Strikeforce
MMA's best forgotten trilogy, and Daniel Cormier's epic arrival
Step back into yesteryear as Bloody Elbow looks back on Daniel Cormier winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
‘GRACIE ERA BOUTS’ | A 6th Round Retro Flashback Compilation
Welcome to the 6th Round Retro Post-Fight Show. This is the show that digs into the archives and gives you a comprehensive review of classic MMA events, that span as far back as UFC 1. Your RETRO hosts, Eddie Mercado & Vic RodriguezJune M. Williams Join Eddie Mercado, Victor Rodriguez & our old friend, Fraser […]
Gina Carano recounts ‘sweet’ moment with ‘old-fashioned’ Nick Diaz during early years of WMMA
Fans may know him for his “gangster” image, but Nick Diaz’s supposed real persona that’s said to be the opposite of his reputation is beginning to surface. “Big John” McCarthy, for example, believes that Diaz, whom he described as a “good guy” who will “give you the shirt off his back,” is mostly misperceived because […]
STRIKEFORCE ‘Playboy Mansion’ – 6th Round Retro Post-Fight Show
Welcome to the 6th Round Retro Post-Fight Show, featuring STRIKEFORCE ‘Playboy Mansion’ from 2007. This is the show that digs into the archives and gives you a comprehensive review of classic MMA events, that span as far back as UFC 1. Join Victor Rodriguez & Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow as they relive this Strikeforce […]
Strikeforce: Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie – 6th Round Retro post-fight show
On March 10, 2006, Scott Coker launched a new promotion called Strikeforce, with its inaugural event being headlined with Frank Shamrock knocking out Cesar Gracie in 21 seconds. The event also showcased a lot of familiar faces, such as the third pro MMA fight in the career of Nate Diaz, the pro MMA debut for […]
Brett Rogers takes plea deal in connection to sexual misconduct cases
In January Brett Rogers, a veteran of Strikeforce, Bellator, and Elite XC, was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct in St. Paul, MN. The onetime Strikeforce heavyweight belt contender had been arrested on suspicion of groping three men in separate incidents across the city between November 2016 and January 2017. The first of these […]
Bisping recalls funny first meeting with Nate Diaz: ‘He puts the two fingers up and walks off’
Many MMA fighters have interesting personalities, but few have the kind of reputation that the Diaz brothers have. Win or lose, inside the cage or outside, both Nate and Nick always have something to say and it should come as no surprise that many other fighters have had memorable interactions with them. One of those […]
Rockhold: My fights in Strikeforce were tougher than any in UFC
When the Strikeforce roster merged with the UFC’s in 2013, there was buzz, excitement, and skepticism. MMA’s premiere promotion was thought to have housed all the best talent, but Daniel Cormier, Robbie Lawler, Ronda Rousey and Luke Rockhold flipped the script. Rockhold, who challenges Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 194, still […]
Video: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum full fight
Just a few weeks shy of the event’s five-year anniversary, the UFC has released the full fight replay of one of the biggest upsets in MMA history: Fedor Elemianenko vs. Fabricio Wedum. The contest took place back in June 2010 and came during Fedor’s peak marketability and hot streak. The Russian sensation had moved over […]
The Melendez-Thomson trilogy: Remembering Strikeforce’s signature series
During the Secret History of Strikeforce series (for the full series click here) readers may have noticed that there was only a brief mention of the Gilbert Melendez-Josh Thomson trilogy. A glaring ommission considering the fact that their meetings were not only so good that it was rated by Tim Burke as one of, if not […]
The Secret History of Strikeforce – Part 1
Part One: The Birth of Strikeforce March 10, 2006. Scott Coker felt sick. The HP Pavilion was packed to the rafters with over 18,000 in attendance. At the time it was the largest crowd ever for a mixed martial arts event in the United States, at what was the first ever sanctioned MMA show to […]
Strikeforce vs. UFC: SF fighters not faring well over the last four events
I’m a stats nerd. I have been since I was a kid, and it hasn’t faded at all since I grew up. In fact, while most Canadian kids were dreaming about playing in the NHL as a child, I had a more realistic dream – I was going to be a statistician for the NHL. […]
How Strikeforce fighters have fared in the UFC since their promotion was closed
Strikeforce was an interesting promotion, built from the ground up with stars that wouldn’t or couldn’t sign with the UFC. Frank Shamrock, Cung Le, Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson – the list goes on. Zuffa started Strikeforce’s downfall when they purchased the company in March of 2011, and the final months of the promotion were pretty […]
Strikeforce ring girls Chrissy Blair, Vanessa Hanson move to UFC
The UFC officially has two new octagon girls, and they’re familiar faces to anyone that watched Strikeforce. The two official ring girls from that organization, Chrissy Blair and Vanessa Hanson, will join a rapidly-growing list of ladies that work for the UFC. The two will begin work at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in Las […]
Josh Barnett not on Bellator’s radar, ‘rock star’ Rampage Jackson a possibility
Check out the video (via FightHub) of Rebney discussing all of this below. As we reported Tuesday night, Ariel Helwani released a list of Strikeforce fighters confirmed to make the leap from the now defunct promotion to the UFC. One of the most notable absences on the list was Josh Barnett, one of only two […]
Doctor explains possible long-term damage to Nate Marquardt’s leg
Leg kicks in mixed martial arts have long been one of the attacks that bring out a universal reaction of “oh man, I wouldn’t want to be that guy.” Nate Marquardt’s leg was decimated by Tarec Saffiedine in this past weekend’s Strikeforce welterweight title fight with five rounds of heavy leg kicks. Over at Fightland, […]
Updated: UFC Tonight reveals many former Strikeforce fighters set to move to the UFC
Since the closing of Strikeforce was announced there’s been a lot of speculation on which fighters will make the transition over to the UFC. Some of the more obvious inclusions have already been announced like Heavyweight Daniel Cormier who will face Frank Mir at UFC On Fox 7 and Gil Melendez who will fight for […]
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine ratings average just 310,000 viewers
If an MMA promotion had a curtain-closing card over the weekend, and nobody watched it, did it actually happen? After consecutive events in September and November were canceled following injury after injury, Strikeforce ended their run in Oklahoma City. Their final show on Saturday struggled to garner attention, and MMA Junkie confirms they had very […]
Nate Marquardt tweets photo of battered leg after fight with Tarec Saffiedine in final Strikeforce show
Strikeforce had it’s last hurrah Saturday night with a mismatch heavy fight card. The first four fights went as expected with Jacare, Mousasi, Barnett, and Cormier all winning their bouts handily. But, in the headlining bout, Tarec Saffiedine, a 3-1 underdog, outstruck Nate Marquardt to become the final Strikeforce Welterweight champion. Throughout the 25 minute […]
Josh Barnett and Gegard Mousasi lead Strikeforce salaries
Saturday night, Strikeforce took it’s last breath as they put on their final even in Oklahoma City, OK. Despite many apparent mismatches throughout the card, the fighters delivered a night of solid and exciting fights. The headlining fight saw Tarec Saffiedine overcoming the odds while battering Nate Marquardt en route to a unanimous decision victory. […]
Strikeforce medical suspensions: Ed Herman, Kurt Holobaugh out indefinitely
The last Strikeforce event went down in Oklahoma City on Saturday night, and most fighters were able to escape their bouts relatively unscathed. There were a few medical suspensions though, most notably to UFC fighter Ed Herman. Herman suffered a quick submission loss to Ronaldo Souza by kimura, and the move apparently did some damage […]
Kurt Holobaugh fought hard in Strikeforce loss to Pat Healy, is it enough to get him in the UFC?
Kurt Holobaugh lost a unanimous decision in his Strikeforce debut against veteran contender Pat Healy on Saturday at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine. In fact only one out of three judges thought he did enough to even win a single round and yet Holobaugh’s performance was impressive enough that pundits and fans are hoping to see […]
Gegard Mousasi’s UFC wishlist: Alexander Gustafsson, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida
Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi retired Mike Kyle in just under 1 round at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine. After the fight he spoke with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani about his impending arrival in the UFC, transcribed by MMA Mania: “…I think timing’s right (to go to the UFC). I’ve done everything outside of […]
10 fights to make after the death of Strikeforce
Perspective is a weird thing. When the WEC was closed, most fans were celebrating and referring to guys coming over to the UFC as a “merger”. It was sad, but WEC 53 was almost a celebration of the underdogs finally getting all the benefits of being in the UFC. Strikeforce though? It’s a whole different […]
Will the UFC sign Josh Barnett or let him go to Bellator?
Former UFC Heavyweight champ Josh Barnett made short work of Nandor Guelmino in his final Strikeforce bout at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine in Oklahoma City last night. Following the bout he did an entertaining in-cage interview with Pat Miletich in which he made it clear that he has struck no deals with the UFC and […]
Strikeforce Marquardt vs Saffiedine results: Who should go to the UFC?
Most fighters did as expected at last night’s final ever Strikeforce event that took place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. However a questionable decision in the Ryan Couture vs K.J. Noons fight had some people — including UFC President Dana White — calling it a robbery, and unexpectedly to most Tarec Saffiedine defeated Nate Marquardt for […]
Strikeforce results: Daniel Cormier wants UFC date with Frank Mir, then Jon Jones next, Steven Seagal ready to help
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier needed just two rounds to defeat Dion Staring last night at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine. Post-fight he wasted no time in announcing his first UFC fight, or at least what he wants it to be: “I signed my UFC contract. April 20 on Fox, Frank Mir, let’s do […]
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine video highlights, post-fight interviews & press conference
Zombie Prophet has compiled all the post-fight interviews, video highlights and press conference into one handy video playlist for your enjoyment & enlightenment. Subscribe to MMA Nation on YouTube to keep up with all of the Zombie’s finds. It’s a video playlist so just hit play on the video above and use the FF button […]
Jack Slack’s Strikeforce Breakdown: How Saffiedine Battered Marquardt
The debacle that was Zuffa-owned Strikeforce finally ended last night and we were all waiting to see how the promotion would go out. It could go out with a bang as the WEC did with it’s Benson Henderson versus Anthony Pettis title bout, or with a whimper as PRIDE did with it’s final bout, Jeff […]
Strikeforce Marquardt vs Saffiedine: Sunday Perspective
Strikeforce is over and done with, never again will we see the red and blue gloves on Showtime. It was a long, drawn out death and while the WEC went out with a bang, Strikeforce went out with a sizzle. While the exact number of fighters making the move to the UFC is unclear, at […]