STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Alistair Overeem's title will not be contested in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, all but finals will be three rounds

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker clarified the set up for the upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix during a conference call on Thursday, and revealed that all quarterfinal and semifinal bouts will take place as three, five-minute round fights.

In addition, the tournament will crown the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Champion, who will then meet the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. However, the latter Champ is taking part in the tournament, so should Alistair Overeem win the tournament, Coker says he will be a "dual Champion."

"To make it simple... the Tournament Champion will stand on his own, and we'll have our Tournament Champion and the Heavyweight Champion," Coker said. "[If Overeem wins] then he'll be the dual champion, and at that point there will be some fighters that he didn't fight in the tournament, and we'll look at having some of those fighters face him down the line."

Coker also clarified what would happen if a fight ended in a draw, or if an alternate needed to be used in the course of the tournament.

"If any fight results in a draw, an independent fourth judge will determine who advances or who wins based on the fighter's overall performance in the fight," Coker said. "We will have a fourth judge on hand scoring the fight independently of the three that we normally have."

"If a fighter qualifies to advance in the tournament but for any reason can not advance, we're forming a five-person tournament-review committee who will select a fighter to advance in his place. This fighter will be chosen from a pool of fighters that will include the previous opponent and the winners of reserve matches."

The tournament begins on February 12 when Fedor Emelianenko meets Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, and Andrei Arlovski meets Sergei Kharitonov in quarterfinal action.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8150.shtml

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Panic-Free, Melvin Guillard Eyes Title Shot in 2011

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FORT HOOD, Texas - Great comeback stories in sports are so common they're a threat to become a cliche. Such might be the case with Melvin Guillard - if he was less believable in his desire to become one of those great comebacks.

Guillard continued on that path Saturday night with a convincing win over Evan Dunham in the main event of the UFC's Fight for the Troops 2 card at Fort Hood. Dunham's only loss before Guillard rolled through him came against Sean Sherk at UFC 119 - and that was a fight even UFC president Dana White said he was ignoring because of controversial judging.

But Guillard gave Dunham - and his boss - something to think about besides Dunham's record with a barrage of knees that won the fight in the first round. The win was Guillard's fourth straight and seventh in his last eight fights. He said it's just the beginning.

"I'm going to make my run," Guilard said, echoing comments he's been making for weeks leading into the Dunham fight. "This is my dream. I have a legacy, and at the end of the day I have a great story to tell some day when I'm an old man. That's part of my legacy to fulfill, and I will get that belt."

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/23/panic-free-melvin-guillard-eyes-title-shot-in-2011/

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Guillard and the UFC honored to be fighting for the troops

The military has given to him, so Melvin Guillard is happy to give back. The same goes for UFC president Dana White.

The promotion is just a few days away from putting on its third fight card on a U.S. military base. This time it's Ft. Hood in Texas and the UFC is hoping to exceed the $4 million it raised in late 2008 with a fight card in Fayetteville, N.C. 

"I'm going to give these guys a show," Guillard said during the "Fight for the Troops 2" teleconference. "You know, they work so hard to protect us every year, year after year. Some of them give up going overseas and got to live there for years at a time. And, you know, this is a blessing for me to even be asked to give a performance that I'm going to give these guys next week -- and guys and girls. So to me, it's just all part of being an American and I'm honored."

Guillard knows first hand of the sacrifice.

"I stay right now in Albuquerque with Staff Sergeant Chris Molina and his family. This is where I stay when I come here. So, you know, getting the military experience of staying with families, you know, seeing what these guys go through to protect our country, I've actually had chances to visit certain military bases and I also have a ton of friends in high school that got out of high school that’s in military, whether it's Marine Corps or Army or Air Force or whatever," said Guillard.

White decided Ft. Hood was a good spot this time around after seeing the work done by the Fisher family in Texas and around the country.

"What happened was we got invited down there and I went down. It was the first time I'd ever seen anything like that -- when I visited the hospital and what these guys, you know, the Fisher family who started this thing, what they’ve done for the troops here fighting in the United States, it's -- I can't even -- I can't put it into words for you. When these kids get injured, you know, you’ve got these 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids that are getting injured over there -- they come back, it's sad to say but the government doesn’t take care of them, which is mind boggling," said White.

"So this family has put together this thing where -- and if you're a parent of one of these kids, I mean anybody who's on this call who has kids can understand. Your kid gets his arms, legs blown off, his face is melted -- the horrible things that happen to these guys -- and they're laying in a hospital bed out in the middle of Nowhere, Virginia, what do you do? You know what you do? You quit your job, you lose everything you have and you drive out there and you live in your car and you sit in a chair in the bed next to them."

The UFC raised $4 million around Fight for the Troops 1 and is hoping to eclipse that number this time. The proceeds this year will benefit the 53 Fisher Houses around the U.S. and in Germany and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

"Fight for the Troops" goes down this Saturday on Spike (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

Thanks to Spike for conference call transcript

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Guillard-and-the-UFC-honored-to-be-fighting-for-?urn=mma-308727

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UFC QUOTABLES: Mark Hominick reacts to announced title opportunity should he defeat George Roop at Fight for the Troops 2

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"It's not a shock; we had kind of guessed it. We got offered that fight on Jan. 1 for the New Year's show, and I couldn't take it because my thumb was injured. I knew I was right there... This is when I perform the best. If you can't win the fight that gets you to a title shot, you're not going to win the title anyway. That's the way I look at it. Aldo has faced every kind of opponent except a top-level striker. I would be someone that would be in his face and technical on his feet. He's walked through guys in the standup but he wouldn't do that with me. He's one of the best pound-for-pound out there, so there's not much you can say. But one thing I know is that he hasn't faced anyone like me."

-Mark Hominick talks to ESPN.com about the announcement that he'll get a title shot against Jose Aldo with a win over George Roop at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 next week.

Penick's Analysis: Hominick's a talented and exciting fighter, and if he can win his fifth straight fight against George Roop next week, he'll make for an entertaining challenger to Aldo's title. Whether or not he can go into Toronto and beat the Champ is another story, but he's got quick and heavy hands that can do damage, and it could make for an interesting dynamic in the fight. But, he's got a tough test ahead of him in Roop, and he'll need to keep focused on that fight this week or his name will no longer be in the mix to face Aldo.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8139.shtml

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Melvin Guillard Brutalizes Evan Dunham

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Melvin Guillard has started 2011 looking the best he's ever looked.

Guillard destroyed Evan Dunham at the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 event at Fort Hood, winning in a first-round technical knockout in dominant fashion, with hard punches and brutal knees knocking Dunham to the canvas and forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:58 of the first round. The last of the knees Guillard landed appeared to come after Dunham had already gone to the ground -- which would have made the knee illegal -- although Guillard already had Dunham all but finished before that.

"I'm very happy," Guillard said afterward, thanking the troops at Fort Hood who had turned out to watch the fight and noting that he comes from a military family.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/22/melvin-guillard-brutalizes-evan-dunham/

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Jake Shields thinks he's the man to dethrone GSP in their upcoming title fight - Jake Shields

Jake Shields goes one on one with MMACanada.net in Montreal following Georges St-Pierre's successful defeat of Josh Koscheck. Shields is the next man in line for the title shot and thinks his wrestling and Jiu Jitsu skills are superior enough to dethrone GSP in their upcoming title fight. Don't miss this one on one with former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields

Source: http://mmalice.com/jake-shields/jake-shields-thinks-hes-the-man-to-dethrone-gsp-in-their-upcoming-title-fight-video_f47534cba.html

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Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida A Go For TUF 13 Finale

<B>By MATT MOLGAARD<BR> MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR> After seeing his immediate title shot fly out of the window when Dana White declared Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard would clash again as soon as possible following their highly controversial second bout, Anthony Pettis decided staying busy would be the best option.<BR><BR> Ina tough draw, Pettis was tagged as the next opponent for the hardnosed, always energetic Clay Guida. For weeks we?ve been talking about the potential meeting, and now, everything looks official.<BR><BR> Pettis will look to keep his number one contender spot alive on June 4th when the two collide at the TUF 13 Finale at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is expected to co-headline the show along with the tournament final.<BR><BR> The 13th season of the Ultimate Fighter will see Brock Lesnar coach opposite Junior dos Santos, and of course, the two will eventually meet for a shot at the heavyweight championship. This seasons competitors will showcase a lot of welterweights vying for their place in the promotion.<BR><BR>

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

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