I heard someone say “one trick pony”…but does that really matter? Ronda Rousey has won all of her fights by armbar in the first round, and just now defeated Meisha Tate to win the Strikeforce Women’s MMA Bantamweight championship. It was a great fight, very entertaining from beginning to end. Meisha came out swinging, throwing bungalows, and connected with some decent shots throughout the short fight. Meisha even defended the first armbar attempt by Rousey, which looked like it would have finished any other opponent, but Meisha fought through it and came back to score a few more good strikes standing. Ultimately though, the fight ended up back on the ground, and Ronda Rousey locked in a really nasty looking armbar for the win. I’m not sure what Meisha Tate’s injuries are, but her arm looked like it completely bent the wrong way.

Not really a big surprise to me, just judging from looks. The Strikeforce women’s champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos tested positive for “performance enhancing drugs”, a result she blames on taking some kind of dietary supplement to cut weight. Whatever, I’m not sure what this means for her future, but I think Dana White said she’ll be stripped of her championship title, and her last fight has been ruled a “No contest”.

Ronda Rousey is undefeated in MMA, and has won all of her matches by ARMBAR…and all in the first round, in under a minute. Wow. Tonight she defeated Julie Budd by armbar at Strikeforce Challengers, and it looks like Budd’s arm was dislocated (or worse) as a result.

Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov, should be interesting. Sergei spending most of round one under Barnett’s mount. Ground and pound. Sergei rolls and gives up his back and turtles up. Barnett flattens him out, secures an arm triangle and gets a tapout victory.

Antonio Bigfoot Silva vs. Daniel Cormier. Daniel Cormier knocked out Bigfoot Silva on his feet, no need for wrestling.

Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Luke Rockhold, great fight so far into round two. Slowed down a bit in the third and fourth rounds. Now going into the 5th round, it has been pretty much a stand up fight with only a couple of minutes of ground fighting. 5th and final round is over. Tough fight to score, I’m predicting they’ll give the win to Jacare, but Rockhold fought like a beast.

Wow… both of these guys are a couple of my favorite fighters to watch. They came out swinging fists at each other. It ended dramatically. I thought Dan Henderson was hurt. His knees buckled from a Fedor punch, and Henderson was on his back near the cage. Fedor stood over him ready to deliver more punches. Somehow Dan Henderson used his wrestling to spin out and above Fedor’s back, and landed a right hand uppercut from underneath Fedor’s arm, it looked like it landed on his chin and just flattened him. Dan Henderson kept punching until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. Fedor says he believes the fight was stopped early.

It seems as if the former Strikeforce heavyweight contender is a bit of scumbag, as he was arrested recently for what appears to be a brutal assault on his wife. Dana White has said Brett Rogers is fired immediately.

A neighbor reported that he had looked out his window and saw Rogers standing over his wife, repeatedly punching her in the head and face as she lay on the ground. Another neighbor stated that he saw her with blood “streaming from her face and mouth” with what looked to be a missing tooth.

Rogers’ nine-year-old daughter saw the incident unfold and yelled at her father to stop. Rogers’ 10-year-old daughter was also present and witnessed the attack, admitting that she had seen her father strike her mother in the past. She also reported that her father had struck the children within the last two years.

READ MORE via Bleacherreport.com

Like I said in my previous post, it’s been awhile since I did any blogging…but tonight I’m watching the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix by myself — well, I just got home, so I’m starting a bit late, and I’ve missed all but the Barnett/Rogers and Werdum/Overeem fights.

Josh Barnett just pretty much dominated Brett Rogers the entire time, before tapping him out in the 2nd round by arm-triangle choke.

Wow, the Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum fight was strange. The judges haven’t announced the winner yet, but I am guessing, WERDUM takes the fight. I think he actually got the better of the striking, and obviously Overeem didn’t want any on the ground. I think overall, Werdum was more offensive.

Holy cow, a unanimous decision for Overeem. Was I ever wrong.

But tonight I’m watching the Strikeforce fights alone, and have time to blog while I watch.

Ouch. That was the first thing that came to mind after seeing the battered right eye of Fedor Emelianenko that prompted a doctor stoppage in the main event of Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Silva.” The Russian legend took a terrific pounding from Antonio Silva Saturday night inside the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., but the jury’s still out on whether Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix sustained a worse beating in losing its marquee name in the opening round.

read more via Strikeforce ‘Fedor vs. Silva’ Stock Report.

The end of an era officially arrived tonight in New Jersey. Fedor Emelianenko dominated the sport’s landscape from 2001-2006, but age, lack of size and an ever-evolving heavyweight field has caught up to him.

Fedor couldn’t overcome the massive Antonio “Big Foot” Silva and lost via TKO on a doctor’s stoppage at the end of two rounds. Silva had Fedor mounted for most of the second round. His repeated blows closed Fedor’s right eye. The ringside doctor and referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight before the third began.

via Strikeforce heavyweight GP: Fedor loses again, talks of quitting the sport – Cagewriter – UFC  – Yahoo! Sports.

Antonio Silva def. Fedor Emelianenko via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
Sergei Kharitonov defeats Andrei Arlovski via knockout – Round 1, 2:49
Shane Del Rosario defeats Lavar Johnson via submission – Round 1, 4:31
Chad Griggs def. Gian Villante via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:49
Valentijn Overeem defeats Ray Sefo via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 1:37
John Cholish def. Marc Stevens via submission (kneebar) – Round 2, 3:57
Igor Gracie def. John Salgado via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:04
Sam Oropeza def. Don Carlo-Clauss via submission (strikes) – Round 1, 4:10
Josh LaBerge def. Anthony Leone via TKO (cut) – Round 1, 5:00
Jason McLean def. Kevin Roddy via split decision

At 48, Herschel Walker is in better shape than many fighters half his age. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner-turned-heavyweight mixed martial artist dominated his second opponent at Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Cyborg” on Saturday, pounding out Scott Carson in just over three minutes at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Yet, Walker has no lofty ambitions in the sport. He has no interest in throwing his name into the alternate mix for Strikeforce’s upcoming heavyweight grand prix. He simply wants to compete, he says, and to serve as an ambassador for the sport once his brief fighting stint is through.

via Walker Realistic About MMA Stint, Wants to Help Grow Sport.

Nick Diaz defeats Evangelista Santos via submission (arm bar) – Round 2, 4:50

Jacare Souza defeats Robbie Lawler via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:00

Herschel Walker def. Scott Carson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1

Roger Gracie def. Trevor Prangley via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:19

Armin Safiari def. Sam Bracamonte via unanimous decision (no scores announced)
Ricky Jackson def. Niko Jackson via unanimous decision (no scores announced)
Jenna Castillo def. Charlene Gellner via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:57
James Terry def. Lucas Gamaza via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:26
Germaine de Randamie def. Stephanie Webber via KO (knee) – Round 1, 4:25
Ron Keslar def. Eric Lawson via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:57
Isaiah Hill def. Bobby Stack via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:02
Nate Moore def. Nathan Coy via KO (punches) – Round 2, 0:25

My picks have been terrible recently. I”m only picking the televised fights.

As always, best of luck to all the fighters, but here are my predictions:

Nick Diaz over Evangelista Santos
Ronaldo “Jacare” De Souza over Robbie Lawler
Herschel Walker over Scott Carson
Roger Gracie over Trevor Prangley

AT THE IMPROBABLE age of 48, Herschel Walker believes he can become “the George Foreman of football.”

Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner as a Georgia junior running back, played 15 seasons of professional football, including 1992 through ’94 with the Eagles, and retired at the end of the 1997 NFL season.

Steelers 24, Jets 19 Packers 21, Bears 14 Packers 21, Eagles 16 He remains the only NFL player to score three ways on plays of 90 or more yards in the same season, achieving that spectacular hat trick for the Eagles in 1994 by taking it to the house on a rush, a pass reception and a kickoff return.

To hear him tell it, Walker can still give a boost to any NFL team willing to ignore the date on his birth certificate. He turns 49 on March 3.

“If I continue to stay in the shape I’m in now, I know I can play when I’m 50,” Walker insisted yesterday during a teleconference to promote his Saturday bout with 27-year-old Scott Carson in a Strikeforce event in San Jose, Calif.

via Former Eagle Walker thinks he can still play in NFL at age 49 | Philadelphia Daily News | 01/25/2011.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva slated for February in New Jersey – MMA News.