Strikeforce came to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio tonight with a double bill of title fights at Strikeforce: “Feijao vs Henderson.” The event was headlined by a Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship bout between champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Dan “Hendo” Henderson.
In the co-main event, Dutch submission specialist Marloes “Rumina” Coenen put her Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship on the line when she faced unbeaten late replacement opponent Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the night’s main card.
Multi-time boxing champion Holly “Hottie” Holm picked up her first mixed martial arts victory tonight with a convincing stoppage of tough challenger Christina “Machine Gun” Domke in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The featured bout was part of a solid card at Fresquez Productions: “Double Threat.”
An injury suffered in training has forced submission specialist Lisa Ward out of her main event bout against Ayaka Hamasaki at Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Fellow 2010 Bellator tournament semi-finalist Jessica “Jag” Aguilar will now replace the injured Ward on the card.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky this evening for UFC Live On Versus 3: “Sanchez vs Kampmann.” The event was headlined by a welterweight matchup between Diego “The Dream” Sanchez and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.
Two additional matchups have been announced for the upcoming Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” card on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Club Barbarian prospect Sakura Nomura will look to rebound from the first defeat of her career when she welcomes Korean boxer Ji Yun Kim to Jewels in Kim’s MMA debut.
A 125-pound women’s bout between divisional standouts Tara LaRosa and Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm is in the works for Shark Fights 14 in just nine days. The matchup, which has been in the making for three years, is expected to serve as the co-main event on the HDNet-televised card.
After weeks of speculation, Strikeforce has confirmed the postponement of the remainder of the opening round of its inaugural Heavyweight Grand Prix. The final two quarterfinal bouts, first set for April 9th, will now take place on June 18th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
February was another solid month for mixed martial arts, and will likely best be remembered for Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s impressive victory over “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce. Emelianenko drops from the top five in the heavyweight division as a result, while Silva climbs up the ranks.