I reported recently that former PRIDE FC and UFC star and newly-signed strikeforce star Dan Henderson had said that his recent inactivity was due to some political warfare between Strikeforce and the CBS network that has kept “Hendo” off the airwaves. CBS seems to be hesitant to re-invest in MMA despite the network boasting some of the highest-rated MMA shows in history, back when it was the now-defunct EliteXC promotion and not Strikeforce that was on national TV. And for good reason: the last CBS-televised Strikeforce event saw a post-fight brawl break out on national television after three straight fights went to a full five-round decision. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently commented on the situation in an interview with Sherdog. Here’s what the soft-spoken promoter had to say. ...

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is in an enviable and yet at the same time not-so-enviable position. As the head of the largest MMA promotion not directly owned by Zuffa and therefore the largest alternative to the juggernaut that is the UFC, Coker is in charge of such big-name talents as Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz, and many more. While he can put on major cards on the Showtime network and even CBS, Coker still struggles daily with the growing nature of his promotion and the simple fact that he’s not number one in the game. In a recent interview, the soft-spoken promoter filled us all in on where he stands with some of Strikeforce’s biggest stars and his even bigger plans for the future. ...

Ask any EliteXC fans (if there are any left) what “don’t be scared homie” means, and you’re likely to get a chuckle. Immediately after KJ Noons defeated Yves Edwards to defend the EliteXC Lightweight Championship he won off of a victory over Nick Diaz, Diaz would get into the cage with many of his Team Cesar Gracie teammates and utter those words to his hated rival. What followed was an in-ring scuffle between both camps that remains infamous to this day. With one Diaz-led brawl already under his belt, how is strikeforce CEO Scott Coker going to prevent all-out mayhem when Diaz and Noons face each other once again? Here’s what he had to say on a new episode of “The MMA Hour”. ...

As the year is coming closer to an end, the now annual World MMA Awards, which is hosted by Fighters Only Magazine, has recently announced their finalists for the December 1st event, which will take place once again in Las Vegas, Nev., which has become a hot bed for all things fighting related. The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States. ...

A fight between Strikeforce lightweight champion "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez (18-2) and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2) is in the works. We are finally starting to see cross-promotional fights that the fans have been clamoring for since the days of Pride Fighting Championships. ...

I had an interview with "Fancy Pants" Lyle Beerbohm (13-0) about his life and upcoming fight with  "Shaolin" Vitor Ribeiro (20-3) at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on May 15 in St. Louis. What transpired was Lyle venting about his frustrations with Strikeforce as we moved through the interview. Since that time I have talked with all the players involved and they have come to a resolution. What follows is the story as only Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio can bring you along with the exclusive press release. ...

Fighters.com reported earlier this week that current Strikeforce fighter “Iron” Mike Whitehead (24-7) was being sought as a person of interest in an alleged sexual assault and marijuana-grow operation. Mike was arrested and charged with three felonies according to a release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department today. ...

Fighters.com heavyweight champion “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) still isn't signed to fight ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) at Strikeforce in San Jose in June, according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker speaking to MMA Weekly Radio. ...

Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko's (30-1) Strikeforce matchup versus ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) has been rumored for April, then May, and now Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is pegging the fight for June, according to MMA Weekly. ...

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMA Junkie, "I can tell you this: If Cesar Gracie says to me, 'Jose's training with me, I'm going to get him ready, and I'm going to do it in four or five months,' and Cesar's telling me this? That will have a lot of weight on what we decide [about Canseco fighting for Strikeforce.]" ...

"It's the 17th and it's full steam ahead," said Strikefore CEO Scott Coker in an MMA Junkie interview Friday. "The 17th was always a good day when we chose it. We still feel the same way, and so does CBS." Rumors had surfaced that the date of the second Strikeforce event to air live on CBS could be moved depending on the UFC's decision to air counter programming coinciding with the Strikeforce broadcast. ...

UFC President Dana White has been criticized for the promotion's all-bases-covered, iron-clad contracts that prevent UFC fighters from fighting in any other promotion.  But, White has an advantage over promotions that don't follow suit.  When White wants a fight, he gets the fight if the fighters he wants matched up are under contract. ...

It was announced that heavyweight boxing champion “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) has signed a five-fight deal with the UFC. The latest is that the contract is the first ever non-exclusive contract that the UFC has done. The signing of Toney can be looked at as a freak show, a shot to beat Strikeforce to the punch or a vehicle to prove that MMA is greater than boxing but no matter how you view it the important question is what will this do for the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). ...

The last few weeks we have seen a lot going on inside the Strikeforce organization. Some of it,well most of it, seems rather negative and I wonder if we are watching the final days of the organization. ...

This coming Saturday UFC 110 takes place and we get to see a man that was once considered the most feared fighter in mixed martial arts, "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1). The question has been posed that if Silva were to lose what happens to him on what is commonly referred to as "UFC Cut Day". I am hear to tell you that Wanderlei is not going anywhere. ...

The breakdown in negotiations between boxing champions Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. over Pacquiao's apparent resistance to submit to an Olympic-style blood test has presented MMA with a golden opportunity to further differentiate itself from the often frustrating sport of boxing. ...

“King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (5-0) has renewed his call for a matchup versus Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) after Lawal's impressive first-round stoppage of “Iron” Mike Whitehead (24-7) at Strikeforce in San Jose December 19. ...

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog Saturday in San Jose, "I think Fedor will fight [in April on CBS].  Looks like he'll fight Fabricio Werdum." ...

Former two-division PRIDE champion, two-division UFC title challenger, and Fighters.com's third-ranked middleweight “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7) has signed with Strikeforce after a 22-month, 3-2 stint with the UFC. ...

Scott Coker, CEO of Strikeforce, stated to the media before Strikeforce in Chicago November 7 that the winners of that night's two key heavyweight bouts could meet at a future fight for the Strikeforce title, now held by “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (29-10). ...

Perhaps former Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le (6-0) responded Friday morning to Fighters.com's request for confirmation that he'll vacate his title and questions about whether he was retiring from MMA vaguely, only revealing, "Details are still being worked out." ...

Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) will display his skills for a sure-to-be tough crowd of New Yorkers at Fighthouse at 122 West 27th Street Wednesday at 3:30 PM EST. Media and fans will have an opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with Fedor in an open workout and meet-and-greet. Emelianenko is scheduled in an exhibition sparring match with Strikeforce light heavyweight champ “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) at Friday’s M-1 Global Breakthrough in Kansas City. ...

Strikeforce cut welterweight "New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (13-11) Thursday.

In an unusual and stinging press release, the San Jose-based promotion justified it's decision: "The 33-year-old Baroni has lost four of his last seven bouts. In his last appearance, a welterweight matchup with "Diesel" Joe Riggs (30-11) [in St. Louis 6 June], Baroni sustained a one-sided defeat by way of unanimous judges’ decision."

Before Baroni's release was officially announced, Sherdog reported Baroni had verbally agreed to a contract returning him to the UFC for the first time since tapping out in a guillotine to "Drago" Pete Sell (8-5) at UFC 51 in Las Vegas in February 2005.
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Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed Fighters.com's hypothesis that Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy was Affliction's final event regardless of ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett's (20-5) positive test for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, causing the cancellation of Trilogy.

Barnett denies using steroids.

In an interview published at MMA Weekly, Coker said, "That was already in the works. How they got out...[if] they became a sponsor for Strikeforce, [were] the conversations we were having. This was their last fight, so there would be no more fighters. The dialogue was that they were getting out of the business a month ago."
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