Hello again fans and friends and welcome to part 5 of “Heavy Wait”, my ultra-in-depth look at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, an event that I along with many Strikeforce fans have incredibly high hopes for. Today on Heavy Wait, we’re diving right into the tournament itself, as I’m taking all eight participants and giving my thoughts on what I think they should do to beat all seven of their possible opponents. Up next is Antonio Silva, the “Bigfoot” that was the first and only EliteXC Heavyweight Champion. Let’s do this. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome back to the “maxi-series” called “Heavy Wait: The Hunt for Strikeforce Gold”. Last time on Heavy Wait, I addressed some of the negativity concerning the planned Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, but make no mistake, the goal of this series is to get everyone pumped up for what I just know will be an amazing tournament. Currently, I’ve addressed the possible negatives as well as going over the positives and what I think will happen if the tournament lives up to its potential. And now we get into the real meat of “Heavy Wait”: an eight-part series where I examine what each and every fighter in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix has to do in order to ultimately win it all. So let’s get started with one of the major names of the tournament: the one and only Fedor Emelianenko. This is “Heavy Wait: What Fedor Needs To Do In Order to Win It All”. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome back to “Heavy Wait: The Hunt for Strikeforce Gold”. While the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix sounds amazing on paper, I’ll be honest and admit that no tournament is perfect. Some cynics opposed to this tournament are already emerging, and it’d be a bit biased if I didn’t take time to address that section of the fanbase. In the spirit of examining every angle and really giving the Grand Prix an in-depth look, here are the five things I dislike the most about the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. ...

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to the second part of “Heavy Wait”, my in-depth look at the upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. The eight-man tournament featuring eight of Strikeforce’s best Heavyweight fighters should be one of the best things to ever come out of the Strikeforce promotion. But why, exactly, am I so hyped about this tournament? Let’s find out in part 2 of “Heavy Wait”: the five things I like the most about the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. ...

Hello fans and friends and welcome to the start of what I’d like to call a “maxi-series”. Starting today, I’ll be beginning a series of topics called “Heavy Wait: The Hunt for Strikeforce Gold”. The goal of the series is to completely and totally examine the upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix from all sides: what I like about it, what I don’t like, what I think will happen, and much more. I haven’t been this excited for an MMA event in quite some time, and I can’t wait for the Grand Prix to get started. So, to kick off “Heavy Wait”, here are five things (in no particular order) that I think will happen if the Heavyweight Grand Prix lives up to its potential. ...

Fedor Emelianenko will be making his return this February against Antonio Silva, serving as a quarter-final match up in an eight man heavyweight tournament in Strikeforce. The former PRIDE champion was originally rumored to be facing the Brazilian several times, however all signs point to a Feb. 12 meeting at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In addition to Emelianenko and Silva, a proposed match up pitting former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski against DREAM and K-1 veteran Sergei Kharitonov is also slated for the February event. ...

Brazilian heavyweight star Antonio Silva has an important agenda to accomplish. However one thing that has been first on his "to do list" for a long time has been to fight legend and former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko. Silva is currently riding a two-fight win streak under the Strikeforce banner. He extended his winning ways recently when he defeated "King of the Cage" light heavyweight champion and Strikeforce contender Mike Kyle earlier this month in St. Louis. After battling back from some early adversity in the first round when Kyle knocked down the juggernaut heavyweight, Silva eventually worked Kyle to the mat in the second, mounted, and knocked him out with a heavy dose of ground-and-pound assault. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to Part 3 of my special Christmas Day mini-series “All I want for Christmas”. The first half of the second part of my four-part special features some thoughts on what I think the immediate future holds for the surging Strikeforce promotion, which had an up-and-down 2010 but made some considerable gains in the war for the hearts and minds of the average MMA fan. So let’s get started with the Top 5 things I’m looking forward to for Strikeforce in 2011. ...

What an interesting time it must be to be Antonio Silva. The first and only EliteXC Heavyweight champion, “Bigfoot” has been working his way towards top-division status for the last several years and is closer than ever to reaching that goal. Silva most recently fought and beat Mike Kyle after surviving a first-round scare and going on to TKO his opponent at the action-packed strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event. Currently, Silva is being talked about as a possible opponent for the returning Fedor Emelianenko. In a new interview, Silva commented both on Kyle and a potential fight with Fedor. ...

We may not be seeing Alistair Overeem defend his strikeforce heavyweight title for some time. Why? Because after "The Demolition Man" tore through this years' K-1 World Grand Prix claiming the promotion's GP heavyweight championship, he'll be right back in action for another tournament of epic proportion's. It's rumored that Overeem, in addition to 7 other high-profile heavyweight stars will be competing in an 8-man heavyweight tournament under the Strikeforce banner. ...

When it comes to the future of MMA legend and current strikeforce fighter Fedor Emelianenko, any news is good news… right? Maybe not, at least in the minds of some fans. Word has barely gotten out that Fedor Emelianenko may finally be making his return to Strikeforce on January 29 against Antonio Silva, but already the cynics are circling. People are already strongly opposing this potential match-up, for several reasons. However, I personally would really enjoy watching this fight, and in fact, here’s my Top 5 reasons why Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva makes sense and Should happen. ...

While negotiations with Strikeforce and M-1 Global are continuing to become more arduous day by day, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. While proposed match-ups with both Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum have failed to materialize for the immediate future, it looks "The Last Emperor" may next take on top heavyweight contender Antonio Silva in his return to the cage. Fedor was last seen in action this past June when he was shockingly upset by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion in Werdum, whom submitted Emelianenko with a swift triangle choke in just 69 seconds of the opening round. The loss was Fedor's first and only legitimate loss as a professional mixed martial artist. ...

It’s always interesting when a fighter everyone expects to see lose does indeed lose… but comes very close to actually pulling off the upset before he does. That’s exactly the position Mike Kyle finds himself in right now. Kyle fought on short notice and even outside of his normal weight division at the recent Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event, and ultimately he would get pounded out by surging Heavyweight star Antonio Silva. But for the first five minutes, Kyle floored Silva and nearly finished “Bigfoot”. With a broken hand and a heavy heart, Kyle recently commented on how he felt about the fight. ...

Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu” was a Christmas treat come early. Fans were treated to not one, not two, not even three, but four straight (T)KO victories, at least two of which will probably stay on their respective fighter’s highlight reels for the rest of their career. I was proud to be a Strikeforce fan on December 4, and I absolutely can’t wait to see what’s next for the promotion. In that vein, here’s the latest “What’s Next” featuring Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu 2”. ...

What a way to end the year! Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu” is now a thing of the past, and trust me fans and friends, this is the event that everyone should have seen. Does it get much better than four straight, dramatic finishes featuring some of the best talent Strikeforce has to offer? In the main event, Dan Henderson firmly set himself up for a big comeback by KO’ing former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral. Without a doubt, Strikeforce ended 2010 with a roar and not a whimper. Here are the full results to Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu”. ...

Today, all but one of the competitors competing under the Strikeforce banner for tomorrow's event, made the required weight limit for their respective bouts. Headliner's Dan Henderson and Renato Sobral were green lighted for the event when the two light heavyweights came in under the required 205-pound limit. Strikeforce debutant Paul Daley successfully made the 170-pound limit, which in the past he has notoriously struggled with weighty issues however came in at 169 pounds for the welterweight contest. And Scott Smith, who spent nearly his entire career as a middleweight, easily made the transition to the welterweight class when he came in at 170-pounds on the nose. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “Crash Course”. For those unaware, “Crash Course” is an ongoing series where I take an upcoming MMA event and give a quick rundown on why you should care about it. The goal of “Crash Course” is pretty simple: by the time you’re done reading you should know everything you need to know in order to fully enjoy some good, upcoming MMA action. So let’s get right to it with today’s edition, which focuses on the upcoming Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event. ...

Strikeforce will look to end its remarkable 2010 run with the upcoming December 4 “Henderson vs. Babalu” event. Featuring the return of multi-promotion star and veteran Dan Henderson, as well as the return of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral, the event will compete head-to-head with the UFC’s outing on December 4, their “Ultimate Finale” event for the twelfth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. As is customary for a big card, here are my official picks and predictions for Strikeforce: “Henderson vs. Babalu”. ...

Former UFC and WEC veteran Mike Kyle has been tapped as a late replacement for an injured Valentijn Overeem. The older brother of the Strikeforce heavyweight champion in Alistair, was scheduled to make his organizational debut on Dec. 4 opposite of contender Antonio Silva, however Valentijn has since bowed out of the heavyweight clash due to an elbow injury. Kyle, a product of the famed American Kickboxing Academy, steps up for the heavyweight bout on just five-days notice, after having competed primarily in the 205-pound class for his most recent performances. ...

While strikeforce looks to end the year with a good night of fights in the form of their upcoming “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event, the show has gone far from smoothly. Jesse Finney pulled out of the event with a serious injury. One of the bigger attractions of the event, former football great Herschel Walker, also recently had to bow out due to a cut he suffered in training. And now another interesting match-up has gone the way of the dodo, as it’s recently been revealed that Valentijn Overeem has also been pulled from “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” due to injury-related reasons. ...

Brock Lesnar hasn't made a whole lot of friends since his inception into the world of mixed martial arts. However, his skill has been undeniable. While his wrestling pedigree and gargantuan size is a formidable deterrent against most opponents, Cain Velasquez was able to solve the puzzle, quickly at that. Velasquez seized the opportunity to exploit Lesnar at UFC 121 last month, handing him his first knockout loss in his career. The win earned Cain the UFC heavyweight championship, and with the victory, the Mexican-American also showed the chinks in the seemingly untethered armor of Lesnar. But, Antonio Silva, the former EliteXC heavyweight champion and current Strikeforce contender, says that he always knew that Brock was subpar to the rest of his class, and suggests that the Minnesota resident should go back to his professional wrestling days, entertaining the crowd with his "fake fighting" and leave the real fighting to the professionals. ...

It’s been almost five months since Fabricio Werdum shocked the world and gave former PRIDE FC champion and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko his first legitimate loss. Since that time, much has been made of Fedor and his management team M-1 Global’s continued negotiations with the strikeforce promotion. Both sides have yet to come to a deal, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently revealed that they’re closer than ever. Here are all the details. ...

It was a strikeforce bout that had been rumored to be in the works for a while, and recently it’s been made official. Antonio Silva, the first and only EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, will be taking on an Overeem December 4 at Strikeforce’s “Henderson vs. Babalu II” event. The only thing is…it’s not the Overeem everyone wants him to face. “Bigfoot” will be facing Valentijn Overeem, brother to Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, in a fight that seems to have one simple purpose: to get an Alistair/Silva rivalry started by feeding “the other Overeem” to the rising Heavyweight star. ...

After much speculation pointed Antonio Silva to be the next fighter to take on "The Last Emperor", or Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight title, it looks like Silva may be getting what he asked for--well, sort of. The Brazilian heavyweight fighter who hails from American Top Team, was said to be in talks to take on the last and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, before the fighter's management company M-1 Global, and Strikeforce were unable to come to head with new contract negotiations. It appears, as such, that the Russian fighter will not be fighting for the remainder of 2010 accordingly. ...

From a UFC exile struggling to remain relevant in a rapidly-expanding Heavyweight division to one of the biggest assets of the rapidly-expanding Strikeforce promotion…what a difference a few big wins can make for Fabricio Werdum. Werdum shocked the world and made MMA history when he defeated the heavily-favored Fedor Emelianenko in the first legitimate loss of Emelianenko's career. An injury has sidelined Werdum for the past several months and delayed the obvious rematch, but recently, Werdum filled us in on his condition and also gave us his thoughts on new Strikeforce signee and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. ...

A few days ago I reported on strikeforce signing former ufc Heavyweight champion, PRIDE FC standout, and top-ranked Heavyweight Josh Barnett to a multi-fight contract. Some new details have emerged about the deal, courtesy of “The Babyfaced Assassin” himself. Never one to sugar-coat his words, Barnett revealed why he chose Strikeforce and why he looks forward to ripping off heads, drinking blood, and punching eyeballs out in the San Diego-based promotion. And no, none of that was a joke. ...

No matter what your favorite promotion is, it’s fun to play “armchair booker” once in a while and try to envision a fantasy card that brings all of your favorite fighters from competing promotions under one roof to truly determine who the best in the world is. The UFC did just that, for the most part, when they bought out the legendary PRIDE FC promotion in 2007. But with the arrival and rise of the Strikeforce promotion, fans are once again creating fantasy match-ups. To differentiate myself, today’s list will feature five matches between Strikeforce and the UFC that specifically does not include any of the obvious choices, like Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar or Cung Le vs. Anderson Silva. While they're fun debates to have, they've been discussed for quite a while now. With this list, I’m going for a little something different. Some picks may surprise you, but here are my top five (obvious examples excluded) Strikeforce vs. UFC fights. ...

It seems like everyone is a critic nowadays. Both Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem have been in the news lately, with Emelianenko finally answering the challenge Overeem has been throwing down for quite some time, only for Overeem to back off, call out Fedor on the timing of his answer, and say that his next fight will be in K-1. For those that don’t know, Overeem has been challenging Fedor for some time now, saying that “The Last Emperor” is afraid to fight the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. Emelianenko and his management, M-1 Global, recently responded to the challenge, saying that they wanted to make the fight happen by the end of 2010, most likely in a December New Year’s Eve mega-fight in Japan or Russia. After Overeem declined the open invitation to face Fedor, another Strikeforce Heavyweight has recently come out against both men. I guess having one “Bigfoot” in his mouth wasn’t enough (read more about that here), since Antonio Silva recently criticized both Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem for their inability to fight each other. ...

The only man to ever be called Elite XC Heavyweight Champion, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva recently came down hard on industry insiders ranking current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar as the top Heavyweight in the world. Silva recently spoke to tatame.com and asserted that Fabricio Werdum should be the number-one Heavyweight following his surprise submission win over “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianeko, who had sat atop the #1 Heavyweight slot for several years running, at least according to many major news outlets and insider websites. Silva also expressed shock over a fighter having a 5-1 record being considered the best in the world. I, personally, am more shocked that people are taking Antonio Silva seriously when he says things like this. ...

Once again former World Wrestling Entertainment star Bobby Lashley finds himself on the main card of a Strikeforce event. Having gone a perfect 5-0 since debuting in MMA in 2008, Lashley has been subjected to a lot of criticism due to his penchant for fighting newcomers, has-beens, and never-weres. Lashley’s slow build towards legitimate competition seems best served in low-scale regional promotions, but instead, his brick-by-brick ascent to actual credibility has been broadcast on major cards from MMA’s second-largest promotion. Heading into his Strikeforce: Houston match with former IFL fighter Chad Griggs, Lashley is once again seemingly being spoon-fed an opponent. Griggs recently commented on his fight with Lashley, and while I respect the man for taking on the challenge of bringing Bobby Lashley down to earth, I have to say that I don’t like his chances. ...