Kazuo Misaki vs Joe Riggs At Playboy Mansion

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Former Pride Fighting Championship Grand Prix winner, Kazuo “Grabaka Hitman” Misaki (22-8-1) will take on fellow middleweight wonder Joe “Diesel” Riggs (28-10) at Strikeforce mixed martial arts’(MMA) highly-anticipated return to the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Saturday, September 20^th.

“I am looking forward to making my debut for Strikeforce at The Playboy Mansion, an incredible venue that is well-known throughout the world,” said Misaki, the winner of Pride’s 2006 welterweight Grand Prix elimination playoff. In his last effort, a meeting with rising star Logan Clark in Saitama, Japan on June 8^th, the 32-year-old Team Grabaka star secured his second straight win by earning a nod from all three judges scoring the matchup.

“Joe Riggs is a tremendous competitor. His style is aggressive like mine so I have no doubt that our fight will be an exciting and memorable one.”

To arrive at the winner’s circle of the highly coveted tournament produced by the now-defunct Pride organization, Misaki defeated both “The NY Badass” Phil Baroni and then-reigning Pride welterweight champion, Dan Henderson.

Misaki was eliminated in the tournament’s semifinal round of action by Paulo Filho, but a knee injury Filho sustained during the contest precluded the Brazilian from advancing to the championship round. Misaki replaced Filho and capitalized on the opportunity, taking a split judges’ decision from Denis Kang.

The 25 year-old Riggs of Phoenix, Ariz. is coming off a second round submission of Matt Dempsey on July 26^th. The victory marked a successful comeback for Riggs after a back injury he sustained from being thrown by Cory Devela at Strikeforce’s debut in Tacoma, Wash. on February 23^rd, left Riggs ailing on the canvas and forced him to verbally submit only a little over a minute after the matchup began.

“The back’s great. It’s 100 percent,” Riggs said. “I’m really excited to be healthy again and looking forward to getting back on top.”

To help him prepare for what is arguably his toughest challenge in nearly two years, Riggs is bringing in to his camp a host of heavy hitters, including MMA legend Ken Shamrock, as well as former UFC Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin; Jeremy Horn; and Edwin Dewees.

Riggs insists that this will be his final fight at 185 lbs. “I’m dropping to 170 lbs,” he proclaimed, “and gonna jump into the top 10 in that division.”

In a featured matchup with Eugene “The Wolf” Jackson at Strikeforce’s inaugural Playboy Mansion-hosted event on September 29, 2007, Riggs overpowered the ageless brawler and finished Jackson at the 3:56 mark of the opening round with a ground and pound offensive.

During his seven-year professional career, Riggs has defeated a number of rival standouts, including Nick Diaz; Joe Doerksen; Chris Lytle; and “The Ultimate Fighter 3” winner, Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove.

The showdown between Misaki and Riggs is the first confirmed “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” matchup. The lineup will be comprised of 10 bouts.

In addition to a full night of MMA action, all “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” guests will be entitled to a top-shelf, open bar; buffet-style, gourmet dinner; and wine-tasting party featuring the spirits of various California gold medal wineries.

Strikeforce wrote a new chapter in sports history when it produced the first-ever MMA event at the Playboy Mansion last September. Amongst the host of celebrities who attended the affair were Hefner and “The Girls Next Door;” comedians Gary Shandling and Joe Rogan; actress and model Jaime Pressly; actors Michael Duncan Clarke, Christina Fulton, Ethan Suplee, Ernie Hudson, and Page Kennedy; MMA legends Royce Gracie and Bas Rutten; and superstars Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Josh Barnett, and Andrei Arlovski.

Affliction Day of Reckoning News

Buy Affliction Geat

Affiction has started gearing up for its next MMA event.  Here’s their latest press release concerning Affliction Tickets.

Las Vegas – Roy Englebrecht Events, Donald J. Trump, Affliction Entertainment in association with Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino present Affliction “Day of Reckoning” Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.

Coming off the success of its inaugural fight card, “Affliction Banned,” Roy Englebrecht Events in association with Affliction Entertainment is pleased to announce Affliction “Day of Reckoning” featuring heavyweights Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett.

The Oct. 11 card will feature 10 bouts, showcasing Affliction heavyweights Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski vs. former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett. Arlovski and Barnett both participated in “Affliction Banned” held at the Honda Center July 19 in Anaheim, Cal.   Competing in separate bouts, both fighters registered impressive wins over Ben Rothwell and Pedro Rizzo respectively, and will now face each other which could possibly set up a future showdown for the winner with Fedor Emelianenko, the recognized undisputed heavyweight champion of the sport.  Both fighters are excited to be a part of Affliction “Day of Reckoning.”

Tickets for Affliction “Day of Reckoning” go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9 and are available online Affliction Tickets . Ticket prices range from $75 to $500. Arlovski vs. Barnett is available live on cable and satellite pay-per-view and closed circuit television.

Other fighters stepping into the ring that evening will include Matt Lindland, a native of Oregon City, Oregon, fighting against former UFC champ Vitor Belfort; International Fight League light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko taking on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira; and Las Vegas native Roy “Big Country” Nelson taking on Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello.

A complete list of bouts on the card for Affliction “Day of Reckoning” will be announced at a later date.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR SUPERSTARS KIMBO SLICE AND GINA CARANO

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 2, 200 – Fans seeking to participate in the highly anticipated South Florida homecoming of incredibly popular and exciting mixed martial arts superstar Kimbo Slice of Perrine, Fla., near Miami, have the opportunity to reserve their seats now.

Tickets for what will be a sensational, memorable event Saturday, Oct. 4, at the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., start at $30 and are available at Ticketmaster.

The BankAtlantic Center box offices are located on both the North and South sides of the main entrance. Their normal business hours are 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The box office will be open the day of the event beginning at 10 a.m. The first live fight on Oct. 4 begins at 6 p.m. ET.

The fight card, headlined by the unbeaten, exciting Kimbo and talented, undefeated women’s superstar, Gina Carano, is presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC.

A major MMA attraction, Kimbo (3-0) possesses ferocious striking skills and is coming off a thrilling third-round TKO over England’s James “Colossus” Thompson on May 31.

“I’ll fight anybody, anywhere, but it’s always nice to fight at home,’’ said Kimbo, who required all of 62 seconds to dispatch of his initial two opponents. Kimbo, aka Kevin Ferguson, made a name for himself on the Internet where videos of the bald, bearded, menacing-looking, former underground bare-knuckle street fighter have been downloaded literally millions of times on YouTube.

Carano, aka “Crush” on American Gladiators, is the most recognizable female MMA fighter in the world. She registered a second-round TKO over Kaitlin Young in her last start on May 31.

It’s apparent the moment you meet Carano that she’s the epitome of strength; a strong woman: mentally, spiritually and physically. Yes, she is more than a pretty face. A Muay Thai specialist, the crowd-pleasing Carano garnered national notoriety for her quote: “We’re not hitting tennis balls. We’re hitting people. Isn’t that more exciting?”

Strikeforce Returns To The Playboy Mansion

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Strikeforce mixed martial arts (MMA) will return to entertainment mogul Hugh Hefner’s world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA with a star-studded lineup of cage fights on Saturday, September 20^th.

In addition to a full night of MMA action, all “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” guests will be entitled to a top-shelf, open bar; buffet-style, gourmet dinner; and wine-tasting party featuring the spirits of various California gold medal wineries.

Strikeforce wrote a new chapter in MMA history when it produced the sport’s first Playboy Mansion-hosted event on September 29, 2007. Amongst the host of celebrities who attended the affair were Hefner and “The Girls Next Door;” comedians Gary Shandling and Joe Rogan; actress and model Jaime Pressly; actors Michael Duncan Clarke, Christina Fulton, Ethan Suplee, Ernie Hudson, and Page Kennedy; MMA legends Royce Gracie and Bas Rutten; and superstars Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Josh Barnett, and Andrei Arlovski.

Former Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez battled his way to a unanimous judges’ decision over Japanese road warrior Tetsuji Kato in the main event of Strikeforce’s inaugural show at The Playboy Mansion while middleweight (185 lb. limit) star, Joe “Diesel” Riggs, stopped ageless brawler, Eugene Jackson, in the first round of the 10-bout card’s featured contest.

Competitors enlisted for “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” MMA action will be announced soon.  

Affliction Banned Fires a Shot Directly at the UFC

SIGNAL HILL, California (July 3, 200 – Dueling MMA events will be shown within walking distance of each other July 19 for fight fans in Las Vegas as Affliction Entertainment presents “Affliction Banned” on closed circuit television at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, directly across the street from where UFC’s Fight Night will be broadcast at the Palm Hotel and Casino.

The “Affliction Banned” pay-per-view event, featuring the WAMMA heavyweight championship fight between the most lethal MMA heavyweight of all-time, Russian M1 superstar legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), will be broadcast live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Fans at the Gold Coast will watch more than four hours or world-class mixed-martial-arts action, starting at 5 PM/PT with a live one-hour telecast of “Affliction Live,” featuring Fedor’s brother, Aleksander “The Grim Reaper” Emelianenko (13-3) versus Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-10), followed by the exclusive presentation of “Affliction Banned.”

“Affliction Banned,” presented by Affliction Entertainment, arguably is the greatest MMA event ever, headlined by Fedor vs. Sylvia and powerfully supported by four other incredible bouts: former UFC® heavyweight title-holder Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (12-5) faces IFL® titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5), Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (21-5) fights stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out — Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-7); three-time All-American wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-5) battles Brazilian sensation Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7); 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt “The Law” Lindland (20-5), meets Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao” Nascimento (8-3).

The Gold Coast Sports Book will be taking wagers on the entire “Affliction Banned” card in its Sports Book starting July 12th, right up to fight time. Affliction Banned Analysis.

WMMA Heavyweight Championship of the World (5 - 5 minute rounds)
Fighters
Odds
% Chance to win

Tim Sylvia
+350
20.00%

Fedor Emelianenko
-450
80.00%

Heavyweights (3 - 5 minutes rounds)

Ben Rothwell
+240
27.00%

Andrei Arlovski
-300
73.00%

Heavyweights (3 - 5 minutes rounds)

Josh Barnett
-360
76.20%

Pedro Rizzo
+280
23.80%

Light Heavyweights (3 - 5 minute rounds)

Fabio Negao
+300
22.70%

Matt Lindland
-380
77.30%

Heavyweights (3 – 5 minutes rounds)

Mike Whitehead
+210
30.30%

Renato Sobral
-250
69.70%

Tickets are now on sale at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino Bell Desk, priced at $20.00 with limited seating for this exclusive closed circuit presentation.

Affliction
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Big John at Affliction Banned

Retired Referee and MMA Legend “Big” John McCarthy

Joins Team Affliction as Color Commentator
“Affliction Banned” PPV July 19 in Anaheim

SIGNAL HILL, California (July 3, 200 – Former MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy may have retired from working in the UFC® Octagon but he will be a color commentator for the July 19th “Affliction Banned” pay-per-view event, featuring the WAMMA heavyweight championship fight between the most lethal MMA heavyweight of all-time, Russian M1 superstar legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, McCarthy refereed 535 fights during his 14 years as an MMA referee, and he operates an MMA school in Valencia, California. He started refereeing in the UFC’s second show in 1994 and retired this past December. An MMA ambassador all over the world, “Big” John developed into being as much a part of the UFC as the fighters that entered the Octagon. Now, though, he is a member of Team Affliction.

“Affliction Banned,” presented by Affliction Entertainment, is so stacked with talent that it had to be separated into two live shows produced for broadcast. The night’s activities will kick off with a one-hour, free live telecast on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the United States and on The Fight Network in Canada starting at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM/ET), dubbed “Affliction Live.” Following that is “Affliction Banned” — five incredible fights on pay-per-view starting at 6 PM/PT (9 PM/ET) via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewers Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice in the United States and Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Tickets for “Affliction Banned” range between $50.00 and $1,000.00, and are on sale at Honda Center’s Box Office.

Complete Analysis of Affliction Banned which will be competing directly with a Free UFC event. Will Big John be critical of the UFC or will he “rise above” the temptation?

UFC 86 Parlays

UFC Parlays are offered at only two betting sites currently, 5Dimes (review) and BetUs (review). Both sites allow mixed sport parlays, combining boxing, football and UFC picks is acceptable. You can also combine fighters in different events, i.e. Rampage at UFC 86 and Brock Lesnar at UFC 87.

There are lots of theories about parlays, but not much specifically concerning how to profit from parlaying UFC or MMA fights. Obviously, you must pick winners. Don’t bother with value bets or longshot underdogs, you’d be better off just playing them straight up.

UFC 86 looks like a night for the favorites, but I’m going to start off by simply picking and prioritizing who are the most likely winners in each fight.

Stevenson
Tyson Griffin
Koscheck
—big drop off—
Rampage
Gonzaga
Almieda
Gurgel

Now that I have a feel for how they stack up, look at the odds. First thing I notice is that Gonzaga is -600, yet I don’t have much confidence in him winning. In my eyes, he’s too risky with no reward. Stevenson is my most likely winner and he’s reasonably priced at -210, so I am going to include him in several parlays. Tyson Griffin (-350) and Koscheck (-325) are about the same in odds and my confidence factor. They don’t offer huge payouts, but its enough to sprinkle them in with a couple other picks. Rampage, Almieda and Gurgel won’t make me rich, so I will use them sparingly.

• Stevenson + T Griffin 3 units
• Stevenson + Koscheck 3 units
• Stevenson + Koscheck + T Griffin 2 units
• Stevenson + Rampage 1 unit
• Stevenson + Almieda 1 unit
• Stevenson + Gurgel 1 unit
• T Griffin + Koscheck 1 unit
• T Griffin + Rampage 1 unit
• T Griffin + Gurgel 1 unit
• Koscheck + Almieda 1 unit
• T Griffin + Koscheck + Rampage 1 unit
• T Griffin + Koscheck + Almieda 1 unit

Elite XC Results and Pictures

NOONS OVERWHELMS EDWARDS TO RETAIN ELITEXC TITLE,
DIAZ SCORES THIRD-ROUND TKO OVER CORBBREY,
NINJA, PEE WEE, FEIJAO ALSO TRIUMPH

HONOLULU (June 14, 200 – On a night fit for a King, not even a post-fight scuffle could ruin the moment for KJ Noons, who retained the EliteXC lightweight title with a devastating 48-second, first-round TKO over Yves Edwards Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena on SHOWTIME.

In the co-feature on a card billed as “Return Of The King,’’ Nick Diaz registered a third-round TKO over Muhsin Corbbrey.

The victories by Noons, who was raised in Kailua-Kona until he was 16, and Diaz sets up what could be a rematch, but a return bout can’t come soon enough for the fighters’ volatile camp members who nearly came to blows in the cage after the main event. The fracas caught most everyone off guard.

“I’m not sure what happened or who started what, but I feel bad for Yves, a class act who trained really hard for this fight,’’ Noons said. “Nick has no class, he’s a bum, a piece of (expletive) and he and his team disrespected my family and I with their gestures and trash talk and tried to upstage our fight.

“I’m the champion and have the EliteXC belt. I’ll fight anybody. I didn’t see his fight but if they say Nick deserves a rematch, then we can fight and I’ll beat him again – if he can make 160 pounds.’’

Noons shocked the MMA world when he captured the first-ever EliteXC lightweight belt with an upset TKO victory over Diaz during EliteXC’s fight card on Nov. 10, 2007, on SHOWTIME.  “I hope they make the fight with Diaz right here at the Blaisdell, but wherever it is, I will be ready,’’ Noons said.

Offered Diaz, who weighed in at 169 pounds a day earlier: “I’m sorry about what happened in the cage afterward, but I didn’t start it. His guys were talking (expletive) to us.’’

The event was presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s EliteXC, and aired on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). The explosive main event can be seen exclusively on Cage Cam at SHO.com/Sports.

“We accomplished what we set out to do on each and every fight card and that is deliver quality, exciting, entertaining fights,’’ said Douglas DeLuca, Executive Chairman, ProElite, Inc. “The fights were outstanding. I can’t say enough about the athletes’ performances. They were just spectacular.

“It was great being back in Honolulu. The fans in attendance and those watching on SHOWTIME got a terrific night of mixed martial arts.’’

As far as homecomings go, it doesn’t get better than this for the popular Noons, who gave the hometown fans what they came to see: a sensational knockout win.

Fighting in the same arena his father did 30 years ago, Noons (6-1), of San Diego, Calif., landed a straight right hand that dropped Edwards (34-14-1), of Coconut Creek, Fla., on the seat of his pants. Noons quickly pounced on the veteran, who had a three-fight winning streak end, landed upwards of 16 unanswered punches, most of which connected, and that was that.

“Yves caught me, rocked me,” said Noons, who also is a professional boxer. He has won all six of his MMA fights inside the distance. “But once I knocked him down I knew I had to go in and finish it.’’

After a close, competitive first-round, Diaz (17-7) of Stockton, Calif., mostly had his way against Corbbrey (7-3) of Hilton Head, S.C. He was on top and had landed about 17 unanswered punches, many of which landed, before the referee stepped in and halted matters at 3:59 of the third.

“I wasn’t exactly thrilled with my fight; in fact, I am pretty disappointed,’’ said southpaw Diaz, who suffered a cut around his left eye. “This was one of my worst fights. I felt slow. I hated coming in that heavy. I worked very hard to cut the weight, but it just wouldn’t come off.

“I will and can still make 160 pounds and will fight KJ any time, any place. I’ll fight anybody in the world who thinks they are better than me or who is considered better than me.’’

Despite a leap in class, Corbbrey did not appear intimidated or in awe of the world-class Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black. Diaz was just too big.

“Please, powers of be, let me fight Diaz again, but only when we weigh the same,’’ Corbbrey said. “I have no problem with the stoppage and I know I agreed to the fight, but he must have weighed 200 pounds. He out-fought me and I respect him for that. But he wore me out when he leaned on me.’’

In other SHOWTIME televised fights: former EliteXC 185-pound champ Murilo “Ninja” Rua (16-8-1) of Brazil scored a 3:16, first-round TKO (strikes) over previously undefeated Australian-born, Las Vegas-based Tony Bonello (16-1-1, 1 NC); Brazil’s highly regarded Rafael Feijao (6-1) registered an impressive 2:47, first-round TKO (strikes) over Wayne Cole (11-7) of Norman, Okla., in a fight at 205 pounds and heavyweight prospect Dave “Pee Wee” Herman (11-0) of Bloomington, Ind., registered a 2:19, first-round TKO (strikes) over Ron Waterman (15-6-2) of Greeley, Colo. (Fighter Pages below).

In an upset in the top undercard fight streamed live and for free at ProElite.com, Bubba McDaniel (12-4) of Wichita Falls, Tex., submitted (rear choke) popular local favorite and ICON 185-pound champ Kala Kolohe (6-2) of Waianae, Hawaii, at 0:41 of the first round. In other results on an undercard that featured all Hawaiian fighters, Mark Oshiro (11-1) of Honolulu scored a 2:12, first-round TKO over Chris “Red Bull’’ Willems (2-2-1) of Hilo at 140 pounds; Kaleo Kwan (9- of Waimanalo took a unanimous decision over  Mike Aina (9-7-1) of Hilo at 160; and PJ Dean (1-3-1) of Waianae and Dean Lista (3-1-1) of Honolulu fought to a majority draw. A scheduled scrap between promising unbeaten Lolohea Mahe (4-0) of Kahului, Maui, and Chris Barnard (1-3) of Waianae at 265 pounds was cancelled when Barnard withdrew earlier in the evening.

Russell Doane of Waipahu overpowered Dwayne Haney (2-1) of Honolulu en route to winning a 2:46, first-round TKO and Carl Barton (1-0) of Honolulu scored a 55-second, first-round TKO over Kepa Madeiros (0-1) of Honolulu in non-televised bouts.

In a performance in which SHOWTIME announcer Mauro Ranallo referred to as “vintage Ninja Rua,” the Brazilian totally outclassed Bonello, who was stepping up in class for the first time.

“I really wanted to prove a point and that was to win by knockout and not submission,’’ Ninja said. “This guy did a lot of talking; I know he was trying to get to me. So when I had him down, I really wanted to hurt him. I want to get back the EliteXC belt and will fight anybody to do so.

“I get criticized by people who don’t think I have good striking skills so I’m happy to win the way I did. This fight was dedicated to my baby boy who is due in late August or early September.’’

In a wild, fast-paced, exciting encounter, Herman overcame a quick start by Waterman to win decisively in a performance highlighted by a remarkable flying roundhouse leg kick.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,’’ said Herman, who trains out of the garage at his house. “Nothing he did fazed me. I’m thrilled to get the win and especially happy to get the knockout. But I think I’m going to dump my ‘Pee Wee’’ nickname and go with ‘Blueberry Muffin’ from now on.

“I love blueberry muffins and my mom, Karen, makes the best.’’

In an outstanding performance, Brazil’s Rafael Feijao was smashing in his second EliteXC start. The referee stopped the bout after Feijao had landed about 12 unanswered shots on Cole.

“This is the kind of impressive performance that I wanted, but I still have more to show,” said Feijao, who was cornered by Anderson Silva, among others. “The ref did his job. If he didn’t stop it when he did I’d still be throwing punches.

“He got me with a good shot at the start but I get hit like that in training all the time. I felt strong. Training with Anderson and the guys I do is the best thing to ever to happen to me.  Whether it’s a knockout or not, as long as I win I’m happy.  I’m ready to fight anybody at 205 pounds.

Said Cole: “That guy is talented, for sure, but I feel I am in his class. I was just flat tonight for some reason. It was good experience and I will be back.’’

SHOWTIME announcer Mauro Ranallo handled play-by-play Saturday with world wrestling star Bill Goldberg and The Fight Professor, Stephen Quadros, serving as color analysts. The executive producer was David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

Adrenaline MMA 1 notes

Mike Russow- learning nothing about Russow.  he came in and did what he was suppose to do

Jason Guida- showed up to fight, he was competitive.  lacks the tools to effectively keep a big fighter from pressuring him.  probably better against smaller guys that he can control a little better.

Terry Martin- Looked like a boxer, his head movement was great.  His punches were not very accurate and he never really landed any clean shots.  Good enough to handle inferior fighters but not enough to threaten quality opponents.

Diaju Takase- not sure what his strategy was, maybe the drunken fighter technique.  he is awkward and does not want to engage in striking.  any good striker with decent takedown defence can handle him.  Can’t play him in any situation.

Forrest Petz- got caught with a huge bomb in the first round, which stops 99% of all fighters.  he recovered enough to win the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  Very impressive.  Petz will be one the top fighters in his weight class at Adrenaline.  His standup is decent and his wrestling is very good.  Should be a safe favorite and a live underdog, particularly against guys without great striking.

Brian Gassaway-  he fought a very competitive fight.  he’s dangerous early when he’s got a lot of energy.  not enough ground game to stop a good wrestler like petz, who simply controlled the 2nd and 3rd rounds once he got Gassaway down.

Jeff Cox- is a reasonable underdog play.  He jumped on bartimus early and outstruck him until he got caught by a couple of good shots in the second.  Cox also showed a pretty good sprawl.  He should improve off a tough loss to the veteran.

Bart Palaszewski- another close fight for bartimus, who fights to his opponents level too often.  another slow stop and then he turns it on to get a win.  love his well rounded game, hate his slow start.  shaky as a big favorite.

Rory Markham- nothing new. very good if he can make it to ring.

Jay Ellis- cant play in any situation.

Joe Jordan and Ryan Williams both fought hard, but can’t recommend playing either guy in the future.

Clay French- was the most impressive fighter on the card.  he’s got the build of someone that can have a lot of success.  above average striking (not sure how good Massouh’s defense is) and his ground game is very good. saw him pass, mount and gnp all with ease.  French should roll through opponents until he gets to the top guys.

Jameel Massouh- overmatched physically and could never get much going.

saw them all…

“MELENDEZ VS. THOMSON” PREVIEW SHOW PREMIERES ON HDNET FRIDAY

SAN JOSE, Calif. – HDNet, the first national television network broadcasting all of its programming in the high-definition format, will give fans an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at the lives and training camps of Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (14-1), and challenger, Josh “The Punk” Thomson (14-2), during a special 30 minute program that premieres Friday, June 13th at 12 a.m EST/9 p.m. PST, two weeks before the two rival forces collide at San Jose’s HP Pavilion.

“Unfiltered: Melendez vs. Thomson” follows both world-class fighters as they prepare for what is arguably the biggest battle of their lives and a fight that will determine supremacy in the sport’s 155 lb. division.

The 26-year-old Melendez, #8 ranked lightweight (MMA Rankings), notched his last victory, a second round TKO of Gabe Lemley, live on SHOWTIME during the Strikeforce co-promoted “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” mega-event at HP Pavilion on March 29th. Recognized by every major, independent ranking system as one of the world’s top five lightweight competitors, Melendez has also established a reputation for being one of the most complete fighters in the sport.

Thomson has been on fire of late, winning his last six fights in impressive fashion. Following his last conquest, a first round stoppage of Adam Lynn during Strikeforce’s historic, first event at the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills on September 29, 2007, the 29-year-old former Stanford University wrestling star was forced to undergo surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder. The showdown with Melendez marks his first appearance since his meeting with Lynn.

Tickets for “Melendez vs. Thomson,” priced from $30, are on sale at Ticketmaster.

Also in action on the star-studded “Melendez vs. Thomson” fight card, Bobby Southworth (8-5) will put his Strikeforce world light heavyweight (205 lb. limit) title on the line in a rematch with Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz (20-10). Ruiz was declared the winner of their initial meeting on November 16, 2007 after a cut Southworth had sustained during the fight prompted the ringside physician to order a stoppage at the :52 mark of the second round.

“Mr. International” Shonie Carter (39-17-7), a star on Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.)’s new mixed martial arts series, “Iron Ring,” will battle 27-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Luke Stewart (5-1),

Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stud Nam Phan (14-4) will attempt to hand knockout artist Billy Evangelista (6-0) the first loss of his career.

HP Pavilion doors will open at 6 PM for “Melendez vs. Thomson” and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6:30 PM. The HDNet telecast will start at 7:30 PM PST/10:30 PM EST and the main card will commence at 8 PM.