Strikeforce: Carano v Cyborg (Preview)

This Saturday marks a milestone in MMA history as Strikeforce will be the first major promotion in the US to crown a women's champion in MMA. The card will be broadcast on Showtime. It had been slated to be one of the most stacked cards in recent history (including UFC cards). Sadly, due to injuries (among other reasons), the card has lost some of it's luster.

Here is the original main card:
Gina Carano v Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos - Women's Championship (145 lb)
Joe Riggs v Nick Diaz - Welterweight Championship (170 lb)
Josh Thomson v Gilbert Melendez - Lightweight Championship (155 lb)
Alistair Overeem v Fabricio Verdum - Heavyweight Championship (265 lb)

Four championships were on the line. Big names up and down the televised portion of the card. It looked as if August 15, 2009 would be the day Strikeforce firmly planted their flag in the American MMA fan's consciousness. Carano/Cyborg will still main event the card but lets revisit how the card changed over the past few weeks.

(1) Joe Riggs had to pull out of the bout with Diaz after having an adverse reaction to a drug he was taking. A few weeks ago, Affliction had ceased MMA operations and went back to just being a clothing company. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker signed Jay Hieron (formerly with Affliction) to a contract after the cancellation of the Affliction: Trilogy PPV. Hieron would replace Riggs in the title bout with Diaz.

Diaz subsequently failed to take his mandatory pre-fight drug test with the California State Athletic Commission this past week and was pulled off the card. (FYI, Five Ounces of Pain did an excellent job documenting the details, click here). Now the bout with Hieron - who has been training for months without a fight and needs a paycheck - will be against TUF 'bad boy' Jesse Taylor.

Some of you may remember Jesse Taylor as the idiot who cost himself the chance at competing for a UFC contract in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 7 after getting drunk and proclaiming he was already a UFC fighter at a club in Vegas. This in addition to groping waitresses at said bar and kicking out a window in a limo provided to the TUF competitors by Dana White. Hieron v Taylor will NOT be for a championship but Taylor has been impressive outside the UFC and this should still be a compelling welterweight contest.

(2) Melendez v Thomson was a rematch of their championship bout in June 2008 when Thomson captured the lightweight belt from Melendez with a 5 round unanimous decision. Thomson has not recover fully from an ankle injury (the same one that postponed the original rematch between these two in April 2009). In the meantime, Melendez has won the interim lightweight belt and this rematch was a unification bout. instead, Thomson will be replaced on the card by Mitsuhiro Ishida. He may not be a well-known name to MMA fans in the states but he can def make a name for himself on this card.

(3) Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem had a lingering hand injury that forced him to be taken off the card. Verdum will still fight on Saturday, though not for a title, against American Kickboxing Academy's (AKA) Mike Kyle.

(4) With the loss of two championship bouts Strikeforce looked to the Affliction card for replacements. They rescheduled the bout between Renato 'Babalu' Sobral and Gegard Mousasi (originally on Affliction: Trilogy) for this Saturday. Since Babalu is the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion, Strikeforce will make the Sobral/Mousasi bout a title fight.

Here is the updated main card (as of 8/14/09):
Gina Carano v Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos - Women's Championship (145 lb)
Renato Sobral v Gegard Mousasi - Light Heavyweight Championship (205 lb)
Gilbert Melendez v Mitsuhiro Ishida - Interim Lightweight Championship (155 lb)
Mike Kyle v Fabricio Verdum - Heavyweight bout (265 lb)
Jay Hieron v Jesse Taylor - Welterweight bout (170 lb)

Despite the turmoil and last minutes changes, Strikeforce has put together a night packed with quality MMA action. With the recent signing of the Last Emperor, Fedor Emilianenko, you can expect Strikeforce to talk up that signing and perhaps announce his first opponent as well.

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Strikeforce: Carano v Cyborg will take place on Saturday night August 15, 2009 live from San Jose, CA. It will be broadcast on Showtime and coverage begins at 10:30PM EST.