Cage Gossip: MMA Rumors for UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator and Impact FC Rumors
Your weekly source for MMA rumors
5. The Winner of Evans/Jackson Gets Shot at Champion Shogun Rua
In a recent interview with Carmichael Dave, Dana White was asked, “Shogun’s manager recently said that if Randy Couture gets past James Toney, he could see Randy being Rua’s first title defense. Is that a possibility?”
Dana’s response, “The winner of the Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans fight will get the first shot at Shogun.”
So there you have it, Evans or Jackson, not Randy Couture or Anderson Silva, will be getting first crack at newly crowned UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Shogun Rua.
Ever since Rampage lost his light heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 in July of ‘08, the light heavyweight strap has eluded him. Instead of an immediate rematch following the controversial decision with Griffin, Jackson was given a rematch with long time rival Wanderlei Silva in which he destroyed Silva with a devastating counter left hook. Following his win over Keith Jardine months later, many felt Jackson was next in line for a shot at then champion Rashad Evans. But Evans subsequently lost to Machida, and it was thought that Jackson would be Machida’s first title defense. But Ultimate Fighter politics got in the way and it was decided that Jackson/Evans would make more compelling TV than Jackson/Machida since Machida knows very little English.
Cut to almost a year later, and Jackson is finally on the verge of getting that title shot; he just has to get through Rashad Evans. The shot at the title isn’t the only thing that makes a fight with Shogun alluring to Jackson, as Shogun is one of only three fighters to defeat Jackson in the last 8 years (Wanderlei Silva and Forrest Griffin being the other two). Rampage has already gotten his revenge on Silva, and if he can get past Evans May 29 at UFC 114, he may have a counter left hook waiting for Shogun this fall.
4. Paulo Filho to Fight 3 Times . . . In July
On the heels of another canceled showing, this time at Bellator 18, Paulo Filho told Tatame.com that he plans to fight three times in the month of July alone. Here is the direct quote:
“My fight schedule is full, three fights within 20 days on July. The first is on the 3rd, the second on the 10th and against a guy who has fought with (José) Pelé, and the third I think is between Marvin Eastman or Denis Kang, on 18th.”
Filho will be fighting for the upstart Impact FC promotion that plans to hold their first three events in Australia. Each of these events will feature Paulo Filho, ultimately building up to his third match against recently announced opponent Dennis Kang on July 18.
Whether Filho will actually fight three times, or at all, in July remains to be seen. Judging by his recent track record of fight cancellations, the house money is on no. But my gut feeling is we will see Filho fight at least twice in July, but don’t expect to see him and Kang in the cage come May 18, that just sounds too good to be true.
3. Marcus Davis to Fight Nate Diaz at UFC 118 in Boston
MMAJunkie.com is reporting that Marcus Davis and Nate Diaz have verbally agreed to fight August 28 on the UFC 118 fight card in Boston, Massachusetts.
This would be a great fight if it goes down, and if it does, the fight will be more than likely be featured as one of Spike’s Preliminary fights; a terrific treat for all MMA fans.
Both fighters are coming off impressive wins, Davis with a second round TKO over Jonathan Goulet, and Diaz with a first round TKO over Rory Markham in Diaz’s debut at welterweight. Davis likes to stand and bang, and Diaz has been outspoken in his desire to throw down. If this fight gets finalized, it’s the early candidate for Fight of the Night on a card already featuring BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title and Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard.
2. Strikeforce to Add Kickboxing Matches to Their MMA Cards
HeadKickLegend.com interviewed Simon Rutz, the head honcho at It’s Showtime - the #2 kickboxing organization in the world behind K-1 – and some interesting tidbits poured forth.
“HKL: First things first, we have heard a very exciting rumor that I would love to get your comment on. Sources have indicated that It's Showtime may be partnering with Strikeforce in order to bring kickboxing to the US as part of Strikeforce shows. This would be a huge move for It's Showtime into the US market, and a great increase in kickboxing exposure here. Is this true? Can you give us any details about this?”
“Rutz: The relation between Strikeforce and IT'S SHOWTIME is good and of course sometimes we speak about the possibility to cooperate more than we do now. But Strikeforce and IT'S SHOWTIME are really busy at this moment with their own events, so it is something for the future. In the future Strikeforce wants to run shows in Europe, and they have asked me if I can help them with that. And of course that is not a problem.”
The rest of the interview can be read here.
Not only does Rutz not deny the rumors of a potential get together with Strikeforce, but he also reveals that Strikeforce is trying to break into the European market.
If somewhere down the line, the two organizations do come together, and we get a Strikeforce card that features both MMA and kickboxing matches – kickboxers including heavyweight Badr Hari - it could help increase Strikeforce’s popularity with MMA fans and introduce top level kickboxing to American combat fans who for now get their kickboxing fix, albeit low level kickboxing, from MMA.
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1. Strikeforce vs. Bellator? Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez
Earlier this week a press release went out from Bellator Fighting Championship’s CEO Bjorn Rebney responding to a recent call-out by Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez on HDNET’s “Inside MMA.”
On the most recent episode of “Inside MMA”, Melendez said, “[I’d] love to fight Eddie Alvarez. I think he's an amazing fighter and that's why I call out Eddie Alvarez - let's unify those titles.” He would go on to say, “I'd love to fight that guy and test myself. I think if I could beat him, I could be No. 1 and vice-versa."
In response, Rebney said, "As an MMA fan, first and foremost, Alvarez versus Melendez is an awesome fight at 155 that deserves to be seen and needs to be made. Gilbert has the heart of a warrior, just like our champion Eddie. I will do everything I can to get Gilbert what he asked for. Gilbert wants the fight, Eddie wants the fight and I want the fight. All we have to do is get Scott Coker on board and together we can make this happen. Eddie wants to fight the best and Gilbert wants to fight the best and there is no reason why any promoter or network should stand in the way of that."
What does Alvarez think of all this you ask? Well, Alvarez was reached at his home in Philadelphia and he had this to say, “Gilbert is a great fighter who's got a lot of momentum going right now. This is the match-up that all the fans want to see and it'd be a shame if it didn't happen. I want to do it, Bjorn wants to do it and it sounds like Gilbert wants to do it. If I could sum up my thoughts in four words, it'd be: ‘Let's make it happen.'"
Wait. What about Scott Coker, what’s he have to say?MMAJunkie.com recently spoke to the Strikeforce CEO and this is what Coker had to say, "If the stars align and we can work out all the terms and conditions and timing, we'd do it… Of course we would. Why wouldn't we? Let's go do this."
Fantastic news for MMA fans as we may get to see the best lightweight fight outside of the UFC actually happen. Alvarez and Melendez are both top 5 lightweight fighters, and depending upon which rankings you look at, both fighters can be as low as #3 in the world.If Strikeforce and Bellator are able to make this fight happen, both Scott Coker and Bjorn Rebney deserve a kiss.
Aside from the UFC Lightweight Title rematch between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar, Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez is the next best lightweight fight out there. Alvarez will need to win his fight with the winner of Bellator’s Lightweight Tournament Finals, either Toby Imada or Pat Curran. If he does, the Strikeforce vs. Dream “rivalry” may be trumped by a new “rivalry”, Strikeforce vs. Bellator. For Bellator is home to not only Eddie Alvarez, but also Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard, who just last Thursday knocked out UFC veteran Jay Silva in all of 6 seconds. Last time I checked, Strikeforce was in the process of looking for a new middleweight champion themselves.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Cage Gossip, be sure to check back next Tuesday for the latest rumors in MMA universe!
By Jeffrey Concerto
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer