Thread: Strikeforce middleweight tunering

Följande är saxat fråm Kevin Ioles artikel på Yahoo! Sports:

At least for one night, the tournament format is back in mixed martial arts.

Scott Coker, who promoted numerous tournaments when he helped promote K-1 kickboxing shows, will stage a four-man tournament to determine the No. 1 challenger for the Strikeforce middleweight title on Nov. 16 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Coker said he has signed Joe Riggs (27-9) and Niko Vitale (24-7) to compete in the tournament and is working on landing two others.

In addition, the California Athletic Commission has required him to sign two alternates who can step in and compete in the final if one of the winners in the first round is unable to continue because of injury.

The prize, Coker hopes, will be a shot at the biggest name on the Strikeforce fighter roster, champion Frank Shamrock.

Shamrock, who has fought twice this year, hasn't agreed to fight the winner, Coker said. Shamrock has his eye on a 2008 fight with Renzo Gracie in what would be a rematch of a Feb. 10 match in which Shamrock was disqualified for kneeing a downed opponent in the head.

Shamrock also has asked Coker about making a fight between himself and Cung Le sometime next year. But Coker remains optimistic he can give the winner a chance to fight the biggest name in the Strikeforce stable for the title.

"It is my hope that the winner can fight Frank, and I've talked with him about that," Coker said.

Coker said Strikeforce plans to use the tournament format extensively going forward. He said he plans to have tournaments for the heavyweight and lightweight titles sometime in 2008.

Tournaments were popular in the early days of MMA but have been frowned on by state athletic commissions. Coker said he had been asking Armando Garcia, the executive officer of the California Athletic Commission, for permission to do a tournament for eight months before Garcia relented.

"They're very popular with the fans," Coker said. "It's a fantastic way for the fans to see who the champion is going to be or who is going to face the champion in the same night. And talking to some of the guys, I think they like the idea, too."

Det är ju alltid kul med en kväll i tuneringsform, även om man hellre hade sett det i UFC. Sen att det kan bli lite speciellt om två reserver får gå i finalen är väl en risk man får ta för att få till ett sånt här försök. Men i vilket fall tycker jag det är ett trevligt initiativ.

Här är hela cardet för eventet:

--Tournament Card--
Falaniko Vitale vs. Trevor Prangley
Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki
Jeremiah Metcalf -- Reserve
Sean Salmon vs. Dennis Hallman -- (alt. tourney fight)

--Main Card--
Cung Lee vs. Sam Morgan
Paul Buentello vs. Alistair Overeem -- (HW title fight)
Bobby Southworth (c) vs. Anthony Ruiz -- (LHW title fight)
Bryson Kamaka vs. Luke Stewart
Lemont Davis vs. Brian Schwartz

--Undercard--
Josh Neal vs. Eric Lawson
Pete Sabala vs. Anthony Figueroa
Clint Coronel vs. Alex Crispin
Chris Drumm vs. Evan Esguerra

Jag tycker Prides turnerings form var det bästa och mest spännande. En utslags turnering som sträcker sig över ett helt år.
Känns som att det är mest rättvist med, att det inte sitter en match maker och lite godtyckligt bestämer vem som förtjänar titelshot och inte.

Ja det här ska bli intressant. Tycker det är ett dugligt card som strikeforce skakat fram. Cung Lee börjar bygga upp något slags Machida rykte över sig själv. Iofs har han väl inte mött så imponerande namn änn. Jag undrar även vilka som vill att Bobby Soutworth vinner här :shock:

Machida, vilka skalpar har han egentligen, man hör ju en del om snubben?

http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/figh ... terID=7513

Franklin, Penn, Bonnar