CMG will provide PR and media relations services for “T-Wood,” and in the process help continue to build his brand and that of his gym, ATT Evolution, in St. Louis, Missouri. Lanides will now handle all media inquests for Woodley.

“Tyron is, without a doubt, right on the cusp of reaching true elite status in the welterweight division,” said Lanides. “I’m extremely excited to join up with him at this point in his career, as I truly believe that his skills are already there. It’s just a matter of building up his brand, and I am committed to doing my part to bring that to fruition.”

“I worked with Phil on the launch of my gym, and he did an exemplary job,” stated Woodley. “He’s passionate, and working together, I believe that we’re going to be able to build each other up even further.”

“T-Wood” is one of the top competitors in Strikeforce’s 170-pound division. Making the transition from prospect to legitimate threat in 2011, the two-time Division I All-American in wrestling bested both Tarec Saffidiene and Paul “Semtex” Daley. He kicked off 2012 with a decision victory over Jordan Mein on January 7th in Las Vegas at “Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine.” Now unbeaten at 10-0 with six finishes, the 29 year-old is in position to compete for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight belt next.

In late 2011, Woodley opened up American Top Team Evolution in St. Louis. A long-time member of ATT, “T-Wood” is focused on making his new gym the preeminent training center in St. Louis. A devoted husband and father, he also dreams of one day opening up a non-profit center to help troubled children and teens.

Woodley joins the CMG stable of clients, which also includes Canadian fight promotion Aggression MMA, former world champion pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page’s workout brand, DDPYOGA, Bay Area-based combat sports promotion Elite Combat Sports, top MMA fight team Roufusport, and top combat sports broadcaster Mauro Ranallo.

CROSSFIRE MEDIA GROUP TO HANDLE PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR STRIKEFORCE WELTERWEIGHT TYRON WOODLEY is a post from: CAGERADIO

Scott Coker strips Cyborg Santos of her belt – Inside MMA is a post from: CAGERADIO

Tyron Woodley knew heading into Saturday night’s Strikeforce showdown with Jordan Mein that there was more than the usual win or lose scenario on the line. That fight, as well as it’s counterpart, Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson, had title implications written all over it. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker hasn’t been shy about discussing it.

Now that the fight has come and gone, with Woodley scoring a victory over Mein, he wants nothing less than a shot at the Strikeforce welterweight title vacated by Nick Diaz’s migration to the UFC.

Check out what Woodley had to say at Saturday night’s Strikeforce post-fight press conference…

Strikeforce Video: Tyron Woodley “Wants a Belt” is a post from: CAGERADIO

Complete fight card

Luke Rockhold Defends The Strikeforce Middleweight Title Tomorrow Night is a post from: CAGERADIO

Courtesy of mmaweekly.com

In what has to be one of the most anticipated women’s title fights since Cris Cyborg met Gina Carano in 2009, Strikeforce bantamweight women’s champion Miesha Tate will meet former Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey for the title on March 3 in Columbus, OH.

Sources close to the contest confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.

Ronda Rousey has made a meteoric rise in MMA in her brief stint in the sport. A former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo, Rousey burst onto the scene in 2011 and racked up four wins in a row.

She most recently defeated Julia Budd in Strikeforce in only :39 seconds, and immediately called for a fight with champion Miesha Tate.

The sparks began to fly at that point with Rousey and Tate going back and forth in interviews and over Twitter.

Now it appears Rousey will get her wish and face Tate in her first title defense in March.

Tate captured the belt last year when she defeated Marloes Coenen in July as part of the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson card in Chicago.

A winner of six fights in a row, Tate now faces Rousey in what will be a marquee match-up on the March 3 Strikeforce card headed for Columbus, OH and the Nationwide Arena.

Miesha Tate Faces Ronda Rousey at Strikeforce March 3 is a post from: CAGERADIO

IT’S EVERY MMA FAN’S FAVORITE NIGHT OF THE YEAR… “INSIDE MMA” PRESENTS THE 2011 “BAZZIE” AWARDS!

The “Inside MMA” team to celebrate the best of the year…according to Bas, of course!

DALLAS (December  23, 2011) – It’s time again for the most unique awards ceremony in all of Mixed Martial Arts as HDNet will broadcast the Fourth Annual Bazzie Awards – Monday night, December 26 at 8:00 p.m.ET.  After an action-packed year in MMA, Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten (for whom the Bazzie is named) break down the best, brightest and toughest in the sport.  Also, former UFC ringcard girl Natasha Wicks will join Kenny and Bas to hand out the coveted Bazzie in eleven different categories.

Some of the key Bazzie categories include:
Fighter of the Year                                           Female Fighter of the Year
Dominick Cruz                                                                     Zoila Gurgel

Nick Diaz                                                                               Sarah Kaufman

Frankie Edgar                                                                      Marianna Keyfets

Dan Henderson                                                                   Ronda Rousey

Jon Jones                                                                             Miesha Tate

Anderson Silva
Fight of the Year                                             

Gray Maynard vs Frankie Edgar II and III – UFC 125/UFC 136

Nick Diaz KOs Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

Ben Henderson vs Clay Guida – UFC on FOX 1

Michael Chandler vs Eddie Alvarez – Bellator 58

Dan Henderson vs Mauricio Rua – UFC 139

Comeback of the Year

Frankie Edgar over Gray Maynard at UFC 125 and 136

Cheick Kongo KO’s Pat Barry at UFC Live 4

Joe Warren vs Joe Soto

Diaz TKO of Daley at Strikeforce Daley vs Diaz

Brian Cobb over Drew Fickett, – MFC 30

Pete Sell comeback submission over Elijah Harshbarger – Ring of Combat

Don’t miss these and many other categories – plus the awarding of a special honorary Bazzie – Monday night at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT only on HDNet. “Inside MMA” also re-airs on Monday night at 1:00 am ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

“INSIDE MMA” PRESENTS THE 2011 “BAZZIE” AWARDS! is a post from: CAGERADIO

August 15, 2009.

It’s been over two years since Gina Carano last stepped foot inside an MMA cage, and with the debut of her new film “Haywire” hitting theaters in January 2012, it’s not likely she’ll be fighting anytime soon either.

While Carano and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker have maintained that she will be back at some point in 2012, there are no guarantees, especially with a budding movie career on the horizon.

For several years while under the EliteXC and then Strikeforce banners, Carano was the face of women’s MMA, drawing in huge crowds for both live audiences and viewers tuning in at home.

Despite Carano always shying away from that moniker, she was the biggest star women’s MMA had ever seen.

But with Carano gone for the past two-plus years, the women’s divisions have moved on without her, and to be quite frank, they are thriving without her.

The last opponent to face Carano, Cris “Cyborg” Santos has continued her tornado like destruction of any and every opponent that Strikeforce has put in front of her. Miesha Tate recently claimed the Strikeforce bantamweight women’s title, and has become one of the most recognized faces in the sport.

Add to that the recent injection of former Olympian Ronda Rousey, who may just be the “Chael Sonnen of women’s MMA” along with fighters like Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis, among others, the female divisions seem to be doing just fine without Carano around, and she would be the first one to smile about that.

“Gina will be the first one to tell you this, she’s happy for the success of the female division,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAWeekly Radio. “She told me personally that she wants to keep fighting, this was before the movie was started, but we got her back into the cage for the one fight with Cyborg and she wants to keep promoting female mixed martial arts. She’s a believer and she’s going to continue to support it.”

Carano’s success seemed to be a precursor to the future of the women’s division. Her fights on CBS grossed huge ratings, as well as her fights on Showtime that drew mass audiences. The success has been passed along to other fighters as well.

Marloes Coenen’s 2011 title defense against Liz Carmouche actually spiked higher ratings than the main event between Dan Henderson and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante back in March. The fact is women’s fighting has been proven to be a commodity, and Coker knows it’s a valuable asset with Strikeforce in their new deal with Showtime.

“Gina (Carano) had one of the highest rated showings in the history of Showtime for a mixed martial arts show. We have proven and Showtime has proven that female fighters should be in the cage fighting mixed martial arts. They’re talented, they can draw great ratings, they put on great fights, and that’s going to continue,” said Coker.

“When you have a new girl like Ronda (Rousey), you have Miesha (Tate), you have Cyborg, hopefully Gina will come back at some point after she gets her movie out of the way, and we’re going to have a healthy female division for the fans to tune in and watch on Showtime.”

The hope is obviously for Carano to return to fighting in 2012, but if that doesn’t happen, Strikeforce is confident their women’s division will thrive regardless.

“If you look at the champions and the stars that we’ve built on Showtime since Gina has left and started her movie career,” said Coker, “I think that we’ve proven once again we can keep building new stars, new faces, and great fighters and great talent and continue to get great ratings on Showtime for female mixed martial arts.”

Women’s MMA Thriving With or Without Gina Carano is a post from: CAGERADIO

The latest UFC on Fox show has added a heavyweight bout pitting heavy hitter Joey Beltran against former Strikeforce fighter Lavar Johnson.

UFC officials made the announcement via Twitter on Tuesday.

Lavar Johnson appears to be the latest heavyweight to migrate over to the UFC from Strikeforce, now that the promotion has decided to eliminate the division in 2012.

Johnson moves to the UFC in desperate need of a win after dropping his last two bouts in Strikeforce to Shane Del Rosario and Shawn Jordan.

In equal dire straights will be Joey Beltran, who fights at the UFC on Fox show after going just 1-3 in his last four bouts.

Beltran most recently fell to debuting UFC prospect Stipe Miocic at UFC 136 in Houston.

The heavyweights will square off at the UFC on Fox 2 show on Jan 28 at the United Center in Chicago.

Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson at UFC on Fox 2 is a post from: CAGERADIO

Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone are two of the most exciting young fighters in the lightweight division.

Diaz is the younger brother (and virtual carbon copy) of former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and UFC veteran Nick Diaz and he is looking to build upon the tremendous momentum created with his Submission of the Night win over former PRIDE superstar Takanomi Gomi. This will be Diaz’s second 155-lb bout after spending a little over a year competing at 170. And a win over Cerrone will put Diaz right back into the division’s top 10.

Cerrone probably has even more at stake. The New Mexico-based fighter is in the midst of a six-fight winning streak, making him one of the hottest commodities in the division. A win over Diaz will almost certainly earn Cerrone a matchup against one of the 155 lb Preferiti, possibly in a title elimination challenge.

Battling to establish intra-division pecking order is great. But that isn’t why I’m waiting with baited breath for this matchup. Diaz and Cerrone both love nothing more than to throw down, phone-booth style. This isn’t about competition for them. It is about handing out a beat down. Not because there is some long animosity between the two. There isn’t, as far as I’m aware. It is because these guys are fighters deep down in their DNA. That is why 10 of their combined 18 UFC fights have resulted in “of the night” awards, whether fight, submission or knockout.

I have a feeling that December 30 will be 11 out of 19.

When the referee signals for the action to begin, Diaz will come looking to do what he always does – box from the southpaw stance. He paws at his opponent with his right hand, just like his brother Nick, in order to distract defending eyes. Diaz will pop crisp, straight left hands behind his pawing right. He will quickly snap off a right hook. And generally throw a variety of other shots from unconventional angles.

Of course, that is not to suggest that Diaz’s game is devoid of a jab. It is not. He fires the jab in between groping paws. He also drops his hands to his waist and sticks out his chin in order to shoot a jab from his hip. It is a vintage Nick Diaz move, one that his younger brother has adopted as his own.

If the entire fight unfolded on the feet, Diaz would be content. That is borne more out of necessity than preference. Despite the fact that Diaz has sick submission skills, he has below average takedowns. Thus, he struggles to get the fight to the floor at will. He must instead fight on the feet until there is a knockdown or his opponent takes him down.

Diaz’s standup attack is really of hunt-and-peck nature. He is not a knockout artist. Not by a long shot. He has but a single knockout win over the past five years. It came against a much bigger, stronger fighter, Rory Markham. But that was Diaz showing the world that stinging, pinpoint shots can end fights just like explosive bombs. Maybe not in an instant, but certainly over the course of a few minutes.

The younger Diaz won’t change up that approach for Cerrone. I don’t care if most believe that the “Cowboy” is superior on the feet. Diaz will throw hands with anyone, including Cerrone. The question, of course, is whether or not that is a good idea.

Cerrone was a professional kickboxer before entering mixed martial arts. He has a couple dozen kickboxing bouts on his professional record without a single loss. Yet, he has only a single knockout win on his MMA resume.

Odd, I know. But I think that says something about Cerrone’s kickboxing pedigree. It was not at a world class level. He wasn’t blasting people in K-1. He was dominating his local circuit. I’m fairly certain Diaz would have experienced similar success.

Of course, that is not to suggest that Cerrone is a chump on the feet. Quite the opposite is true. He is a very good technical striker. He fights in the traditional Thai style with very square shoulders so that he can strike with all eight points of attack – fists, elbows, knees and shins.

Squaring up like that certainly makes him more vulnerable to standup assaults from his opponents, but it also leaves him in perfect position to defend takedowns. It is the same style that UFC legend Chuck Liddell used to earn millions of dollars, in addition to a spot in the Hall of Fame and a stint as 205-lb champion.

Cerrone isn’t a slugger like Liddell. He doesn’t detonate on foes. He instead chips away at them, just like Diaz. Not like Diaz stylistically. Like Diaz in terms of crisp, accurate, well executed strikes.

He will look to utilize those skills against Diaz, just like he has in basically every other fight. Cerrone will come forward, with his hands held high, and will use his jab to set up two- and three-piece combinations. Unlike Diaz, though, he will also throw very effective kicks to the legs and body. And when faced with a clinch situation, he will fire knees and elbows as he likely dominates the position.

Both guys prefer to stand and bang. All that is fine and good. But it isn’t the way that most of their fights ultimately end. Both men have won more than 70% of their career bouts by submission. Think about that for a moment. Neither man is an accomplished wrestler. Yet, each wins by submission far more often than not.

Most of that is due to the fact that foes end up taking them down. Why? Simple. Opponents are sick of getting peppered in the face.

I don’t see either Diaz or Cerrone spending much time trying to secure a takedown on December 30. If that happens, I like Diaz all day, every day to win by submission. His skills, refined under the ultra critical eye of Cesar Gracie, are among the very best in the division. Cerrone, who is coached by the highly respected Greg Jackson, is a solid submission guy. But there is a stark contrast between a solid Jackson submission guy and a Gracie expert.

If Cerrone ends up on the ground, thanks to Diaz pulling guard, he will focus almost exclusively on implementing a ground-and-pound assault, rather than engaging in a transition jiu-jitsu contest. If the strikes sufficiently soften up Diaz, then Cerrone will look for a fight-ending choke. He won’t want to mess with Diaz’s grappling prowess in any other situation.

If Cerrone finds himself fighting from his back, he will do whatever, at any cost, to get back to his feet. He wants no part of Diaz’s top game. None whatsoever. He won’t admit it. But I’m certain of it.

Diaz, by contrast, will look to mix strikes and submission attempts, whether he is in the top or bottom position. He knows that he is the better submission artist. In fact, he probably hopes that his strikes force Cerrone to shoot for a takedown. My guess is Diaz won’t really try to defend the takedown attempt, if it comes. And if he finds himself on the short end of the standup exchanges, Diaz may very well pull guard. He won’t want to because he is a gladiator’s gladiator, but that would be a wise decision.

So, who is going to win? Honestly, I don’t really know. I think the bout is a tossup on the feet. If they fight 10 times in a standup-only affair, the bout probably ends in 10 different ways. I think Diaz is much better on the ground, as written above. Yet, I’m not sure the fight will spend any significant time there, absent someone getting rocked on the feet first.

I may not have a good feeling on who is going to win, but that really doesn’t bother me, either. For me, this fight isn’t about a winner or loser. Sure, he who is victorious will further cement his standing in the division. Nonetheless, I don’t see either man’s career getting derailed by a loss. Why? Because this is going to be a fun-filled, all-action, first-class scrap. It will be the sort of fight that will thrill the fans from beginning to end, no matter how long it lasts. It is a fight that should win an “of the night” award. And it is a fight that should leave fans clamoring for more from both men.

That is why this one is must-see TV.

QUICK FACTS

Nate Diaz

• 26 years old

• 6’0

• 155 lbs

• 76-inch reach

• 14-7 overall

• 3-2 in last 5

• 5-5 in last 10

• 50% of UFC fights resulted in post-fight award (Submission of the Night 3x, Fight of the Night 4x)

• Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner

• Current layoff is 97 days

• Longest layoff of career is 310 days

Donald Cerrone

• 28 years old

• 6’0

• 155 lbs

• 73-inch reach

• 17-3, 1 NC overall

• Six-fight winning streak

• 8-2 in last 10

• 75% of UFC fights resulted in post-fight award (Fight of the Night, Submission of the Night, Knockout of the Night)

• Current layoff is 62 days

• Longest layoff of career is 270 days

The Blueprint – Diaz vs. Cerrone is a post from: CAGERADIO

“To win a fight is awesome on its own, but to finish a fight before the official time limit by way of KO is indescribable,” he said back then. “I’m a true believer that a fight can be decided by one punch, one kick or one knee. You just have to be patient, wait for that right moment and of course have the abilities to do so.”

Over eight years since that comment, Overeem has gone on to move to the heavyweight division, win the Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight titles in MMA and the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix in kickboxing, and on December 30th, he will make his UFC debut against Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 141.

Here are five of his greatest hits…

Vitor Belfort I – April 23, 2005 – PRIDE Total Elimination 2005

Result – Overeem Wsub1

Following a knockout loss to Liddell in 2003, Overeem won two fights outside of PRIDE before returning to the promotion in 2004 with a TKO of Hiromitsu Kanehara. Four months later, he would drop a decision to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, putting his PRIDE slate at 3-2 and making him the perfect foil for the return of Vitor Belfort, who was fresh off a five fight stint in the UFC in which he won and lost the light heavyweight title against Randy Couture. Overeem didn’t play along though, and he was far from rattled by the level of opposition or the magnitude of the fight. Instead, he showed off solid striking, good defense off his back, and after rocking “The Phenom” with a knee, he fired off a series of ground strikes before sinking in a guillotine choke and forcing a tap out.

Badr Hari I – December 31, 2008 – Dynamite 2008

Result – Overeem KO1

Having periodically dabbled in kickboxing since 1999, Overeem began to take it more seriously in the latter part of the last decade, and his first major bout in that realm of combat sports was against one of the most feared men in the game, Badr Hari. And if you want to talk about statement making wins, this was it. Confident from the start, Overeem sent Hari down for the first time with a lightning fast left knee followed by a short left hook that you will miss if you blink. Hari made it back to his feet, but a second left hook finished him off, and now Overeem wasn’t just dangerous in MMA, he was about to make some serious noise in kickboxing.

Brett Rogers – May 15, 2010 – Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery

Result – Overeem TKO1

Despite Overeem’s wins over top-notch talents like Belfort, after three consecutive PRIDE losses to Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, it was clear that for him to truly make a mark in MMA, he would have to do it as a heavyweight. In 2007, he made the full-time move to life among the big men, and celebrated in November of that year by defeating Paul Buentello for the first Strikeforce heavyweight title. That San Jose bout was the last Stateside fans saw him in for two and a half years, so when he came back to face Brett Rogers in St. Louis, expectations were high, especially since the raw but heavy handed Rogers gave Fedor Emelianenko a solid fight before getting finished in the second round. Rogers wouldn’t be so lucky against Overeem, who needed just 3:40 to send “The Grim” packing. Now the speculation would begin in earnest about how Overeem would fare in the UFC.

Peter Aerts II – December 11, 2010 – K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final

Result – Overeem KO1

A month before the Rogers bout, Overeem put all his cards on the table and began a journey not many believed he could complete – competing in and winning the prestigious K-1 World Grand Prix. Yet by December, wins over Dzevad Poturak and Ben Edwards landed him in the final leg of the tournament. To win, Overeem would have to win three times in one night, and amazingly he did just that, decisioning Tyron Spong, halting Gokhan Saki, and then capping off this unlikely run with a 67 second stoppage of kickboxing legend Peter Aerts.

Todd Duffee – December 31, 2010 – Dynamite 2010

Result – Overeem KO1

You figure three K-1 fights in one night would have earned Overeem a nice holiday break. Uh-uh. Instead, he accepted a New Year’s Eve bout against UFC vet Todd Duffee for the Dream heavyweight crown. He described his December to remember earlier this year before his Strikeforce win over Fabricio Werdum.

“We fought in the final 16 in October, came back home, took a week off to recover, then we went back to Japan in November to do a media tour, which was like 10 days,” said Overeem. “Then we went back home, before going to Thailand for a two week training camp, then from Thailand to Japan for the K-1 finals, won three fights, and then there was a lot of media stuff afterward, a lot of television shows. Then a new opportunity came to fight for the Dream heavyweight title and we grabbed it with both hands. That was December 31. I was gone for six weeks, I came home with two belts, four fights, and a lot of new experience.”

Yeah, he won that fight with Duffee, needing only 19 seconds to do so. Now Overeem will be bringing his punches, knees, and an underrated submission game (19 of 35 wins have come via tapout) to the UFC. It’s going to be quite an experience.

Fab Five – Overeem’s Greatest Hits is a post from: CAGERADIO