By John Moody                  (Go to the Video Page for interviews with Dana White, Frankie Edgar... more) (produced, shot, edited) Chris Weidman (205lbs) is not yet known to the wider world of MMA ... but that may change radically in 2011. Weidman is a former 2x All American wrestler from Hofstra who beat Ryan Bader and Phil Davis during his days on campus.  After college, Weidman joined up with Team Serra Longo and has rolled to four wins in the Ring Of Combat. Most impressive, however, was his run at the 2009 Abu Dhabi grappling tournament in Barcelona Spain where he beat Daniel Tabera, while competing well with Andre Galvao and Vinny Magalhaes in defeat.  This was after just eight months of Jiu Jitsu training. The Baldwin, Long Island native, who trains regularly with Gian Villante, (Strikeforce Heavyweight) will not be on the "up and comer" list much longer. Story Update 4:40pm 2/10: Weidman has standing contract offers from Strikeforce and Bellator.  Both are pending review by Team Weidman. Click through to watch the video. ...

After reportedly being a lock for the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter", it looks like Andre Galvao will not be joining the cast after all. The budding welterweight prospect had long been rumored to appear on the show, with TATAME.com reportedly citing both Galvao and middleweight fighter Vitor Vianna as "locks" for the upcoming thirteenth season of the reality show. However, after both Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos were reported as the coaches for the upcoming season, it was also revealed that the cast will solely consist of a welterweight field, and Galvao independently confirmed later that he got neither a call nor an email about a possible run for the TUF series. ...

Former Strikeforce and DREAM welterweight fighter, Andre Galvao might soon be under the Zuffa banner coming up soon. The Abu Dhabi veteran and multiple time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion recently tried out for the thirteenth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in Las Vegas where hundreds of hopefuls arrived, both in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. A number of notable fighters, including fellow DREAM and Strikeforce veteran Karl Amassou, UFC vet Frankie Lester, and Zak Cummings were among those in attendance for the tryouts, however it looks like Galvao may be a lock for the show altogether. ...

After an exciting night of fights at the HP Pavillion last Saturday Night under the strikeforce banner, most competitors on the main card of the evening left very banged up, needless to say, especially KJ Noons. In an attempt to vie for the welterweight title against rival and current Strikeforce 170-pound champion Nick Diaz, which saw the two fighters go at it in a five-round stand up affair, KJ left the more battered and bruised of the two to competitors. ...

strikeforce, last Saturday night, but together yet another stellar card in 2010. October 9 saw welterweight champion Nick Diaz successfully defend his title for the first time against rival KJ Noons, earning a bit of revenge in the process. The two fighters met 3 years ago under the now defunct Elite XC banner, where Noons was declared the winner after cutting Nick with several telling blows, which eventually lead to a Doctors stoppage after the end of the first round. However, the second time around, Diaz was able to outbox the professional boxer, en route to a unanimous decision victory after a hard-fought five round affair. ...

Today marked the official weigh-ins for the upcoming Strikeforce: "Houston" event, scheduled for August 20, 2010 from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event features controversial Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Lawal, better known as “King Mo”, in his first defense of the championship he won after beating the highly-regarded Gegard Mousasi to win the belt. The co-main event will also be a championship affair, as feared submission wizard (his nickname, “Jacare”, means Alligator) Ronaldo Souza takes on 12-2 Tim Kennedy for the vacant Middleweight Championship, which was rendered vacant when former champion Jake Shields promptly left the promotion and signed with the UFC after defeating new Strikeforce signee and MMA legend, Dan Henderson. The “Houston” weigh-ins weren’t immune to a bit of controversy, as several fighters failed to make weight. Here’s how it all broke down. ...

The San Jose based promotion, Strikeforce, has recently put out a press release, declaring the full fight card, including a finalized preliminary card, for the August 21st show, which will be in Houston, Texas. The card features a light heavyweight title fight against newly crowned champion "King Mo" Lawal against top contender Rafael "Feijao", out of Team Blackhouse, who trains alongside the likes of the Nogueria brothers, Anderson Silva, and Junior dos Santos. ...

Regardless who wins the middlweight matchup at UFC 102 in Portland Saturday, Demian Maia (10-0) and "Great" Nate Marquardt (28-8-2) might get a second shot at each other 25-27 September at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships 2009 in Barcelona.

Both UFC title contenders will compete in the -87.9kg division, along with "Toquinho" Rousimar Palhares (11-3). Sengoku judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) and DREAM welterweight Andre Galvao (3-0).

UFC welterweight champ "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) will compete in the -76.9kg division, along with the UFC's "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3), Japanese free agent "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (15-4-2), and Brazilian free agent "Uirapuru" Marcelo Azevedo (3-5).
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Former WEC middleweight champion "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-1) tapped "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef (22-6-1) in an armbar at 2:36 of round one and lightweight "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (18-4) won a unanimous decision over "Shaolin" vitor Ribeiro (20-2) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Monday.

Lithuanian "Whitemare" Marius Zaromskis (12-2) upset "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) and Jason High (7-2) both with fight-ending head kicks to win the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Returning to Japan after an odd stint in the WEC and returning to MMA after nine months off, Filho was rusty and lucky to exploit the chink that has resulted in three of Manhoef's six losses: the armbar.
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