When Strikeforce returns to Showtime on March 3, 2012, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, it will do so with a fight card headlined by a women's bantamweight championship bout.

Miesha Tate will put her 135-pound title on the line against the Chael Sonnen inspired Ronda Rousey. And because "Rowdy" is doing so much talking, even dragging Tate's boyfriend into the discussion, "Takedown" wants to do more than just retain her belt.

"I think it's just what I need, actually. I think that I've been fighting for long enough that sometimes I get a little bit comfortable, that's the truth of the matter. And when you don't like someone, the idea of losing to them is just unbearable. Like, I cannot think of losing to this girl, it cannot happen. My pride is on the line here, people. You don't understand. It's not just winning a fight or keeping my title, it's like, this bitch is not going to beat me, there's no way this is going to happen. I think, for me, it's just going to make it that much more exciting because you're going to see a much more exhilarated me, you're going to see a much more pumped and vicious, I think. I don't want to just like fight this girl, I don't want to just beat her, I want to really hurt her. I really do, I want to like mar her face if at all possible, that would be nice."

Tate originally campaigned to defend her title against Sarah Kaufman, a woman she lost to earlier in her career and has been champing at the bit to avenge said defeat.

Kaufman was going to get the fight, too, until Rousey stepped in and started popping off at the mouth, creating a firestorm on Twitter that helped reignite interest in women's MMA. In fact, she's been on a press tour the likes of which hasn't been seen since Gina Carano was in her heyday.

All this to the dismay of Tate, of course, who is using Rousey's big mouth as all the motivation she needs to get up for their pending clash next month. If all goes well, it will be one of the most watched women's fights in the history of the sport. And, if all goes well for Miesha, Ronda will leave with a disfigured face.

Should be fun.

Hear more from Tate on her upcoming title defense after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

The next time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hits the airwaves, it will do so with its first ever event on FUEL TV, as "Sanchez vs. Ellenberger" is scheduled to take place on Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, at 10 p.m. ET.

UFC on Fuel TV 1 will be headlined by a welterweight war featuring top division contenders Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger facing off for a spot in the crowded 170-pound title chase. Stefan Struve and Dave Herman are also set to return to the Octagon for a heavyweight showdown in the co-featured fight of the night.

Be sure to check out out the complete UFC on Fuel TV 1: "Sanchez vs. Ellenberger" fight card and rumors right here. And hit up our complete event archive for all the latest event-related news and notes you can handle right here.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) put its best foot forward by wrapping up another campaign of mixed martial arts (MMA) action this past Sat., Feb. 4, 2012, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada with the UFC 143: "Diaz vs. Condit" event.

In a somewhat controversial headliner, Carlos Condit won a unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz to earn himself the interim welterweight title and a crack at Georges St. Pierre's belt.

Former Strikeforce heavyweight and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert practitioner Fabricio Werdum made his return to the Octagon by delivering three rounds of punishment to Roy Nelson en route to a decision victory.

The action earned both Werdum and Nelson "Fight of the Night" honors, and left fans with an image of a bloody and battered "Big Country" that we're starting to get a little too familiar with.

Those are just some of the highlights. Let's take a look at the rest of the mental scrapbook pages that made up UFC 143.

Continue reading this post »

UFC 143: "Diaz vs. Condit" took place last night (Sat., Feb. 4, 2012) from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring Carlos Condit winning his first UFC championship -- even if it's just an interim title -- with a close unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz.

Look out, Georges St. Pierre, "The Natural Born Killer" is coming.

Fabricio Werdum showcased a brand new Muay Thai skill set we previously hadn't seen in a decision win over Roy Nelson in the co-main event of the evening, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace used his knees to pummel "Big Country" and put himself in contention in the UFC heavyweight division.

Finally, Josh Koscheck started slow and finished slower but managed to eek out a decision victory over powerful wrestler Mike Pierce.

A photo gallery (via MMAFighting.com) is available for your viewing pleasure after the jump. For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here and here.

Continue reading this post »

Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event took place in November 1993. Denver, CO holds the distinction of being the birthplace of the world's premier fighting organization as 10 men -- eight tournament fighters and two alternates -- descended upon the city hoping to be named the best fighter on the planet.

The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has come a long way since then. Going from the likes of Keith Hackney to Georges St. Pierre in less than 20 years is a mind bogglingly huge leap in the level of athlete that now competes inside the Octagon.

Last night (Feb. 4) before UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit started, a new intro video was unveiled which chronicled some of the greatest moments in the promotion's history. From Matt Hughes lifting Frank Trigg into the air and walking him across the cage before slamming him down to Anderson Silva's jaw-dropping -- and jaw-shattering -- knockout kick against Vitor Belfort to the most important fight in UFC history between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin at the end of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), it was a 60 second stroll down memory lane for UFC faithful and a quick history lesson for newer fans.

It opened, of course, how else but with Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock and the opening moments of their bout from the very first UFC. The rivalry between the two men helped pump some much needed drama and intrigue into the early days of the company where the future was uncertain.

Let's take a look at the bout.

Continue reading this post »

It was a familiar scene, with the expected dose of bitterness and exasperation. But if Nick Diaz's post-fight interview and vow to retire after losing a decision to Carlos Condit last night (Sat., Feb. 4, 2012) at UFC 143 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is merely talk, some serious thought should be put into who his next opponent should be. That's because if Diaz is to risk being beaten and further pushed into his long-running pit of disgust with the sport, the UFC ought to at least make it worthwhile for everyone involved.

At press time, it's unclear as to whom newly-crowned interim champ Condit will face next. There's some talk of a rematch with Diaz, given champ Georges St. Pierre's uncertain recovery time, which is presently November. I don't think Diaz' retirement will stick, but I'm not sure if he'll stay around if he continues to lose decisions where he doesn't feel definitively beaten.

That's why the UFC ought to think carefully how they match him at this point, because he remains a very marketable fighter with a big fan base. It'd be shame if Diaz, a mere 28 years old and at the top of his game, left the sport right when it could benefit most from his presence.

Nick is one of the most durable fighters in the game. He's only been stopped legitimately once, early in his career, in the beginning of his trilogy vs. Jeremy Jackson, a loss he definitively avenged twice. Cuts led to a TKO loss against K.J. Noons, in a bout where Diaz' exit was marked by a classic double-middle-finger salute as he exited the venue. Decision setbacks during his first UFC run against Karo Parisyan, Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs and Sean Sherk saw him echoing the same sentiments: opponents didn't want to fight.

He might have been held down and bested on points, but he never really felt like he was beaten down. It's the common refrain in every Diaz loss, and there is some merit - because in an no-time-limits Vale Tudo style fight, I'm not sure anyone at welterweight would beat him. But that's not the world we live in, and as such, there needs to be common ground found between Diaz' desire to be bested cleanly and an exciting fight.

So here's a closer look at available opponents, along with analysis of what they'd bring to the table to give everyone involved a satisfying fight.

Continue reading this post »

After a hard-fought battle reminiscent of their clash at Super Bowl XLIII four years ago, the New York Giants narrowly defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 21-17 at Super Bowl XLVI tonight (Sun., Feb. 5, 2012) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, to become world champions.

It was an unbelievable game that featured the usual storyline that played out this year in Giants games. They played solid, at times spectacular, football while getting every bounce to go their way.

It's better to be lucky than good. The G-Men were both.

Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled but had it bounce straight to one of his teammates. Hakeem Nicks did the same but got the Patriots were flagged for too many men on the field. Chase Blackburn, a mostly clumsy linebacker was able to beat out Rob Gronkowski downfield on a deep ball thanks to an underthrow from Tom Brady.

It was just that kind of game.

Eli Manning went from a damn good quarterback in his brother Peyton's shadown to a future Hall of Famer and multiple time Super Bowl champion. He also won his second Super Bowl MVP award thanks to a near flawless performance. He was 30/40 for 296 yards and a touchdown on the night. His clutch throw to Mario Manningham down the sideline on the final Giants drive of the game to clinch it will become the stuff of legend, no different than the throw to David Tyree back in 2008.

It was an amazing game between two incredibly talented teams that will go down as one of the better Super Bowl games. And for the second time in four years, the New York Giants have defeated the New England Patriots in the most important game of the season.

To check out our complete coverage of all four quarters of Super Bowl XLVI click here, here, here and here.

"I whispered to him, I said, 'Now I'm doing the Jon Fitch fight.' That's what I said to him. He said, 'Good luck with that.' I don't know. I'm just f*cking with him. If the fight made sense, because there was a time when those two were both going like this (towards each other), but if the fight made sense, yeah, I'd try to make it. I wouldn't do it just to do it."

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White tells members of the media last night after the UFC 143 post-fight press conference that now that Josh Koscheck has parted ways with long time training camp American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose and will now be training in Fresno, he would not mind putting together a long desired match-up between Koscheck and long time training partner Jon Fitch. Throughout the years, the two have consistently been atop the rankings of the UFC welterweight division but have often stated they would never fight each other due to their close friendship and status at AKA. With "Kos" on a two fight win streak and winning his last five of six and Fitch losing his last time out against Johnny Hendricks, it may be a while before the two are even again on the rankings boards. However, should they ever reach that level, Koscheck is still sticking to his guns that it will never happen. No word if Fitch feels the same way. Anyone hoping this fight ever comes to fruition? Or did this ship sail long ago?