World championship mixed martial arts (MMA) federation Strikeforce is set to make its highly-anticipated debut in Colorado with a pack of Denver-area superstars, including world champion knockout artist Duane "Bang" Ludwig (16-8) and "Karate Hottie" Michelle Waterson, at Broomfield Event Center on Friday.

Also in action on the 10 bout cage fight card will be two-time UFC championship challenger and former Pride Fighting Championship superstar Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg (17-6), who will square off with Hawaiian submission wizard, Falaniko "Niko" Vitale (26-8), in a middleweight (185 lb. limit) contest.

Ludwig will attempt to avenge the brutal, 52 second knockout that he suffered at the hands of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" season three contestant, Sam "The Squeeze" Morgan (19-11), at the same arena on April 9, 2005.

The stunning 22-year-old Waterson, best known as a competitor on Oxygen reality series, "Fight Girls," will take on Tyra Parker.

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Jesse Gillespie defeated Dave Martin by split decision.
Brandon Magana defeated Brandon Thatch by split decision.
Eric Lawson defeated Kenneth Seegrist by first-round rear naked choke.
Luke Stewart defeated Jesse Juarez by first-round arm bar.
Trevor Prangley defeated Anthony Ruiz by unanimous decision.
Mitsuhiro Ishida defeated Justin Wilcox by first-round arm bar
Terry Martin def. Cory Devela by thirs-round TKO - punches.
Josh Thomson def. Ashe Bowman by first-round TKO - punches.
Kazuo Misaki def. Joe Riggs by second round TKO - punches.

What stood out in my mind from the event was Mitsuhiro Ishida's arm bar finish of Justin "Silverback" Wilcox. Ishida had Wilcox in a standing double wrist lock, then flipped him to the ground, where he slickly transitioned to an arm bar. Sweet.

Posted in Playboy Playboy Mansion Strikeforce News

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A ripped Josh Thomson

Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Diesel

Here's the top four fights for Strikeforce at the Mansion on Sat., Sept. 20:
-- Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs. Kazuo Misaki

-- Josh "The Punk" Thomson vs. Ashe "The Machine" Bowman

-- Terry Martin vs. Cory Devela

-- Mitsuhiro "Endless Fighter" Ishida vs. Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox

I'm psyched for this event. Tune in to sherdog to watch two preliminary bouts and the main fight card free-of-charge, beginning at 7:30 PM PST (10:30 PM EST).

One thing - on Strikeforce's Web site, there's this description of what the esteemed and distinguished guests will be filling their faces with: "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."

Do I really need to know what they'll be having? What's the purpose of that, just to make me wish I was there all the more? Fighting, beautiful women and food - it doesn't get any better than that, and I am not there.

All kidding aside, I think Strikeforce is going about things the right way. They've concentrated on becoming the best regional organization they can. They make deals with companies like Playboy, Sherdog and NBC. And they put on good, quality fights. Nice work.

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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.

Sherdog, the world's original online media platform for mixed martial arts (MMA), will provide a live stream of Strikeforce's MMA extravaganza at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA. on Saturday, September 20.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) sensation Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg (16-6) will face off with Hawaiian star Falaniko "Niko" Vitale (26-8) and knockout artist Duane "Bang" Ludwig (16-8) will attempt to avenge a previous defeat at the hands of "The Ultimate Fighter" season three veteran, Sam "The Squeeze" Morgan (19-10), when Strikeforce ventures to Denver, Colorado's Broomfield Event Center on Friday, October 3rd.

A featherweight (145 lb. limit) battle between Bay Area locals Jose Palacios (3-1) and Alvin Cacdac (4-4) will usher the return of Strikeforce's "Young Guns" mixed martial arts (MMA) series to San Jose's Civic Auditorium on Saturday, September 13th.

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from mmajunkie.com:
Strikeforce world lightweight champion Josh Thomson (15-2), who defeated the highly regarded Gilbert Melendez for the belt in June, will meet Lion's Den fighter and Strikeforce newcomer Ashe Bowman (6-4) during the organization's upcoming show at the Playboy Mansion.

The event takes place Sept. 20 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Thomson-Bowman fight will be a three-round non-title affair.

Bowman's camp confirmed the bout with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) over the weekend. As we first reported last week, both Bowman and veteran fighter Jay Estrada (21-9) were considered for the fight, according to Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz.

Thomson is riding a seven-fight win streak, which includes just two decision wins during the span. The former UFC and PRIDE fighter implemented a near-perfect game plan to score the upset unanimous-decision victory over Melendez in an HDNet-televised event in June.

Bowman, meanwhile, is well versed in submissions. In fact, four of his six pro victories have come via submission. Bowman, who's fought primarily for Ken Shamrock Productions after a short stint with the WEC, is currently riding a three-fight win streak and has won six of his past seven fights.

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Just found this on mmaweekly:
Strikeforce vice president Mike Afromowitz on Wednesday confirmed that the promotion's light heavyweight champion, Bobby Southworth, will defend his title against Renato "Babalu" Sobral on Sept. 20 when Strikeforce returns to the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif.

"He is the protector and I am the hunter," said the 32-year-old Sobral, a former UFC championship challenger and Brazilian national wrestling champion. "I am already in shape and prepared to take it from him. I want to be the new Strikeforce world champion and, if I could become champion while fighting at a venue like the Playboy Mansion, that would make a good win even better."

The 38-year-old Southworth most recently defended his title at on June 27 as part of the Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Thomson" event in San Jose, Calif. He defeated Anthony Ruiz in a rematch of a non-title bout that Southworth lost late in 2007.

Strikeforce At The Masnion II is scheduled to be a 10-bout fight card. Already announced is a bout between MMAWeekly.com's No. 6 ranked middleweight fighter, Kazuo Misaki, and Joe Riggs. Afromowitz on Wednesday also confirmed the participation of Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson and undefeated lightweight sensation Billy Evangelista.

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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 20th.

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.

Two competitors for "Strikeforce At The Mansion II" at the jump.

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This is happening on Monday and has a few names you might recognize. Should be good, and we get to see who will be the top lightweight in the organization. Then, maybe with some cross-promotional events, we can have that champion go against champs from Strikeforce, EliteXC, Cage rage, WAMMA, etc. There is already one cross-promotional fight on the DREAM.5 card: We have Alistair Overeem, who is the Strikeforce heavyweight chmapion, on the card against former K-1 powerhouse Mark Hunt.

Here's the line-up:
For the lightweight grand prix championship:
Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Eddie Alvarez
(semis and finals held the same night)

Reserve bout:
Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gil

Other fights:
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Motoki Miyazawa vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem

Posted in All about MMA DREAM News EliteXC News Japan MMA MMA Mixed Martial Arts Strikeforce News WAMMA News

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Frank "The Legend" Shamrock talks with mmarated about upcoming fights with Cung Le, his adopted brother, Ken Shamrock, and Tito Ortiz, all while sportin' a set of braces.

Posted in All about MMA Mixed Martial Arts Strikeforce News

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