Strikeforce buys ProElite/EliteXC (F.Shamrock vs. Diaz 4/11)

[El Hardee]

Pretty good first show for the "new" Strikeforce.

Rogers vs. Humphrey was alright. Had no idea Humphrey had won Iron Ring. Not like it means much, but it's kind of an interesting fact. Dude can take some punishment. Rogers is a big, big man. Wouldn't mind seeing him fight Paul Buentello. I think that would be a good test for him. Sounded like they might have him fight Overeem, (June 6th is only 2 months away though) so we'll see what happens there.

Cyborg vs. Akano was hard to watch at times. If someone who doesn't follow MMA tuned in during the post fight announcement, what are the chances they thought Cyborg was a man? 60%? 80%? I know who she is, and I was at at least 35%.

Radach vs. Smith was awesome. Lots of action, near finishes both ways, and a nice KO from the guy who was behind on the cards to top it all off. Great fight.

Melendez vs. Damm was meh. Nice KO by Gil. Didn't expect that. Damm looked messed up when they were trying to help him afterward.

Diaz vs. Shamrock was entertaining. I still can't decide if I love him or hate him, but I love watching Nick Diaz fight. Have no idea what is next for him, or Shamrock for that matter.

The June 6th show should be even better, with Lawler vs. Shields, Babalu vs. Feijao, Overeem vs. whoever (just read that Werdum is a likely candidate), Riggs vs. Baroni, and Villasenor, Gurgel, and (Evangelista) Cyborg on the card.

The June 6th looks awsome, Lawler vs. Shields should be awsome, sorta old school match up Brawler vs. Grappler. Riggs vs Baroni is going to be fun, battle of the meatheads. Excited for this one.

[cowboyronnie]

Smith vs. Radach was every bit the slugfest everyone expected. Great fight, and once again Scott Smith shows few in MMA can match his heart.

He doesn't even seem phased. He takes all that abuse total matter-of-factly. It's not angst or passion. How do you get conditioned like that? It's insane.

[cowboyronnie]

Phil Baroni is a sensitive man, don't hate.

Gurgel??? Good God. He needs to fall into his mirror and just end it. What a douche.

I assume they will be drug testing the next event also. Im interested to see if Overeem looks good and passes. The guy has been lookin' diesel lately.

Yeah, no question that steroids are the reason for his transformation, and CSAC seems to catch a lot.

[Nemesis21]

I think Shamrock will win, but I'm going to pick Diaz by Subm.

Ummm...huh?

Ummm...huh? What?! I thought Shamrock could win, but still picked Diaz. what part of that don't you understand???


Diaz dominated Shamrock

[WHAT_DA]

I think Shamrock will win, but I'm going to pick Diaz by Subm.

Ummm...huh?

Ummm...huh? What?! I thought Shamrock could win, but still picked Diaz. what part of that don't you understand???


Diaz dominated Shamrock

could =/= will. I was confused as well.

[SpReEfOrAlL]

Phil Baroni is a sensitive man, don't hate.

Gurgel??? Good God. He needs to fall into his mirror and just end it. What a douche.

I assume they will be drug testing the next event also. Im interested to see if Overeem looks good and passes. The guy has been lookin' diesel lately.

Yeah, no question that steroids are the reason for his transformation, and CSAC seems to catch a lot.

I really hope he does pass, and he is just capitalizing on all the talent he has. Would be great if he is a legit contender in the division. There are endless fights for him.

[CPT]

For what it's worth, Overeem has fought in California for Strikeforce before, about a year and a half ago, and he obviously passed CSAC's tests. I agree that there's a pretty good chance he juiced at some point before or after, but I don't think it will be an issue for this upcoming fight.

Anyway, I came across the fighter payouts for the event, so I thought I'd post them here:

• Frank Shamrock - $369,790
• Scott Smith - $49,940 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
• Gilbert Melendez - $49,890 (no win bonus announced)
• Nick Diaz - $39,950 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
• Brett Rogers - $39,940 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
• Cristiane Santos - $18,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
• Benji Radach - $16,940
• Eric Lawson - $9,950 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
• Rodrigo Damm - $9,190
• Raul Castillo - $6,890 (includes $3,500 win bonus)
• Luke Rockhold - $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
• James Terry - $3,940 (includes $2,000 win bonus)
• Ron Humphrey - $3,205
• Waylon Kennell - $1,950
• Buck Meredith - $1,540
• Brandon Michaels - $1,500
• Zak Bucia - $1,500
• Hitomi Akano - $1,450
• Shingo Kohara - $940 (no win bonus announced)
• Jeremy Tavares - $940

Some people got paid very well (Shamrock raked it in...no wonder he was all smiles while getting tagged in the face repeatedly), but some people got screwed big time.

Akano only took home $1,450 on record. I hope she made at least 10x that along with some other concessions behind the scenes. Does she get any % of Cyborg's purse?

Damm also got shafted a bit, as he got under 10k for stepping up on short notice. Again, there's a good chance he was given something a little extra on short notice, but he's a decent fighter and should be making more than that.

7 fighters making under $2,000 is pretty unacceptable. But I guess if the fighters were willing to fight for that much, it's on them.

[cowboyronnie]

I don't even understand. It's shocking. We just saw a hockey arena packed to the rafters and a major broadcast network put on a beautiful production, and the actual athletes are making garbage like this?

I guess it's an area, where because of precedence and the competition low-balling its fighters, they can cut costs, so they do. Unionize, son.

[Cammo101]

If those numbers were from a UFC card this entire board would be freaking out.

One thing is for sure, they need to take some of that Shamrock money and give it to Radach and Akano.

[cowboyronnie]

If those numbers were from a UFC card this entire board would be freaking out.

Can you think of any variable between the 90th UFC Pay-Per-View and Strikeforce's first cable network broadcast? A variable that might increase the expectations?

If you're good, you can probably spot 2 or 3!!!

[Chach]

Finally saw the show.

Humphreys needs to cut down to 205. If he dieted and did a bit more cardio and maybe dropped a few pounds of muscle, I think he could cut to 205 easily. The size and weight disadvantage he is going to see at heavyweight will keep him back. He was interesting enough that I'd like to see him against opponents his size. Rogers will get destroyed by Overeem, assuming that his pee is clean come fight night. I actually enjoy watching AO fight so I hope he is clean but come on, I can use my friggin eyes.

It's such a shame that the Akano/Cyborg fight had to go forward. It was bad enough making Akano move up in weight class to fight Cyborg but to push the fight when Cyborg was having "girl problems" that kept her from making weight is just stupid. This is going to be a major hurdle for women's MMA to overcome. Gina and Cyborg are two of the best fighters and they both have issues making weight. Either they need to stop cutting more weight and fight at the weight class closest to their natural weight class or find weights to cut weight when you're on the rag. Until that happens, women's MMA will never be given a fair shake.

I absolutely love Scott Smith. The Pete Sell finish is one of my favorites of all time and Scott even said he was rocked several times in this fight and he still came back. He is so entertaining to watch and that heart needs to be studied after he dies. Comparing the Cyborg celebration to the Smith celebration just made Cyborg look like an even bigger used tampon. Smith is entering into the Nate Quarry sphere where I will root for him no matter the fight or opponent out of sheer respect for him.

I like Frank a lot more than Ken, I think his game is more well rounded and when he was the dominant name in the sport, he was actually really talented and dominant where as Ken beat guys but he was always boring and one dimensional. Nick is a total prick but he is so entertaining to watch, you cannot deny it. Frank looks toast. Also, Big John is looking like he is better shape today than his last few fights in the UFC. I really hope he does UFC 100 and the reason he hasn't been assigned a UFC card yet is the fact that they are saving his return for UFC 100. mahalo
~Chach~

[Nemesis21]

Finally saw the show.

Humphreys needs to cut down to 205. If he dieted and did a bit more cardio and maybe dropped a few pounds of muscle, I think he could cut to 205 easily. The size and weight disadvantage he is going to see at heavyweight will keep him back. He was interesting enough that I'd like to see him against opponents his size. Rogers will get destroyed by Overeem, assuming that his pee is clean come fight night. I actually enjoy watching AO fight so I hope he is clean but come on, I can use my friggin eyes.

It's such a shame that the Akano/Cyborg fight had to go forward. It was bad enough making Akano move up in weight class to fight Cyborg but to push the fight when Cyborg was having "girl problems" that kept her from making weight is just stupid. This is going to be a major hurdle for women's MMA to overcome. Gina and Cyborg are two of the best fighters and they both have issues making weight. Either they need to stop cutting more weight and fight at the weight class closest to their natural weight class or find weights to cut weight when you're on the rag. Until that happens, women's MMA will never be given a fair shake.

I absolutely love Scott Smith. The Pete Sell finish is one of my favorites of all time and Scott even said he was rocked several times in this fight and he still came back. He is so entertaining to watch and that heart needs to be studied after he dies. Comparing the Cyborg celebration to the Smith celebration just made Cyborg look like an even bigger used tampon. Smith is entering into the Nate Quarry sphere where I will root for him no matter the fight or opponent out of sheer respect for him.

I like Frank a lot more than Ken, I think his game is more well rounded and when he was the dominant name in the sport, he was actually really talented and dominant where as Ken beat guys but he was always boring and one dimensional. Nick is a total prick but he is so entertaining to watch, you cannot deny it. Frank looks toast. Also, Big John is looking like he is better shape today than his last few fights in the UFC. I really hope he does UFC 100 and the reason he hasn't been assigned a UFC card yet is the fact that they are saving his return for UFC 100. mahalo
~Chach~

yeah, Smith is awesome. that fight with Sell I watched live and thought Smith was done after body shot, but Sell rushed in and BAM! got KO'd . Can't ever count Smith out till the fat lady sings, he's got a lot of heart.

[Cammo101]

Everyone loves Scott Smith. I do not know anyone that dislikes him.