According to a press release from M-1 Global earlier today, #1-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko’s historic Strikeforce debut against Brett “The Grim” Rogers drew a worldwide audience of over 25 million viewers, with 16 million people tuning in from Emelianenko’s home country, Russia.
The November 7th event, which aired live on CBS television in the United States and Canada, was watched by 5.46 million viewers in the United States alone. This was considered to be a big success and kept pace with two of the three EliteXC on CBS events from 2008.
While the event’s headlining bout may lack star power, UFC 108 will feature a number of exciting welterweight fights between top contenders. British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley will look to take another huge step towards a title shot when he meets final WEC Welterweight Champion “The Natural Born Killer” Carloes Condit.
Originally set to square off with judo ace Yoshihiro Akiyama, former long-time PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva will now battle TUF 3 winner Michael “The Count” Bisping in a middleweight bout at UFC 110 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Less than two weeks after it was postponed from the upcoming UFC 108 card, a pivotal heavyweight bout between former PRIDE and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez has been rescheduled for UFC 110 on February 21, 2010 in Australia.
Returning to competition for the first time since her destruction of Gina “Conviction” Carano, Strikeforce Women’s Lightweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will battle Dutch standout Marloes Coenen at the tentatively titled “Cyborg vs Coenen” event on January 30th in Strikeforce.
Following a week of questions and speculation, World Victory Road (WVR) and Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) officially announced today that their Sengoku and DREAM divisions, respectively, would join forces at the 19-fight, FEG-promoted K-1 “Dynamite!! 2009” card on New Year’s Eve.
Capped off by an excellent Shooto Flyweight Championship bout between new champion Rambaa “M-16” Somdet and Toboru “Shinpei” Tahara, Shooto: “Revolutionary Exchanges 3” was another solid event this evening at JCB Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
With injuries no longer a problem, the long-awaited rematch between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and Interim Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez has been set for the upcoming Strikeforce: “Evolution” card on December 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.