M-1: Fedor Emelianenko fighting Fabricio Werdum in May, off planned April CBS card
After weeks of doubt about the fighter's once-expected participation, Fedor Emelianenko will not, in fact, fight in April during Strikeforce's return to CBS airwaves.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com, M-1 officials today said at M-1 Selection Eastern European press conference that Emelianenko will fight Fabricio Werdum – but not until May.
Strikeforce officials have not confirmed plans for the April show, but as MMAjunkie.com (
http://www.mmajunkie.com) reported on Wednesday, it could move to Showtime (or be delayed altogether) now that Emelianenko won't be involved.
As part of his contract with Strikeforce, Emelianenko's fights have to air on CBS rather than its premium-cable partner, Showtime, which has a fraction of the audience.
If it does go on, Strikeforce's April show is likely to take place April 17 in Nashville, Tenn., though Tennessee Athletic Commission Executive Director Jeff Mullen told MMAjunkie.com the organization hasn't officially requested the date. A long-expected bout between Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields and UFC veteran/recent signee Dan Henderson would likely take the event's headline slot, and a likely bout between Strikeforce 205-pound champ Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal could take the co-main-event slot.
Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz on Wednesday said the organization hopes to have the event details locked in by week's end.
As for Emelianenko's involvement, MMAjunkie.com reported on Wednesday that it had been downgraded from questionable to "unlikely." With M-1's confirmation that Emelianenko will fight in May, a recently rumored May DREAM meeting with Alistair Overeem now also would appear unlikely.
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Lesnar's camp responds to Mir
Finally, official statement has been released from Lesnar's camp relating Mir's death comments about Lesnar, where Mir wanted to break Lesnar's neck and wanted Lesnar to be the first person to die due to octagon related injuries. Lesnar's camp released this statement:
"Frank Mir wants murder? The beast is now even angrier than last time. It's okay, Frankie ‘The Stalker’ Mir could use another beatdown. Except this time, it will be more vicious. The Champion hopes Frank Mir makes it past Shane Carwin. Frank may never be able to fight again after the third fight is over. Expect the unexpected Mr. Submission Man, you may leave without an arm."
Frank Mir fights Shane Carwin at UFC 111 for the interm-heavyweight championship the winner of the fight gets a possible shot at Brock Lesnar unless they are too heavly injured during the fight. In that case Cain Velasquez will fight Brock Lesnar for the title.
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SHIELDS VS. HENDO...ITS OFFICIAL
It's been a long time coming, but now it's official.
Dan Henderson and Jake Shields have agreed to meet in Strikeforce with the middleweight title on the line in April. Shields confirmed the bout when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio on Tuesday night.
"It's a go now. We finally worked it out a few days ago," he said about the fight with Henderson. "It's a done deal, it's been agreed upon by both parties as far as I know, and I think it's set to go."
As recently as six weeks ago when Shields left to help out as assistant coach on the eleventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter," a deal had still not been sealed for the fight to happen.
Now, both Shields and Henderson have a deal in place to put the two middleweights in the cage together in April, although according to the current Strikeforce champion, while a date and venue have been given to the fighters, the actual broadcast has yet to be determined.
"I have a date (and) venue, but they told me to hold that back," said Shields. "Hopefully CBS. I think it's CBS. There's a slight possibility of Showtime because they're still (working it out). I don't know the rest of the card or any of that yet. But me and Dan's on, and I'm hoping it's on CBS."
Shields admits that the waiting game was tough because contract negotiations are something that have to be done, but now it's all over and he's happy to fight again soon.
"I really wanted the fight, the fans really wanted it, so I knew it was going to happen," he commented. "There was a few little things holding it back, but luckily everything's been worked out and I'm just happy the fight's happening, and I want to go out there and put on an exciting fight."
Even though Shields will enter the fight as the Strikeforce middleweight champion, Henderson brings with him a wealth of experience, and a resume of impressive wins. If the betting odds come out placing Henderson as the favorite, it's nothing new to Shields, and he'll happily play the underdog.
"I always prefer to be the underdog. Dan's a great fighter, he doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game, but I think he does have a few, and I'm going to go out there and try to exploit them," stated Shields.
The fight will likely either headline or co-headline the card in April, depending on what happens with Fedor Emelianenko, who is also rumored for the same show