Opponent swap at UFC 137 as BJ Penn now faces Nick Diaz

This is crazy but here we go again! You wanted it so you got it. Penn vs Diaz UFC President Dana White made the announcement on Twitter late Thursday. Yes it has been crazy. The future of Diaz appeared to be cloudy but the former Strikeforce welterweight champion lands in a high profile bout against [...]

Opponent swap at UFC 137 as BJ Penn now faces Nick Diaz is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/opponent-swap-at-ufc-137-as-bj-penn-now-faces-nick-diaz-55389/

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With Cormier injured, Barnett suggests alternative for Grand Prix finals

Daniel Cormier scored the biggest win of his MMA career on Saturday night, but it came with a price. In his knockout win over Antonio Silva, Cormier broke his hand. Via Twitter, he said that he will be for six weeks with the injury.

Josh Barnett beat Sergei Kharitonov on Saturday for the chance to fight Cormier for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix title. When he heard about Cormier's injury, Barnett tweeted a fair alternative to fighting.

With Cormier injured, Barnett suggests alternative for Grand Prix finals

YES. Who wouldn't want to see Cormier and Barnett involved in a battle that resembled "West Side Story," where they would both yell, "MAMBO? MAMBO! GO!"

In reality, six weeks off for Cormier is not the worst thing. That means Cormier should be able to go sometime in November. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that the final will take place sometime in the first quarter of 2012, so Cormier's injury shouldn't delay the fight. It also won't necessitate the really terrible idea that Coker floated: a replacement for Cormier in the finals.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/With-Cormier-injured-Barnett-suggests-alternati?urn=mma-wp6873

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Josh Barnett Lobbies Strikeforce to Put Heavyweight Title Up for Grabs in GP

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CINCINNATI -- The post-fight press conference had almost wrapped up, but Josh Barnett couldn't resist. When the topic of conversation turned to what Strikeforce was planning to do about its vacant heavyweight title, Barnett just had to put Scott Coker on the spot.

"Why don't we sweeten the pot?" Barnett asked. "Why don't we put that title on the line between me and [Daniel] Cormier?"

As he went on to explain, "Strikeforce needs a real champ. It needs a real champ like me or Cormier. Besides us, who is it?"


Coker, who seemed visibly uncomfortable with the question, gave a meandering answer in the form of a history lesson that eventually boiled down to one main point: "Let's just take it one step at a time, Josh."

In other words, Strikeforce isn't committing to anything just yet. Not until it absolutely has to.

And yet, it seems only logical to use the heavyweight Grand Prix to crown a champion now that Alistair Overeem has fled to the UFC and the title is vacant. As Barnett pointed out while slipping into his pro wrestling schtick at the presser, either he or Cormier could be legitimately dubbed the Strikeforce title-holder after winning this tournament.

"Either one of us is a grand champion," said Barnett. "Either one of us is the kind of guy who can take that belt, hold our hands up with it, and people look at us and say, hey, those guys are champs. That's the people we want representing our company. That's the kind of guy I want to look up to and say hey, you want to see a fighter? You want to see a real bad-ass in the world? There he is, right there. See that gold around his waist? That's not a joke. That's reality. The people he had to step over to get that, he earned it."

As Barnett said later, this was a speech he meant to give in the cage for all to see, but forgot it in the post-fight confusion.

"But I really believe that, once it gets to the finals, there really are no two better fighters to represent Strikeforce as a heavyweight champion," he said. "This is not where we intended to be at this point with the tournament, but the fact of the matter is, this is where we are. We have no champ. It's vacant. We can't walk around like that. We can't hold our heads as high if we don't have a heavyweight champion."

The fact that Strikeforce officials won't go ahead and put the title on the line makes you wonder, what are they saving it for? Or perhaps, is it a decision that's out of their hands, now that Zuffa owns the organization and seems to be picking it apart one piece at a time?

"I don't even want to go there," Barnett said. "I could speculate. I've been in this longer than almost anybody you can find at any of these events. But I just don't want to do it."

At the moment, he said, his more immediate goal is not just beating Cormier in the finals, but getting at least one takedown to prove that he's capable of putting a former Olympic wrestler on his back.

"I've got to get that takedown on DC," he said during the press conference, adding that he knew if he managed to do it, "Mo [Lawal] will never let him live it down, ever."

From the other side of the podium Cormier just grinned and leaned forward into his microphone.

"Not happening," he said.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/11/josh-barnett-lobbies-for-strikeforce-to-put-heavyweight-title-up/

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Jon Bones Jones vs. Rampage Jackson Fight Video Extended Preview

Jon Bones Jones vs. Rampage Jackson Fight Video Extended Preview. UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage Date: Sep 24, 2011 Location: Denver, Colorado Venue: Pepsi Center Broadcast: Pay-per-view and Spike TV MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view) Champ Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (for light-heavyweight title) Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck Rob Broughton vs. Travis [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/jon-bones-jones-vs-rampage-jackson-fight-video-extended-preview/

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