Strikeforce came to The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for Strikeforce: “Rockhold vs Jardine.” The card was headlined by a Strikeforce Middleweight Championship bout between champion Luke Rockhold and “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine.
Also on the card, former EliteXC champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler faced rising star Adlan Amagov in a middleweight bout, while former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal battled Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.
Minnesota’s Kaitlin Young made a successful return to her home state with a victory tonight at Sterling Entertainment Group and Driller Promotions’ co-promoted “Downtown Showdown 2” event in Minneapolis. Young stopped Canadian Anna “Smiles” Barone via doctor stoppage after the second round.
Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has been fined $2500 USD and suspended for one year after testing positive for a stanozolol metabolite prior to her December 17th victory over Hiroko Yamanaka. Santos’s win has now been overturned to a No Decision.
Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas returns to Japan for her third bout under the DEEP banner when she faces Japanese female MMA pioneer Yumiko Hotta at DEEP: “57 Impact” on February 18th in Tokyo. The matchup, which was officially announced today, will be contested for a new DEEP women’s title.
One of MMA’s top female prospects, Ashley “Smashley” Cummins, is set to compete for the second time as a professional on January 28th at NAAFS: “Caged Fury 16” in Morgantown, West Virginia. Cummins faces talented striker Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto in a featured bout on the card.
Making a quick return to the cage after his shocking seven-second loss at UFC 140, Canadian featherweight Mark “The Machine” Hominick competes in his home country once again when he faces “The Filipino Phenom” Eddie Yagin at UFC 145 on March 24th in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Former Strikeforce and DREAM champ Alistair Overeem solidified his spot as a top-three heavyweight in MMA with a first-round destruction of ex-UFC champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 141. With the impressive win, Overeem will have a chance to capture UFC title gold later this year.
Voting for the 2011 Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards has concluded and winners have been crowned in over a dozen categories. With a 4-0 record in 2011 and a significant fan following, Olympic medallist turned MMA star “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey has been named 2011 Female Fighter of the Year.