Cage Talk – MMA – All The Latest Mixed Martial Arts News

(Despite not being able to afford a shirt, JZ remains upbeat about the situation.)

When you're a fighter and your income is dependant on how often you fight, it's understandable that you might get a bit upset when your employer, without explanation, keeps you out of work for an extended period of time.

Such is the case with Gesias Cavalcante.

"JZ" has been sitting on the sidelines waiting since October for Strikeforce to call to tell him when he would be fighting next. Unfortunately for the American Top Team lightweight his phone has been silent the past three months so he decided to take matters into his own hands and contacted the San Jose-based promotion to see what was up.

Not surprisingly, he was given the runaround.

“I’m basically in the dark. I wanted to fight on either the December or January Strikeforce card. I was told they were full, so I was told I’d be fighting in the February show," JZ, who signed a four-fight deal with SF prior to his last fight explains. "That got full, so I heard March would be it. But that’s coming up quickly. I don’t know when or who I’m fighting.

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News Gesias Cavalcante, Josh Thomson, lightweight tournament, Shinya Aoki, Strikeforce shitty business practices

(Sure, he looks like a bum, but he's got a golden radio voice. PicProps: SBNation)

More good stuff out on Sunday from MMA Fighting Japanese correspondent Daniel Herbertson, who debuts a new weekly, notebook-style feature chock full of overseas news tidbits. Item No. 1? According to D-Herb – citing those ever-present “sources close to the fighter” -- Dream lightweight champion and notorious a-hole Shinya Aoki is considering hanging up the fingerless gloves after his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima at K-1 Dynatmite!!! 2010 on New Year’s Eve.

You’ll remember this bout as the “special rules” contest that alternated a three-minute kickboxing round followed by a five-minute round under Dream rules. You know, kind of like they do it on “Bully Beatdown.” You’ll also recall that Aoki clearly came out with a game plan to just fuck around during round one, waste as much time as possible with copious rule-breaking and rely on the impotent Japanese referee to not penalize him for it. It was a strategy that worked like clockwork until the opening bell of round two, when Nagashima knocked him stiff with a knee as he shot in for a takedown. On this side of the Pacific, it seemed like an obvious case of karma being a complete bitch. At home, it doesn’t sound like Aoki is taking it too well.

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News DREAM, K-1, retirement, Shinya Aoki, wild speculation

(Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee. Fight starts at the 3:41 mark and ends 19 seconds later. Good night Ireeeene.)

Full results from today's New Year's Eve event in Saitama, Japan, are after the jump, along with a few must-see videos courtesy of ZP420MMA. Note: Bob Sapp apparently backed out of his IGF slap-fight-rules bout with Shinichi Suzukawa at the last minute.

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News Alistair Overeem, Bibiano Fernandes, dynamite 2010, fight videos, Hiroyuki Takaya, Ikuhisa Minowa, Japanese MMA, Kazushi Sakuraba, Marius Zaromskis, MMA videos, Satoshi Ishii, Sergei Kharitonov, Shinya Aoki, Todd Duffee, Videos

(Shinya Aoki tries to hide his disgust next to kickboxer/cosplayer Yuichiro Nagashima, who he'll be facing in a strange mixed-rules bout at Dynamite!! 2010. Though we suppose any match against Nagashima could be described as "strange, mixed-rules.")

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club...

- Tito Ortiz vs. Lil’ Nog Will Now Headline UFC Fight Night 24 in Seattle (MMA Convert)

- 'UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch' in Sydney Ties Sellout Record (Versus MMA Beat)

- WEC 53: Five Fights To Make (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Clay Guida: Livin' in an RV Down by the River [VIDEO] (FightMagazine)

- While His Management Negotiates, Fedor Emelianenko's Legacy Suffers (MMA Fighting)

- Keith Jardine Gets the Help of the US Secret Service to Prosecute Nemesis Fighting (MiddleEasy)

- Five Reasons Why Jake Shields Will Beat Georges St. Pierre (Or Not) (LowKick)

- Roxanne Modafferi Discusses Fight With Hitomi Akano at Sengoku's New Year's Event (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Eddie Bravo Breaks Down What Went Wrong in Dustin Hazelett's Loss to Mark Bocek (MMA Scraps)

- The MMA Year In Review Part 1: Randy Couture, Herschel Waker, James Toney and More (SBNation.com/MMA)

News Clay Guida, cosplay, Dustin Hazelett, Eddie Bravo, Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, Hermes Franca, Jake Shields, Keith Jardine, Misc., Roxanne Modafferi, Shinya Aoki, ufc 127, WEC 53

Getting trapped in a submission is a panic-inducing experience for any fighter. But what happens when you're put in a position that you've never even seen before? In honor of next week's DVD/Blu-ray release of Locked Down (which co-stars Rashad Evans, Kimbo Slice, and Cheick Kongo), we're taking a look back at MMA matches where fighters were "locked down" for real — caught in off-the-wall subs that offered no chance of escape. Enjoy the list, and come back next Thursday for a chance to win a Locked Down combo pack in our next caption contest...

#10: Alexander Otsuka's double-armbar vs. Mike Bourke
PRIDE 11, 10/31/00

Dusting himself off after a pathetically botched dropkick attempt early in the fight (see the video's 0:38 mark), Otsuka begins working his jiu-jitsu against the tank-topped American brawler. When Bourke starts to hang out with one arm posted and the other throwing down telegraphed punches, the "Diet Butcher" seizes the moment, snapping his legs over Bourke's head and torquing both of his arms simultaneously. Bourke is so screwed he has to tap with his knee.

#9: Ivan Salaverry's anaconda body lock vs. Tony Fryklund
UFC 50, 10/22/04

We usually think of the body-triangle as a technique used to soften up an opponent before or during a rear-naked choke. It takes real talent to actually finish somebody with it. After taking Tony Fryklund's back, Salaverry passes up the neck and instead wrenches his arms around Fryklund's body, driving his hips forward to exert maximum pressure on the spine and ribs. Fryklund has two options at this point: Allow himself to be cracked like a walnut, or scream for mercy. Fortunately, he makes the right choice.

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News Features, fight videos, MMA submissions, MMA videos, Nate Diaz, PRIDE videos, Shinya Aoki, submission videos, UFC videos

Gegard Mousasi vs. Tatsuya Mizuno

Jason Miller vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Shinya Aoki vs. Marcus Aurelio

Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Chase Beebe

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Satoshi Ishii

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Cole Escovedo

Hideo Tokoro vs. Joachim Hansen

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Akiyo Wicky Nishiura

Yusuke Kawaguchi vs. James Thompson

News Akiyo Wicky Nishiura, Chase Beebe, Cole Escovedo, DREAM, DREAM 16, Gegard Mousasi, Hideo Tokoro, Hiroyuki Takaya, Ikuhisa Minowa, James Thompson, Jason Miller, Joachim Hansen, Kazushi Sakuraba, Marcus Aurelio, Michihiro Omigawa, Mitsuhiro Ishida, mma, Satoshi Ishii, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Mizuno, Yusuke Kawaguchi

(What, this??No, it's not sparring; it's physiotherapy.)

When Marcus Aurelio dropped out of SHINE Fights' lightweight grand prix with an elbow injury less than a day after it was announced that all fighters who competed on the unsanctioned card would receive between 60 and 90-day suspensions that would be enforced by all of the membership bodies governed by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), a lot of MMA fans and pundits (including this one) called bullshit.

It appears we were all right.

Less than two weeks after pulling out of SHINE's 155-pound single-night tournament, Aurelio says his arm has has recovered enough to let Shinya Aoki try to rip it off Saturday night at DREAM 16 in Nagoya, Japan.

"I was doing everything right, so my arm is back," Aurelio told MMAjunkie.

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News Marcus Aurelio, Shinya Aoki

(Here's a quarter pal, call Michael Schiavello. PicProps: All Elbows)

MMA’s pathetic collective bitch session about the current trend of wrestlers kicking everybody’s asses reached its shrill and whiny fever pitch this week. With the UFC considering pulling Jon Fitch’s title shot off the table, Dan Hardy’s hilariously bad anti-wrestling column appearing in the Nottingham World Observer (or whatever it’s called) and people publicly worrying themselves sick about the marketability of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, the wrestling store must be all sold out of Haterade.

Add to the list of the aggrieved the already insufferable Shinya Aoki, who tells MMA Fighting.com that – in the wake of his own soul-crushing defeat by Gilbert Melendez and idol BJ Penn’s second straight loss to Edgar – he’s not too down with all this wrestling stuff.

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News bj penn, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Shinya Aoki, wrestling

(Hipster, please. PicProps: GBRing)

Nick Diaz, it seems, is the new Tapout. Perhaps taking his cue from Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s iron-on awesomeness, Shinya Aoki showed up for a Dream.16 prefight press conference in Tokyo over the weekend sporting his own Diaz T-shirt. Where Miller’s shirt was straightforward and to-the-point, Aoki’s – which is manufactured by the TwoThree clothing company – was a bit more verbose. Seriously, this has to be considered the most unlikely MMA fashion trend since Jesus Didn’t Tap and a muddled attempt to figure out what it all means is after the jump.

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News DREAM 16, jason mayhem miller, Nick Diaz, Shinya Aoki

 
(Well, they've definitely felt the cutbacks in the creative lab.)

It looks like FEG is giving this MMA thing one last try before calling it quits.

The Japanese organization today released the poster for its DREAM 16 event and if it's any indication of who will be fighting on the card, it looks like Tatsuya Mizuno, Caol Uno, Shinya Aoki, Hiroyuki Takaya, Ikuhisa Minowa, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Gegard Mousasi, Kazushi Sakuraba and Hideo Tokoro will all fight on its upcoming September 25 card.

If we've learned anything from the past, though, its that the Japanese are crafty marketers and they often say one thing and do another.

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News caol uno, DREAM 16, FEG, Shinya Aoki

(VidProps: YouTube/evilbyte)

Give the DREAM bosses some credit, these guys sure know how to build suspense into what otherwise might be a fairly straightforward and pleasing night of MMA fights. As it turned out, there was no surprise run-in from Alistair Overeem and the Japanese promotion with the fly-by-the-seat-of-its pants matchmaking style never found a fight for Ricco Rodriguez. We hope it paid for the flight and the sushi, at least.  On the bright side, DREAM finally did manage to convince Gegard Mousasi to put in the 31 seconds of work it took to defeat an overweight Jake O’Brien and Shinya Aoki likewise bounced back from an embarrassing loss in Strikeforce a few months ago to put a quick and typically stoic beating on Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Like “Sweet and Sassy,” Aoki called it an early night, withstanding some heel kicks to the face as he locked up an Achilles lock that secured the tap and appeared to damage his Kawajiri’s leg in just one minute, 53 seconds. A couple of days after possibly declaring his bi-sexuality at the event’s weigh-in (we assume he was being ironical), Aoki ditched his trademark colorful tights for relatively conservative board shorts and rushed from the ring following his win to get some lovin’ from his (possibly female) fiancé.

After the jump, O’Brien vs. Mousasi, where it will take you all of the first 15 seconds to see why the American had a little trouble making weight …

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News DREAM, dream.15, Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri

(That little son-of-a-bitch is at it again... / 'Shop courtesy of urdirt)

Alistair Overeem won't be beating anybody up, but this Saturday's DREAM event — which will be broadcast live on HDNet at 3 a.m. ET / midnight PT — will still be good for some late-night thrills, so set those DVRs, kiddies. In the main event, Shinya Aoki defends his DREAM lightweight belt (and attempts to bounce back from his humiliation in Strikeforce) against fellow Japanese mainstay Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri, who's on a four-fight win streak and hasn't been submitted in five years. Also on the card, Gegard Mousasi and Melvin Manhoef headline that kinda-pointless mini-LHWGP, Mitushiro Ishida makes his featherweight debut against Daiki Hata, Michihiro Omigawa gets fed a can, and Gesias Cavalcante looks for his first win in three years against Katsunori Kikuno. If you'd like to make it interesting, head over to fightpicker.cagepotato.com (or apps.facebook.com/fightpicker) to make your predictions. This week's pool-questions are...

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News Announcement, dream.15, MMA FightPicker, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri

(Ricco Rodriguez: From flab to fab.)

Two months after his beatdown of Brett Rogers at Heavy Artillery, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will return to competition at DREAM.15 (July 10th, Saitama), where he'll take on former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez in a non-title bout. While that may sound like Alistair is getting back to his Japanese squash-match roots, keep in mind that Rodriguez is on a seven-fight win streak since last July (six of which came by stoppage), including victories over veterans Travis Fulton and Moise Rimbon. He also looks a lot better physically these days (see above), and competed in the 218-pound division at last year's ADCCs.

Can Rodriguez use Overeem as a springboard to a career rebirth? No, probably not — but he could impress a lot of people just by giving Overeem a tough fight and not spitting on anybody. In a related story, Ricco is no longer listed for that 7/18 Impact FC fight against Jeff Monson, which is unfortunate because you can bet that Paulo Filho and Ken Shamrock will be dropping out at the last minute...

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News Alistair Overeem, dream.15, Gegard Mousasi, Jake OBrien, Ricco Rodriguez, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri

("You believe this guy? No towel between his head and hat. I will never understand some people as long as I live." Photo courtesy of the Strikeforce Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com.)

A note before we get started: The CBS broadcast of tonight's Strikeforce event may not be live in all areas, so please check your local listings before you run headlong into spoilerville. Now then, we've got a short but sweet lineup of fights in store for us, with three titles on the line: Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defends his belt against invading DREAM champ Shinya Aoki, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal attempts to steal the crown from reigning light-heavyweight ruler Gegard Mousasi, and middleweight champ Jake Shields faces off against PRIDE/UFC legend Dan Henderson in the biggest fight of his career. Live Strikeforce: Nashville results await you after the jump, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for round-by-round updates and the usual jokes about Frank Shamrock's braces and Stephen Quadros's clown-makeup. 

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News dan henderson, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, King Mo Gegard Mousasi, liveblog, Muhammed Lawal, Shinya Aoki, Strikeforce results, Strikeforce: Nashville

(King Mo tries, unsuccessfully, to get Mousasi to do something interesting.)

- Strikeforce: Nashville weigh-in results. (Heavy)

- Kurt Pellegrino's guide to getting autographs from fighters. (UFC.com)

- Dana White, BJ Penn at odds over new book. (The Rumble)

- War Machine not fighting this weekend, and the promoter is pissed. (TMZ)

- Mousasi re-signs two-year deal with Strikeforce. (Sherdog)

- Ben Askren's funky finish. (Fight Magazine)

- The first pictures of Shinya Aoki in EA Sports MMA. (Middle Easy)

- Shields ready to let his fighting do the talking. (Cagewriter)

- 10 fighters who could drop a weight class. (Bleacher Report)

- Phillies fan makes a great catch. (Total Pro Sports)

- 5 favorite GIFs for a Friday afternoon. (Maxim)

- Police officer in Roethlisberger case resigns. (Scores Report)

- Church erects Jesus painting with foot-tall penis. (Asylum)

- A detective film at its finest. (Ask Men)

- 25 insane book covers. (Holy Taco)

- 10 films begging for a sequel. (Screen Junkies)

- 6 literary heroes you should know. (Made Man)

- Samsung 500 odds. (All Left Turns)

- Crazy opening day fight at Dodgers-Marlins game. (Nothing Toxic)

News Dana White, Gegard Mousasi, King Mo, Kurt Pellegrino, Misc., Shinya Aoki, Strikeforce weigh-ins, Strikeforce: Nashville, War Machine