E. Spencer Kyte breaks down 10 things that HeavyMMA.com learned from Strikeforce Houston.

Down with the King
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante ended “King Mo” Lawal’s reign, delivering on the promise that was seemingly washed away when he failed to prepare and lost to Mike Kyle last year.

Always viewed as a dangerous striker, “Feijao” backed up the description, catching Lawal with power early in the third round. He credited the loss to Kyle with helping him refocuses and take his preparation more seriously, and it showed, as he handed the previously unbeaten champion the first loss of his career.

Increased Possibilities
The changing of the guard at the top of the 205-pound division will actually allow Strikeforce greater movement in matchmaking. Unlike Lawal who had expressed no interest in fighting friend and occasional training partner Renato “Babalu” Sobral, “Feijao” has no such allegiances.

As much as Mike Kyle wouldn’t be a title contender anywhere else, he holds a win over the new champ and a rematch is an easy pairing. Others like Dan Henderson and Gegard Mousasi could be considered as well.
Lawal is still a charismatic option on any future event, and being bumped back in the pecking order makes it easier to utilize him against the middle tier talent the division holds. While no one will probably officially agree, this result works out well for the San Jose-based outfit.

Read the full article here.

Fighter Bobby Lashley recently told Jon Lane of HeavyMMA.com that there’s a lot of pressure on him. Why? Read on…

Bobby Lashley is trying to remain patient. He may be undefeated, but it’s been a mere five MMA fights – just one for Strikeforce – and he maintains he’s “completely satisfied” with his development.

“Longevity is this sport is important,” Lashley told Heavy.com. “It’s going to be very, very soon when I take that next big step. We have people who have 40 fights under their belt. I have five. I want to get a couple of good fights in and want to start looking at that bigger competition when I know that I’m ready. I want to keep sharpening my tools, get better opponents, keep moving up and get better in the sport.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Bobby Lashley made Bob Sapp tap twice and Gilbert Yvel KO’d Pedro Rizzo at last week’s ‘Ultimate Chaos’ event.

– Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs may be settling an old rivalry next month. But will anybody see it?

– With UFC 100 coming up next Saturday, we counted down the 10 greatest UFC events of all time.

– Nobody seems to think Michael Bisping has a chance against Dan Henderson in their UFC 100 fight. Though if he really plans on out-wrestling Hendo, maybe he really is doomed.

– Indiana became the 39th U.S. state to begin regulating MMA. Last state to legalize the sport is a rotten egg!

– Rampage Jackson says he’ll be knocking out Rashad Evans in his hometown of Memphis in December.

– Tito Ortiz fooled us for the last time.

– We chatted with Jon Fitch about the stupidity of trash-talk and the challenges of fighting a man in a dress.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Last weekend’s MMA action was highlighted by Bobby Lashley choking out Mike Cook in 24 seconds and a Bellator event jam-packed with wild fights.

– Good news: PRIDE legend Mirko Cro Cop is returning to the UFC. Bad news: He’s back at the bottom of the heavyweight ladder.

– Andrei Arlovski will be tangling with undefeated prospect Brett Rogers at Strikeforce’s stacked-to-death June 6th card. Rogers was originally supposed to face Alistair Overeem, but Overeem injured his hand while putting five nightclub bouncers in the hospital.

– Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was plagued by staph infections, bronchitis, and an inconvenient gag-reflex.

– Must-see videos: Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva made us laugh Spencer Pratt made us cry, and BJ Penn cried wee wee wee all the way home.

– After countless delays, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett are slated to face each other this summer, at what will probably be Affliction’s last MMA event.

– Former baseball star/steroid snitch Jose Canseco is having his MMA debut in Japan on Tuesday against 7’2″ kickboxer Hong Man Choi. His preparation is, shall we say, lacking.

– Swing by CagePotato.com tomorrow night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT as we liveblog UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, which will feature the UFC’s best title fight in nearly a year. You can see more analysis of the fight card here and here.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Chuck Liddell stepped into the cage (and got knocked out) for the last time, while Anderson Silva and Thales Leites put on one of the most boring title fights in UFC history at UFC 97 last Saturday. Regarding the Silva/Leites scrap, UFC prez Dana White said “I’ve never been embarrassed of a UFC fight like I was tonight,” while Silva’s manager tried to do damage control.

– The Iceman may be retired from the fight game, but it seems like his acting career is taking off. Meanwhile, Andrei Arlovski is going to appear in the next Jean-Claude Van Damme joint.

– Nick Osipczak put the Brits up 1-0 with his crushing head-kick knockout of Mark Miller on Wednesday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

– Gina Carano does it for love, not money. Yeah, right.

– Pro wrestler-turned-fighter Bobby Lashley will be colliding with cartoonish brawler Bob Sapp in a June pay-per-view event that will also feature Affliction’s vice-president actually fighting on the card.

– Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard makes his MMA debut tomorrow night. But will it be a triumph or an ill-advised freak show?

– Speaking of freak shows, lightweight grappling-genius Shinya Aoki and world’s-best-heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will be tangling in a “special sparring exhibition” next week in Tokyo. Ah, what’s a 70-pound weight-difference between friends?

– Enter our “Underground Heroes” giveaway and win a pair of tickets to UFC 98! And if you’re going to the May 23rd event, be sure to check out our fan’s guide to Las Vegas.