CageCraze.com is back with the second installment of “The North-South Position” with Brian Hemminger and Chad Cunningham. Tonight we square off again by picking the four televised fights from this Saturday’s “Strikeforce – Diaz vs. Cyborg” card on Showtime. Brian won the first contest by picking 3/5 fights correctly on the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 card while Chad logged a paltry 2/5 picks correctly. Chad went out on a limb and picked George Roop to upset Mark Hominick and he paid dearly. As always, comments are encouraged, so let us know what you think. Brian has decided on Chad’s punishment for losing: he must write a haiku poem about Thomas “Wildman” Denny’s mutton chops.  Take it away Chad:

Aim for the mutton

Hit him right on the button

Like Nick Diaz did

Nick Diaz vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship

(Chad) This is the biggest fight of Evangelista Santos’ career and he can definitely win this fight against Nick Diaz. I think that “Cyborg” has a chance at catching just about anyone, including Nick Diaz.  I just think that Diaz is too hot right now for that to happen. Diaz is on an eight fight win streak since his 2007 loss to K.J. Noons.  Diaz will have an edge if the fight goes to the ground but I do not think he needs it to go to the ground to win.  Diaz has shown he can go toe-to-toe with great strikers like Robbie Lawler (also on this card) and K.J. Noons.  I see Diaz picking Santos apart with his jab throughout the first round.  ”Cyborg” makes it into the second round but is stopped via TKO by Nick Diaz.

(Brian) I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the biggest fight Santos has ever had.  The man has faced incredibly tough competition throughout his career including former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi and current UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, losing both fights via first round TKO.  He’s fighting Diaz two weight classes lower than he fought Mousasi and Rua, and if his last fight against Dream welterweight champion Marius Žaromskis is an omen, he will be very powerful and dangerous.  Nick Diaz has recently been talking a lot about facing UFC champ Georges St. Pierre and Strikeforce middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller in interviews.  He could very well be looking past Santos.  Despite his 18-13 career record, Santos is a very dangerous man and it could cost Diaz to overlook him.  I think Santos shocks the world by swarming Diaz and knocking him into another dimension in the clinch with knees in the 2nd round.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Robbie Lawler

Strikeforce Middleweight Championship

(Chad) I think this comes down to whether or not Robbie Lawler can catch Jacare before being taken down. Once on the ground, will Lawler be able to fend off submissions for up to five rounds? I am a fan of Robbie Lawler but I am hesitant to bet that he will be able to keep this fight standing. If Jacare can make it out of the first two rounds he will wear Lawler down and submit him in the third round. Even if I am wrong, I am confident that the championship rounds will be superfluous. Someone is leaving the cage unconcious on Saturday night.

(Brian) Strikeforce middleweight champ Jacare Souza surprised many when he ignored his world champion Brazilian jiu jitsu skills and made his first title fight with Tim Kennedy a five round stand-up affair.  While Jacare has been improving his striking, he’s not an idiot.  Robbie Lawler is one of the most powerful punchers in the middleweight division and if Jacare stands with him for five rounds, he’s probably going to get knocked out.  Lawler recently decimated former UFC contender Matt Lindland at the violent St. Louis show in December and he is confident.  Look for Jacare to score one of his “Souza” takedowns and secure a submission in the first or second round similar to when Jake Shields had his submission of the year candidate in 2009.

Roger Gracie vs. Trevor Prangley

(Chad) Trevor Prangley is the type of fighter that will give everyone a stern test. He may not be able to defeat the fighters in the upper echelon of the sport, but anyone that fights him will know that they were in a battle.  That is the quality about Prangley that makes this fight very interesting. He is arguably in the declining years of his career, and he faces someone that is on the rise.  Roger Gracie can stand with Prangley and fluster him with his jab but he is obviously the most dangerous on the ground.  I think that Prangley will give Gracie fits in this fight, but Gracie will pull out the win via a hard-earned decision.

(Brian) Roger Gracie and Trevor Prangley are both arguably coming off the biggest wins of their careers.  Prangley recently defeated former UFC contender Keith Jardine at Shark Fights 13 while Gracie submitted former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery this past May.  There’s no doubt that once this fight gets to the ground, Gracie will have a tremendous advantage.  Roger Gracie is currently the most accomplished jiu jitsu practioner in the world, having won the Mundials a record 10 times.  Prangley must do everything he can to keep this fight standing or he will have zero chance.  Gracie’s standup still has a lot of work and if Prangley can keep the fight there, he could hurt Gracie, even knock him out.  Sadly, I don’t think it happens.  Gracie is a tactician and he will have a gameplan for getting this fight to the ground and get the finish via submission in the first round.

Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson

(Chad) There has been a lot of banter about Herschel Walker not deserving to fight on a televised card at this point in his career, and while that may be true in terms of his accomplishments in MMA, it would not make financial sense for Walker to be buried on the undercard. There really is not another fight on the undercard that fans would want to see more than the Walker fight, in terms of interest or relevancy for the promotion. This fight was made to give Walker another stepping stone, and I do not think that Scott Carson has the tools to derail the Herschel Walker “experiment.” Walker will come out smoother and more confident in this fight and put Carson away via TKO in the first round.

(Brian) It makes zero financial sense for Herschel Walker to lose this fight.  Strikeforce needed a guy they thought he could easily defeat and they feel they’ve found it with Scott Carson.  Carson (4-1) scored four wins from 1999-2001 and mysteriously didn’t fight for nearly ten years, losing his comeback fight this past June via first round knockout.  Carson also used to fight at light heavyweight so Walker will likely have a size advantage as well.  Walker (1-0) is one of the greatest athletes of our time, and at 48 years old, he’s still in incredible physical condition and has put in a lot of time with the American Kickboxing Academy alongside tough heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier.  With how little we know about Carson, he could pull a miracle out of his hat like Chad Griggs against Bobby Lashley in 2010, but it’s not very probable.  I fully expect Walker to steamroll Carson with a first round knockout or submission.

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The final week of 2010 has been an exciting one for Strikeforce, as the company has once again shown an investment in their current crop of highly-touted talent by announcing a “multi-year” contract extension with 185-pound stand-out Robbie Lawler only a day removed from doing the same thing with welterweight champion Nick Diaz.

Official terms of the deal were not stated in the company’s press release.

“Strikeforce has treated me good and I am happy to re-sign with them,” said the 18-6 knockout artist. “They have given me an opportunity to fight for the title and I’m looking forward to that and to fighting any and all of the top 185-pounders.”

Lawler is currently set to take on submission-specialist Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza on January 29 in San Jose for the company’s middleweight strap. The heavy-handed Midwesterner is coming off a highlight-reel knockout of Matt Lindland less than a minute into their match-up earlier this month. Fifteen of his eighteen career wins have come as the result of strikes.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCESimilar Posts:

• Ronaldo Souza set for first title-defense against Robbie Lawler on January 29
• Nick Diaz defending belt against Evangelista Santos in January
• “Jacare” expresses interest in UFC, satisfaction with Strikeforce
• Robbie Lawler out of “Strikeforce: Evolution”
• Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Matt Lindland, King Mo set for “Strikeforce: Evolution” in December

A classic clash of styles appears set to take place next month, as Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will do his best to ensnare heavy-handed striker Robbie Lawler in one of his BJJ-based traps at the promotion’s upcoming show in San Jose.

News of the expected pairing, as well as the title’s involvement at the show, was first reported by Tatame. Souza also announced the bout at a local event in Brazil over the weekend.

Lawler is coming off a fifty-second flattening of Matt Lindland two weeks ago in St. Louis at “Strikeforce – Henderson vs. Babalu II”. He is 7-1 in his last eight fights at 185 pounds with a catch-weight loss to Renato Sobral earlier this year also in the mix. “Ruthless” Robbie has rendered the majority of his opponents defenseless by way of strikes with fifteen TKOs in eighteen total victories, but has struggled against high-level grapplers on the ground making his match-up with Souza particularly intriguing due to the middleweight champion’s world-class skill on the mat.

While the 13-2 “Jacare” certainly showed improved stand-up in his title-winning performance against Tim Kennedy this past August at “Strikeforce – Houston”, there’s no question his bread is buttered in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as he owes ten of his thirteen MMA wins to the art of tapping opponents out. The decorated submission-grappler has won three consecutive fights after previously being knocked out by a perfectly timed upkick from Gegard Mousasi in September 2008 (with a cut-shortened “No Contest” to Jason Miller in his follow-up to the defeat).

Though the January 29 event has yet to be officially announced, a number of rumored participants have already been attached to the card including Miller, Kennedy, Nick Diaz, and Herschel Walker.

PHOTO CREDIT – ESTHER LIN / STRIKEFORCESimilar Posts:

• “Jacare” expresses interest in UFC, satisfaction with Strikeforce
• Ronaldo Souza: “I feel fine being the champion of Strikeforce, but I want more than that.”
• Nick Diaz defending belt against Evangelista Santos in January
• Tim Kennedy “having a hard time” finding an opponent, looking at DREAM
• Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Matt Lindland, King Mo set for “Strikeforce: Evolution” in December

With a nod to ice hockey, there are no two professional sports as physically and mentally demanding as Mixed Martial Arts and football. Built on a background of discipline, perfection on the playing-field, and the ability to overcome injury in hopes of procuring a victory, there are a number of similarities between the two athletic ventures beyond simply their violent nature.

Occasionally the two realms collide, as was the case earlier this week when Strikeforce middleweight “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler visited the NFL’s resurgent St. Louis Rams training facility earlier this week and spoke casually with players, including wide receiver Danny Amendola and offensive lineman Adam Goldberg. Whether the hard-hitting, freshly bearded 185-pounder asked for, or gave, tips on how to best render your opponent seeing stars will be left up to speculation as no official comments were recorded. However, one thing is undoubtedly certain – a number of the Rams’ defensive players no doubt felt some sort of slight jealousy at Lawler’s ability to knock people out and not worry about a fine from the league’s commissioner.

The 17-6 former champion, who faces high-level wrestler Matt Lindland later tonight at “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II”, is 6-2 in his last eight fights with a submission loss to previous promotional title-holder Jake Shields and a close decision defeat to light heavyweight Renato Sobral this past June. All six of the victories came by way of knockout/TKO, as have fourteen of his seventeen total career wins.

In addition to his match-up with Lindland, the St. Louis event features a contendership-determining clash between the headlining light heavyweights (Dan Henderson/Sobral), as well as welterweights Paul Daley and Scott Smith undoubtedly going toe-to-toe until one of the two falls. 14-2 heavyweight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will also see action on the show when he faces Mike Kyle, the only man to have legitimately beaten newly crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

“Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II” will be broadcast on Showtime starting at 10:00 PM ET/PT (Tape Delayed in the West)

PHOTO CREDIT – ESTHER LIN / STRIKEFORCE
Similar Posts:

• Matt Lindland vs. Robbie Lawler added to December 4th Strikeforce event
• Dan Henderson likely fighting Renato “Babalu” Sobral this December in St. Louis
• Report: Strikeforce light heavyweight title fight between Babalu and Feijao now off
• Strikeforce signs fifty-fight veteran Luis Santos
• UPDATE: Tyron Woodley not competing at “Strikeforce – Henderson vs. Babalu” after all

When an average fan thinks of Matt Lindland, chances are the image associated with “The Law” involves little more than a decorated wrestler with no discernable stand-up skills who prefers to keep things on the ground as a result. However, the Olympic silver medalist has actually finished more than twice as many opponents as he’s beaten by way of decision including seven wins by way of TKO.

Lindland recently took time to speak during a recent conference call with media about the importance of his upcoming bout at “Strikeforce – Henderson vs. Babalu” against Robbie Lawler, as well as expressed why he feels his striking is underrated and the reason he’s continued to evolve in MMA even at age 40.

“You lose and then you have to figure out why it happened and how you are going to improve, and that’s what I’ve done,” said Lindland. “If you lose and stay the same then you are not a smart fighter and should not be in this sport. After a loss I feel like I come back stronger from working on the aspects that were a part of my loss. I don’t want to talk about the little things – just know I trained hard and changed those aspects…I just want to fight and compete against the best.”

Though the middleweight is coming off a third-round TKO win over Kevin Casey at a Strikeforce Challengers event this past May, Lindland was coming off back-to-back losses entering the bout. As far as his opponent this weekend, Lindland made it clear he wasn’t as concerned about the implications a win over Lawler might have on his future when compared to his desire to make the scrap an entertaining one.

“I think all fights have the same amount of pressure, especially when you are playing at this caliber and fighting either a top contender or a champion or a former champion. It’s not necessarily about who wins or loses, it’s about putting on a good performance and fighting,” explained the Team Quest original before offering a blunt prediction on the outcome.

“I have never seen Robbie in a fight that wasn’t exciting, so I don’t plan on this being any different. I am looking forward to going out there and performing and kicking the sh*t out of Robbie,” he continued.

Lindland also made it clear his plans for victory don’t necessarily include a submission when omitted from a question relating to knockouts, saying, “I am a little insulted because I have knocked some people out and the last guy I knocked out was Robbie’s teammate, Jeremy Horn, when I kicked him in the head and then punched him with a straight left.”

Still, his grappling isn’t a weapon he won’t unsheathe when the time comes.

“I do enjoy the ground game a lot and it is a technical aspect of the game, and I think subs happen better when you punish guys and I do like to impose my will and punish a guy and have him make a mistake. I like to hook guys and make sure that everyone sees that that guy is tapping out, and submitting not just to me but in front of the world. When I drop a guy it is more surprising, because I haven’t had as many knockouts as these other three guys that you are talking about. They go in there looking for the big punch and when I go in there and hit a guy or clip him and take him out it is a little more surprising because it’s not as frequent.”

When asked about why he felt he had the advantage over Lawler, and would ultimately emerge victorious, Lindland credited his experience but stated the result would all come down to the individual most-able to impose his will on the other.

“I think I am a little more experienced, wiser. I wouldn’t argue with people who say he is athletic, he’s got speed, he’s got power. I am going to have to use superior positioning, conditioning and just knowledge of the sport and put him in positions he is not comfortable with….If I had my way I would put Robbie on his back and pound a hole in his head and I’m sure Robbie would like to try to keep it on his feet and put me to sleep standing up. I think it’s really about who can impose their will.”

Lindland is 22-7 in his career with notable wins over some of MMA’s former elite like Horn, Carlos Newton, and Pat Miletich. He’s also beaten notable opponents like Joe Doerksen, Ivan Salaverry, Travis Lutter, and Phil Baroni.

In addition to his match-up with Lawler, “Strikeforce – Henderson vs. Babalu” features a contendership-determining clash between the headlining light heavyweights (Dan Henderson/Renato Sobral), as well as welterweights Paul Daley and Scott Smith undoubtedly going toe-to-toe until one of the two falls.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCESimilar Posts:

• Matt Lindland vs. Robbie Lawler added to December 4th Strikeforce event
• “The Law” is Coming to Strikeforce
• Herschel Walker injured, withdraws from December 4th Strikeforce event
• Paul Daley: “…I’d like to fight Noons after I knock out Scott Smith.”
• Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Falaniko Vitale set for Shine Fights 3

A classic clash of styles will be on display in St. Louis this December, as Strikeforce has announced heavy-handed striker Robbie Lawler will face former Olympic wrestler Matt Lindland at the promotion’s event scheduled for 12/4 at the Scottrade Center.

“Ruthless” Robbie dropped a hard-fought decision to light heavyweight contender Renato “Babalu” Sobral in his most recent outing but has only been beaten a single time at 185-pounds in nearly four years (to Jake Shields). During that span he’s notched victories over a tough group including Joey Villasenor, Frank Trigg, Melvin Manhoef, and Murilo “Ninja” Rua. He holds an overall record of 17-6 with knockouts in fourteen of his wins.

A polar opposite in terms of approach and outright aggression, Lindland is 22-7 with the bulk of his in-ring success coming by way of submissions/decisions. However, “The Law” scored a TKO over Kevin Casey last May at Strikeforce Challengers 8 – the eighth win of his career coming in such a fashion – and is no stranger to ground-and-pounding his way to a “W” when necessary.

In addition to Lawler vs. Lindland, the December 4th event will also feature former PRIDE double-divisional champ Dan Henderson fighting the afore-mentioned Sobral in the main event, the return of football legend Herschel Walker to a MMA ring, and a scrap between Paul Daley and Scott Smith nearly guaranteed to end in one man’s separation from consciousness.Similar Posts:

• Paul Daley Set To Make Promotional Debut at Strikeforce: St. Louis
• Antonio Silva added to Strikeforce’s December line-up
• Henderson vs. Sobral, Herschel Walker officially scheduled for December 4th Strikeforce event
• Dan Henderson likely fighting Renato “Babalu” Sobral this December in St. Louis
• Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler pocket six-figures for Strikeforce wins

Murilo “Ninja” Rua (20-10-1) is currently without a promotional home as the fighter bounces between different events around the world.

The former PRIDE star and EliteXC middleweight champ has won his last four fights, earning a submission win over Jeremy May at the Impact FC 2 – The Uprising: Sydney event in July. He’s fought such big names as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, and Kevin Randleman in the past.

Recently his brother, UFC light-heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua put out a request to UFC president Dana White to bring “Ninja” to the UFC via Twitter.

@danawhite , pleaase give a chance for NINJA fight in UFC , he always give very good fights for the fans @ShogunRua know this too !!RUAS !!!

Murilo himself is looking for some big things to happen in 2011 concerning his career. His manager, Eduardo Alonso spoke to Tatame.com recently about his fighters future.

“There’re a lot of things happening related to Murilo. I’m trying to define his future in 2011. We’ve straightened a good way to go with good wins and now we wanted him to have the greatest challenge of his career, to find within himself the motivation to face those challenges. It came up a possibility for him to fight in Europe, Israel and Hawaii, but everything is just a speculation yet”.

“There’s still the possibility of him coming back to Dream. They even said something about him fighting (Kazushi) Sakuraba, but they’re old friends, so it didn’t happen. We want Murilo on the United Stated in 2011, on a bigger event… We’re prioritizing it.”

UFC hall of famer and two times UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (44-7), isn’t concerned with being the oldest fighter taking part on this Saturday’s UFC 117 event in Oakland, California.

In a recent blog post from his personal website Matt-Hughes.com, Hughes talked about his preparations for his fight with Ricardo Almeida, and a recent interview with his hometown paper where he was asked his feelings on being the oldest fighter on the card.

Training was great for this fight. Had some tough workouts at my gym and also went out to Salt Lake City and got to train with Jeremy, his guys and Matt Pena. My three corners for this fight will be Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena and Jeremy Horn. I really feel that my cornermen are the best in the business.

Just did a little interview with my hometown paper, one of the questions was asking how I felt about being the oldest man on the card. I turned around and said that I appreciated him pointing that out to me and that I hadn’t even thought about it. To be honest, it doesn’t matter to me. I guess I’m just glad I’ve been able to have as long of a career as I have. So many other people out there who have fought in the UFC wouldn’t even think of fighting as long as I have. So I guess I look at it as a privilege.

I think Ricardo will be hungry for this fight, I’ve beaten two Gracies and a teammate and, back about ten years ago, I beat Ricardo himself in a grappling match in Abu Dhabi. So on one hand he’s got a lot of motivation and on the other he sees what I just listed and knows I’m a threat. I think he will come at me hard and try to get me down to the ground somehow. He wants to be on top of me, but I’m sure if he’s on the ground he’ll be happier than on his feet.

I don’t think my weight cut will be hard for this fight, as I’ve been doing good with my exercise and diet.

In a move that should come as a surprise to few, the UFC has officially inked Jake Shields to a contract and ended months of speculation in the process.

Shields brings a 25-4-1 record and fourteen-fight win streak with him into the organization, as well as victories over a number of respected opponents including Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, and most recently Dan Henderson.

The news of Shields siging with the UFC comes from GracieFighter, who also reported that the Cesar Gracie-student will apparently face one of “the UFC’s top contenders” at welterweight in his promotional debut.

Shields has been out of action since defending the Strikeforce middleweight title against Henderson last April. While no actual date has been announced for his UFC debut, it appears likely the match-up will occur sooner than later.

UFC has gained a high level welterweight addition to the division as former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields has signed with the promotion and, according to GracieFighter.com, will face a top contender in his debut match:

“Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight. [His] opponent is one of the UFC’s top contenders and will be announced shortly.”

Shields has been on a run for some time, taking out Robbie Lawler in 2009, then Jason Miller and Dan Henderson and there had been considerable speculation concerning Shields defecting to UFC from Strikeforce. Shields has been vocal about facing current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre as well as middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

No word on who the “top contender” is, but Shields is a welcome addition to a somewhat stiffled welterweight field. Look for Shields to hit the Octagon some time this year and try to continue his winning ways.

Update:
Sports Illustrated Josh Gross say’s Shields isn’t signed yet but they’ll get the deal done next week.

Jake Shields isn’t officially signed with the UFC. The money is agreed to, but the contract isn’t finalized. Next week most likely.

Update II: UFC president Dana White sent a message to MMAFighting.com, saying the announcement that Jake Shields had signed with the UFC was “not true” and that negotiations between the two sides, “They take time.”