Bloody Elbow

Strikeforce Pays Deray Davis and Mark Miller Win Bonus Following Cancellation

2009-11-11T00:35:57Z

Bloody Elbow spoke to Mike Afromowitz of Strikeforce this evening and was informed that Strikeforce has decided to pay both fighters their contracted win bonuses.

The quote on the resolution:

..the resolution to this is that both fighters got paid their appearance fees and we're paying them their win bonuses.

On Strikeforce's attempts to follow through on the match-up:

Just so you know, we made every attempt to put the fight back on in another Chicago area fight so they could fight in front of their hometown fans but neither fighter was available on the date proposed for a local card there.

Mike went on to explain that if the fight would have been moved to a local show Strikeforce would have paid them the appearance fee for that fight as well, but when they weren't able to commit to that date both fighters were paid their win bonuses. Also, Mike was quick to point out that this was the first time a fight has been pushed of a card like this in Strikeforce history and they feel that in the end this resolution was fair.

Links for backstory:

Original Bloody Elbow post: What Happened to Mark Miller v. Deray Davis?

Follow up Bloody Elbow post: New Details on the Mark Miller / Deray Davis Cancellation

Dana White, Fedor Emelianenko and Sour Grapes

2009-11-10T23:01:32Z

Illustration from legendary Japanese comic at the time of Dana White's purchase of PRIDE.

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Jesse Holland of MMA Mania breaks from their usual "just the facts ma'am" mold and tears it up in an opinion piece about Fedor:

UFC President Dana White thinks Fedor Emelianenko is a fraud. A flabby relic from the mismanaged days of PRIDE that now hides behind the iron curtain, emerging only to fight hand-picked opponents that pose no threat to a self-proclaimed legacy.

In fact, White is so sure that the Russian heavyweight is at the bottom of the divisional rankings that he was willing to write him a blank check after Affliction MMA imploded under the weight of its own spending.

That makes sense.

Imagine how quickly the men in white coats would come to collect you if you walked onto the lot of an auto auction and told the yard barker: "I've got a check for five million dollars, please give me the biggest piece of shit on the lot."

Ever since the fall of PRIDE, there have been a lot of hard feelings between the UFC and Emelianenko's camp and I suspect a great deal of that has been "The Last Emperor's," ability to escape the Zuffa monopoly.

Men with White's power and ultimately White's greed are used to getting what they want. What do men in power want? Everything. Yet "those crazy Russians" have balked at every attempt the UFC has made to secure the WAMMA champion as their own.

And why wouldn't they, especially when M-1 can have a monopoly of their own? As long as Emelianenko keeps winning, Vadim and the Finkelchtein Express can continue cashing in at the expense of other promotions who need an established headliner.

I've written many times about Dana's love/hate/need/want obsession with Fedor. Just to show you how psychic I am, I wrote at the time of Fedor's decision to sign with Strikeforce:

From the moment the deals were being rumored, I believed that Dana White and Zuffa were so confident that Brock Lesnar would beat Fedor in the Russian's first UFC fight that they were willing to offer lots of terms (loosening the champion clause etc) that they would not have offered if Fedor was going to be facing Randy Couture, Cro-Cop and Big Nog in his three UFC fights.
I think Fedor also is concerned that he might lose to Brock Lesnar -- and there's nothing wrong with that, Lesnar is a beast -- and even a 30% chance of Lesnar winning the first fight is a big risk for Fedor. Especially in his first fight in a cage with elbows on the ground. Fedor's history of getting cut in fights makes a cut stoppage from an elbow an exceedingly likely outcome.

In closing, here's the case for Strikeforce:

No elbows on the ground.

Willingness to co-promote. Remember, Fedor isn't just a client of M-1, he's supposedly a 20% owner -- that's twice the share Dana White has in the UFC. There's also a strong element of Russian nationalism. Fedor's never been seen on national television in Russia. Affliction had just scored a deal to do that. Also, don't forget how "business" is done in Russia. I don't want to speculate, but if I was Fedor, I'd be very hesitant to dump my Russian partners.

Strikeforce's roster of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem is a very credible roster of foes for Fedor -- they are ranked #8, 10 and 14, respectively, on this month's USAT/SBN MMA rankings. And I'm sure each would enjoy the "Josh Barnett effect" of rising several notches upon the announcement of a signed fight with Fedor.

Non-exclusivity. With Strikeforce, Fedor could quite possibly continue to fight in Japan on the odd New Year's Eve for DREAM, maybe even against Josh Barnett in a fight many still want to see.

Fedor has an enormous amount to lose if he makes the wrong step. Clearly his refusal to sign with the UFC and their aggressive PR will cost him the hearts of many MMA fans. At the same time, most of those fans will tune in to watch his next fight, regardless of opponent, especially if it's on CBS. If Strikeforce manages to book him against legitimate top 10 competition, he will only grow his appeal and be able to demand even more from the UFC if there is a next time.

Strikeforce Ratings Analysis: Fedor Emelianenko Delivers Strong Main Event Ratings

2009-11-10T20:31:52Z

Photo via Showtime

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I was initially discouraged by the Strikeforce ratings news, but the final number for the Fedor fight was very good. 5.46 million viewers tuned in and saw Fedor fight.

People are going to argue that viewers tuned in for the news, but it's an irrelevant point. The viewership numbers are an average from 11:00-11:15. If someone tuned in for the news and it wasn't on, they'd turn the show off. If they didn't and kept watching, then there's no reason not to count those viewers. Eyeballs are eyeballs. Someone seeing it and then telling people about it is just as good if not better than someone seeking it out.

The fight came in below Kimbo Slice's fights on CBS and on Spike, and also came in below Gina Carano's fight with Kaitlin Young on the first CBS show. The important thing to note is the large increase in viewership in a short period of time, the half hour before had just 4.01 million viewers, which means the main event segment posted a viewership increase of 1.45 million viewers. It's an impressive number, and probably enough for CBS to do another MMA show with Fedor on top. He'll probably draw even better next time.

The final number is supposedly a 2.5, which is a respectable number even if not a home run. For a show built around a Russian nobody knew with no Gina Carano fight anchoring the main event, this is not a bad rating. I believe if there was a Gina co-main event the Fedor fight could have potentially rivaled the numbers Kimbo did. It would have also done better if the Shields-Miller match didn't kill the show's ratings growth.

Unfortunately for Strikeforce, it looks like Fedor is out for at least 6 months with an injury. They have a solid Showtime deal and can continue to build stars over there, but with Gina out for the forseeable future it's hard to see who they could main event a CBS show with before Fedor returns. My advice would be to hold off on a second show until he is healthy. The decision to do a second CBS show for EliteXC in July was disastrous, and it was entirely forseeable that the number would be poor. Strikeforce and CBS shouldn't set themselves up for failure; instead they should spend 6-8 months building stars on Showtime and in the press and then return to CBS with Fedor's next fight. In the meantime, CBS can contribute by continuing to promote and advertise Strikeforce and its stars.

One thing is for certain: Fedor Emelianenko is no longer an unknown quantity in the U.S. 5 million people saw him win a fantastic fight with a spectacular knockout. His value increased a lot as a result of this show.

Strikeforce's Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers Seen by More Than 5 Million Viewers on CBS

2009-11-10T20:12:53Z

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MMA Fanhouse has the story:

The final Nielsen ratings are in and 5.46 million viewers tuned in Saturday to watch Strikeforce and M-1 Global's main event between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers from 11:00 pm to 11:15 pm ET on CBS.

...

While CBS still fell short to Fox and ABC, the channel was a big winner in the 18-34 demographic. Saturday Night Fights was the top program for both adults and men 18-34, beating out college football and was an improvement of 283% on CBS' season-to-date average on Saturday nights.

For reference, Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson drew 6.51 million viewers on CBS in May of 2008 and Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter featuring Kimbo Slice vs Roy Nelson drew 6.1 million viewers only a few weeks ago. It was far stronger than the Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith headlined EliteXC show which only drew 2.5 million viewers.

Before the show, Josh Gross said it would be a major disappointment if the show did anything less than 5.5 million viewers. I'm curious to see if he sticks with that metric now. I'm also very curious to see if CBS gambles with another Saturday Night Fights headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. These numbers are right on the edge of good enough to try again.

[Update by Luke Thomas]: Full press release with all of the numbers after the jump.

"CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" MAIN EVENT FEATURING FEDOR VS. ROGERS DRAWS 5.46 MILLION VIEWERS

Full Broadcast Averages 4.04 Million Viewers, Winning its Time Period in Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34 and Significantly Boosting the Networks Time Period Averages in all Key Adult and Men Demos

"CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" Tops College Football on ABC and ESPN in Men 18-34 and Adults 18-34

The main event of CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers reached 5.46 million viewers while drawing impressive young adult and male demographic ratings, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings from 11:00-11:15 PM on Saturday, Nov. 7. The demographic ratings include a 3.5/10 in men 25-54, 3.3/11 in men 18-49 and 3.1/12 in men 18-34, 2.5/7 rating in adults 25-54, 2.4/8 in adults 18-49 and 2.4/09 in adults 18-34.

For the entire broadcast, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (S) (9:00-11:24PM) averaged 4.04m viewers, winning its time period among adults 18-34 and men 18-34, and delivering ratings significantly higher than the Network's season to date averages in the time period among young adult and male demos. The ratings include a 1.8/06 in adults 18-49, 1.8/07 in adults 18-34, 2.6/07 in men 25-54, 2.5/08 in men 18-49 and 2.3/09 in men 18-34.

Compared to CBS's 9:00-11:00PM season-to-date averages, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was up +38% in adults 18-49 (from 1.3/04), +125% in adults 18-34 (from 0.8/03), +117% in men 25-54 (from 1.2/03), +178% in men 18-49 (from 0.9/03) and +283% in men 18-34 (from 0.6/02).

CBS's SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS outrated ABC's regionalized primetime college football in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.9/07) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 1.5/06) and ESPN's Florida State vs. Clemson primetime game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 0.7/03) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.5/02). CBS also topped ESPN2's primetime Vanderbilt vs. Florida game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.1/04) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.9/04).

The audience composition for CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was 31% adults 18-34 and the median age for the broadcast was 41.4.

Jake Shields' Win Creates New Problem for Strikeforce

2009-11-10T19:00:19Z

Photo by Dave Mandel, Sherdog.com

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Jake Shields is in one of the most unique situations a fighter can be in following his Strikeforce Middleweight championship title victory over Jason "Mayhem" Miller on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. While he doesn't actually hold two titles at the same time, a feat only obtained by former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion Dan Henderson, Shields is currently Strikeforce's best welterweight fighter on paper while also holding the belt at middleweight. Interestingly enough, Shields holds the belt at his unnatural weight mostly due to the fact that he stepped up in weight to help Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker fill a need for a quality bout.

There is now a more evident problem with the current situation within Strikeforce's welterweight and middleweight divisions. Shields is now a title holder in a weight class that isn't his ideal weight, and he's considered by most fans to be a fairly undersized middleweight fighter. His performance against the lankier and bigger Jason "Mayhem" Miller wasn't an impressive performance by any means, and the road at 185 pounds only gets tougher if Strikeforce legitimately matches Shields up against high-level talent.

Miller's escapes from the constant flow of transitions to full mount was impressive, but Shields' inability to put any power into his gloves when in a dominating position was the bigger surprise. We knew Shields wasn't a heavy-handed crusher on the feet or in the ground striking department, but his inability to damage Miller was underwhelming. Shields grappled his way to victory in an unpleasing fashion, but the performance didn't inspire confidence in fans that Shields could run the table of challengers at 185 pounds.

Shields is a natural welterweight fighter, and his reign at 185 pounds likely won't last long. With contenders like Matt Lindland and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza possibly being in the mix for a shot at Shields' new hardware, it isn't looking like Shields' streak of wins will continue for much longer. Furthermore, his performance probably didn't put a whole lot of confidence in creating those match-ups since both Lindland and Souza are ground specialists. Lindland could easily come in much heavier, and his wrestling experience could smother the BJJ grappler. Souza, on the other hand, offers superior jiu-jitsu abilities along with some solid power, an attribute that is a direct benefit from the added weight.

Unfortunately, Strikeforce's welterweight roster is lacking. Marius Zaromskis has been signed to a deal with Strikeforce, and DREAM might float Hayato "Mach" Sakurai to Strikeforce for a bout with Shields. Shields stands a solid chance of defeating both fighters as both men would rather strike than grapple, but Sakurai is well past his prime and Zaromskis is only one fight.

What are the options? Shields is in a strange dilemma. At middleweight, there are more options that are better for helping Shields win impressively in the middle of the division. He could submit guys like Scott Smith, Joey Villasenor, Robbie Lawler, and Frank Shamrock, but now he's the champion. He'll have to contend with fighters who could beat him badly in Matt Lindland and Ronaldo Souza. On the other hand, he could take the one major fight Strikeforce has for him at welterweight in Marius Zaromskis, which isn't exactly a pushover fight. If he wins, then what? He's a champion in two divisions at the same time with nobody to really fight but middleweights.

I imagine Jake Shields is getting a bit tired of moving up in weight, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see Shields in the free agent market in talks with the UFC following his contract completion. He'll likely be jockeying for fights in which he can impressively finish in order to gain momentum with the casual fanbase as well as give him more bargaining power when it comes to contract talks. Lindland and Souza don't give him that, so it'll be interesting to see who Shields wants to fight versus who Coker actually matches him up with in the future. Cung Le is obviously a fight that both Coker and Shields want, but I am under the impression that Shields is right -- Cung isn't interested because he probably thinks a loss right now will hurt his movie career, and Shields will submit Cung if it goes to the floor. Regardless of my opinion, the fight needs to happen.

The Russian TV un-aired post-fight interview with Fedor Emelianenko. Strikeforce: Emelianenko...

2009-11-10T19:50:26Z

The Russian TV un-aired post-fight interview with Fedor Emelianenko.

Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers coverage

With Your Shield or on It: The Unfortunate Death of Jake Shields

2009-11-10T17:42:31Z

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

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Did Jake Shields cost the Chicago Cubs another shot at a World Series? Ye gods. Shields received so much heat Saturday night that South Side hero/North Side goat Steve Bartman announced he would return from the underground world he entered following the Cubs' 2003 playoff exit.

Chicago, it seems, is not the place to host your middleweight title fights. Just over a calendar year passed since Anderson Silva mocked and embarassed Patrick Cote in the UFC Octagon before Cote blew his knee out. While Silva danced circles around Cote, Shields brought opponent Jason Miller's hug-a-thon prognostication to fruition.

Yet, while Shields initiated the ground war of attrition, Miller has escaped any sort of blame for the entertainment value of the fight. It was Miller, not Shields, who lacked the ability to maintain a vertical base. It was Miller, not Shields, who entered the cage as the larger fighter. It was Miller, not Shields, who guaranteed he would turn the fight into a brawl.

It's also hard to find fault in the reaction from Sears Center patrons. For all the build the first two fights provided, Shields and Miller unleashed a buzzkill more potent than flashing red and blue lights outside of a high school house party.

The blame should rest squarely on the shoulders of Scott Coker and the Strikeforce matchmaking team. Not only did the fight look like a turd for casual fans on paper, but Strikeforce found a way to increase the turdness exponentially when it put up the vacated (and meaningless) Strikeforce middleweight title, adding two rounds to a fight that promised to go fifteen.

And now, instead of crowning a champion with exposure to a national network audience, Jake Shields is stuck with a case of MMA's genital herpes, the Scarlet Letter "B" for "boring".

Like a real case of the herp, no cure exists. You only hope to contain the symptoms. He'll have to have his next fight on Showtime with the virus still fresh on his skin. He won't be able to headline an event for the foreseeable future. And you'll constantly have to apply high-priced lotions like Gina Carano to keep that bothersome itch in check.

It's unfortunate for Shields because he went out and did exactly what he needed to do. You could hear the faint whispers of Randy Couture gushing about Shields's ability to impose his will on Miller. But now, because he couldn't finish a guy that makes Gumby look rigid, Shields, and Shields alone, has to deal with the backlash for putting on an "underwhelming" performance.

Bruce Buffer says "The UFC doesn't need Fedor, Fedor needs the UFC": On Tapout Radio (audio)...

2009-11-10T18:41:32Z

Bruce Buffer says "The UFC doesn't need Fedor, Fedor needs the UFC":

On Tapout Radio (audio) [at the 5 min mark]

-- photo via m-1global.com
Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers coverage

UFC 105 Preview: How Is Randy Couture Able to Remain Competitively Healthy?

2009-11-10T16:00:48Z

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Captain America speaks to AOL Fanhouse and talks about his physical health heading into this weekend's main event with Brandon Vera:

You're taking this fight after an 11-week layoff: One of the shortest you've ever had in your career. Do you like having that little time between fights?
Yeah, that was one of the things I liked about this fight: It's a very quick turnaround and I was very healthy after the Nogueira fight, so it allows me to keep moving. The last time I fought two times in pretty quick succession were my fights against Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz [in June and September of 2003], and that worked out pretty well for me, so I feel great about it.

I know you get the question all the time, but how do you stay in good enough shape to fight twice in three months at age 46, and how much longer can you do it?
I don't know if there's any one answer. I keep my body healthy. I stay in good shape. In the last couple years I've spent a lot of time getting my blood chemistry evaluated, taking the supplements and eating the things that my blood chemistry says I should be. That's been the biggest thing the last couple years, age 45 and 46.

Is it realistic to think you could be fighting at 50?
Anything is possible. I'm not thinking that far ahead, but I'm not ruling anything out either. I'm just preparing myself for a great fight and I hope I'll have more of them.

Some of you may recall I had shoulder surgery in May to repair a torn labrum I suffered going hog wild during a set of decline bench presses. Coincidentally, my doctor/orthopedic surgeon is a huge MMA fan and one-time doctor for the Washington Redskins. We talked about injuries both professional fighters and football players sustained and how incredible it was they could come back from some rather debilitating setbacks to still compete at the professional level. His explanation was both sufficient yet hardly medical: "they're just not built like you and me".

In short, their bodies were capable of a function (and regeneration) that ours was not. I liken it to exceedingly intelligent people. If you've ever met a smart person - and I am referring to the elite of the elite who go on to the greatest heights of career success - they are able to compute and problem solve for issues in ways we simply cannot. We can certainly train our existing minds to maximize output, but the threshold for the truly and uniquely gifted will always be higher in ways that astound us.

I believe Randy Couture is physically something similar, but I cannot shake the idea that the genetic lottery doesn't fully explain his ability. Evaluating "blood chemistry" means what, exactly? I would never accuse Couture of using steroids or other illegal performance enhancing drugs largely because a) there's no evidence and b) I don't suspect he's using them. But I am curious to see how he is using medical science to aid his efforts. How close to the ethical medical lines is he approaching? What novel techniques is he employing to give him the comparative advantage? Is what Couture doing similar to other world-class athletes or is his regimen original and unique?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants answers to those questions. We are talking about a man who after a highly accomplished career in amateur wrestling is considering cage fighting until he's 50. Whatever he's doing, I'd like to mimic it.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic Revamps Training Team, Hires Ivan Hippolyte

2009-11-10T15:01:03Z

Will we see Mirko's hand raised in the Octagon ever again?

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Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic's crushing defeat at the hands of potential contender Junior Dos Santos at UFC 103 is the type of loss that has eye-opening ramifications for a fighter's career. While we've heard the same song and dance from Mirko over the past year regarding the possibility of a resurgence happening before his career finally ends, we haven't seen that fire in the Octagon as he's gone 2-3 in the UFC. Mirko is now changing the complete make-up of his training team in an attempt to re-kindle his past dominance:

"After the defeat by Dos Santos, Filipovic has announced drastic changes in the training methods and composition of Team CroCop,"

"Marjan Zizanovic is no longer his boxing coach. Instead, CroCop is now working with the Dutch Muay Thai legend Ivan Hippolyte, who these days resides in Zagreb. Filipovic will combine training at his own facility with visits to the Netherlands where he can train with top-notch sparring partners,"

"Igor Pokrajac, CroCop’s long-time friend and sparring partner, is also no longer in Filipovic's team. Pokrajac continues his career with the UFC, but is no longer training with Filipovic although the pair remain on good terms."

Zizanovic was vocal about the problems Mirko was having back in '07. He felt that the Croatian striker was focusing too much on absolute strength vs. explosive strength, being indecisive in his camps about what skills to work on, and switching trainers way too often. He told the world that he would change Mirko back into the killer we know and love if he had the opportunity, and Mirko gave him that opportunity.

Unfortunately, something went very wrong in the lead-up to UFC 103. CroCop put some of the blame on his preparation for his UFC 103 loss, and with the Ben Rothwell bout being all but confirmed -- it's no surprise that CroCop has acted on those thoughts that his preparation was lacking by replacing Zizanovic and purging his sparring partners.

Ivan Hippolyte isn't a bad replacement. He trained one of K-1's greatest fighters in Ernesto Hoost, and he currently trains K-1 Grand Champion Remy Bonjasky while also helping along fighters such as Gilbert Yvel, Paul Daley, and Antoni Hardonk. Bonjasky and the cast of fighters from Vos Gym weren't able to help Mirko defeat Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 when they flew out to Zagreb to help out a fallen friend, and Hippolyte will truly need to speed up Mirko's technical Muay Thai and kickboxing to give the Croatian a chance at redeeming himself.

We all want Mirko to succeed once again, but throwing head kicks and throwing single punches without stringing together combinations isn't the answer. Mirko hasn't set up his patented head kick with leg kicks in any of his battles in the Octagon, and he really needs to become more of a K-1 striker than a complete mixed martial artists. His takedown defense and BJJ was good enough in PRIDE to gain his feet again, but the huge problem for Mirko is that his striking game is now his most deficient skill. Can Hippolyte bring him back to form? I have my doubts.

HT: Index.hr (Translated by Fighters Only), Anton Tabuena

Dana White Comments on Rinky-Dink Strikeforce and Fedor Out for Four to Six Months

2009-11-10T14:00:47Z

In an article from the LA Times:

Dana White calls Strikeforce's overall ratings Saturday a disappointment -

"CBS would be out of their mind to put that rinky-dink [Strikeforce] . . . on the air again . . . and without that backing, [promoters] won't have the money to pay [Emelianenko]."

"Fedor just got his face smashed in by Brett Rogers. Do you know what Brock or Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do to Brett Rogers?" White said. "It's time to bring this guy [Fedor] in, to see Brock Lesnar smash his head."

Scott Coker says Emelianenko is dealing with a fracture and tendon damage in his left thumb, and a fractured nose -

"[The hand injury] could've been from that blow when he had Brett on the mat at the end," Coker said. "We're hearing he could be out for four to six months."

Alistair Overeem will headline a Strikeforce card on Showtime early next year, and he is the favorite to be Emelianenko's next foe, Coker said.

More at latimes.com.
-- photo via m-1global.com

Mike Swick's UFC 105 UK Vlog: Day 1 UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera

2009-11-10T14:11:57Z

Mike Swick's UFC 105 UK Vlog: Day 1

UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera

UFC 105 Preview: Randy Couture Stole Brandon Vera's Mojo

2009-11-10T03:23:43Z

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Dave Meltzer tells the tale:

He had four stoppage wins in his first four UFC fights, including three in the first round. The highlight of his streak came against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 65, where Vera won in just 1:09 by overwhelming Mir standing.

The win put Vera in line for a shot at then-heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. But Vera and the UFC had a contract dispute, and he never signed for the match. It was his upcoming opponent, Couture, who came out of retirement to fill the vacancy, leading to Couture's win in one of the most memorable moments in UFC history.

Just as Couture's storybook career hit its apex, Vera's unraveled.

After his contractual issue with the UFC came a management problem and a dispute. He sat out a year, and when he came back at UFC 77, he broke his hand in the first round in a fight against Sylvia, losing a decision and ending his undefeated status. The loss derailed him from a heavyweight title fight he would have received with a win.

Anyone who was following Brandon Vera up to 2006 knows that at one time he was one of the most exciting fighters in the heavyweight division: a skilled Greco-Roman wrestler with devastating Muay Thai skills and the jiu jitsu to rack up a string of submission wins. He wasn't just well rounded either, he was aggressive, confident, devastating.

And then he got into a business dispute with first the UFC and then his manager and when he finally came back after sitting out a year, he wasn't the same fighter.

Meanwhile, Randy Couture came out of retirement, where he'd been since Chuck Liddell had KTFO'd him right out of the light heavyweight division. Couture got the title shot against Tim Sylvia that should have been Vera's. This was when Tim Sylvia seemed like a vampire atop the heavyweight division, relentlessly draining the life out of the division just as he relentlessly took decision win after decision win over shorter, smaller foes. Then he stepped into the cage to face Randy Couture.

The rest is history.

Somehow the career momentum that had been accruing to the brash young Brandon Vera transferred to Randy Couture and the Natural went on a tear while Vera went on a downward spiral that almost saw him run out of the UFC.

We'll find out Saturday if Vera can get some of that mojo back from the ageless Captain America.

Will We See Josh Barnett vs Fedor Emelianenko if Strikeforce Can't Get Alistair Overeem?

2009-11-10T01:42:04Z

Promoted from the FanPosts by Kid Nate.

Scott Coker said that he would be announcing the signing of two new heavyweights soon. The most probable signee is Bobby Lashley. He has been in discussions with Strikeforce, and even said that it was just bad timing that didn't allow him to compete on the undercard of Fedor vs Rogers. The second heavyweight may very well be former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski, as he is said to be currently in talks to compete either at the "Strikeforce: Evolution" card this december, or if negotiations fall through, at one of the NYE shows in Japan.

But what about Josh Barnett? He isn't likely to be the immediate signee Coker was talking about, but I think he could be in the mix, as he has also been said to be in casual talks with the promotion:

"We have been in contact, but very loose contact, not serious contact, but he is something that would be interesting for sure... I think the California State Athletic Commission and Josh Barnett will work their issues out and once he's done that then maybe we will be a little more interested in Josh."

What's probably going to happen next for Strikeforce is that they set up Fedor vs Werdum as soon as Fedor recovers from his injuries. This, though, could take several months, which would make Emelianenko's third fight for the promotion right in time for Josh's return from his suspension.

Their obvious goal for Fedor's third bout with Strikeforce would be to set up the mega fight against "Megareem" on 2010, but with his return to America still unknown, Coker has stated that he isn't going to wait for him past the first quarter of the year. If pundits are right in saying that Alistair won't be coming back to America, picking up the pieces Affliction left behind would actually be a very good move for them. As much as I would love to see Alistair Overeem vs Fedor Emelianenko, setting up that "Dream Fight" between Barnett and Fedor would be the next best thing.

Will we see Josh Barnett vs Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce? I think it's too early to tell, but if they really can't get Overeem, I think we should see the match fans have waited for years.

HT: MMA Fanhouse, Heavy.com

New Details on the Mark Miller / Deray Davis Cancellation

2009-11-09T22:37:24Z

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After our last update in which we had ULTMMA getting a statement from Knock Out Representation there was a report on The Underground stating that Mark Miller and Deray Davis had been promised a fight on the next Strikeforce card and had "been compensated." I decided to speak to Miller's representation myself to clarify.

When asked if they had now been paid their win bonus as the Underground post insinuated:

Mark was not given his win money.. the fight being cancelled also caused us to miss out on the sponsor $ that were under contract. As you know often the sponsorships can exceed what the fighter was set to make for his actual fight night salary.

I can not speak for what happened with the promotion.. We just know the fight was scrapped and are obviously disappointed. What can ya do? We look forward to hearing from Strikeoforce very shortly to schedule a new bout. Either way we greatly appreciate our partners-Jaco Clothing, Hayabusa, World Fight Shop, Immortal Apparel, Guerrilla Fight, Another Dimension Tatoos and Rockwell Watches. We look forward to Mark fighting in the VERY near future.

So it is clear that they were not paid anything but the show money by the promotion and I would assume that at this point they won't be getting any more for this event.

Knock Out Representation on if Strikeforce has indeed promised them a fight on the next card:

nothing has been promised as of yet.

Again, clearly there has been no activity since the show to make things right with the fighters.

MMARecap takes the story even further:

Even more upsetting is the fact that both fighters are local and sold several tickets to their friends, family, and training partners. While exact numbers are not known, MMA Recap has estimated that somewhere between 120-150 tickets were sold between the two fighters. In a 12,000 capacity venue, that's roughly 1% of all the fans showed up to watch that specific fight. MMA Recap has also confirmed that several of these fans tried to get a refund as the only fight they came to see live did not happen. These fans were told, "Card is subject to change" and were denied their refund.

I continue to await a response from Strikeforce on what has become a very disappointing story for a promotion that put on such a big event. I will continue to bring you any information on this story as it becomes available.

Update by Brent Brookhouse:

I will be speaking to Strikeforce about the situation Tuesday afternoon. Information will follow at that point.

Sengoku XI Recap: Mamed Khalidov Upsets Jorge Santiago

2009-11-09T22:00:38Z

Sandwiched between Strikeforce's Challengers card and their network-televised CBS card featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers, Sengoku XI took place in the wee hours of Saturday morning on HDNet and provided the hardest of the hardcore fans with some interesting match-ups that produced some surprising results. The card featured a main event featherweight tilt between UFC veteran Michihiro Omigawa and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu mastery of Hatsu Hioki with supporting bouts that included a middleweight match-up between Eastern European up-and-comer Mamed Khalidov and UFC veteran Jorge Santiago. Kevin Randleman, Jorge Masvidal, former lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka, Eiji Mitsuoka, Kazunori Yokota, and Marlon Sandro were also involved in bouts on the card.

The most shocking outcome of the evening came during the middleweight match-up between Jorge Santiago and Mamed Khalidov. Khalidov's dominating record against lesser competition over the past couple of years was the swaying vote in why Khalidov came into the match-up as the clear underdog, but he proved that he could hang with one of the best middleweights in the world by defeating Santiago via TKO at 1:45 of the first round.

Strangely, Santiago was stunned by a hammerfist while working from top control. Santiago immediately dropped on top of Khalidov in a daze, and Khalidov quickly worked his way to the top to finish Santiago. It was a stunning upset from a blow that seemed unassuming, but the win should vault Khalidov into most MMA rankings' top ten list at middleweight.

Khalidov's win wasn't the only surprising result of the evening. By most accounts, Michihiro Omigawa didn't do enough to defeat Hatsu Hioki in their featherweight main event showdown. Hioki dominated the first round with an advanced ground game, half-guard strikes, and a near armbar submission while the third round likely went to Omigawa as he peppered Hioki with strikes. The second round was the closest round of the three rounds, but most watchers scored it for Hioki as he beat Omigawa with jabs and countered nearly everything Omigawa threw.

Unfortunately for Hioki, the judges saw it differently as Michihiro Omigawa was given the win via split decision. Interestingly enough, Omigawa commented in the ring that he felt he didn't win. It's nice to see a fighter with some honesty after such a controversial victory.

Former lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka took the beatdown of his life in his lightweight battle with Bellator veteran Jorge Masvidal. After securing an early takedown, Kitaoka grappled with Masvidal for positioning while also latching onto Masvidal's limb. It looked as if Kitaoka may pull off a quick leg lock submission victory in the early moments of the fight, but a very active and pressing Jorge Masvidal unleashed loud, booming blows to the head of Satoru Kitaoka during the ground exchange. The round ended after Kitaoka withstood a couple of minutes of brutal ground strikes, and he had to be carried to the stool between rounds. Miraculously, Kitaoka continued on into the second round, but his night ended late in the round as Masvidal punished him once again with ground strikes, knocking him out.

Quick Analysis

Kazunori Yokota's striking and Judo were the deciding factors in the lightweight contender match-up with submission grappler Eiji Mitsuoka. Mitsuoka put Yokota into some trouble in the grappling department in the first round, but the second and third rounds easily went to Yokota. Yokota was able to muscle Mitsuoka in the clinch while landing knees and strikes at will in the later rounds to win.Yokota will likely rematch Mizuto Hirota for the lightweight title, who he holds a win over.
Kevin Randleman vs. Stanislav Nedkov was the most boring fight of the evening. I'm all for seeing some wrestling on display, but takedowns without some sort of striking or submission efforts are unattractive for even hardcore fans. Nedkov was able to hold Randleman's posture down rather well and that probably attributed to the difficulties Randleman had with trying to posture up, but Nedkov wasn't able to land significantly on the floor either. In all honesty, it probably should have been a draw, but Nedkov was given the nod for actually landing some strikes during the small spurts of striking in the standing position and a last gasp takedown at the end of the final round.
Akihiro Gono let down some of us without his entrance theatrics, but he showed up as a much more serious fighter. He was able to defeat the tall and lanky Yoon Young Kim with striking combinations, quick footwork, and better ground tactics. It wasn't an impressive win by any means, but Gono did manage to hurt Kim with strikes on more than one occasion

Gono's post-fight speech was the most startling revelation (All of it was in English):

I have a message for Dan Hornbuckle, though I know he’s not here right now. I have something to say to him that I couldn’t say after we fought, since I was completely knocked unconscious and didn’t come to my senses for four hours. So, tonight, I have a message for him.

So, Dan, first of all, congratulations on your victory against me in August. I think it was a big victory for you, and it was a big, big loss for me… but a good wake-up call.

Thanks to you, I’m completely woke up and have been training much harder than before. Now, I believe myself to be much better than before, much better than when you faced me. So, I want to rematch you. And for that to happen, I want you to win the title on New Year’s Eve, and I’ll keep training hard to be the first challenger for that title. I hope to see you in the ring before the end of next year.
Marlon Sandro made quick work of Yuji Hoshino, who should have probably been a much more game opponent than what the result of the fight suggests. Hoshino was dropped with a right hook from Sandro early in the first round and was finished by another punch during the flurry to end the bout by Sandro. Sandro is quickly becoming a devastating finisher. It would be nice to see him take on Hioki after this battle to truly test him.
Dave Herman defeated "Big" Jim York in impressive, but strange fashion at Sengoku XI. York tried to sink in an Achilles lock during the first round of action, and Herman quickly began stomping downward heel strikes to the chin of York. York went limp during the flurry of heel kicks, ending the fight.
Shigeki Osawa has a ton of potential in his future, but he could compete with the experience and ground tactics of Ronnie Mann. Mann was positionally better on the floor while also trying to work submissions, and he was easily winning the stand-up war when the bout was on the feet. He was even able to takedown Osawa at times during the fight. It wasn't exactly an awe-inspiring performance from Osawa, and he'll hopefully take some tips away from this bout as to what he needs to work on.

Overall thoughts

The event didn't live up to my expectations as a phenomenal card, but some of the battles were fun to watch. Khalidov vs. Santiago would have been a bit more revealing had it lasted a bit longer, but Mamed will surely gain bigger fights from his win over Jorge. While I think a rematch with Jorge would reveal some problems in Mamed's game, it's tough to say whether Khalidov is just that powerful or if he happened to hit the right place and the right time.

From what I've read, Omigawa vs. Hioki had two judges call the fight a draw with the must-decision going to Omigawa from one of them. Most fans don't realize that Sengoku actually scores these bouts under a 10 point must system by round, just like North American promotions. The major difference is 10-10 draw rounds are scored more frequently, and a majority draw must be decided upon by the judges at the end of the fight. In this case, Hioki and Omigawa both received votes as the must-decide winner with the third judge going with Omigawa.

While I could see some of those rounds being tough to judge, I imagine Sengoku is judging some of the striking heavy bouts as K-1 battles. If it's even remotely close, a draw has a good chance of being scored. It's unfortunate because I felt Hioki easily won rounds 1 and 2.

Chael Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the works for UFC...

2009-11-09T21:40:23Z

Chael Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the works for UFC 110:

"Sources have informed me that the two are awaiting bout agreements and will be added to an already stellar card that the UFC is building for their debut in Sydney, Australia in February."

Rumored card so far:
- Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva
- Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt
- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell
- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
- James Te Huna vs. TBA

HT: sportsnet.ca

Strikeforce: Evolution Going Head to Head With WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff

2009-11-09T21:09:15Z

Which one will you watch live on December 19th?

Strikeforce: Evolution on Showtime           WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff on Versus
Cung Le vs. Scott Smith                                Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff

Matt Lindland vs. Ronald "Jacare" Souza        Chris Horodecki vs. Anthony Njokuani

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. TBA             Joseph Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya

Robbie Lawler vs. TBA                                  Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott Jorgensen


Strikeforce: Evolution presale tickets for “Strikeforce Insiders” begin tomorrow Nov. 10th.

Strikeforce: Evolution coverage
WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff coverage

Poll

What will you watch?

UPDATED: What Happened to Mark Miller vs. Deray Davis?

2009-11-08T11:46:55Z

via sherdog.com

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During the undercard portion of Saturday's Strikeforce show the Mark Miller v. Deray Davis fight was skipped over from it's scheduled slot to make sure the women's bout would have adequate time to get in before the start of the CBS broadcast. The ladies only took a few minutes to get their fight taken care of and there were thirty minutes left before the show went live. Still, the Miller/Davis fight didn't happen. We were told in the media section that the fight was going to be moved to after the main event. I'm not sure who provided that update but it was passed around from media member to media member.

After the post-Fedor madness cleared from the cage we were told to get upstairs for the press conference and it was clear that the Miller/Davis fight wasn't taking place. I tried to ask the few executives I saw walking around for the story and no one seemed to know.

However I have since found the following from Chicago Now:

Mark Miller vs Deray Davis was canceled by fight organizers due to lack of time. A real un-cool decision. Both fighters prepared for this evening and were told with no advance noticed what-so-ever. At the moment they would be walking out on the floor for their match, Miller and Davis were informed that they were canceled! Fighters stood stand-by in shock trying to understand how this became their evening's destiny.

As impressed as I was overall by how smoothly things seemed to run from the Strikeforce side, how the hell does this happen? Two hometown guys have been put through a training camp, all the mental and physical preparation, the weight cut only to be told seconds before walking out to the cage that the fight is canceled. It's a massive ball drop, especially considering that the Jeff Curran / Dustin Neace and Marloes Coenen / Roxanne Modafferi fights both ended in under three minutes. It isn't as though every fight went to the judges and time just became completely unavailable.

I'm sure Strikeforce paid both guys, but fighters want to fight and it's a real shame that Strikeforce fell down so badly on this contest.

UPDATE by Brent Brookhouse:

As posted in the comments as well as this fanshot by Scott Haber it appears both men were paid their contracted "show" money but no win bonus as well as no opportunity for other bonuses. Also, one of the men reportedly lost all sponsorship money since he was never out in front of the crowd to fulfill his side of the contract.

I have requested a response from Strikeforce. Here is an excerpt from said request:

Does Strikeforce wish to issue a statement to BloodyElbow to the following questions?

- What does Strikeforce feel are it's obligations as a promoter to afford the fighters the opportunity to fight for their contracted win bonus?

- How did the show hit the point where when two undercard bouts ended in under 2 minutes and a third ended in the second round that there was no room for one of the scheduled bouts?

- What responsibility does the promotion take in the damaging hit to the livelihoods of these fighters as well as the professional toll taken on them? These men were put through training camps, gathered sponsorship contracts and then were not given the opportunity to compete.

- Why did the bout not take place when there were 30+ minutes left prior to the start of the CBS broadcast and no other remaining preliminary bouts?

Updates to follow as available. Stay tuned.

Update 2 By Brent Brookhouse:

ULTMMA pointed us back to their site via this fanpost which covers a discussion they had with Mark Miller's management. The highlight:

From a email with Oren Hodak of KO reps

"He (Mark Miller) obviously wanted to fight. I can't charge his sponsor since he didn't actually fight. We will try and transfer most of them to his next fight. One problem is that 2 of the sponsors were Chicago based, hopefully they will still support his next bout.

Strikeforce did pay him his 'show' money, but they still took out the 'corner man fee'."

Strikeforce still has not replied to my request for a statement and I will be following up with a phone call shortly.

Fedor Emelianenko Shines in the Spotlight in His U.S. Broadcast Debut for Strikeforce

2009-11-09T20:06:46Z

Photo via Showtime Sports

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We talk a lot at Bloody Elbow about whether Fedor is marketable or not. Sometimes readers object that they only care about the fights and don't want to hear about what goes on backstage and want to hear informed speculation about marketability even less. The reason we write about this aspect of MMA is this -- MMA is a fringe sport emerging into the mainstream and its success in the sports and entertainment marketplace determines the quality of athletes entering the sport, the quality of match-ups promoters present and even the larger cultural relevance (if any) of the sport.

With that introductory note out of the way, let's get to some breathless speculation about whether or not Fedor is going to be a marketable star in the States.

BE commenter MMALogic did a very capable job of describing how a fighter, even a seemingly non-charismatic fighter like Fedor can become a star:

When you look at fighters and experience who they are you have to look at them like a casting agent to see the potential. Since everyone has been brought up and raised by TV we look at people and categorize them if they were in a movie or show.

GSP is a Van Damme
Lyoto is a Ryu or the lead martial artist in the karate movies we used to see.
Anderson (Silva) comes off as an extra henchmen type or the bad guy the hero has to beat at the end of the movie.
Fedor looks like the fat guy behind the counter where the lead actor is buying a pretzel.

The closer a fighter can get to being viewed as a "lead" character in a movie the more potential they have.

Without talking about acting skills and just looking at their character can you see them as a "lead" in a movie? Can they be a supporting character? or just an extra? Those are the most important questions in regards to potential (besides the physical abilities).

What trumps all of this though is what experience the fighter actually gives the viewer plus REPETITION. Any lack of star potential can be overcome with these 2 factors (quality of experience delivered and repetition of delivery)

The hard core fans have had many "experiences" with fedor. They go way back. To ask or to expect some new fan to view Fedor in the same or similar light just doesnt work.

And if the experience and repetition occurs in big fights (where endorphins of the viewer are most released) you multiply the effect of that "experience".

The thing is ANYONE can end up being a star... it's just a matter of how much quality of "experience" that needs to be delivered and the repetition (how many times it needs to be delivered)... this differs from fighter to fighter and what usually determines it is the potential (the answers to the questions I posed above regarding the "casting" of a fighter).

With that in mind, how did Fedor do at delivering that quality of "experience" Saturday night.

Kevin Iole tells the story how Fedor Emelianenko introduced himself to a mass American audience on Saturday:

The crowd was booing and not in a good mood as Shields and Miller exited the cage.

But as soon as Emelianenko's image appeared on the video boards, it was as if a switch was flipped and the crowd erupted in cheers. Emelianenko, staring straight ahead with a blank expression, walked to the cage and quietly awaited the bell.

...

..it's pretty clear that Emelianenko's next fight will be a much bigger deal. He's never been a big ticket seller before and his pay-per-view numbers were atrocious, but the crowd Saturday was clearly into it and the fight had to have been well-received by those who didn't walk away from their TVs after the dreadful Shields-Miller match.

...

One more fight like that on network television and Emelianenko will be able to carry a show by himself.

I have to agree whole-heartedly with Iole's assessment. I enjoyed the rare treat (for me) of getting to watch the fight with a room full of first time MMA watchers, a couple of skeptical boxing fans who've seen a few MMA fights and our host, one of my long-time MMA watching buds. It was very telling to gauge the reactions. The Shields-Miller fight was more an occasion for discussion of Mayhem's pre-fight antics and a lot of remarks about the sexual connotations of the guard and back-mount positions.

But as soon as Fedor-Rogers began everyone was into the fight. And once Rogers, whose Sam's Club background made a big impression on everyone, scored first and bloodied Fedor the excitement and tension in the room was palpable. When Fedor answered the challenge with his trademark looping bombs, the room was abuzz.

Everyone happily watched the fight a second and then a third time amidst much spirited discussion of whether or not it was an early stoppage, whether there was anything Rogers could have done differently to secure the win and most of all about this mysterious, odd-looking chubby Russian who had such an impassive but implacable aura and an amazing ability to fight.

I have no doubt that most of the first time MMA watchers that I saw the fight with will be back for more the next time they hear Fedor will be fighting.