Showtime Networks Inc. and world championship mixed martial arts promotion Strikeforce have entered into a new broadcast agreement to continue producing live MMA events on the premium television network, Showtime. The agreement was announced jointly today by Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Showtime Sports®, Dana White, UFC® President, and Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO.

Under the new agreement, Showtime will produce and televise up to eight live events. Strikeforce athletes such as lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos, women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and other world-class MMA fighters will continue to compete for the organization on Showtime.

The new deal kicks off during the network’s Free Preview Weekend, Saturday, Jan. 7, as champion Rockhold defends the Strikeforce 185-pound title against dangerous veteran Keith Jardine at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, live on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Notable Strikeforce contenders such as Robbie Lawler, “King Mo” Lawal and Tyron Woodley are also set to compete on the televised card, which—as part of Free Preview Weekend—will be available in more than 60 million households nationwide across Showtime, Showtime HD and Showtime On Demand.

Beginning with the Jan. 7 card, Showtime will also televise undercard fights for all Strikeforce events live on Showtime Extreme. The live SHO Extreme preliminary telecasts will afford network subscribers with expanded live fight coverage by up to two hours and provide invaluable exposure for the sport’s next generation of Strikeforce contenders.

Under the new deal, the World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament champion will be determined when Josh Barnett battles Daniel Cormier. The winner will compete again on Showtime under the Strikeforce banner in the months to follow.

“Since its advent on Showtime in 2007, live mixed martial arts has always performed well with our subscribers, particularly in the younger demographics,” said Espinoza, who now heads the division of the network responsible for programming live boxing, studio shows from National Football League and NASCAR as well as multiple sports documentary series. “As the one and only premium network in the MMA business, we are proud to renew our commitment to the sport and to our partners at Strikeforce. This agreement ensures that we can continue to deliver the edge-of-your-seat programming that each live MMA event produces in the New Year and beyond.

“This exciting announcement could not have come at a better time,” he continued. “During our nationwide Free Preview Weekend a whole new crop of MMA fans will have the opportunity to sample the Strikeforce brand free of charge.”

“We’re excited about this renewal with Showtime and I expect to put on some big Strikeforce events next year,” White said. “I never thought I would say this, but I am very much looking forward to building Strikeforce and working very closely with Showtime.”

“Showtime has been a great TV partner for us and we’re happy to renew our agreement with them,” Coker said. “Together, we’ve put on some really amazing events and we’re going to keep doing that with this new deal. We have a great core of talented fighters on our roster and MMA fans are in for a real treat.”

STRIKEFORCE: MELENDEZ vs. MASVIDAL airs live on Showtime this Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast) as lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defends the title against hard-hitting contender Jorge Masvidal. In the night’s co-main event, women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos meets gifted Japanese star Hiroko Yamanaka.

It’s time for another contest, and you can be a winner… if you’re not awful at captioning photos, that is.

In honor of my birthday at the end of this month (October 31st if you want to buy me something… just a suggestion), one of my sponsors Ring to Cage has volunteered to give one winner this awesome gift of a signed MMA glove from Strikeforce 145 lbs. women’s champion, Cris “Cyborg” Santos. How do you win? Simple – just write a caption for the photo above of Cain Velasquez hanging out with Will Ferrell. Yes, this really happened, and it deserves to have a caption to go with it.

You can enter as many times as you want, but you must make sure you use a real e-mail address so I can message you to let you know if you won. Please keep your entries PG-13. Any entries deemed inappropriate will be removed and mean disqualification. This contest is only open to those living in the continental United States or Canada (I am being generous, Canadians, don’t view this as a weakness). Contest is open starting now until October 31, so hurry and enter now!

Big thanks to Ring to Cage, who make great training gear for all levels. Even GSP and BJ Penn have been filmed on-camera in UFC promo vids using R2C gear, including their GelTech Mini Punch Mitts and high-end boxing gloves, so give them a look today!

Cris “Cyborg” Santos appears to be back in Strikeforce, but what is next for one of the top female fighters in the world with no one near the top of the mountain?

Cyborg had let her contract run out with Zuffa previously and was enjoying life as a free agent, but the 10-1 Strikeforce women’s 145 lb. champ announced today on her site that a new deal was in place and she would return to her home. In a press release, her management wrote:

After several months of negotiations, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos the Standing Women’s 145lb Champion has re-signed with Strikeforce. Word comes directly from Cyborg’s camp. Cris has a record of 10-1 with her latest victory coming on June 26th 2010.With more than a year out of the cage, Cris Cyborg is excited and ready to get back in and show the fans and Zuffa alike why she is considered the pound for pound best female fighter in the world.

No announcement has been made for an official return date or opponent, although word is both of those will be resolved very soon. The big question is who is left in this division for Cyborg to fight?

The landscape of women’s MMA has officially changed in a large way, and may be a sign of the future of the sport in a Zuffa owned world.

Yesterday evening, Cagepotato broke the exclusive that 10-1 Strikeforce women’s 145 lb. champ Cris “Cyborg” Santos is now a free agent.

“According to Santos’ former manager Ken Pavia who helped negotiate the deal that was fulfilled with her last fight with Jan Finney on June 26, 2010, there was a champion’s clause in her contract, which he said he thought would extend her deal. But according to another we spoke to who is close to the situation, the clause had a one-year expiration date and when Strikeforce failed to re-sign her or offer her a fight by June 26, they waived their right to exercise the option.”

No word on where Cyborg is headed, but what does this nerd think? Following up on the earlier story, I would not be surprised to see Cris Cyborg heading to the newly revived ProElite. If they are serious about coming back as an alternative to the Zuffa product, they will need to be on the forefront of WMMA, and having Cris Cyborg as part of their roster will be a huge jump start for them. Stay tuned as the next few months will be very interesting indeed…

The former “face of women’s MMA” Gina Carano, who has not seen action since her third-degree assault courtesy of Cris Cyborg, was set to fight Sarah D’Alelio this past weekend at Strikeforce in Dallas. However, Carano was forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed and mysterious medical reasons. The announcement was made during a conference call with the news two weeks ago, where Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that Carano pulled out of her bout due to her doctor’s refusal to clear her to compete. Coker was unable, whether due to strict refusal or ignorance, to provide any details.

“I’m seriously disappointed not to be fighting June 18,” Carano released in a statement later that day after the announcement. “I’d like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback.”

Coker later released a text message from Carano’s camp through Sergio Non of USA Today, which read: “Gina is feeling much better after having undergone some medical attention and is looking forward to getting back into training very soon. She would like to express thanks to Team Jackson for a wonderful training camp, Strikeforce, and the fans.” Speculation abounds as to what is ailing Carano and when she will get back into the cage, with some suggesting its related to her ill-fated movie “Haywire”, others thinking she is pregnant, and many just thinking she was not ready to fight after all. We may never know the truth, but hopefully it is nothing serious if it is legit and Carano will be back in action sooner than later.

While Cris “Cyborg” Santos awaits a new challenger to her Strikeforce championship, she entered the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation World Mundials this past weekend to test her Brazilian Jiu-jitsu skills. Competing in the purple belt division, Cyborg destroyed her opponents en route to victory with powerful throws and smothering ground control. By the end of the tournament, Cyborg added a new piece of gold to her trophy case, alhough many purists will argue that she used wrestling moreso than BJJ to win. I should also add the video uploader has been touting this video as full of suplexes, which is inaccurate as the throws that resemble a “suplex” are in fact “sacrifice throws”, big difference between the two. Check out the video above for the evidence!

Via MMA Prime

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has had a tough time finding fights since she beat down her last hapless opponent in Strikeforce. So tough in fact that she has not fought since that last opponent way back in June 2010, an easy win over Jan Finney. Being the most dominant force in women’s MMA at 145 lbs. should be the best thing in the world for Santos, but instead it has left her sitting on the bench and waiting for a chance to get back in the cage. With no one willing to put their health at risk to fight her, it looks like Cyborg might be headed to greener pastures.

According to a report from Tatame, Strikeforce champion Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos revealed on her Twitter that she will probably fight in Brazil on August. “It’s 99% set.” Her manager, Rudimar Fedrigo, said to the site, “It’ll be an event promoted by Helio Dipp, that will probably take place at Santa Catarina, on August 6th, but we don’t have an opponent yet”. Fedrigo hopes to have news later this week, if not early next week, to update the situation. There is always the chance she will renew her contract with Strikeforce, but much of that is dependent on if they can find talent for her to fight.

Dana White has made a point to say that the UFC will more than likely not add a women’s division to their company anytime soon, and the exodus of Strikeforce talent to the UFC has already slowly begun. It seems inevitable that if Strikeforce merges with the UFC and dies out, so too will women’s MMA in the public eye.

According to the rumor mill on many pro wrestling sites, Strikeforce Women’s Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos is in negotiations with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Two weeks ago, Cristiane attended a WWE live event in California with her husband, Strikeforce fighter Evangelista Santos. She was offered a contract on the spot supposedly. In an update on the situation, BloodyElbow.com reported that according to a source, talks are in the “advanced” stage as a deal could soon be reached. However, the MMA news site also speculates that those affiliated with Cyborg could be using the claims for leverage with Strikeforce to have a fight scheduled. Contrary to those reports, Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports stated that WWE officials have denied that Santos was negotiating to join the promotion. Santos has a “champion’s clause” in her contract, which binds a champion to the promotion until they lose. Because of the clause, Santos would need the permission of Strikeforce to appear in a WWE ring.

Christiane has not been offered a fight since her June 26, 2010 bout against Jan Finney. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on the matter, but it is largely assumed the promotion has been unable to find any willing participants over the course of the past nine months. This actually mirrors a question that I raised with Scott Coker in my last interview with him, where I asked what he would say if one of his contracted fighters wanted to jump ship to MMA. Looks like we might get a real answer to that question soon.

As a pro wrestling and MMA fan, what’s my take on this situation? It probably is leverage for Santos who would make much more money in WWE than with Strikeforce. I could see WWE bringing in Santos very briefly, as Wrestlemania is upon us (WWE’s biggest event of the year), a spectacle that has brought many celebrities to their previous events (heck, Frank Shamrock was present for one of the recent Wrestlemanias, hanging out with Mickey Rourke on camera). Santos could be brought in as a special guest referee or enforcer for a ladies match, but I doubt she would ever sign a long-term contract, as she does not have anything that WWE could possibly want other than her name power. Her english is still not too great so she can’t cut promos, she has no pro wrestling experience yet so she would need to be trained for it, and she definitely does not have the look of a “WWE Diva”, so all signs would point to this not happening long-term, but I would not rule out a one-time appearance if this was to occur.

A 26-year-old mother of two who initially got into Judo to keep fit, Dandois hit the world of Pro-MMA in 2009, debuting with a win over Marloes Coenen. “Everybody was sure she would walk over me like nothing,” Dandois told MMAWeekly.com. “She didn’t, and I won that fight after five months of training and not even one boxing lesson.”

Hailing from Belgium, Cindy has remained undefeated in four fights, the majority of which have been fought in M-1 Global’s European events and is their top female prospect, that is next to her opponent, the 3-1 Yana Kunitskaya from Russia. How meaningful is this title in the world of women’s MMA? Not too high yet, since these ladies have not earned their stripes really outside of Europe and in terms of skills might have some work to do. But with M-1 adding this belt to their roster, it shows their is major interest in this sector of competition in Europe and continues to add to not just the globalization of MMA but the acceptance of it as women fighting is still a taboo to even many hardcore MMA fans.

In her interview with MMAWeekly, Cindy stated that she aspires to fight Cris Cyborg one day, although she wishes to keep her feminine curves instead of Cyborg’s chiseled physique. With a few more fights and (especially considering that M-1 and Strikeforce do work together), there is a great chance that the winner of this bout could face off against the former Strikeforce women’s 145 lb. champ at some point in 2011.

M-1 Global’s next event will be live streaming for FREE on this site on Dec. 10 at 12 noon EST, so make sure to be here then to check it out! Hit the jump to see Cindy in one of her M-1 fights against Daria Ibragimova!

Over on his excellent blog, Jim Genia has put together the most comprehensive list of failed loves in the MMA World. Rather than try to add to it, here it is in it’s entirety, give it a read and see if Jim missed any or caught a few you don’t remember or were not even aware of! I know I missed one of them!

Last week TMZ.com broke the news that the relationship between Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson had hit a speed bump – a speed bump forged of Oxycontin pills, domestic abuse charges and a relaxing stay in one of the Huntington Beach Police Department’s finest holding cells. A former UFC champ and an ex-adult film actress having relationship trouble? Unpossible! But alas, the pics of Ortiz behind bars, the press conference and Jenna’s arm in a brace made it all too real. Sorry kids, but MMA fighters engage in some epic relationship disasters just like the rest of us. Here, in no particular order, is a top five list of them.

5 – Tito Ortiz vs. Jenna Jameson: As the saying goes, “Lay down with porn stars, wake up with restraining orders” – which is exactly what Ortiz did when he had twins with Jameson, thereby signing on for the long-term plan of “crazy” and “erratic”. Did he really assault her? Is she really addicted to Oxys, which he claimed in his post-pokie press conference? With yesterday’s New York Daily News reporting that Jameson wants the Huntington Beach Bad Boy back, does it even matter? Heck no! Like a recurring staph infection that antibiotics just can’t get rid of or a case of genital herpes caught on the set of “Debbie Does Everyone Everywhere”, “Jennito” promises to be the gift that keeps on giving for as long as these star-crossed lovers share the warm embrace of passion and insanity.

Hit the jump to see the rest!

4 – Randy Couture vs. Kim Couture: Like Yoko Ono and the Beatles, Kim managed to brand herself as “that chick that made Randy ditch his wife and leave the UFC”, and in the Land of People Will Hate Whomever They Want”, it doesn’t really matter if any of that’s true or not. What does matter: that Randy resigned as the UFC’s heavyweight champ, then spent nearly a year fighting the organization in court over money and contracts and blah, blah, blah. In the end, Randy lost the legal battle, returned to the Octagon, and served Kim divorce papers. It’s quite possible that more people cheered over the divorce than did over “The Natural” stepping back into the cage.

3- Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. ex-girlfriend: If you think Miller’s nickname stems from his uncanny ability to enter a Strikeforce cage and start a riot, think again. The host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown” has been earning that nickname over and over again for years, with his 2005 beatdown of an ex-girlfriend’s current beau just another installment of “How the Mayhem Turns”. Although the details are somewhat fuzzy, what we do know is that the incident was a 6:00am session of “kick in the door and fight”, and the cops in Hawaii charged him with burglary and assault. Ultimately, Miller was found not guilty, but the damage was done: his Hallmark Cards sponsorship was history.

2- Bobby Hoffman vs. newlywed wife: In 2001, Hoffman was a top-level heavyweight with a bright future, and if you had to describe him, the formula would go something like this: 40% punching power, 30% fighting ability, 20% skill and 85% crazy. In his last trip to the Octagon – at UFC 34 – Hoffman fought and lost to soon-to-be-champ Josh Barnett. He then went up to his hotel room and beat his newlywed wife, a turn of events that landed him in the slammer for a long enough period of time that his name to fans went from Bobby Hoffman to “Bobby who?”

1 – Gina Carano vs. Kit Cope: It takes a special kind of ex-boyfriend to wait until you make it big to announce to the world that he has a sex tape featuring you, but Kit Cope – a Muay Thai champ and mid-grade MMA fighter – is one such ex-boyfriend. Carano had just turned in a gritty performance as the American Gladiator “Crush, had done well for herself on a CBS/Kimbo fight card, and had the biggest fight in female MMA history (against Cyborg Santos) looming, so of course it was the best possible time for Cope to come forward. For shame on you, Cope, for trying to capitalize on her fame. Also, for shame for not actually having a sex tape.