World Of Swords

Gina Carano put womens MMA on the map, but Cris Cyborg Santos may have become the sports first dominant female champion by virtue of her overwhelming TKO victory in the main event of Saturdays STRIKEFORCE event. Cyborg simply was too physically strong and her punches too powerful for Carano, who fought valiantly before succumbing to a barrage of ground and pound punches at the end of the first round.

Before a near capacity crowd at San Joses HP Pavilion, Carano and Cyborg made history as the first women to headline a major US mixed martial arts event. Cyborg entered the cage first to a mostly negative reaction, stopping along the way to shadow box and throw kicks on the entrance ramp. The crowd went nuts for Carano, who was accompanied into the arena by Randy Couture who trained her for the matchup.

Despite the fight being scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, the women set a frantic pace from the opening horn. Cyborgs size and strength advantage was apparent from the outset, as she landed an immediate flurry of punches before taking Carano to the canvas. Carano landed in top position, but quickly found herself in trouble as Cyborg worked for a kneebar and then a heel hook. Carano was able to extricate herself, and get to her feet but Cyborg took her back and immediately took her down again. Carano landed in top mount, however, and was able to score with some big punches from the top. Inexplicably, she backed off and let Cyborg get to her feet instead of pressing what may have been her best opportunity to win the fight.

Carano was able to land a couple of effective jabs on the ensuing standup exchange, but Cyborg caught a body kick attempt and quickly closed the distance again. Cyborg once again took her opponent to the mat and after an unsuccessful armbar attempt mounted Carano and began a brutal punching assault that eventually forced the stoppage.

Despite Cyborgs triumph the most dominating performance of the evening belonged to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. In his first fight at 205, Mousasi destroyed STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato Babalu Sobral via TKO at the 1:00 mark of the first round. Mousasis victory wasnt a shocking outcome, but the utter ease with which he handled a tough, experienced and well rounded opponent in Sobral was stunning and evoked comparisons to recently signed heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

Earlier in a card full of decisive finishes, Gilbert Melendez became STRIKEFORCE interim lightweight champion with a third round TKO victory over the double tough Mitsuhiro Ishida. Melendez will now face Josh Thompson to unify the belts once Thompson is medically cleared to resume fighting.

The San Jose, CA based Strikeforce MMA promotion recently announced that they have signed Brazilian middleweight Ronaldo Jacare Souza to a multifight contract. He is expected to make his Strikeforce debut on the same October event as recently signed Fedor Emelianenko, which will be broadcast on the Showtime premium cable network.

In a statement released by the promotion, Souza expressed his pleasure at the signing:

I am very excited that I will have the opportunity to fight in STRIKEFORCE amongst many of the worlds best middleweight fighters. STRIKEFORCE has an extremely deep roster of top middleweight fighters. I am looking forward to the challenge and to taking my career to the next level.

Souza is better known in Japan simply as Ronaldo Jacare. He got the nickname in his hometown of Manaus, Brazil"its Portuguese for a species of alligator that is common to the area. He clearly likes the moniker, and is known for making ring entrances either shimmying on the ground like his reptilian namesake or making alligator jaws with his arms.

Hes also considered one of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the sport. He was a runner up in the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament, losing in the finals to Gegard Mousasi. Jacare was in control of the fight until he got caught by a Mousasi upkick that knocked him unconscious. His only other loss in MMA competition came in his professional debut in 2003. In his last fight, he faced American Jason Mayhem Miller in a rematch of their DREAM tournament bout. This fight ended in a no contest after Mayhem was cut by an inadvertent illegal blow. Hes tentatively slated to face Miller again at DREAM 11 in October, though that hasnt been addressed either by Strikeforce or DREAM parents FEG. With the two promotions recently agreeing to a working relationship that includes a talent exchange, theres a possibility the matchup could be contested on the October Strikeforce event.

Souza, who took up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 17, fought MMA legend Randy The Natural Couture to a draw in a grappling contest in 2006 and, shortly thereafter, began training at Xtreme Couture. He has since returned to training in his homeland but will reportedly train in the United States at least part time going forward.

MMA fans are already anticipating several excellent potential matchups for Jacare in Strikeforce, including an almost inevitable showdown with another of the worlds top middleweights, Jake Shields. Also of great interest would be a catchweight matchup between Souza and Shields Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu teammate, Nick Diaz.

Former UFC light heavyweight champions Suga Rashad Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson will serve as coaches for Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter premiering Wednesday, September 16 at 10:00pm, it was announced today by Dana White, UFC President. This season will showcase 16 heavyweights, the first time this weight class has been featured on The Ultimate Fighter since Evans himself was a cast member on Season 2.

UFC Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights will feature the two fan favorites coaching the best up and coming mixed martial artists in the heavyweight division. Two finalists will square off in a live finale on December 5 in Las Vegas with the winner being declared UFC Ultimate Fighter and netting a six figure contract with the UFC.

Production on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights begins in Las Vegas in early June and will last six weeks. The series will once again be hosted by UFC President Dana White. The tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter is going to be the most highly anticipated one in years, and with two of the greatest pound for pound fighters in the world today, both of which have personalities as large as their skill-sets, it promises to deliver, said White.

The complete lineup for the upcoming 10th season of The UFC Ultimate Fighter reality show has just been released and, to no one's surprise, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson is headlining. In contrast to previous seasons, all 16 fighters automatically get a bed inside the TUF house this year.

UFC light heavyweight champs Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be coaching opposite each other, pushing these aspiring heavyweights to levels they never knew existed.

In the past, The UFC Ultimate Fighter hosted two weight divisions and award deals to multiple fighters. This year, however, TUF 10 will only feature the heavyweights, and only a single six-figure contract will be awarded.

With fighters like Wes Sims and former IFL heavyweight champ Roy Nelson on the show, it certainly won't be easy for the street fighter.