Score Fighting Series Officials Deny Promotion Is Folding

Officials from the Score Fighting Series issued a statement on Wednesday, declaring that the promotion is not closing its doors. Reports on Tuesday had the SFS ending after a two-year run.

Score Fighting Series recently landed a contract with AXS TV. Rogers Media, however, recently acquired Score Media, leaving the status of the promotion unknown.

Contrary to reports, no decision has been made regarding the future of The Score Fighting Series. We can confirm personnel changes were made this week in relation to the SFS. The Score will continue to assess the future of the SFS on an ongoing basis. To clarify, Rogers Media plays no part in the operations of The Score Television Network (The Score). The Score is currently operating in trust until the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approves its acquisition by Rogers Media. All decisions affecting the network and SFS are made by the management and trustee of The Score.

Score Fighting Series has helped groom such fighters as John Alessio, Chris Clements, Ryan Healy, Marius Zaromskis and Daron Cruickshank.

 

Weekend Action: Marius Zaromskis Wins via Somersault Kick, War Machine Stops Roger Huerta, More

Remember how Marius Zaromskis used to head kick KO dudes left and right before he came to Strikeforce and hit a rut facing tougher competition like Nick Diaz? Well, it’s been awhile since Zaromskis knocked anyone out, but that changed this weekend when he took out Bruno Carvalho with a somersault kick to the face at Rumble of the Kings 6 in Stockholm, Sweden. Check it out in the video above. It’s pretty sweet.

Several other notable fighters were in action this weekend. I haven’t seen video anywhere yet, but War Machine managed to stop Roger Huerta via TKO at UWF 1 in Texas in his first fight since getting out of jail. Sherdog notes that the fight was stopped due to a rib injury, however MMA Junkie says War Machine got on top of Huerta in the third round and finished him with punches. Either way, it was Huerta’s third straight loss and his fifth in his last six fights.

In Poland, Strong man Mariusz Pudzianowski picked up a win against James Thompson at KSW 17. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou fought on the KSW 17 card as well, but came up short against Jan Blachowicz. Also coming up short at KSW 17 was Jesse Taylor, who lost via submission to Mamed Khalidov. Khalidov is now on a four-fight win streak with victories over Yuki Sasaki, James Irvin, Matt Lindland and Taylor.

And last but not least is Joe Riggs. He stopped Shannon Ritch in only 56 seconds at Duel for Domination: MMA Extravaganza in Phoenix.

 

Dynamite!! 2010 Bouts, Overeem Wants HW Title Fight, Last Minute Investor Found?

With the 2010 K-1 World GP officially behind them, FEG has quickly turned their attention to putting together a Dynamite!! NYE show. While the card probably won’t be finalized until the days or even hours before the show, they have announced several bouts, which are listed below.

  • DREAM WW Title Fight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
  • DREAM FW Title Fight: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
  • Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Josh Thomson
  • Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Caol Uno
  • Jerome Le Banner vs. Tatsuya Mizuno
  • DREAM/K-1 Special Rules bout: Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashim
  • K-1 bout: Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamato
 

Strikeforce Challengers 12 Quick Results

Strikeforce Challengers 12 took place earlier this evening at the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Miss. Justin Wilcox, Ovince St. Preux and Liz Carmouche all picked up wins, but the biggest story coming out of the event is what happened in the Marius Zaromskis vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf fight. Zaromskis came out of the gate with a flying knee like he always does but instead of nailing Spiritwolf with his knee, he ended up poking him in the eye. After giving Spiritwolf a few minutes to shake it off, the fight was called when he still couldn’t see out of the bleeding eye. The fight was ruled a no-contest with only seven seconds off the clock. Full recap.

Results after the jump.

 

EA Sports MMA Welterweight Roster Revealed

EA Sports has officially announced the full welterweight roster for EA Sports MMA.

Top row: Mariusz Zaromskis, Lyman Good, Frank Trigg, Nick Thompson, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai
Middle row: Matt Lindland, Kazuo Misaki, Joe Riggs, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Jay Hieron
Bottom row: Joachim Hansen, Pat Miletich, Shinya Aoki, Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields

Noticeably absent: Ben Askren, Dan Hornbuckle, Tyron Woodley

 

Strikeforce ‘Los Angeles’ Results, Wrap-Up & Live Gate

Strikeforce “Los Angeles” took place earlier this evening at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

 

Strikeforce ‘Los Angeles’: Bobby Lashley vs. Ron Sparks, Marius Zaromskis vs. Cyborg Santos

Two more fights are official for Strikeforce “Los Angeles” which goes down at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on June 16.

Bobby Lashley (5-0) will take on “corn bread fed, Kentucky bred” Ron Sparks (5-0) in a heavyweight bout. Like Lashley, the relatively unknown Sparks is a big dude (listed at 6’5″ 285 lbs. on Sherdog). From his record and the footage I found of him on Youtube, he prefers to stand, bang and knock fools out. Of his five professional victories, four have come by way of (T)KO including this one where he knocked out some dude named “Shrek” and sent his mouthpiece flying. Sparks also competed in a K-1 event last year against Alexey “The Red Scorpion” Ignashov after a fight with Bob Sapp fell through. Ron made it through the first round but was brutally KO’d in the second by a right head kick. It’s impressive for anyone with zero professional kickboxing experience to last a round and a half with a veteran who’s recorded 95 professional fights, but considering he hasn’t face anyone of note in MMA, it’s hard to tell how much of a threat he is to Lashley. From what I’ve seen though, I’d say Sparks is a live underdog.

Young prospect Shane Del Rosario, who’s been a rumored opponent for Lashley for several fights, is expected to face Lolohea Mahe on the card. Word is the two could meet next if they both win in LA.

On to the second official match-up, DREAM welterweight champ Marius Zaromskis will return to Strikeforce after losing decisively to Nick Diaz earlier this year in Miami. He’ll take on Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in a fight that has fireworks written all over it.

Evangelista’s wife, Cris Cyborg, is scheduled to fight a week later at Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Werdum.” Her opponent is expected to be announced on Monday.

Image via Esther Lin for Showtime

 

Babalu & Sokoudjou Enter DREAM LHW GP With Mousasi, Zaromskis Returns In May

Gegard Mousasi will enter the DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix with some familiar company. Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, the two fighters Mousasi beat in Strikeforce, are both set to compete in the tournament alongside him.

Gegard Mousasi, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Renato Sobral will all be participating in the Dream Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, which will begin on May 30 at Dream.15.

Mousasi confirmed his own participation in an interview with MMAFighting.com on Wednesday, and Dream officials confirmed that Sokoudjou and Babalu will be part of the tournament as well.

Considering Mousasi put both Babalu and Sokoudjou away rather handily in Strikeforce already, I think it’s safe to say he will remain the favorite in the grand prix.

In other DREAM.15 news, Marius Zaromskis is expected to return to action on the card. It’s unknown if his welterweight title will be on the line or who he will fight.

Image via Esther Lin for Showtime

 

Strikeforce ‘Miami’ Results & Wrap-Up

Strikeforce “Miami” is currently underway at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.

 

Strikeforce ‘Miami’ Pre-Fight Interviews: Diaz, Zaromskis, Cyborg, Manhoef, Sims

Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani talks to Nick Diaz, Marius Zaromskis, Cris Cyborg, Melvin Manhoef and Wes Sims. Also, a bunch of interviews from Strikeforce below.