Strikeforce Heavyweight Match-Ups Under Negotiations With Possible ‘Overeem vs Silva’ Title Fight, Fedor May Sign 4-6 More Fights

The Strikeforce heavyweight division looks to be very limited as match makers continue to discuss possible future bouts for the second half of 2010.  Fabricio Werdum is coming off a submission win over Fedor Emelianenko and was supposed to face current champ Alistair Overeem for the Strikeforce heavyweight title.  Unfortunately, Werdum will be sidelined until early 2011 due to an ongoing elbow injury he needs to take care of.

Fedor Emelianenko is currently under negotiations as he has one fight left in his Strikeforce contract.  In a recent interview, Fedor tells us that he is looking into signing for 4-6 more fights under Strikeforce and makes it clear that he is not interested in the UFC right now.  The possibility of a rematch against Werdum may occur in 2011, but he’d rather fight someone else in the meantime because that would be too much time off.  So that leaves Fedor up in the air waiting for a heavyweight opponent as well.

Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva is coming off a huge win over former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski.  He’s open to face anyone in the heavyweight division and a fight against Fedor would make the most sense since they are both 1-1 in the Strikeforce promotion.  However, there are rumors of a heavyweight title fight between Overeem and Silva sometime later this year.

Brett Rogers will have to wait his turn as he has lost back to back fights against Fedor and to Overeem.  No word as of yet who he’d be facing next either.

The only official upcoming heavyweight fight will be WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley who is scheduled to face Chad Griggs at the Strikeforce ‘Houston’ event on August 21st.  The winner of these two fighters can be put into the mix with other top Strikeforce heavyweights.

We’ll keep you guys posted on the official Strikeforce heavyweight match-ups, but here’s what some of the fighters had to say this week…

From Alistair Overeem:

“Fabricio (Werdum) will not be ready until the beginning of next year so I’m not sure who he’ll be fighting next because of the time he’ll be taking off. Hopefully we’ll have Overeem back in the cage in October. Against who, we don’t know. It might be ‘Bigfoot’ Silva [but] the heavyweight division hasn’t been determined and we’re still having ongoing dialogue with M-1. That should flesh out here pretty soon and once we come to a deal with them on when (Fedor will) fight, who he’ll fight, and with Fabricio out, I think the rest of the division will kind of unfold itself before the end of the year. I don’t think [Emelianenko vs. Overeem] will happen this year.”

From Antonio Silva:

“I know what you already know. Strikeforce hasn’t been in touch with my manager Alex Davis yet to make the fight 100-percent confirmed. Anyway, I’m already training for it.”

From Fedor Emelianenko:

“For now M-1 Global works with Strikeforce and we are concentrating on that, the contract is not over yet. So for now we don’t have any interest in the UFC. So far I feel very comfortable fighting, very good with my fighting, and I’m planning of fighting as long as I can physically. As far and I’m concerned we should discuss the possibility of signing another contract for 4-6 fights.”

Scott Coker Admits He Predicted Werdum To Beat Fedor, Talks About Lashley and Strikeforce Tournament

MMA Fighters Michael Bisping, Mike Swick, Heath Herring and Bobby Lashley Featured In 2010 Movie ‘Beatdown’

Snip of 2010 Action film ‘Beatdown’:

Brandon, a respected street fighter, is forced to flee the city after his brother is murdered and the money that was supposed to be paid back to a local gangster is stolen. While laying low at his father’s house in a small Southern town, Brandon soon gets involved in the local underground cage fighting circuit. With the help of Drake Colby, a former MMA champion, Brandon devises a scheme to bring a massive payday, if they are able to survive.

Bobby Lashley Injures Knee, Cancels June 16 Strikeforce Fight Against Ron Sparks

Strikeforce heavyweight fighter and former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley was forced to cancel his upcoming fight against Ron Sparks at Strikeforce’s June 16 event in Los Angeles, California.  According to Strikeforce officials, Lashley suffered a devastating knee injury during a training session.

Lashley remains unbeaten with an overall mixed martial arts record of 5 -0.  No official word as to whether or not their fight will be pushed to ta later date or if Sparks would receive a new opponent.  We’ll keep you guys posted on the televised fight card.

Best of luck to Lashley on his road to a speedy recovery…

Bobby Lashely Focused On MMA 100 Percent, Ready To Fight Anyone Strikeforce Gives Him

Bobby Lashley Disappointed For Being Removed From April 17 Strikeforce Event In Nashville

The unbeaten Bobby Lashley (5-0) was scheduled to fight on the upcoming April 17 event in Nashville.  However, since Strikeforce was unable to acquire an opponent for Lashely on time, he was removed from the fight card.

The former WWE/TNA professional wrestler has just five bouts under his belt and that’s the main reason why he is completely disappointed for being forced off of the card.  He goes on to explain how he wanted to participate in this upcoming event in order to build up his MMA record, but he’ll have to wait until another upcoming event which will either be in May or June this year.

From Bobby Lashley:

“If Strikeforce had some reason why they pulled me, I’m not going to get upset with them. I’m disappointed that I’m not fighting, yes, because I wanted to fight. If I fought April 17, then I’d be able to plan my next one and maybe pick up another fight in June or in late May. But that’s not the case…Possibly. It’s just the right opponent. There’s only a handful of guys that are serious top guys. and I think all those guys are wrapped up in a fight. Right now, they’re going around finding guys that are not actually signed with Strikeforce and get these guys in there so I have a fight. So when I do have an opportunity to fight [Fedor Emelianenko], [Andrei Arlovski] or [Antonio Silva], I’m ready…I’m playing the catch-up game. Some of these guys have 10, 20, 30 fights under their belts. I have a mere five fights. So, of course, any opportunity I have to take a fight, I want to jump on it. It’s not so much that I want to rush it. It’s the fans. I’m not saying all the fans; (it’s) the hardcore fans. They get on the forums and say, ‘Bobby should be fighting Fedor.’ But when Brock (Lesnar) got a title shot right away, they got pissed off about it. You can’t please the critics regardless of what you do. So I’m just trying to fast track it a little bit more…After I’m up there, and I start fighting those guys, the longevity’s going to be there. Because I’ll have a little less pressure because I’ve been there and done that.”

Wes Sims Talks About Fighting Bobby Lashley On Short Notice At Strikeforce ‘Miami’ On January 30

Fight Card Finalized For Strike ‘Miami’ Event On January 30, Bobby Lashley vs Wes Sims Added

Date: Saturday- December 19, 2009

Time: 10 pm ET  (Live on Showtime)

Location: HP Pavilion in San Jose, California- U.S.A.

From Strikeforce.com:

Hard-hitting Strikeforce mixed martial action hits South Florida with one of the biggest events of the year! Don’t miss the bad boy of M-M-A, Nick Diaz, when he takes on Strikeforce newcomer and current DREAM champion Marius Zaromskis for the Strikeforce welterweight championship in the main event! Strikeforce and Rockstar Energy Drink present Strikeforce Miami – Live at Bank Atlantic Center on Saturday, January 30 at 7:30PM! Also on the card, current Strikeforce women’s lightweight champion, Cris Cyborg, puts her title on the line against the dangerous Marloes Coenen – And it’s the Strikeforce debuts of former football legend, Herschel Walker, and former 2-time pro-wrestling champion, Bobby Lashley! Get your tickets for an explosive night of world-class championship MMA now at the Bank Atlantic Center ticket office, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone ay 800-745-3000. For more details hit Strikeforce.com. Strikeforce and Rockstar Energy Drink present Strikeforce Miami – Live at Bank Atlantic Center – Saturday, January 30 – 7:30PM! For more details hit Strikeforce.com. Fight card subject to change.

Main Fight Card: (aired on Showtime)

• Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (for vacant welterweight title)
• Champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen (for women’s featherweight title)
• Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
• Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

Preliminary Fight Card: (may not be aired)

• Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
• Pablo Alfonso vs. Marcos da Matta
• Michael Byrnes vs. David Zitnik
• Sabah Homasi vs. John Kelly
• David Gomez vs. Craig Oxley
• Hayder Hassan vs. Ryan Keenan

Bobby Lashely Ready To Fight In Best MMA Heavyweight Division, Predicts KO In Strikeforce Debut

Former WWE Champ Bobby Lashley Signs With Strikeforce, Set To Make Heavyweight Debut On January 30

From the official Strikeforce website:

NEW YORK (December 10, 2009)–Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) heavyweight champion and undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Bobby Lashley has signed a multi-year agreement with STRIKEFORCE and will  make his debut for the world championship MMA promotion at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, January 30.

The 6 foot 3 inch, 250 pound Lashley, also a former collegiate wrestling star for Missouri Valley College and member of The United States Army, will face an opponent that has not yet been determined during the live, SHOWTIME® telecast of STRIKEFORCE:  Miami, the historic, first-ever STRIKEFORCE event in the state of Florida.

In his last MMA start on June 27, 2009, the 33-year-old pulverized and scored a first round (3:17) TKO on 6 foot 5 inch, 350 plus pound goliath Bob “The Beast” Sapp with a barrage of punches in Biloxi, Mississippi.  The win brought Lashley’s overall MMA record to 4-0.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for STRIKEFORCE and challenging myself by taking on some of the top heavyweights in MMA,” said Lashley, a native of Junction City, Kansas and resident of Denver, Colorado.

After getting his feet wet with several matches in both the WWE Raw and SmackDown! shows in 2005 and 2006, Lashley captured the WWE United States Championship by defeating rival competitor “JBL.”  During this stint with the league and another in 2007, Lashley wrestled several top superstars, including The Big Show and John Cena.

Lashley made his MMA debut on December 13, 2008, earning a 41 second TKO over Joshua Franklin after Franklin sustained a cut that would not allow him to continue their fight.

Earlier this year, Lashley joined Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.  In his first appearance with the league on July 30, he helped tag team matchup partner Mick Foley defeat superstars Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash.

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE:  Miami officially go on-sale tomorrow/Friday, December 11 at the BankAtlantic Center ticket office as well as online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800)745-3000.

Doors at BankAtlantic Center open at 7 p.m.  The first non-televised, preliminary card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

Next Page »