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Strikeforce Challengers 10 Predictions: Strikeforce Challengers Washington Preview for August 13, 2010

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Pro Fighting Fans is the home of Strikeforce MMA fans across the globe and we now bring you the best place to find the latest Strikeforce Challengers series preview & predictions. ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers 10 is set for August 13, 2010 at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, and our Strikeforce Challengers 10 predictions & preview are posted below for MMA fans across the globe to enjoy. Be sure to check out the great MMA t-shirts & apparel and buy Strikeforce tickets online here through Pro Fighting Fans and keep checking back for updates to the Strikeforce Challengers 10 fight card & results!

On August 13, 2010, in Phoenix, AZ, the tenth installment of the Strikeforce Challengers series kicks off at Dodge Theater. Boasting veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs versus Strikeforce newcomer Louis Taylor in the top spot in a catchweight bout, the card features a women’s 135-pound tournament, the first such competition in Strikeforce’s four-year foray in MMA.

Arriving hot on the heels of undefeated 135-pound Canadian champion Sarah Kaufman’s decisive bodyslam KO over the most recent challenger, Roxanne Modafferi, the women’s tournament is a global affair: currently on the docket are Brazilian Carina Damm, Japanese Hitomi Akano, American Miesha Tate and a Finn, Maiji Kujala. Americans Colleen Schneider and Liz Carmouche will stand by as reserve opponents. The exact matchups will be decided by a random draw conducted on the day before the event.

> Find the Strikeforce Challengers 10 July 23 fight card after the fights are complete at Pro Fighting Fans and check out the Strikeforce: Houston fight card for the August 1 event!

Damm is 18-3, nominally a 125-pound fighter, and has had victorious appearances in MARS and the now-defunct BodogFight organizations. She has the dubious distinction of being the first female MMA fighter to test positive for a steroid in the US.

Akano is a submission specialist from Tokyo with a 22-7 record. A former Smackgirl Middleweight Champion, Akano is making her second appearance in Strikeforce after losing via TKO to current Strikeforce women’s middleweight champion Cristiane Santos in 2009. Notably, this fight was at 145 pounds, and Santos also came into the bout five and a half pounds overweight.

Tate is 11-2, and the current Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Champion. She may be a relative neophyte compared to veterans Damm and Akano, but with two KO victories via head kick, and a string of submission victories, she is no slouch. Tate is 1-1 in Strikeforce, including a 2009 decision loss to current 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufmann.

Kujala is definitely new blood. With a fledgling record of 4-1, and having turned professional just last September, she represents a growing contingent of not just European but Scandinavian MMA practitioners. She fights out of Imatra, Finland, trains with the MMA Lappeenranta camp, and has two triumphant appearances in the Dutch Upcoming Glory promotion.

While the future tournament champion’s exact role in the organization is still a bit hazy, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that she might be the next contender for the 135-pound belt. Neither the recently victorious Kaufmann nor the latest runner-up (Modafferi) are slated to appear in the tournament.

> Find all of the ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers 10 results as the fights become official online here at Pro Fighting Fans!

Not to be overlooked is the headlining bout between former-WEC Middleweight champion and former UFC welterweight fighter Joe “Diesel” Riggs (45-12-1) versus 7-1 up-and-comer Louis Taylor. Riggs is a now a Strikeforce veteran – this is his seventh fight in the organization – and he is 3-3. Granted, his losses in Strikeforce have come at the hands of notables like Kazuo Misaki and Jay Hieron. Louis Taylor is both a former Bellator and Strikeforce competitor, with a KO victory in the former, and his singular loss to Nate Moore via submission in the latter at Strikeforce: Fedor versus Rogers. His resume boasts an exciting spectrum of violence, from knockouts by bodyslam and head kick to TKOs and a submission. Nevertheless, he will have to be on his A-game in the ring versus the wily, battle-scarred Riggs. Despite the odd catchweight (182 pounds is hardly a compromise), expect this one to go the distance – Taylor’s extra mass will likely be equalized by Rigg’s experienced grappling.

Rounding out another intriguing Challengers event is the Strikeforce (and professional MMA) debut of Randy “The Natural” Couture’s son, Ryan Couture, who faces Lucas Stark. Although this probably isn’t the first father-son pair in active, professional competition in the same sport, it has to be the first in MMA. Nevertheless, as in hockey or football, the son may play the same sport as the father, but there is no riding in upon anyone’s coat-tails. If you can’t hold your own in the big leagues, your name is mud. Couture faces 2-4 Lucas Stark, whose somewhat shaky record was amassed in the Rage in the Cage promotion. I guess there might be something to be said for coat-tails after all.

By Roy Kok
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer

Strikeforce fighter pictures used with permission from Strikeforce

Strikeforce Challengers 10 Predictions: Strikeforce Challengers Washington Preview for August 13, 2010

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