Robbie Lawler

Matt Lindland Inks Multi-Fight Deal With Strikeforce

Former UFC middleweight contender Matt “The Law” Lindland has signed a three-fight contract with Strikeforce. Lindland’s debut is expected for October against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

Lindland possesses a mixed martial arts record of 21-6-0. Lindland holds victories over notable names including Phil Baroni, Travis Lutter, Jeremy Horn, and Pat Miletich. Lindland was last in action at Affliction: Day of Reckoning where he was brutally knocked out by Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort.

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Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields Live Results

Live:
Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler - Submission (Guillotine choke) Round 1 2:02
Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski - KO Round 1 0:22
Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith - Submission (Rear naked choke) Round 3 1:41
Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni - Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman - Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Untelevised: (results via Sherdog)
Jesse Finney def. Josh Baumgartner - Submission (Kimura) Round 1 1:55
Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante - TKO Round 2 4:05
Booker DeRousse def. James Wade - TKO Round 1 4:06
Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods - Submission (Anaconda choke) Round 1 4:20
Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia - DQ (Knee to the head of downed opponent) Round 1 3:26
Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran - Submission (Armbar) Round 1 2:18

Photos: Strikeforce/Showtime Presser

Here’s a small gallery of photos from this past Thursday’s pre-fight press conference for Strikeforce’s “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event, which takes place on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and will be televised live on Showtime.

Those in attendance at the press conference included former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, former EliteXC champions Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, and female MMA star Cris “Cyborg” Santos.

All photos were taken by Tom Casino and come courtesy of Showtime. Quotes from the press conference are here.

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Shields-Lawler Set for May Strikeforce

In an interesting matchup that is taking place in an unexpected weight class, former EliteXC champs Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler will meet in a middleweight bout at Strikeforce’s scheduled May event. Shields’ April bout against Joe Riggs is now off:

Former EliteXC champions Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler will face off in a non-title middleweight contest for Strikeforce in May at a yet-to-be-announced Washington state venue. Shields will take the leap to middleweight to face the Iowa striker, said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker at a press conference on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt had been previously announced to square off against power puncher Joe Riggs at Strikeforce’s April 11 event in San Jose, Calif. That bout is now on hold, said Strikeforce representatives.

The fight will reportedly take place at a catch-weight of 182 lbs. Riggs is also not injured and will likely be used for a different fight, possibly on the same card or in his original April spot. At the moment, I’m torn on making a prediction about this fight. Standing with Lawler wouldn’t be the best idea for Shields, but I wonder if he’ll even be able to take him down. Then again, if it does hit the canvas, Lawler has shown that he’s susceptible to getting caught in submissions. Interesting matchup.

Strikeforce Acquires ProElite Assets; Lands Deal With Showtime

It’s been a busy past few weeks for Scott Coker and his fledgling Strikeforce brand. Once thought to have been just a small success story in the San Jose area, the promotion seems to be on the fast track to becoming the legitimate number-two MMA organization in North America after securing a deal to purchase a limited number of assets from ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC.

Under the terms of the deal announced this afternoon, Strikeforce will acquire a select number of fighters contracts, along with the ability to sign additional fighters to Strikeforce deals, as well as a video library of past EliteXC and ShoXC events.

“This is a tremendous development that will bolster the Strikeforce roster and allow us to produce even more competitive matchups between top fighters,” Coker said in a press release today. “Some of these athletes have been on the sidelines for a while now and are eagerly waiting to return to competition. We look forward to providing them with the opportunity to do so in the next few months.”

 

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EliteXC Announces “A Night of Champions”

EliteXC today officially announced details regarding their scheduled November 8 event, titled “A Night of Champions”. The show will take place at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada and will air live on Showtime.

The card will be headlined by two separate championship fights: EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title in a rematch against a streaking Joey Villasenor while Nick Diaz and DREAM standout Eddie Alvarez will battle it out for the vacant EliteXC lightweight belt.

Tickets are on sale now, start at $38, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Additional fights expected to take place at the event include Kaitlin Young vs. Sarah Kaufmann, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Cyrille Diabate (possibly for the vacant EliteXC light heavyweight title), and Brett Rogers against an opponent yet to be determined.

Lawler-Villasenor II Set for EliteXC in November

Robbie Lawler will defend his EliteXC middleweight title in a rematch against longtime veteran Joey Villasenor at a scheduled EliteXC show on November 8 that will air on Showtime. The organization officially announced the bout during last night’s ShoXC telecast on the network.

Lawler and Villasenor originally fought at PRIDE 32 in October 2006, where Lawler was victorious via knockout due to a flying knee that came just 22 seconds into the bout.

Since then, the two have gone on their separate ways. Lawler defeated Chute Boxe product Murilo “Ninja” Rua at EliteXC’s “Uprising” event last fall to win the EliteXC middleweight belt and successfully defended his crown against Scott Smith in July.

Following the first Lawler bout, Villasenor went on to decision former UFC middleweight title challenger David Loiseau and go on a three-fight winning streak inside EliteXC, most recently scoring an impressive first-round stoppage of Phil Baroni at EliteXC’s first ever show on CBS this past May.

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The “Unfinished Business” Fallout Continues

The negative fallout from EliteXC’s second show on CBS is continuing. Yesterday the UFC and Spike TV blasted the organization for drawing lesser numbers on their network television broadcast than a replay of UFC 84: Ill Will in certain demographics last Saturday night. Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca’s resignation from ProElite were also announced on Tuesday as well.

One of the things EliteXC heads DeLuca and Jeremy Lappen continually harped on in the weeks leading up to the event was the tremendous ticket sales they were enjoying. DeLuca stated that five days out from the event, they had already sold half of the available tickets and were expecting a sellout.

“We’re definitely well over half sold already,” DeLuca said during a pre-event conference call on July 22. “That was as of the weekend. I know we picked up a full head of steam on Monday. I’m really not too sure where ticket sales are at exactly, but we are fully expecting it to be a complete sell out.”

It turns out that DeLuca fibbed a bit.

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Lawler Stops Smith to Retain EliteXC Belt

Robbie Lawler prevented history from repeating itself Saturday night as he wore down Scott Smith before finally finishing him with a barrage of knees in the second round of their EliteXC middleweight title fight at the Stockton Arena in California.

The two exchanged blows for the second time in two months, this instance serving as the main event of EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” event, which became the promotion’s second such show to be broadcast on primetime network television via CBS. Their original meeting saw both men battle back and forth for fifteen minutes before Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the eye in the third round. The ringside doctor ultimately ruled that Smith was unable to continue due to vision problems and the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Early on, it looked as if Lawler would once again earn a decisive opening round in his favor, stunning Smith with a trio of jabs. Smith bounced back however, continuing to push the pace and catching Lawler with a right hand late in the round, following up with a flurry that swung momentum in his favor. Smith then opened up a cut just inches away from the previous one Lawler suffered in their first bout. The blood forced Lawler to turn it up a notch, leading to a flurry of knees in the clinch that knocked Smith down twice.

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EliteXC: Unfinished Business Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s EliteXC: Unfinished Business event, which will take place at the Stockton Arena in California, are below. All fighters successfully made weight. The fight card will be joint-broadcasted by CBS and Showtime - A one-hour special will air on Showtime starting at 8:00 PM ET and will continue on CBS at 9:00 PM ET. Additional weigh-in photos are after the jump.

Heavy hitters Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith will battle it out once again for Lawler’s EliteXC middleweight title, this time in the show’s featured attraction. Additional main card bouts include the second of three championship bouts as Jake Shields and BodogFight transfer Nick Thompson will fight for the vacant EliteXC welterweight strap as well as hometown favorite Nick Diaz attempting to extend a two-fight winning streak against journeyman Thomas Denny.

CBS Bouts:

Robbie Lawler (184.5 lbs) vs. Scott Smith (185 lbs)
Jake Shields (169.5 lbs) vs. Nick Thompson (169.5 lbs)
Nick Diaz (159.5 lbs) vs. Thomas Denny (159 lbs)
Shayna Baszler (139 lbs) vs. Cris Cyborg (140 lbs)

Showtime Bouts:

Antonio Silva (257.5 lbs) vs. Justin Eilers (218 lbs)
Rafael Fejiao (203.5 lbs) vs. Travis Galbraith (202 lbs)
Wilson Reis (139.5 lbs) vs. Bryan Caraway (140.5 lbs)

Preliminary Fights:

Jeremy Freitag (205 lbs) vs. Anthony Ruiz (206 lbs)
Mike Cook (232.5 lbs) vs. Carl Seumantafa (255.5 lbs)
Brandon Tarn (252 lbs) vs. Drew Montgomery (224 lbs)
David Douglas (157 lbs) vs. Marlon Mathias (161 lbs)

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