Daily Rumors 8-4-09

“After that experience [against Sherk], I knew the opportunity would come again,” Florian says. “I knew it was going to take a lot of work, but I knew I was capable of getting back here. It’s definitely rewarding, and I’m very thankful they’ve given me another opportunity.” sherdog.com

“This is a fight we’ve looked forward to for a long time,” DellaGrotte says. “He knows when he’s in deep water and when he needs to start paddling. A lot of people get caught up in the title shot, but he’s really focused on beating B.J. Penn. He wants to be known as the guy who took B.J.’s crown.” sherdog.com


Ultimately, for the deal to pay off, Emelianenko will have to keep winning, and either draw strong network ratings or become a pay-per-view attraction. Emelianenko has been a star in Japan for six years, headlining numerous big shows, but has never been a strong television ratings draw in that country. yahoo.com

It’s imperative Emelianenko doesn’t lose in the interim, which would kill the most important thing he can be sold as to the big audience, which is that he is the real world champion. yahoo.com


Although Fedor Emelianenko has been signed to a three-fight, one-year deal, Strikeforce officials will still permit the heavyweight fighter to compete overseas, including in Japan. mmajunkie.com

Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Emelianenko (30-1), who signed with Strikeforce on Monday, will be permitted to fight outside the organization while under contract. mmajunkie.com

In fact, Strikeforce is expected to announce a formal partnership with the Japanese-based organization's parent company, Fighting Entertainment Group, in the coming weeks. It's not known if the two promotions would partner for a Dec. 31 show, but it does open the door for a potential Emelianenko vs. Sergei Kharitonov (16-4) bout. mmajunkie.com


“[Fedor] and Alistair Overeem should be an amazing fight, and people that haven’t seen Alistair, you know, he’s an amazing fighter,” explained Coker during the conversation with the guys (and gal) from TapouT Radio. “I think we should do a couple of fights and build that one up, and then let their champion fight our champion, and let’s see what happens. fiveouncesofpain.com

“We’re hoping that Alistair will be ready to fight in the Fall, and we can put him on one of the cards with Fedor, and not fight against each other but fight against someone else, and let’s build that fight up” fiveouncesofpain.com


Scott Coker mentioned in the TapouT radio show yesterday that there will be a press conference in Japan regarding a new alliance with DREAM that could potentially bring a large amount of overseas fighters into the mix with Strikeforce's roster of talent. This has been a bit overlooked in all the Strikeforce discussions, but it matters due to the potential for booking the crossover battles between Japanese and North American fighters that many fans have craved for quite some time. bloodyelbow.com

Not only are there bouts that can happen that are relevant within today's ranks, but even matches of MMA legends that could potentially be made between the two promotions. Think about some of these bouts: Frank Shamrock vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis, Josh Thomson vs. Joachim Hansen/Shinya Aoki/Ribeiro/Kikuno... the list goes on. bloodyelbow.com



“I’ve been carrying this whole thing with women’s mixed martial arts for a couple years, and that’s a lot,” Carano said. “It’d be a great thing to win and hold that belt. But that means that load stays right where it’s at.” nytimes.com


Forrest Griffin's UFC 101 Vlog Episode 1. youtube.com


A lightweight bout between Sean Sherk (33-4-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Gleison Tibau (12-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC), first targeted for UFC 103 in September, will instead take place in October at UFC 104. mmajunkie.com


A welterweight bout between fast-rising Brock Larson (26-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and UFC newcomer Mike Pierce (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is set for UFC Fight Night 19. mmajunkie.com


“The growth of the WEC has been exponential and it’s grown at a faster rate than I ever could have hoped for when we started with Zuffa,” he added. mmaweekly.com

“We had done a lot of shows, but obviously we weren’t at the level we’re at now. Television has helped us a lot, the Versus network has been a great partner and they’ve given us a lot of exposure,” he commented. mmaweekly.com


“We’ve agreed to fight Mike (Kyle). As I sit hear speaking to you, that’s the fight,” Werdum’s manager, Richard Wilner, told MMAWeekly.com early Monday afternoon. Wilner said he even confirmed with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker that the fight was on after seeing several online reports to the contrary. mmaweekly.com


With Cung Le missing in action for more than a year to focus on a career in the movies, Jake Shields has been tabbed to fight for an interim championship made in his absence against an opponent yet to be announced. fiveouncesofpain.com


The heavyweight division has a range of 59 pounds, which in the past has not had much of an impact. Now, with the massive Lesnar dropping bombs on the division, I think it may be time to introduce a new division. fiveouncesofpain.com

With heavyweights such as Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin actually cutting weight to make the heavyweight cusp, this would give the smaller contenders a home where they would not have to either put a ton of muscle on their body or shorten their careers by continually drastically cutting weight. fiveouncesofpain.com