By Jillian Bullock

Little did Ronda Rousey, who was born February 1, 1987 in Riverside County, California, ever imagine that one day she would be a mixed martial artist, let alone world champion. Fast forward 25 years and Rousey is just that – Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion.

Rousey got her start in MMA just a few years ago after she won a Bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Judo. Since then she has quickly made a name for herself as a serious and fierce competitor. In 2011, Rousey won many awards including, Female Rookie of the Year, Female Fighter of the Year, Female Featherweight of the Year, and Female Newcomer of the Year.

Written By: Aiden Rudd

“When Strikeforce was purchased by the UFC’s parent company Zuffa LLC in March, Strikeforce chairman Scott Coker, has professed that it is ‘Business as Usual’ for the companies. Strikeforce was still to operate as a separate promotion, it would still co-promote with M1-Global to keep the whole Fedor fiasco from collapsing. However, 7 months later is that statement still realistic?”

With several big attractions defecting to the UFC in search of bigger fights and even bigger paydays, can Strikeforce still operate as a ‘Major Promotion’? With talent such as Nick Diaz, Jason Miller, Alistair Overeem and Dan Henderson trickling down to the UFC, the promotion’s increasingly obsolete titles are for the large part vacant. As out of the 5 male weight divisions, only two have currently got a title holder. Luke Rockhold recently defeated ‘Jacare’ Souza to capture the Middleweight title, and Gilbert Melendez, who has been documented as being unsettled at the promotion’s lack of legitimate contenders to his Lightweight title, that he is currently preparing to defend for the 3rd time in December against Jorge Masvidal.

In a world of negative news stories we wanted to write about a positive story going on in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.  I know if you are like me you are tired of reading about the national debt and ‘debt ceiling’ so here is someone that is turning negativity into positivity in his life.  So, sit back and enjoy a few minutes of a feel good story in the world of MMA.

Who wears day-glo, candy striped, multi-colored shorts for an MMA match? That has their mother really hands craft them for him? Who really adopts a fight after being introduced as “Fancy Pants”? Who did annually along with a day inside a Washington Condition Penitentiary for crimes associated with a meth addiction, got launched from that prison and won his first amateur fight just 8 days later?

Strikeforce: Fedor versus Silva brought a major change to mixed martial arts. This change may have already occurred as the changing of the newguard in MMA; however, the way that Fedor fell was deafening. The Last Emperor walked out of the cage with a swollen eye and his legacy in question.

Now, Strikeforce must recuperate as well. Without question the Heavyweight Grand Prix was formulated to get Fedor back into the cage against either Fabricio Werdum or Alistair Overeem. Now, that’s not happening. Strikeforce needs to regroup and push the individuals who are making waves for their company; such as Nick Diaz, Chad Griggs, and other names. Still, the organization seems intent on reaching back.

At Saturday’s Strikeforce: Fedor versus Silva event, Strikeforce was supposed to make major strides towards putting a dent in the strangle hold that the UFC has on Mixed Martial Arts. However, the result of the main event may have hampered the organization’s steps in that direction.

During the main event, underdog Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva hammered the one-time #1 ranked heavyweight for ten minutes. At the end of the second round, Fedor’s face was so badly beaten that he was forced to discontinue the fight. This is his second straight loss in the Strikeforce organization. For a man that went nearly 10 years without a defeat, this outcome was quite possibly the worse that could have happened.

As reported by Heavy.com, the UFC signed former Sengoku Middleweight Champion, Jorge Santiago.  Santiago, the owner of a 23 – 8 record, 1 – 2 UFC, will step into the Octagon to face fan favorite Brian Stann at UFC 130 in May.  Santiago is 11 – 1 over his last 12 fights, which for the most part have taken place in Sengoku and Strikeforce.

Santiago was the most current Sengoku Middleweight Champion, but asked for his release from the Japanese promotion, allowing the UFC to pick him up for the second time.  In a move that Dana White and Joe Silva often do with returning talent, they picked a tough fight to see where he stands in the organization.

Saturday, February 12th marks the start of the highly talked about Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. During this tournament eight of the biggest names in the heavyweight division of MMA will square off for a chance to earn the Grand Prix Title. This weekend features what many people may consider the biggest name of them all.

Fedor Emelianenko will face off against Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. In another Grand Prix matchup, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski will face Sergei Kharitonov. Both of these fights will advance one fighter while eliminate the other. Strikeforce is hinging a lot of this event and needs for it to go over very well with the MMA community.

This weekend is shaping up to be a big event for the Strikeforce promotion. With two title fights and the next cage appearance by a prominent Gracie fighter, this show has the potential to provide a lot of action for MMA fans.

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Nick Diaz versus Evangelista Santos

While his record may not show it, Santos is a very viable threat to Diaz. The current champion has to be certain to weather the opening storm for which Santos has become well known. The challenger often storms out of the game and tries to impose his will on his opponent; even when he was outmuscled while fighting as a middleweight. Diaz himself has also been known for pushing the pace of the fight; using his potent boxing skills to keep challengers guessing while on the feet. While his striking is more technically sound than Santos, he will still have to avoid the wild bombs that will be coming his way.

This Monday brings about another swing of news bites from the past weekend of mixed martial arts action.

Pulver Gets a Win

Former UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver, finally brought an end to an epic losing streak. Pulver brought to end a six-fight losing streak with his victory over Mike Lindquist during an XFO event in Illinois.

Pulver had not won since his first round submission against Cub Swanson in 2007. Pulver had been on an extreme case of bad luck in his career. He has only won two fights since 2006. However, the former champion refused to give up even when so many people called for him to retire.

Bellator Fighting Championships announced a major development that will help the organization continue to grow as a major MMA promotion in the United States. An official statement was released announcing that the company had formed a partnership with MTV2 to air live events and specials. This three year deal will begin in early 2011.

Before this announcement, Bellator events had aired on Fox Sports Net. However, these events were often only on television in tape delay format because Fox had the obligation to air other shows. Eric Conte, Vice President of Programming and Production, released the following statement in regards to the announcement, as reported by MMAfighting.com: