Friday, September 11 4:30 pm PT: Alistair Overeem is a difficult man to reach. Situated in Holland and with far better things to do than tolerate a bad international cell connection with some typing-monkey blogger, you sometimes have to settle for getting word via email correspondence with manager Bas Boon.
Approaching Overeem for comment came following reports that the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, once scheduled to defend the title in August against Fabricio Werdum, has agreed to two kickboxing bouts in the fall. It’s a curious schedule for a man who claimed an infected hand (from a bathroom brawl at a nightclub) over the summer.
Friday, September 11 2:00 pm PT: It was happening, it wasn’t happening, and now it might be -- happening. Fanhouse reports that the UFC is looking to book a number-one contender’s bout between Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt for their main event-strapped UFC 105 event in Manchester, England on November 14.
Since Marquardt and Henderson appear equally deserving of a title shot against Anderson Silva, the sensible thing to do is to make them fight…particularly for a show that needs some beef while standing in opposition to a high-profile Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto bout the same evening. (But it still won’t be enough. Tape-delayed UK events traditionally pull underwhelming numbers: even though it’s easy enough to stay offline and avoid results, fans seem to have a sixth sense about stuttered sporting events. They don’t like them. At all.)
As Josh Gross of Sportsillustrated.com Twitted -- that word again -- earlier in the week, Henderson has yet to sign a new contract with the UFC. This is academic: there is no place else for Henderson to go. Japan? He spent years there. You don’t opt for 12 hours sitting on a plane if the money is comparable stateside. Strikeforce? Their middleweight division is probably their strongest, but if Henderson is getting a slice of the pay per view in the UFC, it’ll be hard to top.
Friday, September 11 12:06 pm PT: Unbeaten lightweight Billy Evangelista will collide with UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel in the main event at Strikeforce “Challenger Series 4” on Nov. 6 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. The promotion made the bout official on Friday.
Evangelista has not competed since his controversial match with B.J. Penn protégé Mike Aina ended in a disqualification four months ago. The decision was later overturned and ruled a no contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Evangelista appealed. Replays showed the knee struck Aina in the shoulder, not the head, as referee Herb Dean originally believed.
Friday, September 11 10:00 am PT: Carlton Haselrig, a one-time all-pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will toe the line against Gian Villante in a heavyweight bout at Ring of Combat 26 on Friday at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
The only man to win six national wrestling championships in college (he won three each at the Div. I and Div. II levels), Haselrig last competed at an Ultimate Cage Fighting Challenge show in June. There, he succumbed to first-round strikes against Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Sean Jordan. Haselrig, a Johnstown, Pa., native who will turn 44 in January, has never gone the distance in five professional bouts.
Villante, meanwhile, remains unbeaten through three fights. A former linebacker at Hofstra University,
Friday, September 11 6:06 am PT: If there is one woman who insists on ignoring gender roles in society, it’s Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos: after throttling Gina Carano like a hungry wolverine beheading a hummingbird, Santos’ training doesn’t appear to be slacking.
Posted on Tito Ortiz’s vlog and first noticed by Michael David Smith of Fanhouse, Ortiz can be seen discussing a sparring session with Santos that apparently involved her slamming her way out of a triangle attempt.
“For a girl, I expected her not to be so damn tough,” Ortiz said.
Friday, September 11 12:00 am PT: The hard push for “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 has begun, and for the first time in the series’ four-year history, it’s a contestant and not coaches getting the majority of early press.
Kimbo Slice -- vaunted street fighter and YouTube celebrity back when “YouTube celebrity” was an anomaly and not an insult -- has been visiting all corners of the media this week. He stopped by Thursday’s edition of “MMA Live” to chat with Jon Anik and appear very nervous around Kenny Florian, then took questions from ESPN.com readers during an interactive chat.
Is it fair to say Slice did not do his own typing? Choice excerpts:
