogun tried something Jones took him down and ended in his guard.

By the end of the second, and if you’re an mma aficionado, you just knew the end of this fight was near. At the end of the second round, Shogun looked like a beat fighter, face swelling fast and out of gas. It was more of the same for Shogun in the third round as everything he tried didn’t work. After Jones worked Shogun over with punches and elbows from the guard, as Shogun got up Jones charged forward with punches and knees dropping Shogun who by now was not defending himself. Referee Herb Dean called an end to the fight at 2:37 of the third round.

After the fight and during the post fight interview, Rashad Evans who not only comes out of the same camp but also trains with Jones was present to let him know he’d by fighting Jones next for the title. Evans commented “ We train together and he got that strap, so I got to go after it”. As an expression can tell stories, the new champ didn’t care to hear those words.

In the co-main event, Urijah Faber won a unanimous decision over Eddie Wineland. It took a round for Faber to get his game into action, due to Wineland’s ability to defend Fabers takedowns in round one. Round two and three it was Faber who used his aggression, speed and ground game to dominate Wineland.

In other action from UFC 128, Brandon Schaub knocked out Mirko Crocop with a right hand in the third round of there scheduled fight.

Here are the complete results from UFC 128

Jon Jones defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua by TKO (strikes) at 2:37 of RD3 (Jones is the new UFC LHW Champion)

Urijah Faber defeated Eddie Wineland via Unanimous Decision

Jim Miller defeated Kamal Shalorus by TKO (strikes) at 2:15 of RD3 R3

Nate Marquardt defeated Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision

Brendan Schaub defeated Mirko Crocop by KO (right hand) at 3:44 of RD3

Luiz Cane defeated  Eliot Marshall via TKO (strikes) at 2:15 of RD1

Edson Barboza defeated Anthony Njokuani via Unanimous Decision

Mike Pyle defeated Ricardo Almeida via Unanimous Decision

Gleison Tibau defeated Kurt Pellegrino via Split Decision

Joseph Benavidez defeated Ian Loveland via Unanimous Decision

Nick Catone defeated Costantinos Philippou via Unanimous Decision

Erik Koch defeated Raphael Assuncao via KO (right hand) at 2:32 of RD1
]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-03-13T03:45:55-04:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/5096f99b76f73b37d096ff9bd1eedbbf-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/5096f99b76f73b37d096ff9bd1eedbbf-9.html#unique-entry-id-9Zuffa buys Strikeforce

3/13/11 3:00AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri

The parent company of the UFC, Zuffa LLC. officially announced that they had purchased Strikeforce, the only mma promotion company to give the UFC any type of competition in North America.

In the past few years Zuffa has acquired the Japanese organization Pride Fighting Championships, which subsequently was dissolved, WEC and Cagefighting.

In an exclusive video interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, UFC president and Zuffa co-owner Dana White made mention that Strikforce will be business as usual with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker running the organization as he does now.

He also made mention that the two fight organizations will not merge the fighters signed to there respective organizations.

The the purchase took place and what the purchase price are yet to be released by either organization.]]>user@domain.comBellator Results2011-03-06T02:10:41-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/f06e19cbe906092a373f23cd7fad4fbf-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/f06e19cbe906092a373f23cd7fad4fbf-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Bellator 35 RESULTS - Good, Hieron, Hawn, and Weedman advance to Welterweight Semifinals

3/06/11 2:05AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photo courtesy of Bellator

Bellator Fighting Championships made its highly anticipated season 4 debut on MTV2, and the action certainly didn't disappoint. The night saw Bellator's Welterweight Tournament field get cut in half, with Brent Weedman, Rick Hawn, Jay Hieron, and Lyman Good moving onto the Bellator Welterweight Semifinals later this season.

"Weedman Nation" was on full display at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, and the Bellator veteran didn't disappoint his fans, collecting a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle in a surprising upset victory.
The action rolled on as former Judoka Olympian Rick Hawk entered the cage against the UK's own "Judo" Jim Wallhead. While fans expected a judo heavy fight, it was anything but as Hawn showed off his improved striking game, eventually earning him a Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) victory over Wallhead.

In what was the most controversial fight of the night, former UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jay Hieron locked horns with submission specialist Anthony Lapsley. The two welterweights traded blows early, but near the end of the first round, Hieron locked Lapsley up in what seemed like a tight rear naked choke. After limited movement by Lapsley on the ground, the cage referee declared Lapsley had been put to sleep, and awarded Hieron a technical submission victory. A wide awake Lapsley was stunned by the decision, but Hieron was awarded victory and will move onto the Bellator welterweight semifinals.

The night's final fight saw former Bellator World Welterweight Champion Lyman "Cyborg" Good take on Chris "The Assassin" Lozano in the final welterweight quarterfinal matchup. Both fighters exchanged solid strikes early, with Good landing a hard hook to the left eye of Lozano that left "The Assassin" with a large mouse under his eye. While Lozano continued to battle, Good seemed to get stronger as the fight went on, and the judges agreed, awarding Good a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) victory. 

"We expected very close fights and that's exactly what we got at a sold out Tachi Palace live on MTV2," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. 

Official Main Card Results:
Brent Weedman def. Dan Hornbuckle by Unanimous Decision [29-28, 29-28, 29-28]
Rick Hawn def. Jim Wallhead by Unanimous Decision [29-28, 29-28, 30-27]
Jay Hieron def. Anthony Lapsely by Rear Naked Choke [3:39, Round 1]
Lyman Good defeats Chris Lozano by unanimous decision [30-27, 30-27, 29-28]

***The above is courtesy of Event Promoter/Bellator]]>user@domain.comStrikeforce results2011-03-06T02:17:05-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/ce187da007863178b72ef534a3e492b1-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/ce187da007863178b72ef534a3e492b1-7.html#unique-entry-id-7Strikeforce Faijao vs Hendo RESULTS - Henderson Stops Feijao, Coenen comes from behind to submit Carmouche

3/06/11 2:05AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri

This event took place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio and was aired live on SHOWTIME.

Dan Henderson has another title to add to his mma resume, the former Olympian and former PrideFC champion landed his signature “H Bomb” right hand on the chin of former Rafael “Faijao” Cavalcante dropping him then finishing the fight with a barrage of punches causing the referee to stop the fight.

The fight sure didn’t start the way Henderson planned, in the first round the former Strikeforce champ Feijao dropped Henderson with a well timed right, Henderson who’s one of the most experienced mma fighters in the world used his experience to immediately turn things around by taking Feijao down in the scramble after he was dropped, Henderson slowed things up to regain his wits.
The second round Henderson used his wrestling experience in the clinch and took the larger and stronger Cavalcante down and worked from the dominant position. He seemed to be wearing out Cavalcante slowly. Henderson put another round in the bank as he controlled the tempo of the round.
In the third Hendo unleashed the “H Bomb” causing the referee to stop the fight at :50.
After the fight when Henderson was asked about the “H Bomb” his reply was, “It’s a punch that I kind of like to do” and It’s one that I work on all the time, I threw it, landed it and jumped on top”.

Coenen comes from behind, submitts Carmouche and retains her title.
Let’s give credit where it’s due, with only two week notice Liz Carmouche gave an excellent showing even in losing a bid for Marloes Coenen’s Strikeforce Womens Welterweight Title.
In the first round Coenen seemed to get the better of Carmouche in the stand-up. Things changed as Coenen found herself on the ground for the second and third rounds as Carmouche kept the dominant position for most of the of second and third with an unending attack of punches, no matter what Coenen tried it didn’t seem to work.

Going into the fourth round, it seemed that Carmouche, with only five wins in her mma career was on her way to a big time upset and the Strikeforce Womens Welterweight Title. The champion Coenen was wearing an ugly bruise under her right eye courtesy of Carmouche, then everything changed in this fight, when Carmouche took the top position, just as she had been in for the last two rounds, Coenen wasn’t mounted yet, and she wrapped her legs around Carmouche’s neck and locked in a tight triangle chole forcing Carmouche to submit.

In the other fights shown on Showtime, Tim Kennedy made quick work of Melvin Manoef via a rear naked choke. It took Kennedy a few takedown attempts to bring the dangerous striker down to secure the submission.

Also Jorge Masvidal took his time and did what he wanted to previously unbeaten lightweight prospect Billy Evangelista to hand him is first mma loss. Though Masvidal never pushed the fight or tried to finish his experience, especially his stand-up skills proved way too much for Evangelista.

Here are the nights complete set of results;


Strikeforce Feijoa vs Hendo RESULTS
Dan Henderson defeated Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) at :50 of RD3
Marloes Coenen defeated Liz Carmouche by submission (triangle choke) at 1:29 of RD4
Tim Kennedy defeated Melvin Manhoef by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:41 of RD1
Jorge Masvidal defeated Billy Evangelista by unanimous decision.
Roger Bowling defeated Josh Thornburg by unanimous decision.
Jorge Gurgel defeated Billy Vaughan by submission (guillotine choke) at :44 of RD1
Jason Freeman defeated Jason Riley via TKO (strikes) at 1:52 of RD1
Brian Rogers defeted Ian Rammel via TKO (strikes) at 4:23 of RD1
Mitch Whitesel defeated Marc Cofer by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:55 of RD1
John Kuhner defeated JP Felty by submission (triangle choke) at 4:31of RD2]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-03-04T00:24:23-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/67178af97219dda0390f534deb3c3a41-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/67178af97219dda0390f534deb3c3a41-6.html#unique-entry-id-6UFC on Versus 3 RESULTS - Sanchez decisions Kampmann, Munoz stops Dollaway

3/04/11 12:05AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri

This event took place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. and was aired live on the Versus Network.

Bloodied and battered Deigo Sanchez was awarded a unanimous decision in what ‘s going to be called another case of bad judging. Martin Kampmann fed Sanchez a plethora of punches during the main event of UFC on Versus 3. By the end of the first round Kampmann had Sanchez oozing blood from his nose and mouth. Sanchez was only credited with one takedown which Kapmann promptly got up from. Though transformed into a bloody mess Sanchez kept coming after Kampmann, he just didn’t do enough to win the fight but it’s not our call, again in less than a week a “nightmare” decision.

In the co-main event Mark Munoz stopped C.B. Dollaway in the first round via strikes. This fight had an interesting start as Dollaway was able to take Munoz down, but after a scramble Munoz was back on his feet. After a hard Munoz right sent Dollaway down Munoz finished the fight with a few more hard punches to Dollaway’s face causing the referee to stop the fight and award the stoppage to “The Filipino Wrecking Machine”.

Long Islands own Chris Weidman earned his first UFC victory by pounding out Alessio Sakara bringing the Long Islanders record to 5-0. Let’s give this Division 1 All American Wrestler his props after all he’s got amateur wrestling wins over UFC fighters Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.


Here are the results of UFC on Versus 3:

UFC on Versus 3 RESULTS
Deigo Sanchez defeated Martin Kampmann by unanimous decision
Mark Munoz defeated C.B. Dollaway via TKO (strikes) at :54 of RD1
Chris Weidman defeated Alessio Sakara by unanimous decision
Brian Bowles defeated Damacio Page by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:30 of RD1
Cyrille Diabate defeated Steve Cantwell by unanimous decision
Danny Castillo defeated Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision
Shane Roller defeated Thiago Tavares via KO (punches) at 1:28 of RD2
Takeya Mizugaki defeated Reuben Duran via split decision
Dongi Yang defeated Rob Kimmons via TKO (strikes) at 4:47 of RD2
Rousimar Palhares defeated Dave Branch via submission (kneebar) at 1:44 of RD2
Igor Pokrajac defeated Todd Brown via TKO (strikes) at 5:00 of RD1]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-03-03T18:29:13-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/b78feb2c97599d73fb36fd4af5f8db35-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/b78feb2c97599d73fb36fd4af5f8db35-5.html#unique-entry-id-5UFC 127 Final Thoughts; a few days later

3/03/11 6:30PM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photograph by: Mark Kolbe, Getty Images

After letting UFC 127 digest and after deep thought on the two biggest fights of that card, I’ve decided to send out “food for thought” on the event. I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, but there are a few things I keep wondering about. These are just a few topics that just might need a different perspective.

The Draw; Penn vs Fitch
Not many gave BJ Penn a snowballs chance in hell in this fight. Most though that Jon Fitch was going to grind BJ Penn out for three rounds en route to a big decision win. Most thought Fitch’s wrestling and his training at the AKA would be more than enough to put him in line for another title shot. When it was announced a draw, everything changed for a whole lot of people.

The first round of the fight told the whole story. BJ took Fitch’s back, got those hooks in and attempted to rear naked choke. How did that happen? Fitch stated after the fight he didn’t train for shoots or takedowns. Isn’t Fitch the grinding machine who out wrestles everyone? Wasn’t Fitch fighting a BJ Penn who’s lost two of his last three fights? Haven’t you thought about, what if Fitch had trained for the take downs? Would that training have made a difference in the way this fight went? Try not to lie to yourself when you try and come up with an answer.

Finally if the last round wasn’t dominated by the physically stronger Jon Fitch, do you think it would have been called a draw? I see it this way, if BJ had just a tad bit more gas in the tank this fight would have been another win for Penn.

What about a rematch? Why not. A Penn vs Fitch II would be a fight worth seeing and the revenues for the PPV would be way bigger than the draw.


The Illegal Knee; Bisping vs Rivera
In an earlier posting this week regarding Bispings illegal knee to Rivera’s forehead, I stated “Was it intentional? I guess only Michael Bisping can answer that.” sorry for the mistake because that knee was not only intentional, but it was also malicious, done on purpose because Rivera and his camp got under the skin of Bisping. Rights after the illegal knee and as the ref sent Bisping to a neutral part of the cage, Bisping’s attitude was like “so what, yeah I did it”. If you saw the fight you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Why wasn’t this fight stopped? Regardless of what Rivera or anyone else involved wanted the referee should have stopped that fight and disqualified Michael Bisping. Allowing the fight to continue after such a blow to the head showed lack of concern for Rivera’s safety.

I wonder what Michael Bisping was thinking when he spit on Rivera’s corner. Did he think he would actually get away with it? Did he not think of the UFC fans watching his extreme un-sportsman like conduct? If you’re a mixed martial arts fan you know that when you act like an ass in this sport everyone talks about you. Finally we all know in the record books Bisping got the win. Don’t you wonder how Bisping would do against a Nathan Marquardt or a Vitor Belfort, how about Anderson Silva? Anyone want to take a guess?]]>user@domain.comUFC results2011-02-27T03:29:56-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/8840f28a9a06497ff1b72dcf69832316-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/8840f28a9a06497ff1b72dcf69832316-4.html#unique-entry-id-4UFC 127 Fight Results; Penn and Fitch fight to a draw, Bisping stops Rivera, Siver decisions Sotiropoulos

2/27/11 3:36AM ET
Posted by Enrique Olivieri
Photograph by: Mark Kolbe, Getty Images

This event will took place at the Acer Arena in Sydney Australia on February 26, 2011 and was aired live on Facebook, ION Sports and PPV collectively.

Even though the main event ended in a draw, UFC 127 was way more entertaining than expected. BJ Penn and Jon Fitch fought a very close fight, the decision could have gone either way but it’s the fight judges who make the final call and they called it 29-28 (for Fitch), 28-28 and 28-28 so it goes down as a draw.

The first round kind of caught everyone off guard including Jon Fitch as he was taken down by Penn, then things got worse for Fitch as he had to defend from Penn’s rear naked choke attempts.

Coming out for the second round and knowing he was in the hole in this fight Fitch took Penn down but Penn got back up, while he was throwing punches Penn landed an elbow that bloodied Fitch’s nose and again Penn took him down and took Fitch’s back but was unable to secure anything. Towards the end of the round Fitch was able to roll and get the top position but did nothing with it. I gave the edge to Penn in this round.

Given honest advice in his corner that this fight might be up for grabs Fitch took it up a notch in round three by immediately striking first, hitting Penn with a right and followed it up with a takedown and went to work throwing and landing punches from the guard, again Penn got up but Fitch took Penn back down and kept a sustained attack throwing punches and elbows and keeping Penn pinned against the cage, this lasted for about three and a half minutes until the final bell was sounded.

In the interview that followed the decision a noticeably dejected Jon Fitch stated. “ I think I did enough to win a split decision” he also stated, “It just threw me off because I did zero preparations for BJ’s shooting, It was a great game plan, and it threw me off."

Penn stated in his interview that he thought he might have lost the fight, he also stated
"I think I got some dominant position in the first and second rounds, but he kicked my butt in the third round.” When asked about a rematch he stated, "If he wants to do it again, I'll do it again.”


Give props to Jorge Rivera for making this a fight everyone wanted to see even though he fell short. Michael Bisping stopped Rivera at 1:54 of the second round via techincal knockout due to strikes. Wait!!! There’s more, this fight started as expected, a stand-up war then after a scramble to get up from the ground Bisping used his knee and smash Rivera on the forehead while Rivera was on all four, it was a very illegal knee. Was it intentional? I guess only Michael Bisping can answer that.

The illegal knee thrown by Bisping was the beginning of the end for Rivera. Bisping immediately took control in round two, after a number of punches and a “legal” knee to Rivera’s head, Rivera began to cover up to try to protect himself but to no avail as Bisping unleashed a barrage of punches that caused Rivera to drop to his knee thus causing the ref to stop the fight.

Dennis Siver proved everyone wrong as he was able to drop George Sotiropoulos twice in the first round and prevent the Australian from ever taking him down in the fight thus earning a unanimous decision.



UFC 127 Complete Fights Results
Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn declared a majority draw (29-28 Fitch, 28-28, 28-28)
Michael Bisping defeated Jorge Rivera via TKO (strikes) at 1:54 RD2
Dennis Siver defeated George Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision
Brian Ebersole defeated Chris Lytle via unanimous decision
Kyle Noke defeated Chris Camozzi via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:35 RD1
Ross Pearson defeated Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision (
Alexander Gustafsson defeated James Te Huna via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:27 RD1
Riki Fukuda def. Nick Ring via unanimous decision
Anthony Perosh defeated Tom Blackledge via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:45 RD1
Tiequan Zhang defeafed Jason Reinhardt via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:48 of RD1
Mark Hunt defeated Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) at 1:41 RD2
Curt Warburton defeated Maciej Jewtuszko via unanimous decision ]]>user@domain.comMFC results2011-02-24T07:28:16-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/424a65e4047e080a6f49ca986c088bb4-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/424a65e4047e080a6f49ca986c088bb4-2.html#unique-entry-id-2Jimmo wins title at MFC 28, Fickett submits Veach
Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo seized the moment when it was there and secured the MFC world light-heavyweight title with a third-round TKO win over Dwayne “D-Bomb” Lewis in the main event of Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 28: Supremacy.

The event went down at a sold-out and raucous River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, and aired live on HDNet Fights.
Jimmo (14-1) earned his 14th consecutive win by finishing Lewis (13-7) at the 3:13 mark of Round 3 when referee Brian Beauchamp, after consulting with the ringside physician, waved off the bout. After a trip takedown and some heavy-handed ground-and-pound, Lewis’s face was severely damaged with a huge hematoma under his left eye and a likely broken orbital bone. It was a crushing setback for the Fort McMurray, Alberta, product who had an overwhelming army of supporters in attendance.

“It’s a dream come true to win the MFC title since this is the place where my career began,” said Jimmo, now lives and fights out of Edmonton, Alberta.
“I plan on keeping this belt over my shoulder for a long time.”

In the semi-main event, Drew “Night Rider” Fickett (41-13) made short work of late injury replacement Matt Veach. Fickett, who was supposed to challenge Antonio McKee for the MFC lightweight title until the champ sustained a knee injury and could not defend, needed only 36 seconds to secure an armbar submission of Veach (15-3).

Fickett, who fights out of Tucson, Arizona, left no doubt as to who is the rightful top contender in the MFC’s stacked 155-pound division.

“It doesn’t matter to me who has the belt. I’m coming for it and it will be mine. I’m making my home in the MFC,” said Fickett.

Lightweights Richie Whitson and Curtis Demarce put forth an early contender for Fight of the Year in a scintillating stand-up battle.

Demarce, who fights out of Brandon, Manitoba, nearly put Whitson away early on as he repeatedly tagged the Temecula, California, product, with an overhand right that bloodied Whitson. Demarce continued to connect in Round 2 and seemingly had Whitson in trouble, but the native Alaskan rallied and turned the tables on Demarce when he found his opponent’s chin with a devastating kick. After a back-and-forth final round, the bout went to the judges and Whitson escaped with a narrow victory via split decision.
All three judges scored the bout 29-28 with Whitson (11-1) taking the nod on two cards. The gut-wrenching loss ended a seven-fight winning streak for Demarce (10-8).
Two other bouts were left in the judges’ hands as well. After charging through a dominant first round, Sheldon Westcott, who was fighting in front of his home-town fans, ran out of steam and allowed veteran Thomas “Wildman” Denny to gain the upper hand especially in Round 3. However, both fighters were left frustrated by the end result. While judges Brian Beauchamp and Vern Gorman each had one fighter getting a 29-28 nod, judge Bill Warwick saw it even at 28-28 and the fight was ruled a split draw.

“I’d rather have the win or the loss, but not a draw,” said a dejected Westcott (4-1-1). “We have to do this again and settle it.”

Denny (27-18-1), too, called for a rematch, though he hoped it might take place on neutral ground.

The other fight to go the distance saw Tyrone “T$” Glover (6-0) control much of his encounter with Robert “The Beast” Washington (9-2). Glover had several shots at a submission including a very tight triangle late in Round 2, but was unable to secure a finish. Still, the Wheat Ridge, Colorado, product took the decision, albeit in split voting (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Former MFC light-heavyweight champ Emanuel “The Hardcore Kid” Newton did secure the submission when he got the opportunity, coaxing a tapout via rear-naked choke from Rodney Wallace at the 4:34 mark of Round 2. For Newton (14-6-1), who fights out of Long Beach, California, it was a triumphant return to the MFC as he tries to regain his footing in the 205-pound division, while Charlotte, North Carolina’s Wallace (10-4) was unable to build on his win from MFC 27.

MFC 28 Complete Results: Ryan Jimmo def. Dwayne Lewis by TKO (Injury) at 3:13, R3 Drew Fickett def. Matt Veach by Submission (Armbar) at 0:36, R1 Richie Whitson def. Curtis Demarce by Spit Decision. R3 Thomas Denny and Sheldon Westcott, Split Draw, R3 Emanuel Newton def. Rodney Wallace by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:34, R2 Tyrone Glover def. Robert Washington by Split Decision, R3]]>user@domain.comStrikeforce results2011-02-24T07:27:17-05:00http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/b85dc69c4d1e6eae2b8d4c94afc4ac47-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://freefightingillustrated.com/mma_blog_files/b85dc69c4d1e6eae2b8d4c94afc4ac47-1.html#unique-entry-id-1

Liz Carmouche to replace Miesha Tate against Marloes Coenen
Posted by Enrique Olivieri

In Main Event, Dan Henderson Challenges STRIKEFORCE Light Heavy Belt-Holder “Feijao’’ Cavalcante

NEW YORK (Feb. 24, 2011) – Undefeated Liz “Girl-Rilla’’ Carmouche (6-0) has replaced an injured Miesha Tate and will face STRIKEFORCE Women’s World Welterweight Champion Marloes Coenen on Saturday, March 5, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

Tate, the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds, was forced to withdraw after suffering a knee injury during training.

Carmouche, of San Diego, by way of Lafayette, La., will be making her third start for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME. She is coming off an impressive third-round TKO (punches) over the more-experienced, hard-hitting Jan Finney on Nov. 19, 2010. Carmouche has only gone the distance once in her career.

In her debut on SHOWTIME, the 5-foot-5, 27-year-old Carmouche registered a unanimous decision over Colleen Schneider on Aug. 13, 2010, in a “reserve bout” in the STRIKEFORCE one night, single-elimination women’s 135-pound tournament, which was won by Tate.

A member of Team Hurricane Awesome, Carmouche lived many years in Okinawa, Japan, where her father was stationed in the Air Force. At the age of 20, she joined the Marine Corps where she spent more than five years and achieved the rank of Sergeant.

Carmouche’s stint in the Marines included three tours to Iraq. Unlike many women in the military, she was attached to a GRUNT unit, which she describes as ground fighting outside of the perimeter where the rest of the units are stationed. In Iraq, she began training in Mixed Martial Arts.

Coenen, a product of Holland’s Golden Glory team, will be making the first defense of the belt she won with a dominant third-round submission (armbar) over defending belt-holder Sarah Kaufman on Oct. 9, 2010.

In the second half of a STRIKEFORCE World Championship Doubleheader, Dan Henderson (26-8), of Temecula, Calif., will challenge defending champion Rafael “Feijao’’ Cavalcante (10-2), of Brazil, for the STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) title.

American military hero Tim Kennedy (12-3) of Fort Bragg, N.C., will be opposed by Melvin Manhoef (24-8) , of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, at middleweight (185 pounds) and undefeated Billy Evangelista (11-0) of Fresno, Calif., will take on Jorge Masvidal (20-6) of Miami, Fla., at lightweight (155 pounds) in other televised bouts on SHOWTIME.

The event, STRIKEFORCE’s first in the state of Ohio, will take place in conjunction with The Arnold Sports Festival, the nation’s largest health and fitness exposition founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
**The above is courtesy of Strkeforce]]>