The mixed martial arts industry has undergone a drastic change today with the announcement that Ultimate Fighting Championship parent company, Zuffa, LLC, has purchased the UFC’s biggest competitor, Strikeforce. UFC President Dana White first announced the news to MMAFighting.com.
While White stated that Strikeforce will continue to operate with “business as usual” and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker still at the helm, news of the acquisition caught fighters and other Strikeforce employees off-guard. The San Jose-based Strikeforce is expected to continue to air on Showtime.
Shark Fights 14 took place tonight at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas. The HDNet-televised event was headlined by a middleweight battle between UFC veterans Matt “Suave” Horwich and Danillo “Indio” Villefort, and served as the first of many Shark Fights events that will air on the network.
After a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan at approximately 2:45 P.M. local time, Jewels has cancelled “Twelfth Ring.” The event had been scheduled to take place this evening at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, but the country is currently reeling from earthquake damage.
A new promotion in Japan, lead by former Pride Fighting Championships president Nobuyuki Sakakibara and vice president Hiroyuki Kato, will hold its first event on April 18th. Dubbed the “Japan Cup,” the event will feature the first and second rounds of an eight-man bantamweight grand prix.
Valkyrie Flyweight Champion Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi will make her Pancrase debut on April 3rd when she takes on promotional veteran “Windy” Tomomi Sunaba. The featured bout will be part of Pancrase Impressive Tour 3 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan, and will be contested at 115.5 pounds.
Official weigh-ins were held today at the DEEP Gym for Friday’s Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” card in Tokyo, Japan, and all but one of the 14 fighters who weighed in successfully made weight. The lone exception was England’s Danielle “The Curse” West, who weighed in heavy for her 65kg fight.
Grappling wizard Roger Gracie is expected to make his return to Strikeforce action on June 18th in Dallas, Texas. A current plan is in place for Gracie to take on recently-dethroned former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. Gracie has already verbally agreed to the fight.
Former Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman may have finally found her next opponent. The Victoria, British Columbia native is currently in talks to face Japanese veteran Megumi Yabushita in a featured bout at Armageddon Fighting Championship 5: “Judgment Day” on April 2.