Video of the Day - Belfort v. Lindland

Here are MMA legends Vitor Belfort and Matt Lindland fighting in Affliction - Reckoning which took place on 1/24/09. The fight features one of the best KO's from the promotion's 2 event run.

Video of the Day - Lindland v. Khalidov

Here is Matt Lindland fighting Mamed Khalidov at KSW 16 which took place on 5/21/11. It is likely the last fight of Matt Lindland's career. Khalidov (25-4) meanwhile has rattled off five straight wins all via stoppage.

Fedor v. Lindland

Here is the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Lindland from Bodog Fight which took place 4/14/07.

Fedor fights Fabricio Werdum in Strikeforce this weekend live on Showtime.

Strikeforce Preview - Cung Le Returns

This Saturday Strikeforce will take place at the HP Arena in San Jose, California. The main event will see the return of the extremely entertaining Cung Le as he tangles with powerful brawler Scott Smith. Expect Le to throw kicks from distance to keep Smith at bay.

In a lightweight title fight, Josh Thomson will fight Gilbert Melendez in a rematch of a June 08 match won by Thomson. Josh Thomson hasn't fought since September 2008, and has not defended his title. Gilbert Melendez has stayed active since dropping a decision to Thomson, defeating Mitsuhiro Ishida and Rodrigo Damm via knockout earning an interim 155 pound belt.

In other action, uber grappler and athlete King Mo Lawal will be fighting TUF 2 veteran Mike Whitehead. A win by Lawal could propel him into a fight with Gegard Mousasi or another big name.

FULL CARD:

Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez
Matt Lindland vs. Ronald "Jacare" Souza
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead
Antwain Britt vs. Scott Lighty
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox
Bobby Stack vs. Alex Trevino
Alex Crispim vs. A.J. Fonseca


(Cung Le Highlights)

Video of the Day - Matt Lindland

Here is Matt Lindland's political ad from his failed run at a state representitive seat. His message was simple, no new taxes.

Arlovski v. Barnett - Affliction 2 Postponed

While this Affliction card could stack up to any around, it has been postponed. Reports are that tickets sales were abismal. They are reportedly going to wait until January so the number one heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko can appear on the card.

I feel bad for the former IFL stars that were going to make their respective debuts at this event. Former champs Roy Nelson, Vladdy Matyushenko and Jay Hieron along with 20 year old phenom Chris Horodecki were all slated to fight. Most have been on the shelf for some time.

Supposedly the fighters will be blended into the January card that was to feature Fedor Emelianenko. I wouldn't be surprised if Andrei Arlovski took on Fedor and Barnett fought Tim Sylvia in the new fightcard.

FORMER MAIN CARD (PPV)

Andrei Arlovski (UFC) vs. Josh Barnett (UFC, Pride)- Battle of two former UFC heavyweight champions. This will determine who earns the title fight with Fedor.
Vladimir Matyushenko (UFC, IFL LHW Champ) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pride)
Matt Lindland (UFC, IFL) vs. Trevor Prangley (UFC)
Chris Horodecki (IFL) vs. Dan Lauzon (UFC)
Ben Rothwell (IFL) vs. Pedro Rizzo (UFC)
Drew Fickett (UFC) vs. Jay Hieron (UFC, IFL WW Champ)

FORMER PRELIMS (HDNet)

Paul Buentello (UFC) vs. Roy Nelson (IFL HW Champ)
Jason High (6-0, MCC) vs. Mike Pyle (17-5, IFL)
Chase Gormley (6-0, MFC) vs. Jay White (HDNet)

Arlovski Highlight Video

Affliction - Banned

AFFLICTION - BANNED

Below is a rumored all-star card for the inaugural Affliction show. Affliction has a whopping seven current top twenty heavyweights according to MMA Blaster rankings. Almost every fighter on the card has fought on the main stage in the UFC, Pride, IFL or BoDog. The show will air on pay per view, and reportedly have a big music act as well. Megadeth has been mentioned as a possibility.



Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. Tim Sylvia (24-4)- Finally we get to see number one heavyweight Fedor fight a legit heavyweight threat in former UFC Champ Tim Sylvia. Sylvia lost his UFC heavyweight crown to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81. Fedor beat massive Hong Man Choi in his last fight. Sylvia will try to use his 6'8" frame and reach advantage to box with Fedor. Sylvia was 9-4 in the UFC.


Josh Barnett (20-5) vs. Pedro Rizzo (16-7)- Former UFC heavyweight champs Josh Barnet and Pedro Rizzo are squaring off against each other in this rematch. Rizzo has a KO victory over Josh at UFC 30, and last won against Jeff Monson in last September's Art of War 3 show. Below is a gif from Barnett v. Yoshida. Barnett has beat Monson and Yoshida after a very close split decision loss to Big Nog.


Ben Rothwell (29-5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (12-5)- IFL heavyweight sensation Ben Rothwell (29-5) should be in action against former UFC HW Champ Andrei Arlovski (13-5). The heavy-handed Rothwell last won a unanimous decision over Ricco Rodriguez in September. Rothwell is on a 13 fight win streak. Arlovski is on a three fight win streak against heavyweights Marcio Cruz, Fabricio Werdum, and Jake O'Brien. This will be Arlovski's first fight outside the UFC since May of 2000.

Matt Lindland (20-5) vs. Fabio Nascimento (19-5)- On the same note we finally get to see UFC/IFL/Bodog veteran Matt Lindland fight again. The former UFC middleweight contender has been on the shelf since his loss to Fedor at heavyweight last April. Lindland has been making a successful run at a state Representative spot in Oregon.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral (29-7) vs. Mike Whitehead (20-5)- Mike Whitehead is on an eleven fight win streak in the IFL and regional fight promotions. He is facing released UFC fighter Babalu Sobral. Sobral won his first match outside the UFC against Rodney Faverus (24-15). Babalu was booted from the UFC following the infamous David Heath choke incident.

Vitor Belfort (16-8) v. Terry Martin (17-4)- Another interesting fight is between Terry Martin and Vitor Belfort. Martin has won a boxing match and his last MMA match. Former UFC Champ Belfort won twice last year in Cage Rage, but hasn't fought this year. Vitor won the LHW Belt from Randy Couture at UFC 46.

Paul Buentello (23-10) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3)- Alistair Overeem recently defeated Buentello for the Strikeforce heavyweight title. Fedor's brother, Aleks, is coming off a victories over Silvao Santos, Dan Bobish, Jessie Gibson and Eric Pele.

UNDERCARD
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) v. *Edwin Dewees (38-12)
Mark Hominick (15-8) vs. Savant Young (9-7)
JJ Ambrose (9-1) vs. Mike Pyle (15-5)

+Some fights will air on FSN before the ppv broadcast.
++Check out the Inside MMA show for more information.
+++The UFC will run an Ultimate Fight Night to cut away at the debut show.