Strikeforce holds its next big card tonight featuring Fedor Emelianenko taking on Fabricio Werdum. The card features four fights and here are my thoughts on what will happen tonight.

Heavyweight Bout – Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) – This is the next big bout for Fedor, who is one of the greatest mixed-martial artists of all-time, let alone in the heavyweight division. Werdum is a solid grappler, but he doesn’t have the style to defeat Fedor, as he has not standup and he is slow on his feet. Emelianenko should have no problem winning this fight by TKO in round one or two.

Women’s Featherweight Championship – Cris Santos (9-1) vs. Jan Finney (8-7) – Finney is a game fighter, but she is running into a buzzsaw in Santos, who may eventually become as dominant as any champion in a weight class, men or women. Santos will overwhelm Finney with her strength and her striking. Look for a first round TKO win for “Cyborg” as she retains her title.

Middleweight Bout – Scott Smith (17-6) vs. Cung Le (6-1) – Smith handed Le his first pro loss last December on a miracle KO punch in the third round. Le was dominating the fight up until that point, which is why the rematch is taking place. Le has a better skill set and more tools than Smith, who simply will be relying on one punch to win. Look for Le to fight a smart fight and finish Smith in the third round.

Lightweight Bout – Josh Thomson (16-3) vs. Pat Healy (23-15) – Thomson clearly has the edge in this fight. Healy is an experienced fighter, but that experience hasn’t resulted in a great record. Look for Thomson to control the fight on the ground to earn a decision win in his quest to get back into the Lightweight title picture.

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

– Jake Shields choked out Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz dominated Scott Smith, and Brett Rogers scored a 22-second KO over Andrei Arlovski at the Strikeforce show last Saturday. Afterwards, Rogers shared his feelings about Kimbo Slice and Nick Diaz humiliated a reporter.

– A day later, the WEC one-upped Strikeforce by putting on one of the greatest cards of the year, highlighted by Mike Brown’s five-round war with Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo’s latest highlight-reel finish, and possibly the last appearance of Jens Pulver. If only the fighters got paid what they’re worth…

– Team U.K. swept the lightweight bracket on Wednesday’s episode of the Ultimate Fighter; Andre Winner and Ross Pearson will throw down at next Saturday’s finale show on Spike.

– The upcoming title fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will be contested at 145 pounds. Cross your fingers.

– EA is prepping its own MMA video game to compete with “UFC Undisputed.” Can they succeed without the involvement of MMA’s most powerful brand?

– We looked back at MMA’s first superstars.

– Wanderlei Silva explained to us how life was like a bicycle.

– UFC 99 goes down today [Saturday] in Cologne, Germany, starting at 3 p.m. ET. Swing by CagePotato.com for our liveblog, and get familiar with some of the storylines here.

This weekend Mixed Martial Arts has two solid shows taking place outside of the UFC label. It begins Saturday on Showtime at 10 p.m. with Strikeforce presenting a strong card of recognizable fighters, a few of which are still considered among the best in the world. On Sunday, the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) takes center state with WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2, which is highlighted by the Featherweight championship (145 lbs) rematch of champion Mike Thomas Brown against former champion Urijah Faber. That show will air on Versus at 9 p.m.

Here is a quick breakdown of the feature fights and my predictions for both shows:

Strikeforce at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

– Kevin Randleman (17-12) vs. Mike Whitehead (23-6) Light-Heavyweight (205lbs): Kevin Randleman was a giant in the MMA world in the late 90’s and in the beginning of the 2000’s, but now Randleman is finding himself in the same position as many of the giants in those days like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, where the sport has passed him bye. Loser of five of his last seven fights, Randleman needs a win over UFC veteran Mike Whitehead, who has won 13 of his last 14 and has looked good since his move down to light-heavyweight (205 lbs). I like Whitehead by decision or TKO from ground-and-pound on a tired Randleman.

– Joe Riggs (29-10) vs. Phil Baroni (13-10) Middleweight (185lbs): Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs are classic examples of two fighters that had worlds of potential and never tapped into it. Both men have tremendous power, but both are notorious for their lack of endurance as fights move on. Baroni tries to throw all his power in each punch which limits him later on and Riggs has a suspect chin that has caused quick knockout losses. If Baroni has truly improved his training, I see him winning this one as Riggs is the mentally weaker fighter. I take Baroni by TKO late in round one.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

– Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard’s MMA debut went about as well as we thought it would.

– Clearly bored with the garbage-ass challengers he’s been getting in the UFC’s middleweight division, 185-pound king Anderson Silva will go up to light-heavyweight again to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in August. Meanwhile, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia will be facing off to determine who really deserves the next middleweight title shot.

– Gina Carano looked hot at Kevin Randleman’s wedding.

– Despite some intense infighting, Team U.S. was able to put its first victory on the board on the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter, while coach Michael Bisping vanished into thin air.

– Japanese promotion DREAM is putting together the greatest MMA freak show in history with their “World Superman Championship,” which will feature steroid-snitch Jose Canseco, pituitary case Hong Man Choi, Bob Sapp, and five more warriors, hopefully fighting to the death.

– Speaking of freak shows, Fedor Emelianenko used his 70-pound weight advantage to toss around Shinya Aoki in a grappling exhibition at the last M-1 Challenge event.

– Less than two months after Nick Diaz and Scott Smith scored victories at “Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz,” the two will be fighting each other at “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields.”

– Sign of the apocalypse #783: Kung Fu Football.

– Kim Couture’s wife pulled out of her upcoming fight against Miesha Tate, and Tate responded by telling everyone that Kim and The Natural are getting a divorce. Real classy.

– By forcibly retiring Chuck Liddell, is Dana White looking out for his friend’s health or his company’s wallet? Little from column A, little from column B?