Siyar Bahadurzada has been getting no love from Strikeforce as of late. The Golden Glory product believes that now would be the best time for the newly minted welterweight star to make his inception into the United States and make a run at the title. It's been somewhat of a dream of his for a long time, and the Sengoku veteran has shown that he is capable of performing at the top-level, recording some of the biggest wins of his career recently stopping both Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos--who just challenged for the Strikeforce 170-pound title--and UFC vet Derrick Noble. The Afghan native has since signed a contract with the San Jose based organization earlier last year, however has since been unable to debut in the promotion, and he recently voiced some his frustrations, and CEO Scott Coker has since replied in kind. ...

I consider myself an MMA fan first and foremost, but I’ll admit that my first reaction was “Who?” when it was announced that Siyar Bahadurzada was recently part of an interview that saw him go on a verbal rampage and take surging promotion Strikeforce to task for not utilizing him in over a year since he signed his Strikeforce contract. Nevertheless, I soon learned exactly who Bahadurzada was, since the interview quickly roared through the internet and invited a host of controversy and discussion. Bahadurzada recently commented on the controversy, and he had some interesting points. Here are the highlights as well as my reaction. ...

To say that Siyar Bahadurzada is kosher with his strikeforce patriarchs is a grave, grave understatement. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The current Shooto light heavyweight champion, who recently scored a knockout victory over UFC veteran Derrick Noble last October in his welterweight debut, signed with Strikeforce last year however has yet to debut in the promotion. Now after having gone back and forth with the San Jose based organization, Siyar has taken aim at some of the leading executives and holds no punches back. Caution, there is loads of profanity. ...

Golden Glory's "Afghan Killa" Siyar Bahadurzada (9-4-1) and Dion Staring (13-3) will fight in separate bouts at Glory 11 in Amsterdam 17 October, Fighters.com has confirmed.

Fighters.com reported 31 August that Strikeforce heavyweight champ “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) will headline the MMA portion of the mixed card versus a yet-to-be-named opponent.

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"Afghan Killa" Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1) spoke exclusively with Fighters.com after his controversial victory over "Cyborg" Evangelista Santos (16-12) by TKO due to injury in the first round of Sengoku's Middleweight Grand Prix.

As a child, Bahadurzada immigrated to the Netherlands from war-torn Afghanistan, but became stuck there without a passport as his fight career took off.  In July 2007, he was finally allowed to travel to Japan to fight (and beat) Shiko Yamashita (10-4-3) for the Shooto title. Fighters.com: Can you describe the difference between your feelings when you first arrived in Holland after leaving Afghanistan, then when you first arrived in Japan to fight after being stuck in Holland?  Holland must've been both a place of refuge from war-torn Afghanistan, but then like a cage keeping you from furthering your fight career? Siyar Bahadurzada: When I first came to Holland I felt like I was given a second chance.  I just went for it and kept trying to make something out of my life.  I learned to speak Dutch in almost six months.  I was [studying] very hard and, besides, not to forget, I'm pretty gifted in learning languages. I can speak several languages very well. But, when I went to Japan, I felt different.  Coming to Holland was different because I was saved from the war; but, when I came to Japan, I felt like, "Now it is my time to shine.  My 15 minutes of fame is on!"  I feel invincible when I'm in Japan.  Somehow, the environment in Japan drives me to my limits, motivates me to take one step more and go for my dreams! ...

World Victory Road has officially added their Middleweight Grand Prix to Sengoku 6, taking place 1 November in Saitama, Japan. The winner of the tournament will face Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) for the first-ever middleweight belt 4 January in Saitama at Sengoku 7. Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8) will face Yuki Sasaki (22-14-1), and Jorge Santiago (18-7) will face “Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1). The event already features a lightweight tournament to determine an opponent for Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) at Sengoku 7 for the title. The bouts remaining in the lightweight tournament are Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) versus sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2), and Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) versus Mizuto Hirota (10-2). WVR also announced that Fighters.com’s Fighter of the Month “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) will fight, although an opponent has not yet been determined. “GameBred” Jorge Masvidal (14-3) versus Seung Hwan Bang (5-2) is also official. Joe Doerksen (40-12) revealed through MySpace Tuesday that he has agreed to fight Izuru Takeuchi (25-9-6). ...

MMA rookie “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) upset “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-12) by first-round TKO at 2:11 Sunday night in Tokyo. Lawal staggered Wiuff with a right Superman punch, then rushed in with a double-leg takedown at the ropes.  Lawal leapt on Wiuff and finished him off with ground’n’pound. Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion “Xande” Alexandre Ribeiro (1-0) TKO’d Takashi Sugiura (1-3) in the last minute of his anticipated MMA debut. ...

World Victory Road announced Friday a middleweight tournament for Sengoku 5 at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo 28 September. The first four competitors named for the tournament are Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-8), “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-11), Jorge Santiago (17-7), and Siyar Bahadurzada (13-3-1). Nakamura, a PRIDE veteran, fought most recently in the UFC.  He was 0-2 in the organization, falling to Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked light heavyweight “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) with a leg injury in May. Nakamura will make his debut as a middleweight at the upcoming event. Santos, from the Chute Boxe, Academy, won his last fight by submitting Makoto Takimoto (4-4) with an Achilles lock at Sengoku 1 in March. American Top Team member Santiago won his last five fights, most recently submitting Yuki Sasaki (21-14-1) via armbar at Sengoku 2 in May. Shooto Light Heavyweight Champion Bahadurzada lost his Sengoku debut in March, tapping to Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2)’s guillotine. ...

Fighters.com's top-ranked middleweight "Spider" Anderson Silva (21-4) has sucked the air out of this division. In April, second-ranked "Ace" Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ "Serial Killer" Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva. As mentioned in 3 May's Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight. Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds. Hendo' dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving "Hollywood" without a win at 185-pounds in two years. His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo' just needs a win in the Octagon. The trail on the "Hitman" Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku. Third-ranked "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil. He's scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don't hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout. Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen. Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama's (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw. Fifth-ranked "Thunder" Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at "Spider", but no official word yet. Sixth-ranked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May. Ninth-ranked "Mayhem" Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the "W" does little to propel him forward in the division. May Middleweight Rankings 1. "Spider" Anderson Silva (21-4) “Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger. 2. "Ace" Rich Franklin (23-3) Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. "Ace" finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July. 3. "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0) Filho's perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking. 4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1) The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback. 5. "Thunder" Yushin Okami (22-4) Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes. 6. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) “Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses. 7. "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch. 8. "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1. 9. "Mayhem" Jason Miller (21-5) Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years. 10. "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) "Hollywood" served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn't follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit. ...

Josh Barnett, judo champion? "The Babyfaced Assassin" from Seattle tread the path of his catch wrestling forefather Ad Santel Wednesday by submitting Japanese Olympic gold medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida (7-6-1) by heel hook at 3:23 of round three at World Victory Road's inaugural Sengoku fight card in Tokyo. A century ago, Santel waged war with judoka and proclaimed himself the world judo champion after defeating fifth-degree black belt Tokugoro Ito. "I revived this rivalry when I fought Kazuhiro Nakamura," Barnett (21-5) told Sherdog.com. "And, so I'm keeping it going for this century now." The fight was the American's first in MMA since losing a unanimous decision rematch with current interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) on New Year's Eve 2006. His layoff had erased his name from most rankings which require activity in the previous 365-days; but, vanquishing the samurai establishes Barnett's status as a top five heavyweight. Also returning to active duty, former PRIDE Lightweight Champion "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) sliced open "Bang" Duane Ludwig (16-8) of Denver to earn a first round stoppage at 2:28. Gomi had been out of commission  since tapping to Nick Diaz (15-7) in a gogoplata at PRIDE's last American card in February 2007.  After Diaz tested positive for smoking a doob', the outcome was deemed a No Contest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) got back to winning Wednesday with a guillotine submission of middleweight Afghan Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at 2:02 of round two. Thick-skulled Japanese wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) posted a north-south choke tapout of MMA-debuting Aussie kickboxer Peter Graham (0-1). "Cyborg" Evangelista Santos (16-11) won the second of his two-month trilogy by wrapping Japanese judoka Makoto Takimoto in a heel hook at 4:51 of round one. Santos will fight Joey Villasenor on a San Jose Strikeforce card at the end of March. Middleweight Pancrase vet Ryo Kawamura (8-2-2) of Japan won a unanimous decision over formerly undefeated Brazilian Antonio Braga Neto (5-1). Bodog Fight welterweight king "The Goat" Nick Thompson (35-9-1) also won a unanimous decision over Gracie Barra "Pitbull" Fabricio Monteiro (16-7). ...