Capped off by another extremely controversial judging decision, Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle” once again saw underdog Michihiro Omigawa receive a gift on the scorecards in his main event bout with Hatsu Hioki, while Sengoku Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago was knocked out by Mamed Khalidov in a non-title bout.
In other main card action, highly-touted Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal made short work of former Sengoku Lightweight Champion Satoru Kitaoka, while Kazunori Yokota defeated Eiji Mitsuoka.
Strikeforce invaded Fresno, California for the fourth edition of their successful Challengers Series, which was headlined by an exciting lightweight battle between still-undefeated Billy Evangelista and former UFC star Jorge “J.G.” Gurgel. Elsewhere, Strikeforce veteran Luke Rockhold submitted TUF alum Jesse “JT Money” Taylor in welterweight action.
MMARising.com is in Fresno and has live play-by-play of the event as it happened, including Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto’s impressive victory over Elisha “Knuckles” Helsper.
Reigning DREAM and WAMMA Unified Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki may soon compete inside a Strikeforce cage, as the colourful submission ace will be attending this Saturday’s Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Rogers” event and aims to make his Strikeforce debut at some point early next year.
Having most recently won the third bout of a trilogy with Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen to claim the DREAM Lightweight Championship, Aoki will now look to shine against the top lightweights in Strikeforce.
Another solid fight has been added to the December 19th Strikeforce event, as UFC veteran Matt “The Law” Lindland will take on former DREAM star Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza in middleweight action. The bout will be part of the televised portion of the promotion’s year-end event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
Souza emerged as a top contender in the division with his run to the finals of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix last year and will look to put on another impressive performance when he meets the aging Lindland.
Having already captured major titles in multiple promotions, Roxanne Modafferi should have been a shoo-in to compete among the best in Strikeforce. Instead, the mild-mannered, self-professed “geek” has endured months of uncertainty leading up to her long-awaited Strikeforce debut this Friday as part of the “Fedor vs Rogers” event.
Modafferi will battle old rival Marloes Coenen in a rematch from their hotly-contested 2007 bout, which Modafferi won. Their second meeting may air on the CBS telecast if time permits.
Heading into the biggest event in Strikeforce history, MMARising.com previews the televised portion of Saturday’s CBS-broadcasted Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Rogers” card in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, which is headlined by a heavyweight blockbuster between “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko and Brett “The Grim” Rogers.
The promotion will showcase many of its top talents on the debut CBS card and will look to draw a sizable mainstream audience on primetime television. MMARising.com will be on-site for the event.
While somewhat overshadowed by the CBS-televised event the night after, the fourth edition of the successful Strikeforce Challengers series on Friday features a solid lineup of fights. The event is headlined by a lightweight bout between former UFC competitor Jorge “J.G.” Gurgel and undefeated Strikeforce veteran Billy Evangelisa.
Elsewhere, welterweights square off when rising star Luke Rockhold takes on TUF alum Jesse “JT Money” Taylor. MMARising.com will be on-site in Fresno, California and will have live play-by-play of the event.
In his toughest test to date, undefeated heavyweight Cain Velasquez may take another big step up in competition at UFC 108 against former UFC Interim and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in a rumoured bout with major title implications.
Coming off of his best performance to date against former IFL star “Big” Ben Rothwell at UFC 104, Velasquez will look to keep the momentum going as he aims to remain undefeated against Nogueira, who most recently defeated Randy “The Natural” Couture.