A heavyweight fight between Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez is on-tap for DREAM.15. The heavyweight bout is the fifth fight announced for the promotion’s July card.

The news of the bout comes courtesy of a recent report at MMAJunkie.com.

“The Demolition Man” demolished another victim in his last fight as he steamrolled though Brett Rogers with little resistance in his first title defense since defeating Paul Buentello in 2007. The victory was his eighth in nine fights, seven of which have ended in the first round. His only blemish since the title win was a no-contest against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at Dream 6, a fight that saw numerous groin shots spoil the contest between the two.

Rodriguez is still on the comeback trial and has shown remarkable poise facing and overcoming substance abuse issues while slimming down significantly over the last year. Riding a seven fight winning streak, Rodriguez holds victories over Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson and Randy Couture. If Rodriguez can manage to pull off an upset or be competitive with Overeem, it should get the notice of a promotion like the UFC, Strikeforce or even Bellator for their upcoming heavyweight tournament.

DREAM.15 will go down on July 10 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The UFC's first ever trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was a
success at the gate after selling out in just 30 minutes, and a few
high-profile fighters cashed in on some impressive paydays.

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, who lost in UFC 115's main event, earned
$500,000 and former PRIDE champ Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic earned
$150,000 for victory in the evening's co-main event.

MMAjunkie.com requested and today received the
figures from the Vancouver Athletic Commission.

The Strikeforce event on June 26^th is bound to be one for the books as Strikeforce mixed martial arts joins up with M-1 Global to bring some of the toughest fighters in the world together within one caged ring. This is an extra special event because it combines Strikeforce MMA with M-1 Global, which allows it to be a complete world showcase of some of the world’s best fighters. This showcase has a huge title card as Fedor Emelianenko (who is actually a co-owner of M-1 Global) takes on Fabricio Werdum in a heavyweight bout that promises to entertain.

Fedor Emelianenko- also known as “The Last Emperor”- holds a record of 31-1. His only recorded loss comes from the fact that his fight with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka was stopped when Emelianenko suffered a gash in the opening seconds of the fight. Even though he has a loss to tarnish his undefeated streak, “The Last Emperor” understands that numbers don’t mean anything when you’re inside the cage.

“Fedor” has been at the top as the best heavyweight in the world for the better part of the last decade. He has taken down Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović, Mark Coleman, and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on his way there. On June 26^th, he goes up against Fabricio Werdum (the number 9 heavyweight in the world) for a showdown that’s bound to define the two fighters and the event.

Even though Emelianenko is the top heavyweight in the world he will have a lot on his hands going up against the jiu-jitsu technician, Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is known as “Vai Cavalo” or “Leading Horse” which speaks to his wild and free nature in the ring. It looks like it will be Emelianenko’s job to tame Werdum if he wants victory.

However, the June 26^th Strikeforce will not just be the main event. In fact, many more people are looking forward to the top woman in the world, Cris “Cyborg” Santos taking on Jan Finney. Most feel that Cyborg will take out Finney pretty easily and glide on to an effortless victory (even more so considering that Finney’s nickname is “Cuddles”), but Finney has been known to be scrappy making the fight a good one to watch.

Plus, seeing Cris Cyborg in action is always an event in itself:

With both the male and female champions defending their titles on the same night, the June 26^th Strikeforce event is destined to be an exciting evening for MMA fans.

Alexia is a lifelong fan of sports and fitness. Recently, she's been obsessed with MMA. As a result, she has joined forces with MMA Industries- purveyors of widely popular MMA training gloves and shirts. Alexia has been writing about the latest developments in MMA equipment for the past few years, and continues to bring you the latest news in the mixed martial arts world.

UFC heavyweight Pat Barry broke his hand and foot in a co-main event
bout with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic this past Saturday at UFC 115 and
will wear a hand cast and foot "boot" - or therapeutic brace - for five
weeks.

However, Barry today told MMAjunkie.com that he will
likely only need a few weeks of rehabilitation before he can return to
the gym.

"The plan was to take some time off after this fight," Barry said. "But
I'll be honest, man; as soon as this fight was over, I just wanted to
get out of this cast and out of this boot and get right back into the
gym."

Returning to home to his native Croatia fresh of his victory over Pat Barry at Saturday nights UFC 115 event, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović told a local news agency, Net.hr, that after arriving in Canada for his fight that Canadian customs threatened to deport him for possible “war crimes.”

Canada customs held Filipović’s for four hours wanting to know about his war time service during the Yugoslav Wars in the 90’s and whether or not he had been involved in any war crimes.

“The first day I was kept for four hours and two more the next day. Although they were not satisfied with my answers let me to sleep through the city, the hotel, and asked to think about the questions raised. I was threatened deportation, but rose to Croatian Embassy, the Consul urgently flown in from Ottawa, and the UFC hired the best lawyer for immigration issues. They obviously knew what would happen because my lawyer welcomed the runway at the airport, “retells the Croatian gladiator and discovered the unpleasant details of the conversation:

“Testing has been painful for me, but I must say that the Immigration Bureau officials very correctly perform their job. They used what they have to, but there are obviously very interested in the military and police matters from the former Yugoslavia. Most of them are interested in my military service that I served the 1993rd and 1994th time, as conscripts, but I was not involved in combat activities. They asked me if I was involved in the torture of civilians, asking for names of command lines and tactical commander. are asking for my activities in Port ATJ where I joined a few years after the war. They gave me a list of names to be confirmed, but I did it. No one not named because it is still a matter of dignity and principles. I said to myself, if this bid is ready to return home. They could do with me what they wanted, yet they’ll let me fight, “revealed the Vecernji Cro Cop.

The article was translated from Croatian to English using Google Translate.

After facing one of his childhood idles, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, UFC heavyweight Pat Barry had to make a trip to the hospital after their fight due to a broken hand and foot.

Barry posted the picture from his Twitter account, twitter.com/hypeordie, noting that he broke his hand in the first and his foot in either the first or second round against the big Croatian.

Broke hand in first Broke something in foot in first or second

Nooo, it sucks to say, but I pannicked last night after I knew my hand and foot were done. I burned out trying to end it with power hits.

Barry’s performance in the fight was certainly affected by the injuries, after dominating the first round against “Cro Cop,” and helped to lead to his submission loss in the third round.

The UFC president, Dana White, talked about the loss for Barry, noting the fighter offered too much respect as a friend instead of facing a dangerous foe.

“He respected Cro Cop, but kind of had this feeling like I know I’m going to take him out tonight. I think he played that fight all wrong.”

Check out the second photo of Barry after the jump

Click here to view the embedded video.

Former PRIDE champion and UFC heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic earned a rare submission victory against a tough Pat Barry in the co-main event of UFC 115. With his win he proves some of the doubters that he isn’t too old and that he does actually belong in the UFC.

HT: MMAFighting.com

Former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin walked away from UFC 115 with more than a first-round win over fellow icon of the Octagon Chuck Liddell after flattening the “Iceman” with five seconds remaining in the opening frame. “Ace” also exited the arena with an additional $85,000 and “Knockout of the Night” honors, both of which may help to ease the lingering pain he’s no doubt enduring as a result of a broken bone in his arm sustained during the headlining bout. The news was announced at the post-event press conference and reported by Sherdog.

Joining Franklin in procuring an extra $85,000 for work put in, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s post-fight plea apparently resonated with UFC brass, as his third-round choke of hard-hitting kickboxer Pat Barry WAS selected as “Submission of the Night”. The Croatian, generally known for his striking and knockout power, earned the fourth submission-based win of his career with the performance and his first by means of grappling since choking Kevin Randleman in PRIDE a little over 5 1/2 years ago.

Finally, Carlos Condit’s comeback win over blue-chip prospect Rory MacDonald was announced as the event’s “Fight of the Night”. The former WEC welterweight title-holder emerged down on the judges’ scorecards after the bout’s opening ten minutes but was able to pound out a victory with less than ten seconds remaining in the third round.

The UFC’s first trip to Vancouver looked to have been a success as the sold out show drew in approximately 17,000 spectators, for a gate of $4.2 million according to UFC president Dana White. White made that announcement, as well as the “Fight Night” bonuses for Saturday’s UFC 115 Liddell vs. Franklin event, which took place at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Earning $85,000 for their efforts were Carlos Condit, Rory MacDonald, Rich Franklin and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. The “Fight Night” bonus was $20,000 higher than the $65,000 bonuses handed out at the promotions last event, UFC 114 which took place in Las Vegas.

Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald each received the $85,000 bonus for earning the “Fight of the Night” honor. MacDonald had been winning the first two rounds but slowed in the third and was caught in the dying moments of the third by Condit as he unleashed a vicious ground-and-pound attack on the Canadian. Referee Kevin Doman stepped in with only 7 seconds remaining to award Condit the TKO victory at 4:53 of the third.

Rich Franklin was given the “Knockout of the Night” award after he put the “Iceman” Chuck Liddell, on ice at 4:55 of the first round. The round was exciting to watch with both men trading hard shots, but Franklin managed to land a short straight right hand dropping Liddell to the mat out cold. It was revealed after the bout that one of the “Iceman’s” high kicks had broken Franklin’s left arm.

The “Submission of the Night” honor was awarded to former PRIDE champ Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic who earned a rare submission victory over Pat Barry. Both men walked away pretty banged up in a fight most critics thought would end with a knockout. Filipovic, who suffered some early knockdowns, was able to press the attack in the third on a tired Barry and dropped him to the mat. The Croatian quickly followed his opponent to the mat, dropping several short punches but quickly sunk in the rear-naked-choke on Barry when he exposed his neck, and forced the submission at 4:30 of the third.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Rich Franklin, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald each earned $85,000 fight-night bonuses for their performances at
Saturday's "UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin" event.

Franklin earned the "Knockout of the Night" award, Filipovic earned the
"Submission of the Night bonus, and Condit and MacDonald both earned
"Fight of the Night" honors.

MMAjunkie.com learned of the award winners and bonus amounts while at the UFC 115 post-event press conference.