A planned one-night, eight-man Shine Fights Lightweight Grand Prix has encountered major problems just six days before it was set to take place. As first reported by MMAFighting.com this morning, Shine Fights has been forced to move the tournament away from Fairfax, Virginia, where it was scheduled to be held. The event was set for this coming Friday.
While Shine Fights maintains that the tournament will still take place – now at an undetermined location in Oklahoma – this development marks the latest setback and controversial incident for the embattled company.
Contrary to rumours circulating online today, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker tells MMARising.com that his company is not for sale. A report earlier today cited a source as having knowledge of an impending sale of Strikeforce, but Coker maintains that the rumours are completely false.
The month of August was a very busy one for the sport of mixed martial arts. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza captured Strikeforce titles in Houston while Frankie “The Answer” Edgar defended the UFC Lightweight Championship in impressive fashion at UFC 118 in Boston.
Marloes Coenen will indeed compete at Ultimate Glory 12 on October 16th in Amsterdam, Holland, just seven days after she challenges Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight (135-Pound) Champion Sarah Kaufman. Coenen’s participation came into question earlier this month, but Golden Glory trainer Martijn de Jong insists that it was all a misunderstanding.
For the second straight year, teenage sensation RENA is the Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion. She won this year’s tournament by defeating Hisae Watanabe and Kate Martinez to advance to the finals, then narrowly edged out Ai Takahashi on points in a second extra round to win the title.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Boston, Massachusetts for the first time tonight with an intriguing card at UFC 118: “Edgar vs Penn 2.” The event featured a rematch for the UFC Lightweight Championship between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and “The Prodigy” BJ Penn.
Amidst rumours of financial troubles, Fight and Entertainment Group (FEG) is still poised to put on a solid night of fights at Dream.16 on September 25th. HDNet’s Andrew Simon announced three confirmed fights today including the finals of the DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix between Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi and Tatsuya Mizuno.
Despite a series of last-minute changes, Hiroko Yamanaka will still compete in mixed martial arts action on Sunday’s 2010 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup card. She will face multi-division Muay Thai kickboxing champion Sandy “Feisty” Furner of Australia. MMARising.com has learned that Strikeforce officials may take a keen interest in the fight.