Posts Tagged ‘Strikeforce’
Brock Lesnar Retires after Loss to Alistair Overeem
| December 31, 2011 11:23 am |At UFC 141 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar announced his official retirement from the UFC after suffering his second straight loss, this time to former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. After taking several shots to the body and a final “K1 Kick” to the side, Lesnar fell to the ground in the first round ending his 3rd fight in the last 2 years.
Lesnar stated that he has had a rough 2 years suffering from his diverticulitis disease which required multiple surgeries as well as a large portion of his intestines being removed. He promised his wife and children that if he lost to Overeem, he would retire. If he had won, he promised to retire after his championship bout with UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos. Overeem is now set to faceoff for the UFC Heavyweight title against Junior Dos Santos at a future UFC Event.
Rumors are swirling that Lesnar may return to the WWE, but according to Dana White, Lesnar is retiring while under contract to the UFC. It remains to be seen if a deal and return will be worked out with the WWE.
Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson 7/30/11
| July 12, 2011 12:15 pm |Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson, takes place July 30th, 2011 on Showtime. Will this be Fedor’s last fight? Loser of 2 in a row in shocking fashion (tap out, doctor stoppage), Fedor prepares for another fight after strongly considering retirement.
Emelianenko returns to the cage to face Dan Henderson, if Emelianenko does not win, many expect him to retire. In his last fight with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Emelianenko wilted in the second round as Silva passed to mount, Silva unleashed a furious ground-and-pound on Emelianenko that left him bloody and swollen. Emelianenko wanted the fight to continue, but his right eye had swollen so much that ringside doctors called a stop to the fight, claiming Emelianenko could not see.
Immediately after the fight, Emelianenko implied he may retire after losing 2 in a row. Through a translator he said, “Yes, maybe, it’s the last time. Maybe it’s high time. Thanks for everything. I spent a great beautiful long sport life. Maybe it’s God’s will.” But after some time, it was clear that Emelianenko was speaking on emotion as he planned to fight again. But will a third loss in a row convince Emelianenko to retire? Or will a victory keep him going? We can only wait and see.
UFC Purchases Rival Promotion Strikeforce.
| March 12, 2011 12:49 pm |BREAKING NEWS: Dana White, UFC President, confirmed with MMAFighting.com that the parent company of UFC, Zuffa LLC, has purchased UFC’s rival promotion Strikeforce. You can now add Strikeforce to the list of rivals that UFC has purchased after PRIDE and the WEC. Many fighters had heard rumblings of the purchase but were unaware of the validity of these rumors until today. White explained the purchase as an acquisition, not a merger and as part of UFC’s goal to expand its talent world wide.
UFC President Dana White says at this time there will be not be a merger of rosters. Strikeforce talent will remain on its roster, separate from UFC’s roster. Although some MMA fans will be disappointed because they will not see highly anticipated cross promotional matches, according to White. Strikeforce will continue to run with business as usual and as its own legal identity. Fighters, broadcast contracts and other employee contracts will not be change. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will also continue his relationship with the company and continue to run the day to day operations.
Update 3/14/11: Forza, LLC, a Subsidiary of Zuffa, LLC (company that owns UFC) has announced today, March 14th, 2011 that they have officially purchased Explosion Entertainments, LLC most commonly known as StrikeForce. Under this deal, all contracts will be continued to be honored by StrikeForce.
Frank Shamrock Retires
| July 3, 2010 12:30 am |Saturday night’s Strikeforce event in San Jose saw one MMA legend fall (Fedor Emelianenko), while another announced that he was hanging up the gloves for good after a career that spanned 15 years and a record of 23 – 10 – 2. At 37 years old, an emotional Frank Shamrock declared that his time as a fighter had reached its end. “I’m 37 years old now, and my time has come,” he said Saturday. “The stars like Gilbert Melendez and Cristiane ‘Cyborg,’ they’re the future and I am the past. Tonight I announce my retirement. This will be the last time I walk into this cage as a fighter. It was an honor to bleed for you,” he said, “to break my bones for you and to entertain you.” Frank explained in an interview earlier this week that since his fight with Nick Diaz over a year ago, he hasn’t been the same.
Frank Shamrock: It was just my body and the time. I put the machine back in the shop and ramped it up and it just didn’t perform. The last time in my fight with Nick – it used to be that it didn’t matter how hurt I was going into a fight, I always performed. When I fought Nick I didn’t perform. I had injuries that wouldn’t allow me to play my game and to entertain. So I knew when I tried to put my body to work again, it’s done. The machine’s down. I just can’t race it any more.
EvilStar would like to thank Frank for years of incredible fights and wish him luck in life and all his future endeavors.