SB Nation User Blog: MMASuPreMaCy

Monson To Possibly Debut For Strikeforce at 205 Reliable sources have also mentioned to...

MMASuPreMaCy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:48:57 -0000

Monson To Possibly Debut For Strikeforce at 205

Reliable sources have also mentioned to Fighters.com that Monson and Strikeforce are in talks and Monson could actually debut at 205 pounds in Strikeforce in 2010. Neither Monson nor Strikeforce could confirm, but Monson did confirm he continues talks with Strikeforce.

EA Sports MMA Demo Review, Impressions, Plus Game Details

MMASuPreMaCy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:56:06 -0000

SCREENSHOTS:

via www.pastapadre.com and www.easportsmma.com

Reviews after the jump...

Review From Yahoo:

Maggie Hendricks from Yahoo (self acclaimed noob gamer) comments:

First, Strikeforce is a premier league of the game, meaning you'll see Strikeforce logos, and Strikeforce announcers. As you can hear in the above clip, Mauro Renallo will be screaming at you as you play the game. That also means that quite a few Strikeforce fighters are involved, including Brett Rogers, Fedor Emelianenko, Jake Shields, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, "King Mo" Lawal and more. John McCarthy is the ref of choice.

The movement of the fighters is lifelike and true to form. Video-game Brett Rogers' punches are big and loopy, just like real-life Brett Rogers. VG Fedor's footwork looks like real Fedor's footwork.

The fighters are also programmed to take damage. In one clip that they showed us, Rogers began to limp after taking a particularly nasty kick from Fedor. Also, fighters know where they are in the cage, and act accordingly. They drop their hands when sent back to their corners.

To me, the coolest thing that they showed was that fights aren't confined to the cage. They have several different environments for fights, including a ring, an open-air dojo in Brazil, a regular MMA gym with open mats, and more.

Review From MiddleEasy:

Great detailed review over at MiddleEasy:

First off, everyone has to give it up to UFC Undisputed for being the first game to 'revolutionize' MMA games. I was the first guy in line at my local Gamestop to be made fun of by local kids while I waited until 12:01 to grab my copy. If you were with MiddleEasy back in May, then you know the level of excitement that I had for this game (and consequent frustration at the magical Fabricio Werdum armbar that is impossible to prevent). UFC Undisputed is an amazing game that dominated May-June 2009 sales figures. It brought THQ out of a huge deficit and it's constantly been lodged inside my Xbox 360ever since it dropped in May.

With that said...EA Sports MMA is light years ahead of UFC Undisputed.

It's hard to even compare the two games, they almost look like they were designed for two completely different consoles. One of the most amazing thing about the game was the sheer character fluidity. As you approach your opponent, your hands go up, your fighter stance is more aggressive and control appears to be vastly more responsive. If you back-off from your opponent, the hands go down, you sort of jump around and get more comfortable with the cage. Also, the one thing that really had everyone salivating was the announcement that each fighter has their own unique stance, strikes, submissions and defense. That means every fighter throws a right hook differently. When you catch your opponent's leg, not every fighter goes for the take-down. Some will spin your leg around and just deck you in the face...others will go for the sweep and slam you to the ground. Someone in the crowd asked 'Well wouldn't this take a lot of time from the developer's standpoint to program different moves for every fighter?'. The lead developer said 'It's worth it, we want to make EA Sports MMA as realistic as possible'. In UFC Undisputed, all fighters were modeled from the skillset of Kickboxing, Boxer, Wrestler, Muay-Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This essentially meant that all moves looked the same and could be executed by any fighter that had those skillsets. This is not the case with EA Sports MMA. Each fighter has moves that they are historically known for doing. You won't see Fedor going for some flying heel-hook (Imanari style) but you will see him going for his wild overhand right (which we saw land and drop Brett Rogers).

In UFC Undisputed when fighters get in the clinch, movements seem very mechanical and only one fighter is allowed to hit at a time (something that we obviously never see in MMA). EA Sports seemed to capture the sporadic nature of being in the clinch, both fighters were struggling to get out while both trade blows simultaneously. Fingers were being extended to try to peel away the other fighter's grip while elbows were being thrown at the same time. Keep in mind, while this was going on sweat was building up on their skin and with each hit you could literally see the sweat come off their face and onto the mat. Speaking of mats, EA Sports MMA has a lot of different venues to fight in.

From the demo, we saw Muay-Thai rings, Brazilian grappling dojos, British boxing rings, a circular cage that looks exactly like what they used in YAMMA pit fighting, six-sided cages used in Strikeforce and I believe I remember seeing just an open area in the middle of a jungle. In fact, the locations were so remarkable that someone in the crowd asked if they could them again on the monitor.

EA Sports also announced Strikeforce as a premier league within the game which obviously leads us to believe that there will be other leagues (King of the Cage, Sengoku, MFC, DREAM, XFC) that will have their own fighters who each obviously have their own unique stance, movements, strikes...etc.

This game is going to be huge. Massive. Bigger than what we speculated when we wrote our 'It's time to get amped up for EA Sports MMA' article in September.

Review From ESPN:

Jon Robinson over at ESPN comments on EA Sports MMA:

"What you can expect is that someone who is trained in Brazilian Jujitsu and focuses mostly on the stand-up game and focuses mostly on being a stand-up wrestler, they are going to play as you'd expect — they are going to try and keep things on their feet," adds Jackson. "And when they get on the ground, they can get themselves out of trouble with position changes or some small submission attempts. But they're not going to be able to set-up submissions three moves ahead to make things happen.

"We also have a ton of counter moves in the game. I can't put a fine enough point on the ability to catch a kick and do anything from that. Catching a kick is the start of a lot of moves, not the end of it. Catching a kick and only being able to take someone to the ground is a travesty. That's not what 'MMA' is all about. It's about trying to stay in your gameplan if you want to. It's about being able to fight where you want to take the fight to, and we're going to allow that by trying to make sure we have the right branches in there at all times so you can try to keep the fight where you want in order to try and be successful."

Also included in the game are southpaws, the ability to switch stances, and fighters from both the top and the bottom positions simultaneously throwing punches without the need to wait for the initial punch animation to play out.

...

King Mo, as well as a few other fighters signed to "EA Sports MMA," has already traveled to EA's development studio in Orlando in order to be photographed for the game so their likenesses could be captured down to the slightest scar. "The characters are all hand-modeled using high-res photographs," explains Jackson. "We're also using some skin techniques that are being used in some high-end feature films right now. We have surface scattering, which allows light to go through the top layer of skin and bounce off to the outside so you get more realistic looking skin. ...

And judging from the limited amount I've seen of "EA Sports MMA" so far, I'd have to agree with Jackson as the sharpness of the character models is striking at first, and the more I stared at the real photos and compared them to the fighters on screen, I was left stunned by the likeness.

Jackson then showed a teaser of things to come, flashing a few never-before seen scenes of various fighting locations throughout the game, including a shot from Brazil, a Thai gym, and a dojo in Japan.

"The international nature of MMA is huge to us, and you learn different things training in places where different martial arts are more focused on, and that's part of this game," explains Jackson, who then immediately clams up when pressed for more detail. "This is just a taste of things to come."

One thing Jackson would talk about, however, is the inclusion of Photo Game Face for when gamers are creating themselves in career mode. "Putting you in the game is a big part of this game. It's important that you feel like a fighter, and we're going to make sure we give you that experience."

And when asked how busted up I can make my fighter's face (I'm a sucker for scars and bruises), Jackson guarantees I'll appreciate the final results. ... We started with the 'Fight Night' engine, and if you saw their damage, you have a good idea of some of the stuff you can expect from our game."

Game Informer Review:

Game Informer reviews EA Sports MMA:

Months later, we’ve had the chance to see the game in action. The game looks great, which is no surprise considering that it’s built with a modified version of the engine behind the astonishingly good looking Fight Night: Round Four. The demo featured Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, fighters who faced off in a recent Strikeforce event, and their digital counterparts were convincingly detailed, down to the scar on Fedor’s brow. That said, is there room for two MMA games? After talking to the producer and seeing a presentation of the game, we have to say there is. Aside from obvious differences in rosters and venues, each game seems to be approaching the sport from a slightly different angle. The good news is that EA appears to be taking it all very seriously.

...

Damage modeling and blood was turned off in the demo out of respect for the fighters (who were facing off in real life the next night), but we saw a glimpse of how it will work in the game. Players will be able to focus attacks on particular limbs or body parts, which can leave their opponent vulnerable. Rogers’ leg was injured, which Fedor could exploit by leg strikes. Because his leg was weakened, Rogers reeled back slightly and pivoted on his heel. That reaction was just what Fedor was looking for. “A reaction like that’s going to open a window,” says Jackson. “If Brett has to step back or turn on that leg, it opens a window for counterstrikes, it opens a window for a takedown, so it changes the strategy of the game based on what you’ve set up throughout the game. You’re seldom going to win a fight with leg kicks, but you can set up an opening that will let you get to victory through other means."

EA isn’t talking about the game’s career mode or the size of its roster, but we did see screens that hinted at training facilities in England, Japan and, of course, Brazil. Aside from the four fighters announced, Jackson wouldn’t talk about the other fighters at this time. He did have a lot to say about their individual importance, however.
“We’re going to have a big roster,” he says. “It’s not a comparative roster that we care about what anyone else has or anything like that. We’re going to have a big roster of great fighters, but the thing is that they’re all going to be individual fighters. It’s not going to be a list of names, it’s going to be a group of specifically individual fighters who fight like themselves.

Review from IGN and Pasta Padre:

Pasta Padre comments:

IGN has posted up their "first look" preview of the game. Topics discussed include the incorporation of the Fight Night Round 4 engine, organic combat feel, the use of Photo GameFace in career mode, the possibility of a women’s division, and some insight into the controls.

IGN gives favorable reviews for EA Sports MMA, comments on controls:

Standard striking will be handled by the analog stick by default, though all of the controls can be customized if you prefer something different. The developers want kicking and punching to be the same movement on the analog stick regardless of whether you’re on the ground or upright. How you’ll handle moving from mount to half-guard (as well as other transitions on the mat) is still a bit of a mystery.

Mega Japan NYE Show In Talks Between DREAM/FEG and Sengoku? Spike TV Ratings Out For UFC's 11/7 CBS Counterprogram, Fedor Only Out 4-6 Weeks

MMASuPreMaCy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:16:49 -0000

Dave Meltzer Releases Spike TV Ratings for Strikeforce Counter Program

Well, we have been waiting for a Spike TV release for their ratings on their Strikeforce counter programming efforts this past Saturday. Via MMAConvert and Dave Meltzer:

Dave Meltzer has Spike’s counter-programming ratings from Saturday. No boastful press releases this time because they weren’t that good.

...

UFC’s attempt at counterprogramming the opposition didn’t prove as successful as in the past. UFC has always put on replays of past major pay-per-view events against the prior CBS shows, usually doing a 1.2 rating, considered very strong for Spike TV for using old footage. But they were down 25 percent from usual, doing a 0.9 rating and 1.2 million viewers with a custom-made show featuring the television debuts of four recent never-before-seen pay-per-view main event matches.

Dana Comments On Strikeforce CBS Ratings:

UFC president Dana White, predictably, wasn’t impressed with Saturday night’s card.

"CBS made its biggest mistake partnering with a tiny, small show with a roster no one cares about," said Dana White. "Just because you read on MMA.TV that someone is a superstar doesn’t make it true. This should prove that no one out there gives a [expletive] about Fedor."

In which Scott Coker replied:

"You’d think everyone [in the industry] would be happy because it’s great for the industry for everyone to be doing well," responded Coker.

WKR gives their point of view on the matter:

Over a million viewers for a cable replay package on Saturday night is nothing to scoff at but these numbers are significantly down from the UFC's other counter broadcasts.

The UFC previously countered two Strikeforce cards with replays of UFC 94 and a partial replay of UFC 100. The UFC 94 replay did 1.9 million viewers while UFC 100 drew 2 million viewers. Spike and Zuffa respectively lost 36% and 40% of their previous counter broadcast audience. Couple that with the CBS' ratings and it appears clear that the UFC came up short in their attempt to siphon off viewers.

Also, WKR has some issues with the Junkie's title "Spike TV's "UFC Main Events" draws 2.14 million viewers over two airings." While factual it doesn't accurately reflect the ratings for what Spike and Zuffa were attempting to do: draw viewers away from CBS and Strikeforce. In that regards only 1.2 million viewers tuned in for the direct counter to CBS.

Fedor Looking To Fight During First Quarter of 2010

We get an update from Sherdog regarding Fedor's injuries he sustained against Brett Rogers on Saturday.

Fedor Emelianenko’s injuries may not keep the top-ranked fighter on the sidelines for as long as initially expected.

The Russian heavyweight underwent a successful surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles to correct a dislocated thumb in his left hand and will have a half cast removed in 4-6 weeks, Emelianenko and his M-1 Global management team told Sherdog.com during an exclusive video interview conducted only a few hours following the procedure.

Emelianenko said he planned to return to training, sans striking, upon his return to Russia later this week. M-1 officials said Emelianenko could headline his second co-promoted Strikeforce card in the first quarter of 2010.

Maroes Coenen vs Cyborg Santos Title Bout Set For Jan 30th in Miami

Via MMAWeekly, we receive word that Cyborg is expected to make her 145 lb title defense on Strikeforce's January event from Miami:

It now looks like she’ll get the title shot against Strikeforce 145-pound women’s champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos that was originally scheduled for Fedor vs. Rogers. Santos had to withdraw from the event due to an injury suffered in a grappling tournament in September.

The two are now expected to meet on Jan. 30 in Miami.

Strikeforce Evolution December Event Taking Shape

STRIKEFORCE: DECEMBER 19, 2009
HP Pavilion in San Jose, California

- Josh Thomson (16-2) vs. Gilbert Melendez (16-2) (LW Ttitle Unification Bout)*
- Cung Le (6-0) vs. Scott Smith (16-6)
- Matt Lindland (21-6) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2)
- Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0) vs. TBA
- Robbie Lawler (18-5) vs. TBA
- Scott Lighty (5-0) vs. Antwain Britt (9-3)

Rumored: Nick Diaz (20-7), Jay Hieron (18-4), Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (20-3), Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (16-13), Benji Radach (19-5), Marius Zaromskis (13-3), Andre Galvao (3-1).

* Pending on Josh Thomson's health.

Mega NYE Show In Talks Between SRC (Sengoku) and DREAM/FEG

From NightmareOfBattle, we get some interesting news about what is going on in Japan regarding the NYE shows:

WVR, RE (one half of DREAM), and FEG (the other half) are currently discussing a possible merger for NYE (listen to latest Breen radio show for more).

The WVR PR said a couple of weeks ago that there would be a big press conference concerning their NYE event last week, where they would probably announce some kind of TV deal, it never happened. The PR then said after sengoku 11 that getting a TV deal with the state of MMA in Japan right now is chaos.

Again, these talks have happened before and nothing has been materialized, but it seems pretty close now that SRC is struggling to get a good TV deal to showcase their mega bout between Ishii and Yoshida.

They haven't been able to land a deal even with Ishii vs Yoshida, so now all three companies are discussing what would be best for NYE (you might think that they dislike each other but everyone in Japanese MMA have some connection to each other and they are in the same business).

Neither have announced any fights yet despite saying that they would. So don't be surprised if a big joint press conference happens one of these days. It could probably easily change as well.

There were talks last year about a joint event as well but it never happened (this year it seems to be closer though).

Update from Josh Gross:

Also, just got wind that Dream and Sengoku will likely join forces for one NYE card. So no competing MMA cards Dec. 31 in Japan.

Cung Le, Jacare, King Mo, and Lawler on Srikeforce Evolution Poster: Strikeforce will return to...

MMASuPreMaCy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:14:10 -0000

Cung Le, Jacare, King Mo, and Lawler on Srikeforce Evolution Poster:

Strikeforce will return to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on December 19 for their final show of the year.

The main event will mark the return of Cung Le to the cage as he takes on Scott Smith.

CBS Commercial Ads Sold-Out for Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers, Plus Targetting Markets and Sponsors (EA Sports, etc)

MMASuPreMaCy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:37:39 -0000

Well, its seems like it wasn't that long ago that everyone was worried about how good of a job Strikeforce, CBS, and Showtime were going to do to sell/market this event on network TV. As with anything that Strikeforce does, they never over exert themselves and their costs, and they seem to do just enough to make their events a success. Now that we are a few days away, here are some of the more interesting stories leading up to the event.

CBS Commercial Ads Sold-Out For Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers

Fight Camp 360 on Showtime/CBS, ESPN, USA Today, and Chicago Sun-Times to just name a few, Strikeforce and CBS finally seem to be hitting their promotional stride for this event. One of the important aspects of Saturday's event will be how the ratings do, but more importantly for CBS is what kind of advertisers they have acquired by putting MMA on prime time network again. First, lets look at how CBS is doing compared to other networks in regards to ad sales and revenue.

First, MMAPayout digs a great piece from BusinessWeek.com, which reports that CBS will bring more advertising dollars than any of the other big four networks in 2009:

Everywhere you look these days, network TV executives seem to be shredding their playbooks and experimenting with their programming. The prevailing sentiment seems to be: We’ll do whatever it takes to cut costs and keep viewers tuning in. Exhibit A: Jay Leno, who has stepped out from behind his late-night desk to yuck it up on NBC during prime time.

Then there’s CBS, where it’s same old, same old. Yes, the Tiffany Network has added a Los Angeles spin-off to its military crime show NCIS, and launched The Good Wife, a ripped-from-the-headlines drama about the lawyer wife of a philandering politician. But mostly CBS is relying on sitcoms and police procedurals–the very definition of Old Media.

How is that working out for CBS? Pretty well, it seems. Three weeks into the fall season, it’s on a roll. With 12 shows in Nielsen’s top 20, including the top-rated comedy, Two and a Half Men, and its most popular drama, NCIS, CBS draws an average of 12.4 million prime-time viewers, 2.4 million more than runner-up ABC. Meanwhile, the stock has been handily outperforming those of its peers. “They’ve proven anyone wrong who thought that no matter what a network did, their audiences would continue to erode,” says Andrew Donchin, who works for the media buying agency Carat North America and helps buy ad time on CBS for such companies as Pfizer, Black & Decker, and Papa John’s International.

Here is how they stack up:

GROSS AD REVENUES

(BILLIONS)*

CBS $4.7

NBC 4.6

ABC 3.8

Fox 2.8

*2009 estimate

Data: SNL Kagan

In terms of MMA and in anticipation for the upcoming Strikeforce event, CBS executive vice president for primetime programming Kelly Kahl previously had this to say about Fedor's ability to boost credibility among sponsors:

"I think (Fedor) made it a lot easier for our sales guys and our sales are going very, very well for this fight," said Kahl. "To be able walk in with a presentation and show Fedor shows a credibility and it speaks volumes to have a world-class fighter and maybe the best in the world. I think it certainly made it an easier sell than maybe we’ve had in the past."

Kahl said movies studios, automobile purveyors, and video game companies are among those that have bought commercial slots.

"EA Sports is unveiling a preview of their MMA game in this fight exclusively," said Kahl. "In terms of getting mainstream sports reporters interested, Fedor gives us the credibility that maybe we didn’t have before.

Now, Sherdog reports that all CBS commercial Ad spots are sold out for this event.

Commercial spots for CBS’s Saturday Night Fights broadcast of Strikeforce/M-1 Global "Fedor vs. Rogers" have completely sold out, according to Kelly Kahl, executive vice president for primetime programming for the network.

"I’d say this was probably a quicker sellout than the EliteXC shows," said Kahl, who added that the addition of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko has piqued interest in "premium advertisers" from the auto, movies, and video gaming genres.

Aside from ratings, advertising sales are a second way that networks can gauge interest in its programming. Kahl said that other sporting events on CBS usually complete their advertising sales a day or two before air date if that.

Among those scheduled around the live broadcast, EA Sports will unveil a preview of its MMA game due out in 2010.

If you can recall, CBS did a great job selling ads for the first EliteXC event on CBS. On the other hand, they had a tough time selling ad spots for their next two events. One reason is that the second event didn't have Kimbo or Gina Carano, but most importantly, the bad economy was starting to take a toll on the networks. This is another good sign for CBS and Strikeforce. A rating greater than 2.0 and about 4-5 million people would be a home run for CBS.

Strikeforce/CBS's Marketing Brings In...My Mom?

Here is a pretty interesting story from Tony Preston over at BleacherReport:

Today, I had a great conversation about MMA with my mom. I thought I would never have a conversation with my mom about MMA. She knows that I have watched MMA since high school and since I got to college have been doing a little training, but we never really talk about it. She knows that it is called Mixed Martial Arts and that the UFC is just one promotion but that is about it.

Today, I had just gotten back to my dorm after class when I got a call from my mom. She was watching CBS and had just seen a commercial for the Strikeforce card this weekend. She asked me my opinion on Fedor and if I thought he was the best in the world. This lead into me telling her about Brett Rogers and the other fights on the card.

At the end of the conversation she said that she would probably watch at least a few of the fights on Saturday just to check it out. This surprised me and I asked why. She said that it must be decent if it is on CBS.

HDNet To Televise Strikeforce Weigh Ins Via IMMA

"Big" John McCarthy Joins EA Sports MMA

One of Strikeforce's biggest sponsor, EA Sports MMA, will not only be releasing new video game footage of their MMA title next year, but they are also announcing that MMA great Big John will be in their video game. Not official yet, but I have also heard that Jake Shields will be in the game as well. Nick "The Goat" Thompson will also be announced in the near future as a participant in the game, along with Matt Lindland and other Strikeforce and Bellator fighters. The exclusive video footage will also be made available in Japan, which will go along with EA's theme of making EA Sports MMA a world wide title.

Video: http://mma.easports.com/home.action

Strikeforce on Tape Delay? Orlando Station Responds to Fan Outrage

Steve Cofield over at Yahoo write up this piece about how UG members were able to get their CBS affiliate network to show Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers LIVE instead of being delayed until 1AM. Great stuff from the UG and MMA fans.

Power to the people! According to a thread on the Underground Forum, WKMG, the CBS affiliate in Orlando, had originally planned to show this Saturday's Strikeforce mixed martial arts show on a tape-delayed basis at 1:35 a.m. on Sunday morning. In the MMA show's place was going to be "Legend of the Seeker."

After voicing their displeasure, some UG readers received emails this morning, from the station's General Manager Skip Valet, again stating that the fight card could be seen on Sunday morning or live at CBS.com. Then mysteriously a switch was made:

Cagewriter spoke with Valet who said CBS made a late change in available programming and the station was unaware of the opportunity to show the fight card live.

Big John McCarthy Joins EA Sports MMA

MMASuPreMaCy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:05:11 -0000

http://mma.easports.com/home.action

Big John McCarthy Joins EA Sports MMA

Fedor Featured in the Chicago Sun-Times: "People compare him to the brilliance of Michael...

MMASuPreMaCy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:36:42 -0000

Fedor Featured in the Chicago Sun-Times:

"People compare him to the brilliance of Michael Jordan, the dominance of Tiger Woods, and the invincible aura of Mike Tyson."

"Though his name isn't as familiar or his face isn't as recognizable, in the mixed martial arts world, Fedor Emelianenko is the most talented heavyweight in the world."

HT: twitter.com/Allelbows
Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers coverage

Blockbuster MMA event Strikeforce comes to Japan via live webcast › Japan Today: Japan News and D...

MMASuPreMaCy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:24:57 -0000

Blockbuster MMA event Strikeforce comes to Japan via live webcast › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Chicago’s Sears Centre Arena will explode with a high-profile event on Saturday Nov 7, showcasing four main bouts, pitting the legendary Fedor Emelianenko against undefeated challenger Brett Rogers, as well as Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and others.

The good news for fans in Japan is that the action simultaneously begins Sunday, Nov 8 at 11 a.m. JST. Get ready to experience web TV like you never have before. The CBS nationwide broadcast will be transmitted by satellite to Japan and streamed on the Internet to bring a high quality, full-screen experience—free of charge.

This is the first time an event by partner American leagues Strikeforce and M-1 Global will be brought to fans in Japan live on the Internet at japan.m-1global.com. Although the website is accessible globally, video will be viewable only to residents of Japan.

Related news and videos can be found on the CBS Sports, Strikeforce, and M-1 Global websites.

http://japan.m-1global.com/

EA Sports MMA Playable Demo Available at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Nov 6th...

MMASuPreMaCy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:32:19 -0000

EA Sports MMA Playable Demo Available at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Nov 6th Before The Strikeforce CBS Event:

Electronic Arts is giving journalists a sneak peak at its upcoming mixed martial arts fighter, EA SPORTS MMA, on November 6th at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. According to the invitation sent to members of the press, the game will be made available in playable form to the media for the first time ever.

For MMA fans and gamers who can’t attend, though, EA will be revealing the first, official trailer for EA SPORTS MMA during the CBS’ broadcast of the Strikeforce event on November 7th.

On November 7th, Strikeforce and M-1 Global will be hosting "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers" at the Sears Center. Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the top pound for pound fighter in the world, will be making his Strikeforce debut against Brett Rogers. Jake Shields and Jason Miller will fight for the Middleweight Championship, and a number of other fights, including Gegard Mousasi vs Rameau Sokoudjou and Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva, are also featured on the main card.

Strikeforce's Baszler and Tate Battle At The US Grappling Team Trials (No Gi): Tate defeated...

MMASuPreMaCy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:47:52 -0000

Strikeforce's Baszler and Tate Battle At The US Grappling Team Trials (No Gi):

Tate defeated Baszler head to head but Baszler took home 1st place, leaving Tate in 2nd place overall, based on points.

59 kg/130 lbs.
1st – Tara LaRosa, Woodstown, N.J. (Philadelphia Fight Factory), uncontested

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
1st - Shayna Baszler (CSW/Next Edge)
2nd - Miesha Tate, Tacoma, Wash. (Victory Athletics)
3rd - Sara McMann, Gaffney, S.C. (Sunkist Kids)
4th - Angelic Rein, Littleton, Colo. (Grappler’s Edge)

In the men's side Ben Askren finished first in his weight class by defeating 2008 Grappling World champion Jacob Volkmann. Huge win for him.

84 kg/185 lbs.
1st - Ben Askren, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids) dec. Jacob Volkmann, White Bear Lake, Minn. (MMMA), 6-0
3rd – Shane Cross, Denver, Colo. (Grappler’s Edge) dec. Jeff Funicello, Mesa, Ariz. (American Pankration), 2-1
5th – Kyle Bracey, Amarillo, Texas (Roughrider Wrestling) inj. dft. Shannon Ritch, Coolidge, Ariz. (Siege MMA)