It's been a rough couple of years for Gesias, aka "JZ" Cavalcante. For the Brazilian lightweight standout, he has severed ties with his longtime home in American Top Team and has had his battles in DREAM, where he may or may not have been paid for all of his duties overseas. And after a controversial decision loss to Josh Thomson in his strikeforce debut, there was not much of an upside to the recent happenings in his mixed martial arts career. 1-3 in his last four outings, Cavalcante will look to be the man to end the hot streak of Justin Wilcox come this June when the two men meet at the upcoming Strikeforce event. ...

Justin Wilcox is looking to continue to climb up the ranks of the lightweight division in Strikeforce, and he's close to becoming one of the top products in the organization. Currently riding a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins coming under the Strikeforce banner, Wilcox earned arguably the biggest win of his career in his last outing, when he defeated perennial top-10 fighter Vitor Ribeiro, dominating the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist over the course of three-rounds, taking home a decision victory. Now, the American Kickboxing Academy product will be headlining tomorrow nights Challenger Series event opposite of Sengoku veteran Rodrigo Damm, who under the Japanese banner was able to TKO budding lightweight star Jorge Masvidal. Should Wilcox pass this test, he could be primed up for a top contender bout that could lead to a title shot. ...

In my search to find a replacement “little promotion that could” now that the WEC is no more, Strikeforce’s “Challengers” series of shows stands out as one of my most-likely candidates. After a slightly disappointing “Challengers 13” made me hold off on officially declaring the series my new “dark horse favorite”, “Challengers 14” blasted the series back into top contention with what will likely be one of the most under-rated shows of the year. “Challengers” could finally take the throne if its fifteenth event lives up to its potential, with five fights recently being confirmed for the show. Here are all the latest details. ...

It’s that time again, fans and friends. The crystal ball is coming out and I’m unleashing my inner Nostradamus. Strikeforce Challengers 12: “Shaolin vs. Wilcox” is now a thing of the past, and several interesting stories came out of the twelfth iteration of Strikeforce’s and Showtime’s long-running series designed to highlight the future stars of MMA. As is customary with most major and semi-major MMA cards, here’s the latest edition of my “What’s Next” column, where I give my thoughts on what the future holds for some of the big winners and losers of a recent MMA event. Let’s get to it. ...

Late night marked the twelfth edition of the “Strikeforce Challengers” series of shows, an event series traditionally designed to highlight up-and-coming Strikeforce talent. “Challengers 12” featured a wide cast of characters from areas and disciplines around the globe, and in the main event, a feared submission wizard took another unfortunate tumble down the chasm that leads to rock bottom. Here are the full results as well as some commentary on Strikeforce Challengers 12: “Shaolin vs. Wilcox”. ...

Strikeforce Challengers series has returned with it's twelfth installment, which takes place later tonight at the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Mississippi. The event is headlined by a pivotal lightweight match up against former top-10 lightweight star/former Shooto champion Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro against top prospect Justin Wilcox. Serving as the nights co-headliner, "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran Antwain Britt looks to bounce back from his first defeat under the Strikeforce banner when he takes on Ovince St. Preux in what should turn into an interesting stand up affair. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “Crash Course”, the series designed to give fans a quick rundown on all the latest MMA events set to air. Today’s edition features the upcoming “Strikeforce Challengers 12” event, which is set to air tonight on Showtime. I can admit that this show sneaked up on me and basically flew under my radar, but upon closer inspection, it looks like a good card. So let’s get started. ...

"Thoroughbred" Jay Hieron (15-4) picked up the Strikeforce welterweight strap in a five-round UD over The Ultimate Fighter alum "JT Money" Jesse Taylor (8-3) on the undercard at Strikeforce in San Jose Friday.

The Pit 205-pound prospect, former kickboxer Scott Lighty (5-0) TKO'd Mike Cook (7-7) on the undercard at Strikeforce in San Jose Friday. The referee stepped in to end the beating at 2:05 of the first round.

The fight night opened with lightweight Alexander Trevino (5-0) remaining undefeated by tapping out Isaiah Hill (3-6-1) in a keylock at 3:56 of round one.

Strikeforce light heavyweight champion “Babalu” Renato Sobral (31-8) and challenger “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (21-2-1) made the 205-pound weight limit for their title fight in San Jose Saturday with pounds to spare. Defending champion "Babalu" weighed 201 pounds while challenging prospect Mousasi weighed 204 pounds. Heavyweight UFC cast-off "Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) weighed 228 pounds. His late replacement opponent, American Kickboxing Academy's "MAK" Mike Kyle (11-6-1), weighed 219 pounds. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked Kazuo Misaki (21-8-2) TKO'd "Diesel" Joe Riggs (28-11) at 2:29 of round two Saturday night in Beverly Hills, north of Los Angeles. "I'm happy with the win," Misaki said through an interpreter. There was a frustrating seven-minute build-up to the fireworks finale in which both veterans circled and strategized while  the crowd begged for action. Riggs struck first in the second round, nailing Misaki with a big left and a kick; but, Misaki countered with a right cross that floored "Diesel". Misaki followed Riggs to the mat and landed several shots before referee Josh Rosenthal ended the fight. "I had my hands covering my head," argued Riggs after the stoppage.  "But it is what it is." Strikeforce Lightweight Champion "Punk" Josh Thomson (16-2) knocked "Archer" Ashe Bowman to the fence with a right and followed up with a flurry before referee Herb Dean ended the fight at 1:14 of round one. ...

Japanese lightweight "Endless Warrior" Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) will debut in North America versus "Silverback" Justin Wilcox (5-2) in Beverly Hills, north of Los Angeles, 20 September for Strikeforce. Ishida tapped in a rear-naked choke to "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno (25-11-4) in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 11 May in the second round of DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix. Wilcox, a former NCAA Division I wrestler at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, won a decision over Gabe Ruediger (11-5) in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles, 30 August. Wilcox trains at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose with Fighters.com's fourth-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (11-2) and fifth-ranked Jon Fitch (17-3). "I love the way they train.  They have that grind that I’m used to from wrestling in college so I feel at home here," said Wilcox, who became the first true freshman in Edinboro history to win the NCAA national qualifying tournament. "My college coach always said if you want to be a champ, you have to surround yourself with champs so I went out to AKA and haven’t lost since." ...