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.

President of Strikeforce Scott Coker talks about the hits and misses of 2009 with The Fight Nerd! We discuss the best moments of 09 and the best fight of the year in Strikeforce, why he was opposed to Herschel Walker being in Strikeforce initially, why other athletes are coming into MMA and what is going on with Jay Hieron’s welterweight title shot and Alistair Overeem’s two-year long hostage situation with the heavyweight title.

NOTE: Coker had a bit of a cold so he if he sound’s a little sniffley, that is why.

Strikeforce Jan. 30 Event Press call with Cris Cyborg, Ni…

Matt Kaplowitz’s Podcast

Here is the entire hour long audio from the press call from today hyping up the January 30 Strikeforce show, which featured Nick Diaz, Cris Cyborg, Marloes Coenen and Marius Zaromskis. Thank me later. Pretty good session overall and definitely worth a listen if you have some time. However, if you do not have an hour to spend listening to Nick Diaz wake up and the translators fumble to explain with Cyborg and Marloes said, hit the jump for some highlights in text form.

From Strikeforce: Superstar Nick Diaz, DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis, STRIKEFORCE 145 pound Women’s Champion Cris Cyborg, and submission expert Marloes Coenen discussed the upcoming STRIKEFORCE MIAMI mixed martial arts (MMA) fights scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 30 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., LIVE on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

The 26-year-old Diaz (20-7), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and native of Stockton, Calif, will take on DREAM welterweight (170 pounds) champ Zaromskis (13-3) in the main event and first STRIKEFORCE welterweight championship bout in history. Diaz, who will put a five fight win streak on the line, is making his first start since he submitted hard-hitting Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith on June 6, 2009. The highly explosive, 29-year-old Zaromskis, who hails from Siauliai, Lithuania, has won his last three fights on first-round knockouts via head kick.

STRIKEFORCE 145-pound women’s champion Cyborg (8-1) will defend her crown against submission expert Coenen (17-3). Cyborg made history on Aug. 15, 2009 when the 24-year-old native of Brazil stopped superstar Gina Carano with a punishing barrage of strikes in the first round of their meeting to become the first-ever STRIKEFORCE women’s champion. The long-awaited showdown between Carano and Cyborg also marked the first women’s main event in the history of any major MMA promotion. The 28-year-old Coenen, a member of Holland’s Team Golden Glory and mixed martial artist since the age of 14, made a successful STRIKEFORCE debut and avenged one of her three career defeats by overpowering and submitting Roxanne Modafferi with an armbar in the first round (1:05) on November 7, 2009.

Also on the STRIKEFORCE: MIAMI card, football legend Herschel Walker will make his professional MMA debut as he begins the next stage of his athletic career against once beaten Greg Nagy. Undefeated heavyweight Bobby Lashley (4-0) will face an opponent to be announced.

What the athletes had to say on Wednesday’s call:

What’s it like dropping back down to 170?
NICK DIAZ: “I’m very happy to fight at that weight. I look the best at that weight. I like it, I feel the best at that weight. I’ve been waiting for a long time to fight in here at this weight class. Those last two fights weren’t my idea. I’ve fought at welterweight most of my life, so this isn’t a new thing to me. I’m happy to fight at welterweight.”

A lot of people feel like you jumped ahead of the line for a title shot against Nick Diaz. What are your thoughts on that?
MARIUS ZAROMSKIS: “Well, I don’t really think much of it. They told me to fight, so I’m fighting.”

Jay Hieron thinks you’re trying to duck him. Do you have a response to that?
DIAZ: “Ditto. I’m just fighting who they want me to fight. Whatever. That’s how it is. I’m just fighting who they want me to fight. I try not to open my mouth.

Do you anticipate that matchup happening at some point?
DIAZ: “I’m ready to fight anybody. If they can make it, then let’s do it. I’m ready to fight Jay Hieron and everybody in this weight class to get to the top. Whatever, I’ll do it.”

Cris, you beat Gina Carano, who was the face of women’s MMA fighting. I guess now you are the face of women’s MMA fighting. Do you like that role?
CRIS CYBORG: “I wasn’t thinking about who is the face of MMA when I fought Gina. Gina was just another opponent like anyone else. With me being the face of women’s MMA or not, I’m just going over there and doing my job, making sure I’m training hard and leading up the pack for all women in MMA.”

I read that she was thinking about posing in “Playboy.” Is that true or not? Also, that video of you choking out a reporter, was that real?
CYBORG: “The Playboy thing, I was literally horrified one morning when I found out everyone found out about it. I’d prefer not to talk about that right now and just focus on my fight. With the video thing, the reporter actually asked to see how strong I was and he wanted me to choke him out, so I did it.”

Is there too much of an emphasis on appearance and looks in women’s MMA coverage and what do you think it will take to get beyond that?
CYBORG: “It’s just like with anything else that women do, their appearance is very important. However, it’s not what’s going to make you win a fight or not. It is your talent and what you’re doing in the ring that matters the most. I hope we move past that.”

MARLOES COENEN: “I agree with Cris. I think it’s because it’s just a young sport and people don’t understand it’s a sport that everyone can do. Women can do it, men can do it and you can start at a young age. With women, we’re always judged by our appearance, and you see that in tennis with (Anna) Kournikova. It’s almost like Gina is the Kournikova of MMA. I hope there will be girls out there and our level of fighting will increase that much where people talk about our fighting skills instead of the beauty that we do or do not have.”

You mentioned it’s a sport anyone can do, do you see boys and girls getting into this sport at a young age?
COENEN: “I’m from the Netherlands, and MMA is getting way more popular every year. You see children doing fights at 8-years-old or 10-years-old, so by the time they’re 16 they’ve got like 50 fights under their belt.”

And that’s for boys and girls,
COENEN: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Nick and Marius, can you both assess your opponent’s strengths and weakness?
DIAZ: “I think he’s a good fighter, whatever. Anybody who is willing to fight at this level is a good fighter.”

ZAROMSKIS: “I think Nick is a very well rounded fighter. He has strengths in both boxing and grappling, just all around. I think it’s going to be a very tough fight for me. As far as how the fight will go or what I’ll be able to do, I don’t want to predict that. We’ll just have to see it in the ring.”

Nick, after the problems that arose on the STRIKEFORCE: Carano vs. Cyborg card, would you ever consider fighting in California again?
DIAZ: “I didn’t know there were any problems. I’ll fight wherever.”

Marius, despite being the DREAM Champion, Jay Hieron turned down a fight with you because he said you have little name recognition. Do you feel vindicated that STRIKEFORCE offered you a title shot?
ZAROMSKIS: “I don’t really care if I’m vindicated or not, because I don’t pay attention to that. I feel that a fighter should fight whoever they put in front of you, whether he’s famous or not. If Jay Hieron doesn’t feel that I’m famous enough to fight him, then I guess he’ll just have to wait until I get famous and I’ll fight him.”

Marius, is there a timeframe on when you’ll return and defend your DREAM title?
ZAROMSKIS: “No, right now I don’t know.”

Cris, what is your ultimate goal in MMA?
CYBORG: “I’m already married, I already have a good life. I want to build a family, not right now though whatsoever. In the future, hopefully. I just want to continue fighting and continue to hold my belt as long as I can. I want to make sure I continue to get better and train harder, and eventually build a team, have students fight, have a regular mixed martial arts career.”

Your style is very aggressive, how would you describe your personality?
CYBORG: “It would surprise you, but on a daily basis I am sometimes pretty aggressive. I’m a person that likes to have goals and looks towards the goals and achieve them. I’m calm some days, aggressive some days. I have a varying personality, but I definitely set my goals high and I like to do whatever it takes to achieve them.”

Marius, can you talk about your finishes in your last few fights (KO head kicks)? Is that something you go for?
ZAROMSKIS: “I don’t really look for a high kick, because when you look for something you end up being the one who’s getting knocked out. If I see it there in a split second I’ll take advantage of it. If it’s not there then I’ll use some other weapons. But, I do not look for a high kick.”

Why are your high kicks so effective?
ZAROMSKIS: “I kick (inaudible) a lot with my legs, so I’ve got power in it.”

Did you look up to Mirko Cro Cop at all? Or is your style completely independent?
ZAROMSKIS: “I was doing high kicks before. I’m not trying to imitate Mirko, I’m not inspired by Mirko. But, Mirko has a very devastating high kick, so if there’s something I could learn from him I definitely wouldn’t mind.”

Are you always constantly looking to do different things?
ZAROMSKIS: “It’s not something I look for, I just kind of do it. In a way, it kind of energizes me. I just do it for myself, but I guess fans find it interesting. I’m not doing it to be entertaining in a fight, I just do it to energize myself.”

Cris and Marloes, what do you expect to see in the ring?
CYBORG: “I don’t really think much about what’s going to happen. I just go in prepared for whatever comes. She can bring it, so hopefully she’ll be prepared for war, too.”

COENEN: “It will be a tough fight because Cris is an amazing athlete, a real powerhouse. I know that everything I do is good. My standup is OK, my ground game is OK. I really think we’ll both bring it and go toe-to-toe and give the audience what they’re expecting.”

What are your thoughts on the future of women’s MMA?
COENEN: “Well, my goal is that I hope I never have to do office work again. I just want to stay a professional athlete. It’s very important that women start fighting. When I grew up, it wasn’t an option for a girl to fight. There was some judo, but not too much around here. I think it really helps women. If you start fighting, you feel stronger in your mind and physically you’re stronger than you thought you were. That will help you in daily life. I just think it’s very important that we have some messengers like Gina, like Cris and, hopefully, myself that will inspire women to do it, to think that ‘if they can do it, I can do it,’ and start working out.”

CYBORG: “Every woman that’s working with MMA right now and every woman that’s fighting plays a very important role in the sport and where the sport is going to take them. I really hope that I have a lot of fans out there and I hope to train little Cyborgs all over the world. I’m just excited to be part of it.”

Cyborg, do you look at this as a nationalistic battle (Brazil vs. Netherlands), or is this just one women against another?
CYBORG: “I look at Marloes as a fighter and as a woman. I look at her as just another person competing with me and trying to take my belt away. Basically, I’m always defending my country no matter where I’m fighting, so I’m always defending the flag.”

Nick, do you get sucked into the challenge of trying to beat people at their own game?
DIAZ: “No, I just do it all, you know. I try to take the easiest direction. A lot of times, it’s easier to beat (inaudible) than it has been in the past. I’ll just do whatever it takes.”

Marius, what do you plan on doing to minimize the reach that Nick has with his punches?
ZAROMSKIS: “As far as Nick’s reach, Nick obviously has a reach advantage because he’s taller. But, I don’t feel like the height difference is so drastic between the two of us to really worry about it too much. Of course, I’m concerned about the reach and I have some plans to address that. It’s not like I’m 5 foot 6 and he’s 6 foot 9. I think it’s something I can handle.”

Marloes, can you talk about what it would mean for you to win this title?
COENEN: “Winning the title? I won my first title in the ‘90s in Tokyo, and ever since then I haven’t got a nice title. I’m very eager to get this title. I hope it’s a good start to my career in America.”

Worldwide, what do you think your profile is? Do you want to be as well known as Gina and Cris?
COENEN: “To be honest, I don’t think I’m on the same level as Gina and Cris are, but I hope this fight will change that.”

Do you think people would consider it an upset if you were to win?
COENEN: “I don’t know. I know I’m considered the underdog, but I think hardcore MMA fans know what I can do and what I’m capable of. I hope that my last fight was a demonstration of that. To be honest, I don’t really care what people think. I will show them in the cage.”

How would you have to win this fight?
COENEN: “Differently. I know people are really focusing on my ground game, but I know my standup is really good and my striking is really OK because I dropped Roxanne (Modafferi) with one punch and I’ve KO’d girls before with just one punch. I know my standup is OK and I know Cris will find out about it.”

Nick, is there any different preparation for you going into a championship fight?
DIAZ: “I do extra pushups and I run extra miles. I kick the heavy bag a lot, a lot. I just do the best I can. I learn more and more as I go. I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’ve got the same partners, so we’re always working on new things together. I’m just getting good help by Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez and my brother, everybody training for this fight.”

Marius, have you been working on anything specifically on the ground because Nick has a big advantage in that department.
ZAROMSKIS: “I’ve prepared as well as I can on the ground because Nick has a superior ground game. But, this is MMA, this is not kickboxing. I train in all of it. I train in grappling, the fighting, the wrestling, the same for all fighters. I pretty much do everything my trainers tell me to do. If they say do more ground, I do more ground. If they say do more standup, I do more standup.”

Cris, how do you feel Marloes stacks up as an opponent as compared to Gina Carano?
CYBORG: “I don’t really compare any other opponents at all. I basically take each fight individually and look at whatever issues come up.”

Marloes, based on your style, as more of a ground oriented fighter, do you think a five round fight benefits you?
COENEN: “I don’t consider myself as a ground fighter. I consider myself as a complete MMA fighter. I’m training for a fight, I’m training for five-five minute rounds. I’m ready for everything.”

Cris, how has your life changed since you beat Gina Carano?
CYBORG: “Regardless of being a women or not, a belt changes any athlete’s life. The athlete’s goal is to get a belt, I got the belt. It would have changed it regardless. Life has changed for the positive and I’m happy with it.”

Marloes, are you looking forward to a standup fight with Cris? Do you think it will go five rounds?
COENEN: “I don’t think it will go five rounds at all, because of the person she is and the person I am. If you put that together, it will not go to the fifth round at all.”

Do you train with other women, or do you just train with men?
CYBORG: “I only train with men. I usually hurt the women.”

COENEN: “For me, I usually train with men because there are not that many good women that do MMA here.”

Marloes, this fight was supposed to happen a year ago. Has the extra time off helped you prepare more?
COENEN: “No, I’m always ready to fight. I was ready a year ago and I’m even more ready now.”

Cyborg, Strikeforce recently announced a women’s tournament at 135 and 145 pounds. What are your thoughts on that?
CYBORG: “I’m definitely going to analyze all the girls from different divisions, up and down to see who’s coming near me. It’s going to be very fun for the sport to have other divisions and other belts.”

A few months back, Aaron Tru made a name for himself during an interview with Cris Cyborg during the time leading up to her title fight in Strikeforce. As Aaron was wrapping up his interview, Cyborg snuck up on him like Rambo and choked him out cold. Now, months later, Aaron is back and looking for retribution in the form of trying to keep up with her on her first day of strength and conditioning training for her next fight camp! Will he overcome his fears and beat this woman or will she castrate him once and for all? Watch the vid to find out!

PS The ending is gross – you have been warned! Props to Aaron for going through this hell!

You can view the original post at http://mmaprime.tv/2009/11/18/mma-reporter-pukes-brains-out-cyborg-vs-tru-2-the-rematch/

Fate has a funny way of playing with you. Erin Toughill was all set to take on Marloes Coenen until she suddenly pulled out of the fight on Wednesday due to “medical reasons” according to MMA Weekly. Enter 13-4-0 Delaware Native, Roxanne Modafferi, a fighter patiently waiting to put the fingerless gloves back on.

Roxanne, whose current home is Japan, has not had a fight since Nov 8, 2008 in GCM – Valkyrie, which was a win over Chisa Yonezawa, and has been dying to get back in the ring since then. She has recently made some changes in her life as well, leaving Wajyutsu Keisyukai less than a month ago and joining the AACC. The last thing she expected to get after those changes was a fight, especially a fight in one of the top US companies, Strikeforce. The Fight Nerd had a chance to catch her this evening (or this morning if you live in Japan) to get her quick thoughts on the fight and what’s going on in the life of Roxy.

Fight Nerd: Tell us how this fight came about so last minute?

Roxanne: My manager called me at 3 AM and asked, “Will you fight Coenen Nov 7th?” Groggily, I answered, “Uh yeah, sure!” Erin Toughill pulled out at the last minute. I’m glad to have the opportunity, but I know she’s been trying for this opportunity as well, so I hope she gets to fight for Strikeforce soon, as well.

Fight Nerd: What weight class will this be fought under? Are you ready to fight at that weight?

Roxanne: It will be at 145 lbs. Which is funny because I have been trying to unsuccessfully diet for months now. It turned out to be a good thing to be a little heavier than my usual fight-weight. I’m ready for anything!

Fight Nerd: What do you think of your opponent, Marloes Coenen, especially since you fought before in the K-Grace tournament that saw you pick up the win?

Roxanne: I see her as a complete fighter, and I’m ready for anything. I know I improved a lot since then, but I’m sure she has, and we both won’t be tired, as we were at the end of the K-Grace tournament. So we shall see.

Fight Nerd: Strikeforce is one of the top shows right now in the US, what is it like to think that they contacted you about fighting Coenen?

Roxanne: I’m glad and honored that they asked me to fight Marloes, and grateful that they’re giving me the chance to show what I can do to the world.

Fight Nerd: The date of this fight is the almost one year anniversary (short by a day) of your last MMA fight in GCM, do you think this lay off will affect your fight?

Roxanne: There’s no way to know. I always train really hard 100% of the time, so I’m always around fighting at the gym. I doubt it’ll have a big affect.

Fight Nerd: You have had trouble finding a fight since that last event, how big of a relief is it to get back in the cage?

Roxanne: A huge relief. I train so hard every day, and I want to put my skills to the ultimate test in the cage.

Fight Nerd: You have been living in Japan teaching and training, what has kept you in the land of the rising sun so long?

Roxanne: It’s fun and exciting here. I walk down the street in the big city, am dazzled by the hustle and bustle – I love it! I’ve made friends, I have a full-time job I enjoy, and training is fun. I’m also fulfilling my dream of speaking Japanese with some proficiency. Someday I will be fluent!

Fight Nerd: You recently left your old gym and joined up a new gym, tell us about the departure and what brought you to your new gym, and how is the training now?

Roxanne: I needed a change. My old gym is great, but I felt like I reached a plateau. Now I have a great personal trainer, former Pancrace champ. Kiuma Kunioku, and I visit a few other dojos. Training now is the best in my entire life right now.

Fight Nerd: Is jumping to a new gym going to affect this fight, especially considering the last minute nature of it?

Roxanne: Yes, it’s a positive thing.

Fight Nerd: Without giving away too much, what is the game plan for Coenen?

Roxanne: My plan is this: punch her. In the face. And try out my new special move: su-pa-tobi-hiza-bakku-fisuto

Fight Nerd: Aside from your fight, who is your pick for Fedor VS Rogers?

Roxanne: Uh Fedor will win. But I really know nothing about Rogers, so it’s not really fair of me.

Fight Nerd: What do you have to say to your fans that have waited to see you back on American soil for so many years?

Roxanne: Thanks for all the support, comments on my blogs, and encouragement you’ve given me over the years!! It really means so much to me.

Fight Nerd: Will we see more Modafferi in 2010?

Roxanne: That depends on the powers that be!

Fight Nerd Radio 8/27/2009 with MMA Ref Josh Rosenthal

Fight Nerd Radio

On this episode of Fight Nerd Radio, my predictions for UFC 102, headlined by Nogueira vs Couture. I also give my thoughts on the Strikeforce Press event held this past wednesday that featured a workout with Fedor, a Q&A session and the announcement of his next opponent. We also speak with Kekoa from the TapouT Training Center in Vegas, whose gym was recently broken into, and he has some harsh words for the brazen theif who was caught on camera robbing them!
Later in the show I talk with MMA ref Josh Rosenthal, who we last saw reffing the Carano VS Cyborg match, we talk about that fight plus more in his interview!

Fight Nerd Radio 8/19/09 with James Hergott of MMA Worldw…

Fight Nerd Radio

On this episode of Fight Nerd Radio, we discuss the aftermath of Strikeforce’s Carano vs Cyborg event and talk about the hits and misses of the show, as well as whats next for the winners and losers of the show and Strikeforce as a whole. After that, we talk with James Hergott, writer and director for “MMA Worldwide” on HD Net. James discusses his history with the sport and gives us a ton of great stories about the filming of the show, including who got choked out and how Bruce Buffer prepares for his 180 degree spins, plus tons more of awesome anecdotes!

Gina Carano and the “L” Word

By James Frederick William Rowe

On the Eve of Strikeforce’s largest event ever, one question has to be asked:

What if Gina Carano is “the L” word?

No, you ninnies, I don’t mean whether Carano is a lesbian. Rather, what if she is something far less marketable: A “Lutter”?

We all know the story of Travis Lutter. The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback winner has the dubious distinction of having missed out on the title shot against Anderson Silva he won by virtue of not making weight for the bout. But how is this relevant? Well, if you look back at Carano’s career, we see a history of refusal to make weight. Four of her six fights have seen her not make weight. To the rigorous support of her male fan-base, she even had to strip completely nude to make weight against Kobold. What happens when history repeats itself for a fifth time and Carano doesn’t make weight with a belt on the line?

Worse: What if she doesn’t make weight for her title shot on Saturday?

What happens is this: Female MMA dies if Carano fails to make weight tonight. The failure of the marquee match up in the female division for the inaugural US woman’s title to materialize will bury the entire division. Likewise, if she attains the championship and fails to make weight during her reign, say goodbye to girl fights. Women’s MMA is all ready a niche interest and it won’t take much to turn it from “niche” into “non-existent”. One big fiasco, like a cancelled title fight due to weight, is enough to tip the scales – no pun intended – and send lady fighters to the unemployment office.

What compounds this issue is that Christiane Santos ain’t too much better than Carano! The shameful spectacle with her last opponent, Hitome Akano, had Santos outweigh her opponent by 5.5 pounds under the convenient excuse of lady troubles. Such a ridiculous lack of professionalism was made worse by the pressure put against Akano whom seemingly was forced to consent to taking on a woman who outweighed her by an obscene amount of weight come fight time.

Why has Strikeforce put itself in this sort of position? Do they not recognize the risk of running their division based on these two habitual over-weighters? There are no catchweight title bouts, so the option of pressuring opponents to concede to title fights is not there. If you miss weight, the fight is degraded from title to non-title and loses luster in the process. Do they really think they can manage to do enough damage-control when they not only put these gals on their cards, but make them headliners?

Strikeforce is a savvy business which may soon eclipse the UFC as the top MMA organization in the world with CBS deal and their signing of Fedor Emelianenko. But the undue attention given to female MMA and the corner they have pushed themselves into regarding Carano and Cyborg’s weight issues gives reason to suggest that Strikeforce might come up short in the race after all in this race to the top. If they stumble the UFC can easily maintain its sizable lead on MMA domination in America and that spells ill for Strikeforce, which really needs to be the place for MMA to succeed as an organization.

Scott Coker, if you want to be the man to beat the UFC, you have to do two things. First, send both these ladies to Weight Watchers regardless of the outcome of the fight. Second, start promoting great fights like Mousasi v. Babalu as the real main events so that you don’t have to contend with the unknowns of your female division and its niche status clouding out what more people will really want to tune in for.

I also have a message to Carano and Santos: Do your job. There are no excuses left for either of you anymore. This is your big chance. Don’t screw it up.

The Real Threat in Carano vs Cyborg – Weight
BY KEITH KUEHN

Women’s MMA is moving toward the mainstream more every day, and the face of womens mma is said to be Gina Carano. With a 7-0 record, Gina has solidified herself as one of the most devastating women’s mixed martial artist out there. She’s got a solid ground game and even better striking. This August 15th, however, her skill will truly be put to the test when she faces the always intense Cris Cyborg. This match shall remain in the history books as one of the most important moments in mma, as the first ever Strikeforce 145 lb. Women’s title will be handed out. But there is still one opponent standing in their way.

That opponent is the August 14th weigh-ins. It’s no secret that both Gina and Cris have had trouble making weight for their fights, but this time there are no excuses. This time it’s a title fight. To miss weight here could mean a tremendous loss in the credibility of women’s MMA. This time there can’t be any exceptions. To be a champion, you have to play by the same rules as every other champion out there.

Cris “Cyborg” Santos has a nasty habit of being on the larger side of her opponents. In her last fight against Hitomi Akano, Cyborg weighed in at 152 pounds, 7 pounds over her weight class. She got her weight down to 149.5, which was enough for the athletics commission to let her fight, but she was fined 20% of her total purse. In her fight before that, against Yoko Takahashi, both the women weighed in at 148.5, missing the weight class of 140 by 8.5 pounds.

Don’t be mistaken, no one is putting all the blame on Santos. Gina Carano hasn’t had the best of luck making weight herself. In her recent fight against Kelly Kobold, she weighed in 2.5 pounds over weight. She eventually made it down to 141, the same weight as Kelly, when she stripped bare and and had a towel held in front of her. In her fight against Kaitlin Young, Carano also failed to make weight coming in at 144.5, four and a half pounds over the intended weight class, she then agreed to forfeit 12.5% of her purse for not making weight.

While you’ll find no argument that, in time, there has to be more weight classes issued to the women’s division, it is still their duty to make the weight required to fight. As women’s MMA makes its way into the main stream and more female fighters start joining the ranks, there will be more options of which weight to make your home. Until then, due to the lack of similar weights between women fighters, there is only the one weight class that they all are required to make in Strikeforce. That may change after August 15th if both of these fighters can make weight and solidify the credibility of the sport they’ve fought so hard to get recognized. It could explode women’s MMA into the mainstream and inspire women to move forward with their passion of fighting. However, if these women fail to make weight, it could put women’s MMA two steps back, where they will have to build their way back up again. To be taken seriously, you have to take yourself seriously. If they can prove that women want this as bad as the men it could mean more weight classes and a possible step toward a women’s division in the UFC.

As the days pass and the most important fight of their careers creep closer, these women have to do everything they can to shed the pounds. There should not be any deductions from the purse and no exceptions if they weigh over this time. Everything has to be conducted in a professional manner this to prove that women fighters can overcome the obstacles like the men do. Yes, you want to put on a fierce and fast paced fight, but first you have to worry about making it there. So as the hunger sets in and you start drooling over the fast food commercials on TV, just remember one thing; the future of women’s MMA relies on you making the required weight this time.

The Fight Nerd caught up with the President of Strikeforce, Scott Coker, at the NYC Press Conference to hype the Aug. 15th card, headlined by Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg. Coker talks about the main event, the condition of Overeem’s hand, Brock Lesnar and co-promoting with other companies.