In the case of Roger Gracie, not only does he remain undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist when he defeated the ten-year veteran in Trevor Prangley with a swift rear-naked choke, but not before showing off some of his much improved stand up skills which aided him with his latest victory.

In his second outing under the Strikeforce banner, and his second overall as a newly minted light heavyweight fighter, Roger displayed his boxing technique, as he was able to utilize his long 6’4 frame to keep Prangley at a distance. With long jabs, kicks, and some new shoulder rolls thrown in, Gracie was able to seize the opportunity when it presented himself, as he took down the South African wrestler midway through the round.

Roger used his stifling Jiu-Jitsu skills as he was able to mount the UFC veteran quickly, and after a few short punches, Prangley allowed Gracie to secure his back. After some back-and-forth hand fighting, the 29-year-old was able to eventually lock in the fight ending rear-naked choke, which came in at 4:19 of the first-round.

A clean-kill it was, as Roger was able to leave unscathed as now has recorded his first victory of the new year, and with a performance like that against a high-caliber opponent such as the American Kickboxing Academy product in Trevor, things will only get bigger and better from here on out for the Brazilian.

So, MMA peeps, what did you think of Jiu-Jitsu black belt’s performance? Where would you like to see Roger go from here? Some interesting fights, potentially with Gegard Mousasi, “King Mo”, and Mike Kyle may await him in the immediate future. Sound off in the comment section below.

First we head to MMA Weekly for a pair of announcements concerning Strikeforce’s upcoming January 29 event. The report states that both Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson and Trevor Prangley vs. Roger Gracie are being planned for Strikeforce’s first major outing of 2011. Walker/Carson was previously scheduled for the aforementioned “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event before an injury forced Walker, a legendary NFL and college football player, to pull out.

MMA veteran Trevor Prangley most recently beat down-on-his-luck former UFC standout Keith Jardine at Shark Fights 13. Roger Gracie, of the famed Gracie clan, recently returned to MMA after taking almost two years off. Gracie would go on to choke out Kevin Randleman at Strikeforce’s “Heavy Artillery” event. Gracie’s MMA record remains flawless, with three wins, all by submission, and no losses.

While generally regarded as the “B-show”, or perhaps “B-series” is a more appropriate term, Strikeforce recently added a very promising bout to its next “Challengers” event. Once again MMA Weekly gives us the scoop: Strikeforce has signed undefeated prospect and highly-decorated Olympian-level judoka Rhadi Ferguson to take on the also-undefeated Ion Cherdivara at their upcoming Strikeforce Challengers 13 event, currently scheduled for January 7. Tyron Woodley vs. Tarec Saffiedine is set to headline the event, with Daniel Cormier and Ovince St. Preux also expected to compete.

As a big Strikeforce fan, I’m really getting excited for what should be an incredible 2011. Strikeforce’s January 29 card may not have Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva, but it’s definitely shaping up to be a good night of action. I think Trevor Prangley is exactly the kind of tough, grizzled veteran that Roger Gracie needs to face in order to emerge out of the shadow of his last name and stand on his own two feet as a respected fighter. Opinions remain mixed when it comes to Herschel Walker, but I’ve personally never had a problem with the man and I’ll enjoy seeing him fight again.

If Strikeforce Challengers 13 lives up to all of its potential, I think the “Challengers” series of events will have officially entered “under-rated” and “under-appreciated” territory. These events may not feature the biggest names, but they’ve been delivering some excellent fights on a consistent basis. I’ve always found it fascinating when high-level combat athletes attempt  MMA, so while I’ve never heard of Rhadi Ferguson before now, I’ll certainly tune in to watch him fight and see what he brings to the table.

Now more and more it looks like Strikeforce is going to blow the doors wide open and really emerge as a viable alternative to the UFC in 2011. Maybe I’m getting my hopes up, maybe my Strikeforce fanboyism is on overdrive. But, hey, it’s the holiday season. Good will towards men, high hopes for all, and all that. You’re free to agree or disagree, but me? I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Strikeforce.

But what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on these new developments or Strikeforce in general as 2011 nears?

Here’s what he had to say: “I just had a pretty slow start. I never make excuses for my fights, but coming out before this fight I had the worst migraine in the world. It took me two rounds to get through that, everything he was touching me with hurt. I was in a bad situation, so I gritted it out and in the third round my head kinda cleared up and things worked out well in that round, but I guess not well enough to win the fight. I really don’t know [what to do next]. I’m just going to keep fighting and see what happens. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

It’s really tough to see Keith Jardine in this situation. It’s always hard to see someone with so much potential fail to live up to it, but it’s especially rough when that person has little-to-no personal defects. Jardine doesn’t have an inflated ego or an inflated sense of self-worth, he hasn’t ruined his potential by juicing or getting hooked on drugs or the party lifestyle. Jardine has always been and likely always will be a very humble tough-as-nails fighter that wants to give the fans a good show win or lose. When that kind of fighter falls on hard times, it just plain sucks.

I really don’t know where Keith Jardine goes from here. Some fans and insiders are already predicting that Jardine will be the next Jens Pulver or Ken Shamrock and will compete far past his prime in low-level promotions and still not have any sort of positive win/loss ratio. Some are even saying that Jardine should save himself the trouble and retire right now, and just come to grips with the fact that he’s peaked at 34 and should bow out of the sport that has kept him fed since 2001.

Others seem a bit more optimistic, and I’m currently siding with them. Jardine isn’t dead yet. Five straight losses is an incredibly tough hole to dig yourself out of, but if anyone can do it, Jardine can. As they say, it’s always darkest before the dawn. Jardine is still a talented fighter, he still has name value, he can still make his money and get his fights. If anyone deserves one last chance, it’s the guy who gave us some incredibly wild brawls and some greatly entertaining fights.

And for my money? I’ll propose something a bit radical. I think Keith Jardine should change his camp. It may sound ludicrous to leave Greg Jackson, the man behind people like Georges St. Pierre and Rashad Evans, but I honestly think that Jardine’s unorthodox style is stagnating at Greg Jackson’s camp. All of the best fighters in Jackson’s camp, the past and present champions, have always been wrestlers. Jardine has never been and never will be a wrestler. He needs to get into a striking-based camp that can best utilize and understand his wildly unorthodox style.

And what do you think, fans and friends? What kind of future does Keith Jardine have left in MMA, if he has one at all?

Courtesy of MMAMania.com, the fights went down as follows: Trevor Prangley defeats Keith Jardine via Split Decision. Houston Alexander defeats Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO (Strikes) at 1:31 of Round Two. Paul Daley defeats Jorge Masvidal via Unanimous Decision. Danillo Villefort defeats Joey Villasenor via Unanimous Decision. Tarec Saffiedine defeats Brock Larson via Unanimous Decision. Ronnie Mann defeats Douglas Evans via Split Decision. Paul Bradley defeats Johnny Reese via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:28 of Round One. Aaron Rosa defeats Devin Cole via Unanimous Decision. Daniel Straus defeats Karen Darabedyan via Unanimous Decision. Eric Davila defeats Pete Spratt via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:49 of Round Two.

I didn’t get a chance to check out the full undercard on Sherdog, but I did catch a few fights here and there. I’ve got no major complaints with what I saw. When it comes to the main card, it was a bit hit-and-miss to be honest. I didn’t like how most of the fights went to the judges, with almost every decision fight having at least one boring round. Although, for the most part, we got ourselves some good fights from some talented athletes.

In regards to specific fights, Paul Daley proved once again that he badly needs to work on his wrestling. Masvidal seemed to be taking him down at will, with Daley offering very little in the way of defense. I think the only thing that saved Daley was a late-round resurgence built upon a key referee stand-up that did seem debatable. Even though he won, Daley proved that he still needs a lot of work and that he isn’t always the one-hit KO artist he’s hyped up to be.

I think Alexander vs. Sokoudjou was easily the Fight of the Night. I was a little hesitant about this fight, thinking that I’d be in for a long and boring night if the Houston Alexander that fought Kimbo Slice showed up against the Sokoudjou that fought Lyoto Machida. What we got was both men at their relative best, with Sokoudjou landing some crazy shots in Round 1 but Alexander somehow surviving, rallying, and beating a gassed-out Sokoudjou down in Round 2. It was an intense, emotional fight. It wasn’t technical by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a good brawl.

If one emotion could summarize my feelings regarding the main event of Shark Fights 13, it would be “sadness”. Love him or hate him, for all his ups and downs, you’ve simply got to respect the Techno Viking. Keith Jardine came out to fight and tried his best to beat Trevor Prangley, including a fantastic resurgence in Round 3 that was unfortunately a case of “too little, too late”. Prangley deserves a lot of credit for his methodical counter-punching style, and I think he could go far as the Shark Fights Light Heavyweight Champion. But man it hurt to see Jardine lose five in a row.

I honestly don’t know where “The Dean of Mean” goes from here. 0-5 is an incredibly hard hole to dig yourself out of, even if those five losses were against some super-stacked competition. I honestly believe that nothing short of a complete overhaul, starting from the ground up, will save Jardine’s career. But wherever he does go from here, I’ll be pulling for him. I’m going to hold out hope for Keith Jardine. The alternative is the sad realization that one of my “dark horse” favorites has peaked at the age of 34 and has no future in this business. And I’m simply not ready to accept that yet.

And what about you, fans and friends? Now that it’s come and gone, what did you think of Shark Fights 13?

Courtesy of MMAMania.com, the weigh-in results were as follows: Keith Jardine (204.5) vs. Trevor Prangley (202.75), Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204.75) vs. Houston Alexander (204.75), Paul Daley (172) vs. Jorge Masvidal (168.75), Joey Villasanor (185.5) vs. Danillo Villefort (184.5), Tarec Saffiedine (169.75) vs. Brock Larson (170.75),  Douglas Evans (144.25) vs. Ronnie Mann (144.75), Paul Bradley (170.5) vs. Johnny Reese (169.25), Aaron Rosa (241.75) vs. Devin Cole (233.25), Karen Darabedyan (155.75) vs. Daniel Straus (152.75), Eric Davila (176.5) vs. Pete Spratt (170.25)

Paul Daley was given an hour to cut the necessary weight in order to make 171, but after tipping the scales once again, had lost only a fourth of a pound. Daley, who has struggled to make the cut to 170 in the past, will now forfeit a whopping ten percent of his fight purse to his opponent.

I have to wonder what Paul Daley’s doing wrong. His body and build seems like a natural welterweight. Sure, he’s a bit on the bulky side. But he’s nowhere close to athletes like Thiago Alves, who I’m convinced could make Middleweight with his eyes closed and could even make Light Heavyweight if he tried. Daley is a small, compact fighter, and I think Welterweight is the best place for him. I think his striking power and speed would be not-insignificantly diminished if he jumped up to Middleweight. I’ve been a vocal proponent of fighters moving up to their natural weight class, especially when they miss weight repeatedly. But for Paul Daley, I honestly think that he may just not be trying hard enough.

In regards to the fights themselves, I have to admit, this is one good-looking card. I like that Shark Fights is trying to play to their fighter’s strengths when making their match-ups. I think Keith Jardine has a very good shot at taking a large step forward on the comeback trail in his fight with Prangley. I don’t see him scoring a big one-hit KO, but I can see him softening up Prangley in Round 1 and finishing him in Round 2 with a final barrage of TKO-inducing strikes. Alexander vs. Sokoudjou also interests me because both men have given us epic KO’s as well as extremely lackluster performances. It will be very interesting to see which versions of themselves show up at Shark Fights, but if they fight at their best, it could be one of the best fights of the night.

All in all, I’ve got no real problem with Shark Fights. Their main-card fights are loaded with potential, and their undercard should give us at least a couple sleeper hits. So I like what they’re doing and I wish them success. And don’t forget that Sherdog.com will be hosting a free, live stream of the undercard bouts on their website.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Now that all the fights are official, what’s your take on Shark Fights in general and this card in particular?

According to the Sherdog report, the live stream will feature matches like Douglas Evans vs. Ronnie Mann and Marcus Hicks vs. Karen Darabedyan. The main event features Keith Jardine taking on Trevor Prangley. Prangley was on a five fight win streak before drawing with Karl Amoussou and then getting submitted via Rear Naked Choke by Tim Kennedy. Jardine is on a four-fight losing streak, piling up some very unfortunate and very tough losses to the likes of Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva, and Ryan Bader. Until his recent termination, Jardine was a thirteen-fight veteran inside the UFC, which is unquestionably the world’s best MMA promotion with the deepest roster of best-in-the-world fighters. Jardine had also gained a sizeable following in the UFC due to his willingness to engage and ability to tough out a victory.

The other bouts slated for the event also feature a host of former UFC, Strikeforce, and even PRIDE FC stars. The official lineup for Shark Fights 13 reads as such: Keith Jardine vs. Trevor Prangley, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Houston Alexander, Paul Daley vs. Jorge Masvidal, Joey Villasenor vs. Drew McFedries, Brock Larson vs. Tarec Saffiedine, Douglas Evans vs. Ronnie Mann, Paul Bradley vs. Johnny Rees, Devin Cole vs. Aaron Rosa, Karen Darabedyan vs. Marcus Hicks, and Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila.

While some may be quick to point out that this card is mostly filled with people who weren’t good enough for the major promotions, I’m more of a “glass half full” kind of guy. On any given day, these fighters could go out and put on great performances. Many have done so in the past. They may have fallen on hard times recently, but that shouldn’t overshadow the expansive skills they’ve shown at their best. I think these fights make sense, and that Shark Fights made some great match-ups with the talent they’ve been given. This should be an entertaining event, and I applaud both Shark Fights for taking the gamble on Pay-Per-View and Sherdog for giving Shark Fights more exposure while giving fight fans more quality Mixed Martial Arts.

It probably won’t register on anyone’s “Events of the Year” list, but a solid event is a solid event. I have to be honest and admit that I won’t be counting off the days and marking my calendar to see either the free streaming undercard or the main card on Pay-Per-View. But there are far worse things I could be doing with my time than watching some free and most importantly legal streaming Mixed Martial Arts. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I can see myself giving this promotion a chance come September 11.

And what about you, fans and friends? With a portion of the card now free and easily accessible to anyone with a high-speed internet connection, how excited are you for the upcoming “Shark Fights 13” event?

Anchored by notables Trevor Prangley, a Strikeforce middleweight standout who also serves as Shark Fights’ light heavyweight champion, will face UFC veteran and MMA notable Keith Jardine in a 205-pound match that will be contested as a non-title, three round affair.

The rest of the card is littered with other UFC notables such as additional light heavyweights Houston Alexander taking on the “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Also confirmed for the broadcast is UFC castoff, Paul Daley against an as of yet announced opponent, a middleweight slug fest against Drew McFedries and Joey Villasenor.

The main card is said to be priced at $29.95, a considerable amount for Shark Fight’s first go around on a PPV broadcast, but with a card that stacked, its considerably a desirable watch.

The card takes place on September 11, at the Amarillo Civic Center in Texas, which has been home to several of Shark Fights’ previous endeavors.

Even though preliminary card can serve as a main card in most cases, and the promotion is not ruling out possible plans to feature said preliminary’s in some capacity, whether it be an online stream, or something of that nature.

Doug Evans, a former UFC lightweight turned featherweight, will take on Sengoku veteran Ronnie Mann for the 145-pound title.

Former WEC top welterweight contender and UFC standout Brock Larson will also be in action, though no opponent has been mentioned as of yet.

Sengoku, Bellator, and EliteXC veteran Dave Herman will be in a heavyweight clash against Strikeforce veteran Aaron Rosa, while WEC veterans Marcus Hicks and Karen Darabedyan will meet in a sure crowd pleaser, meeting at 155-pounds.

It’s almost exhausting having to name all of these fighters, but all are recognized fighters in the world of MMA, and none should be left out vicariously, in a card that will be one of the biggest outside of the UFC or Strikeforce banners.

So, will you be buying this particular card, or rather, is it worth the $29.95? (iN DEMAND)

Here is the full fight card:

Main Card
Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Sobral
Evangelista  Santos  vs. Marius Zaramoskis
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Prangley
Conor Heun vs. K.J. Noons

Preliminary Card

R.J. Clifford  vs. Jeremy Umphries
Marcus Kowal  vs. Hugo Sandoval

Marcus Kowal vs. Hugo Sandoval (135)

Round 1

Hugo comes out testing the distance with strikes and Marcus shoots. Marcus gets side control but Hugo is quick to get back to half guard.  Position battle and Hugo gets back to guard. Marcus stands up and looks to try a standing guard pass but is content to throw a heavy punch as he lands back in guard. Hugo locked up a triangle but Marcus powered out of it only to get an illegal up kick for his efforts.  Crowd unhappy as a point is deducted from Sandoval. Back to standing, and Marcus shoots. They battle for position and Marcus ends up in side control, transitions to back control and round ends.

Round 2

Hugo comes out swinging and drops Marcus with a hard shot. He looked to be out as Hugo went in to finish and Herb Dean steps in to stop it.

Hugo Sandoval by KO at :43 of Round 2

R.J. Clifford  vs. Jeremy Umphries

Round 1

Umphries shoots and ends up in half guard. Clifford working to get back up with Jeremy on his back.  Jeremy takes him back to the mat and sinks in one hook. Clifford doing a great job of fighting off the choke attempt. Works back to his feet and tries to roll out of the back control. Jeremy back with one hook in on the mat but R.J. is right back up. He finally breaks free and puts Umphries on his back and is working punches as the round ends.

Round 2

Both men come out throwing punches until Jeremy shoots, takes Clifford down. R.J. works to his feet to get dropped back to the mat. Much like the first round with Umphries on his back. Finally Umphries locks in the rear naked choke and Big John steps in when he notices RJ is out.

Jeremy Umphries by RNC at 2:27 in Round 2

Conor Huen vs. KJ Noons (160)

Round 1

Both guys come out aggressive Noons changing levels with his strikes and Conor utilizing kicks to keep the distance. KJ opening up a bit with good body shot combos. Crowd seems to love this fight so far. Conor shoots and takes Noons down. They acramble and he gets the back working on the rear naked choke.  Starts unloading punches as Noons scrambles to get free. Swaping from mback to full mount until Noons finally gets to his feet in another scramble. round ends with Noons dropping Huen.  10-9 Conor Huen

Round 2

Conor throwing head kicks to start the round. Both men exchanging combos. A little back and forth with no real significant strikes being landed. Noons lands a solid left as Conor throws a front kick. Noons lands a big body shot followed by a solid left. Conor follows with a big right of his own. The both men start swinging for the fences. Noons stuffs the shot by Conor and both men look to be tiring. Round 2 ends with Conor getting the takedown.  10-9 Noons

Round 3

Conor comes out throwing lots of kicks still. Both men exchange in the center of the cage landing some good shots. Noons is not out boxing Conor like many thought. Blood coming from the cheek of Conor but he comes back and lands a good left.  They both bounce around and Conor goes for a takedown only to be stuffed as he dives across the cage.Both men are exhausted trying to give it their all. Round ends with Noons peppering the jab and going for a flying knee and Conor pushing him against the cage and looking for a choke. 10-9 Noonswins by

30-27 Huen 29-28 Noons 29-28 Noons

Winner by split decision KJ Noons

Tim Kennedy vs Trevor Prangley (185)

Round 1

Kennedy throws a combo at Trevor and then pushes in for the shot. Prangley tosses Tim but Kennedy hops back up and is looking for a double leg. Both men up to their feet and clinched against the cage. Finally Tim gets his takedown and is in half guard. Tim gets full mount on Trevor who gives up his back . Trevor stands up and Tim locks in the rear naked choke and forces Prangley to tap

Tim Kennedy wins vis rear naked choke at 3:35 of Round 1

Marius Zaromski vs “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos

Round 1

Both men start cautious and then Santos unleashes. They separate and Santos rocks Marius and rushes in but Marius circles and recovers. Nice kicks by Marius to the body of Santos followed but a hard right. Santos comes right after him and drops him with a short hard right. He jumps down and starts punching as the ref stops the fight.

Santos wins via KO at 2:38 of round 1

Robbie Lawler vs Babalu Sobral

Round 1

Sobral comes in and locks up Robbie looking to take the fight to the mat fast. Robbie has his back against the cage and is fighting off the takedown until Bog John separates them. Robbie throws a bog punch and Babalu shoots as Lawler throws a flying knee. Both men back toe to toe and the crowd is booing until Sobral slams Lawler down. Robbie bounces right back up. They exchange and Lawler throws a kick and has his leg swept. Sobral follows him down but Lawler is right back up to his feet.  10-9 Sobral

Round 2

Round 3

Nothing much happening  through two minutes in the final round. Robbie needs to turn in on to win this fight. Spinning back fist from Sobral shocks the world…not much to say. One minute left and Robbie is just now stalking but not throwing. Sobral eating a jab or two but not much more. final round is a tough one to score. 10-8  Lawlor

The eye poke issue is a hot topic and one that needs to be addressed right away before an athlete has their career ended due to a finger in the eye socket. Fighters have always been subjected to the occasional poke and maybe it is me but it seems to be happening more frequently as of late. It could be attribute to the fact that we now are able to witness more MMA than ever before but regardless, something needs to be done.

In order to fix the problem we first need to look at some of the more severe cases we have seen in recent days.

At Strikeforce Challengers in February the fight between Karl Amoussou (12-2-2) and Trevor Prangley (21-4-1) had to be stopped due to an accidental eye poke from Prangley in the first round. The doctor checked on Amoussou and once he told the doctor he could not see out of his eye, the doc and heard enough and stopped the fight. The fight ended up being a ruled a draw and both fighters would like to get back in the cage and finish this.

“Rumble” Anthony Johnson (8-3) has been involved in two fights where the orbital jab had a profound effect. The first fight took place at UFC: Silva versus Irvin in July of 2008. Johnson took such a bad eye poke it dropped him and the ref thought it was due to an uppercut. Sadly, he lost due to TKO and had some major eye problems to deal with. He later came back and fought Kevin Burns (8-4) again and this time he won.

The second fight was against Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4) at UFC 106. Johnson actually caught Kos in the eye and then later Josh returned the favor, twice!

These are just but a few of the major incidents. I could  continue to discuss fights like those above but I feel like we now have seen enough to move forward and discuss how to fix a problem such as this.

The first idea to fix this problem can be found by in the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships. Pride had a glove design that was much different than the current glove used by the UFC. The UFC uses a glove in which all the fingers are separate and the padding does not extend all the way to the finger tips. Pride however used a loose thumb but all four fingers were connected as well as having padding that extends all the way to the finger tips. There is no need to use a glove like the UFC has at this time. Never did anyone in Pride have issues with not being able to sink in submissions due to the glove style. It did however cut back drastically on eye pokes.

Does this mean there were never any Stooges style pokes in Pride? No, there were but they were far and few between. I am still not sure why the UFC has decided to go with the gloves they currently have but as this trend continues both the UFC and athletic commissions will be forced to examine what changes they can make to better protect the fighters.

There is another way to work on eliminating eye pokes but I don’t feel it is as effective as a change to the gloves. This would be to make it a foul in which an eye poke could lead to either a one point deduction or to a loss of a percentage of a fighter’s purse.

Many fighters like to push off to keep the distance or the paw the jab out there with fists that are not closed all the way. This leads to possible career ending injuries. Force the fighters to make a full fist when striking. Making an eye poke a foul in which the fighter gets a point deducted could make a big difference.

However I think using something more similar to the Pride yellow card system would better motivate fighters to close the fist. Pride used a yellow card if fighters were inactive. Once it was issued, that fighter lost ten percent of his fight purse that night. It made fighters become more aggressive and using this for eye pokes could be just what the sport needs to eliminate this foul.

I am of course not a fan of taking money from fighters. After all, not all fighters make the big bucks, even in the UFC. However I am first and foremost for fighter safety and I think it is the job of the organizations and the athletic commissions to protect these men and women. Right now, both are failing to make a positive impact where one is clearly needed.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the eye poke and possible solutions for the problem. As always you can comment here or join myself and Gary Friedman every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PM PST on MMA Gospel Radio by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

Prangley was a replacement for Lawler’s original opponent, “Razor” Benji Radach (19-5), but has suffered an undisclosed injury.

No replacement has been named for Prangley, but Strikeforce is searching for a late substitute.

Lawler was tapped out by Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight and Strikeforce champ Jake Shields (23-4-1) at Strikeforce in St. Louis June 6.

Prangley tapped out Marcus Sursa (6-5) for the Shark Fights 205-pound title in Amarillo November 28.

The fight will broadcast live on Showtime.

American Kickboxing Academy’s Prangley is a four-time UFC veteran, going a respectable 2-2 from 2004-2006, and went 2-1 in a ’07-’08 Strikeforce stint.  He won the MFC title with a five-round unanimous decision over “Hard-Core Kid” Emanuel Newton (11-5-1) at MFC 21 outside of Edmonton May 15.

Last month Prangley took a fight versus Dennis Reed (44-45-1) at Arena Rumble in Spokane and knocked Reed out in 20 seconds.  MFC claims that fight was a violation of their contract with Prangley and that Prangley has signed to fight outside of the MFC again, a second contract breach according to MFC.

“The MFC won’t sit on the sidelines while its fighters, especially our champions, violate our contracts and fight in smaller shows,” said MFC President Mark Pavelich.  “There is an exclusivity clause in the contracts for a reason.  It is unacceptable that Trevor Prangley and his management have gone about business in such an unscrupulous manner. I will not allow my organization and my title belts to be disrespected this way. Trevor was treated with the utmost respect when he came to fight in the MFC, and in turn for him and his management to treat the MFC this way simply will not be tolerated.”

Fighters.com has contacted Prangley’s management for their side, but have not yet received a response.

A fighter in Prangley’s position must fight to pay their trainers and bills.  So, if MFC hasn’t scheduled Prangley to fight since May, Prangley’s alleged breach of contract could be out of necessity rather “unscrupulous”.

For Prangley, perhaps the cut from MFC will result in a return to the UFC.  The UFC is planning a debut in Prangley’s native Australia at UFC 110 February 20, 2010.  The UFC has already signed a top Down Under prospect, light heavyweight Kiwi James Te Huna (11-4), and conventionally enters a new market by signing native fighters.  Prangley has only one loss since leaving the UFC, a KO to Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7) at Strikeforce in San Jose in 2007, and demonstrated in his four-fight UFC run that he can compete at that level.

“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.

Strikeforce debuting lightweight “Endless Warrior” Mitsuhiro Ishida (17-4-1) also won a quick stoppage over “Silverback” Justin Wilcox by armbar submission at 1:21 of round one.

Terry Martin (18-5) returned from a brutal knockout by “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) in July and dropped Cory Devela (9-2) with left hook at 2:08 of round three.

Light heavyweight Trevor Prangley (18-5) picked up a UD over “El Toro” Anthony Ruiz (21-12) in a fight he took on late notice.

Luke Stewart (6-1) tapped Jesse Juarez (6-5) in an armbar at4:55 of round one.

Eric Lawson (7-2) tapped Kenneth Seegrist (5-1) in a rear naked choke at 3:07 of round one.

Brandon Magana (6-1) and Jesse Gillespie (2-2) each won split decisions over Brandon Thatch (3-1) and Dave Martin  (0-2) respectively.

Prangely tapped Ruiz in an armbar in Fresno,southeast of San Francisco, in 2006.

More recently, Prangley won a referee’s decision over Falaniko Vitale (26-8) in San Jose last November in Strikeforce’s middleweight tournament, but was TKO’d the same night in the tournament final by Jorge Santiago (17-7).

Ruiz most recently won a UD over Jeremy Freitag (6-7).

The original main event was to have pitted Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-5) versus Sobral; but, both fighters have pulled up lame.

AKA is home gym to Fighters.com’s top welterweight contenderJon Fitch(17-2), fourth-ranked “Kos” Josh Koscheck (10-2), lightweight “Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2), UFC heavyweights “Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (8-4) and Cain Velasquez (3-0), Affliction heavyweight “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (25-10), and other professional fighters.

The two-hour session was led by drill sergeant  Koscheck, who instructed fighters in wrestling drills.

(Koscheck and Fitch requested not to be photographed; but, Fitch gave Fighters.com a video interview after he trained.)

Thomson donned a rubber suit and shook his money maker around the mat to drop five-and-a-half pounds to make the 155-pound limit he successfully reached later at the Strikeforce weigh-ins.

Former Bodog and UFC middleweight Trevor Prangley(17-5) must’ve weighed a solid 220-pounds and rolled most of the session with Velasquez.

Buentello stepped into the ring to work on his boxing in preparation for his 19 July fight with ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3).

Buentello tightened his combos and sured-up his “D” with AKA’s boxing coach.

Velasquez was the most intense fighter at AKA.  His mouth stayed shut, his gaze forward, and he took instruction from the vets while rolling with Prangley and Wellisch.

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (8-5) shadow boxed in preparation for his Friday title defense versus “El Toro” Anthony Ruiz (20-10).

Wellisch grappled frantically with both Buentello and Velasquez, twisting the fellow heavyweights into his repertoire of submissions.