The End Begins: Strikeforce Releases Alistair Overeem

If you didn?t believe it before, you better believe it now: Strikeforce is officially on its deathbed. When it was announced that Strikeforce had decided to remove its Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, from their World Heavyweight Grand Prix, many fans and insiders pointed to Overeem?s departure as a strong indicator that Zuffa had no plans [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/07/30/the-end-begins-strikeforce-releases-alistair-overeem

Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano

Dana White Says UFC Will Consider Re-Signing Free Agent Dan Henderson

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PHILADELPHIA -- Fresh off his win over Fedor Emelianenko at last weekend's Strikeforce/M-1 Fedor vs. Henderson event, Dan Henderson has the good fortune of becoming a free agent.

Well, maybe it's good fortune. Given the current MMA business landscape, that remains to be seen. But Henderson is likely to get interest and offers from several promotions in the coming days and weeks. And one call he can expect is from the UFC.

Company president Dana White confirmed that the organization would entertain the possibility of bringing Henderson back for his third go-round. He previously fought for the UFC in the 1990s, winning the UFC 17 middleweight tournament. He then fought exclusively for Japanese promotions until returning to the UFC in 2007. He competed five times, going 3-2, but signed with Strikeforce shortly after his highlight-reel knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100.

"We'll see what happens," White said. "Hendo and I have had some history in dealing [together]. We'll see if we can figure something out and get him back in the UFC."

Henderson's four-fight deal with Strikeforce ran out after his win over Emelianenko, despite the fact that he is currently the light-heavyweight champion.

His money demands could prove an insurmountable object, as they were the last time he negotiated with UFC. While he got a nice raise out of Strikeforce, there isn't a competing organization to play offers against now that both Strikeforce and UFC are owned by the same company.

If Henderson does ink a deal with UFC, he will be one of many recent champs to depart Strikeforce or be otherwise unavailable to them. First, welterweight champ Nick Diaz vacated the title to move to UFC. Then heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem was cut. Meanwhile, women's featherweight champ Cris Cyborg remains unsigned and out of action, and just-defeated bantamweight champ Marloes Coenen was cut.

What this means for Strikeforce's long-term viability is anyone's guess, but it won't be easy to replace so many headliners in short order. White added that Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta is expected to travel to New York next week to meet with Showtime.

"What we've said about Strikeforce is this thing's got to run like a business," White said. "If we can run this thing and this thing isn't losing a ton of money, then Strikeforce will stay alive and be rebuilt. We'll see what happens."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/08/04/dana-white-says-ufc-will-consider-re-signing-free-agent-dan-hend/

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

MMAFrenzy Predictions: UFC 133

Tomorrow sees the return of the UFC to Philadelphia. The event marks the first return to the city of brotherly love since UFC 101 in August 2009. The card has seen its fair share of injuries and fighter withdrawals. The only two fights on the main card that were not impacted by injuries are Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle. The card is headlined by two former light heavyweight champions in Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz. Below are the staff's predictions for the main card event. Seven writers were consulted, with six making picks, and one refraining from predicting a winner but giving analysis.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/23711/mmafrenzy-predictions-ufc-133/

Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero

The Top 5 Most Anticipated Fights Of August 2011: Featuring Silva/Okami, Evans/Ortiz, And More

A new month is now upon us, which means all-new fights and much-anticipated epic encounters. Near the start of every month I?ll be counting down the five fights I?m looking forward to the most, and why I?m looking forward to them. This is ?Top 5 Most Anticipated Fights of August 2011?. Let?s get started. 5. Mauricio [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/02/the-top-5-most-anticipated-fights-of-august-2011-featuring-silvaokami-evansortiz-and-more

Ba Te er  Ryan Bader  Siyar Bahadurzada Bao Ligao 

UFC 133 Press Conference Highlights

The hottest rivalry since Pat’s vs. Geno’s cheesesteaks hits Philadelphia this weekend with UFC 133 featuring a headlining bout between consummate trash-talkers Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. Before two former light heavyweight champs battle in the Octagon on Saturday night they faced off at a pre-event press conference earlier today. Also on hand at the [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/08/04/ufc-133-press-conference-real-time-highlights/

Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath

Kimbo Slice?s son is a rising high school football prospect in Florida

Kevin Ferguson always wanted to be an All-American linebacker for the University of Miami. It didn't work out for the man better known as Kimbo Slice, but he may have a second lease on life with his son Kevin Ferguson II.

Kimbo was a great football prospect in the early '90s at Palmetto H.S. in the Miami area. His football career was derailed when his house was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew.

Kevin, a 16-year-old at Booker T. Washington H.S., is the spitting image of his menacing dad (pictured below) all the way down to the trademark facial hair. He's got a big bushy beard, but doesn't have to go with the bald head like his father. Kevin II has a tall mohawk. He looks slightly older than a junior in high school.

"I get that a lot. [People ask] 'Are you 35? Let me see your birth certificate.' I'm only 16. Come on dude! I just turned 16," [Ferguson told the Orlando Sentinel in the video above].

Kevin II is one of nine kids. When his father's in town he stays with Kimbo and the rest of the time he's at Mom's. He has a close bond with his Dad, who fought professionally for both EliteXC and the UFC. Said Ferguson:

"He's a cool dad. He's more like a brother to me, but you also have to keep the respect there because he's also our father ... not just our friend."

Ferguson is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound running back with some extra pressure on his shoulders. People around Miami know Kimbo very well.

"It's a motivation. Kimbo Slice being my dad is a motivation to not be as good as him, but to be better than him. So, when dudes criticize me about who he is, that just let's me know that they know who I am, and I just go out there and try to make my presence known. I don't try to be Kimbo Slice's son, I want to be Kevin Ferguson the second."

It's still early in Ferguson's development. He was backup at Miramar H.S. last year, but still decided to roll the dice by transferring to Booker T, a Florida superpower. If he wins a starting job during his junior or senior year and puts up numbers, he's almost guaranteed a Division I scholarship. On a positive note he also sports a 3.2 GPA.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kimbo-Slice-s-son-is-a-rising-high-school-footba?urn=mma-wp5052

Don Frye Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki