Author: Steve Cofield

UFC 109’s main event features two guys — Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman –who are a combined 91 years old, so it’s bit odd to hear 35-year-old Matt Hughes joke about his reasoning in accepting a fight against Renzo Gracie at UFC 112. 

"Cause he’s older than I am to be honest," joked Hughes about the 43-year-old Gracie.

Hughes did say his motivation will have to come from a different area for this fight because unlike some of the guys he’s faced in the past he really likes Gracie.

"The only bad thing about fighting Renzo is he’s such a nice guy. It’s easy to get motivated to fight somebody like Matt Serra, but Renzo, great guy." 

A little heat should develop as the fight approaches. Serra is a Gracie disciple and Hughes ran over Renzo’s cousin Royce at UFC 63.

Hughes told reporters he’ll start hard training this week for the April 10 fight. He’s looking forward to fighting in the UAE but admitted his wife is a little worried about his safety traveling to the Middle East. 

Now we see the downside of Herschel Walker’s mixed martial arts victory on Saturday night. Every celebrity wannabe fighter has dollar signs in their eyes. Former major league baseball slugger Jose Canseco, who is never one to shy away from some pubicity, or cash for that matter, called out the 47-year-old Walker via Twitter.

Canseco, 45, is grasping at straws. This fight will never happen. The guess here is, Walker out of loyalty, will only fight under the Strikeforce banner. Sure Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker likes a good promotion, but he has more respect for the integrity of the sport. In MMA circles, a Canseco-Walker fight is barely one step above a "Screech versus Horseshack" fight.

There’s also little chance Walker would take the fight. He said hundreds of times during the lead-up to the fight how much respect he has for the sport. Walker put a successful business on hold, moved to San Jose, Ca. and trained for three months at renowned MMA gym, American Kickboxing Academy. He’s not financially strapped like Canseco and is unlikely to take part in what would be a circus. 

The fight would also have trouble getting licensed in the United States. Walker’s performance against Greg Nagy indicates Canseco would be in grave danger if he faced the former college football and NFL star. Canseco’s fighting experience is limited to an exhibition boxing loss to NFL player Vai Sikahema and a draw against fellow fighting wannabe, 5-foot-7, 180-lb. Danny Bonaduce. Canseco also lost his only "pro" MMA fight in 76 seconds against Hong Man Choi.   

Tip via BloodyElbow

After 18 months of relative inactivity, Seth Petruzelli is calling out opponents left and right. Last month it was announced that he’ll be fighting MMA legend Ken Shamrock. Already looking ahead to his next opponent, Petruzelli via tweet has targeted the lunch lady/waitress from Progressive Auto Insurance commercials.

That’s got to be music to the ears of millions of television viewers who’ve been subjected to what’s got to be the most annoying advertising campaign in years. The Progressive Lady has even earned herself a hate club on Facebook.

Nothing against the actress Stephanie Courtney, we know jobs are tough to find, but come on. She’d more liked if she picked up a gig at your local Division of Motor Vehicles or working as a collections agent for a credit card company.  

Plus the "Progressive Flo" character is an insult to the most famous "Flo" in the history of television, Flo Castleberry from "Alice," played by Polly Holiday. For those of you under 75, Flo was the roadside diner waitress everyone wanted to bed in the 70’s. Flo from Progressive, not so much.

Petruzelli is the running mate of MMA funny man Tom Lawlor from the UFC. You may remember him from his role as the dog on a leash during Lawlor’s entrance at UFC 100.

Oh, and he’s the guy who helped to take down EliteXC by upsetting Kimbo Slice and suggesting the promotion had some shady practices.   

Anderson Silva is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound mixed
martial artist in the world. Chael Sonnen disagrees and said he’s shocked by the amount of love Silva is
given by a group that the fighter actually disrespects.

"You want me to let you in on a secret, Anderson Silva speaks perfect English," Sonnen told MMAWeekly Radio. "He
just has such a low amount of respect for you and all the rest of the media that
he pretends he doesn’t. I’ve had conversations with Anderson Silva in perfect
English, and on top of that he’s so boring to listen to that he and his rocket
scientist manager, Ed Soares, who is also about as exciting as watching grass
grow, have decided that Ed is better on the mic than Anderson, so just let Ed do
the talking."

Sonnen says the media is being clowned and doesn’t even know it.

"It’s quite ironic that all the media comes on and talks about how great this guy
is for reasons that are completely un-understandable to me. How great Anderson
Silva is, and all of us fighters are in the back going, ‘jeez, they’re out there
massaging his ego, Anderson hates them so much, he pretends he can’t understand
them."

The
notion that the "media" doesn’t know what’s going on, isn’t entirely
true.

Cagerwriter’s Maggie Hendricks pointed out after UFC 97 that Soares’ wasn’t
asking Silva certain questions or at least filtering them. It’s also
clear that Silva understands a lot of the questions being tossed his
way by English speaking media members. Check out this pre-UFC 97 interview (1:57 mark) where Silva seems to understand much of what is being said and stares down the interviewer a bit. Or this interview where the media got to sit on the floor to speak with the middleweight champ.

Let’s make it clear, athletes can be uncooperative, disrespectful or even rude, but in putting together these pound-for-pound lists the media isn’t worth a damn unless they can put aside their petty differences with the fighters. I’m not a huge fan of the way Silva handles his media duties but you have to give him his due in the cage.

Sonnen refuses to do saying, "That guy’s no more the top fighter out there than Bigfoot is roaming the woods.
That is an absolute myth."

Tip via MMAConvert

See what happens when you let these NFL hooligans into what is normally a civilized atmosphere?

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan attended the Strikeforce Miami show with his buddies Jay Glazer, Trent Cole and Patrick Willis. Ryan was enjoying the fights and then lost his mind when thousands of Dolphins fans booed the Jets coach. During an on-camera conversation with Showtime’s Jenn Brown, Ryan brought on more abuse by saying New York would beat Miami twice in 2010.

Once back amongst the Miami fans, the abuse picked up so Ryan went all Brock Lesnar on the crowd firing the middle finger their way.

Ryan apologized for his behavior. Why? No one has a clue. Who cares?

Based on the precedent set by the fine handed to Titans owner Bud Adams, Ryan could be fined a ridiculous $250,000. The N.Y. Post has also dubbed him Rexxx-rated! The NFL should worry more about its concussion and domestic violence issues than a coach flipping the bird. 

There were mixed results from the Herschel Walker fight on Saturday night. Most of the crowd seemed to enjoy the fight, the news of Walker’s win drove lots of traffic on the internet and he proved doubters wrong at age 47. But some viewers weren’t happy. 

NFL insider Jay Glazer, a big fan of MMA and one of the few media members who can actually fight, sent out this tweet saying he wasn’t thrilled with the Walker fight getting exposure on a card that big.

When told about Glazer’s criticism, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker suggested the writer/television star didn’t understand the purpose of the promotion. 

"He’s going to have his opinion. Jay’s a nice guy. I think he’s looking at it from a different perspective. Jay’s looking at it from a straight world class fighter against another. This is a different kind of fight." 

Glazer, an NFL reporter with FOX, has a few professional fights under his belt and now serves as a trainer to several NFL stars down at Arizona Combat Sports. He’s also got a partnership with Randy Couture in a professional MMA training venture called MMAAthletics. 

After 50 fights and 12 years in the mixed martial arts business, Matt Hughes has seen and done it all. So when he spots something he doesn’t like, he’s the first guy to speak his mind. Hughes has commented in the past on how Strikeforce has treated his buddy Robbie Lawler. He did it again on Sunday morning following Lawler’s knockout win over Melvin Manhoef. 

"There’s just a difference on how the fighters are treated," said Hughes, who has been fighting consistently in the UFC since 2001. "When we walked in the hotel there were a couple of people from Strikeforce in the lobby. By gosh, I don’t fight for Strikeforce so don’t worry about me [but] you would’ve thought they would’ve stood up and shook Robbie’s hand but nobody did. It’s little things like that. You just don’t feel at home. The UFC wouldn’t do that."

Hughes said it was even worse on fight night. 

"There’s two guys back in the lockerroom and it’s been three hours since they fought. And they’re still waiting for someone to come and stitch them up," Hughes said around 1 a.m. ET. He was referencing Joe Riggs and Jay Hieron, who were finished with their fight at roughly 9:35 p.m. ET. "It’s the little things that are going to drive fighters away."

Hieron and his manager Ken Pavia did confirm that the fighter waited for three-plus hours in the lockerroom. They were quick to say it wasn’t necessarily Strikeforce’s fault, saying the Florida Commission had only two doctors on hand for the event. You can see in Cagewriter’s video conversation that Hieron is still wiping blood from his eye three-plus hous after the fight.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said everything was smoothed over between Hughes, Lawler, manager Monte Cox and Strikeforce, but it doesn’t sound like it’s a dead issue. 

Wes Sims had something on his mind as he sat patiently waiting for the rest of the fighters to file in for Saturday night’s Strikeforce postfight press conference. The 6-foot-8 veteran of the UFC and its reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter," brooded with a hood over his bruised head while wearing sunglasses. When his conqueror Bobby Lashley showed, Sims had a few things to say. He walked over the 6-3, 250-pounder, got in his face  and shoved him. Fellow Strikeforce fighter Mo Lawal got in between the big guys and then it was time for Sims to vent.

"I warned [the referee] three times that he kept gouging me in the throat," Sims said. "Then I rolled over and gave my back, I took one strike and the ref stops it? I ain’t no rookie. I’ve been in the sport for a long. I have a helluva high pain threshhold. Bogus stoppage."

Sims suggested there was no way "they" were going to let Lashley lose — then he got personal.

"He needs to go back to being a security guard. He doesn’t have the mike skills to be a pro wrestler."

Lashley was part of the WWE from 2004-2008 and is now in TNA.

"He’s just a big juiced up monkey. He ain’t got the MMA skills."

Sims expanded on his thoughts about Lashley and steroids.

"He’s juiced. We did not have a drug test. And his own wrestlers threw him under the bus. I’m good friends with a lot of wrestlers."

Sims took the fight on with less than 10 days notice and was on his back in the opening minute. Once on the ground, Lashley wailed away with 25-plus shots. Lashley moved to 5-0 with a win at the 2:06 mark of the first round.  

Jay Hieron scored a solid victory Saturday night over Joe Riggs but it wasn’t the guy he wanted to beat. The welterweight, fighting out of Las Vegas, spent much of 2009 chasing Nick Diaz. Diaz is regarded as Strikeforce’s top welterweight and officially picked up the Strikeforce 170-pound hardware Saturday with a win over Marius Zaromskis. It had to eat away at Hieron, who was promised a title shot, beginning in the middle of 2009.  

"Diaz didn’t want to fight me. [He didn’t say that but] the fight
was presented three times on the table. We never fought," Hieron said. "I signed the
contract every time. The first time, five days out he didn’t go to take the drug
test. The next fight, we were scheduled for the CBS fight. Diaz turned
up missing. He was on a milk carton. ‘Where’s Diaz at?’ That gives me
the impression he didn’t want to fight me."

Now Hieron’s contract is up and he has to weigh his options. 

"I did everything they asked me. The title shot should definitely be me right now. I won tonight, Diaz won tonight. Let’s see what happens. Good thing about it, is I have options."

Hieron (19-4), got one fight in the UFC back in 2004 at UFC 48 but that was against Georges St. Pierre. He’s been waiting for a call-back to big show since. Now he has to decide if he can trust Showtime/Strikeforce to deliver Diaz or opt for the stability of the UFC.

Much of Hieron’s frustration also has to do with constantly being bumped from television broadcasts in 2008, 2009 and even Saturday. His fight against Riggs was available only via web stream. 

"By all means, me and Joe Riggs [32-12] have proved ourself in the
sport. That fight tonight was great," he said. "Trust me, I’m on TV and everything. I’m losing money being on
undercards, bro. I’m not an undercard fighter." 

Hieron, who says if he signs with Strikeforce the contract will have strict demands, hopes to sit down this week with agent Ken Pavia and formulate a gameplan. He’s a winner with either option and has a chance to become a legit top 10 fighter at 170 with a few more big wins. 

The enormity of what Herschel Walker did last night seemed a bit underappreciated by some mixed martial arts fans. There were complaints of a boring fight from some online critics and more than a few catcalls in the crowd at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. It’s hard imagine why.

Walker, 47, did something so many crossover athletes have failed to do in the past. He won his MMA debut, looked like he was in great condition at the end of the fight and most importantly won without sustaining any serious damage. 

"If I had to do it all over, there’s a couple of things I would’ve
changed," Walker said. "Being a new fighter you’re going to make mistakes. That’s
what you work on in the gym."

Even though he’s approaching 50, Walker sounded like every other first time fighter with regards to slugging it out. 

"I came in wanting to
establish the standup but ended up on the floor quite a bit. That was
one thing people kept asking, ‘how are you going to do on the ground?’ I think I did okay on the ground."

Anyone think 41-year-old boxing champion James Toney, who has asked UFC president Dana White to sign him to a contract, would’ve shown the ground acumen and stamina exhibited by Walker?

Herschel was glad someone took the risk of fighting him in a no-win situation. 

"I want to thank Greg [Nagy]. To give me this opportunity to fight him, in this world here, he didn’t have too much to gain. Because if he had beat me, people would’ve gave him ‘i’m old.’ He’s a tough, tough kid."

Walker was unclear on his future. It’s unlikely that he’ll take another fight. There ia really no need to. Just like his football career and appearance in the Olympics, Walker proved his point. He’s still one of the world’s great athletes even at 47.

Nick Diaz’s boxing is simply too much for anyone in Strikeforce right now at 170 pounds — and possibly even 185 pounds.

The 27-year-old keeps getting better each time out. His volume-style punching has allowed him to steamroll five straight opponents. Saturday’s victim was Marius Zaromskis, a highly touted Lithuanian. Diaz stayed in the pocket and took some big shots from Zaromskis, but Zaromskis took too many shots and wilted in the final minute. A short right dropped Zaromskis and Troy Waugh stepped in at 4:38, giving Diaz (21-7) the Strikeforce welterweight title. 

Zaromskis entered the fight with a great reputation as a striker — especially scary were his lethal head kicks. His offense is solid but he needs to work on his defense. If you have defensive deficiencies, you’re dead meat against Diaz. He did the same thing in his fights against Scott Smith and Frank Shamrock. Next up may be Jay Hieron for his first 170-pound title defense. Hieron survived a tough battle earlier in the night against Joe Riggs.

In one of the more bizarre fights in recent MMA history, Robbie Lawler, who appeared to have seriously injured his right leg, drilled Melvin Manhoef with a short right followed by a left as the Dutchman was falling to the mat (3:55 mark).

Manhoef was out cold even though he seemed to out-land Lawler 30-to-1 (officially CompuStrike had it Manhoef 27-3) over the course of three-plus minutes. Jorge Ortiz saved the downed opponent at 3:33, as Manhoef wasn’t even moving at that point. 

Lawler showed zero offense and allowed Manhoef to tee off on his lead leg. He was limping badly and his leg was being kicked into the air.

"It’s sore now but not bad enough where I couldn’t plant and twist, and throw a a nice hard punch," Lawler told Cagewriter. "I was limping
during the fight. He was definitely tearing my leg up. He’s a K-1 caliber guy. He’s really good and really
explosive. He goes out there and looks to inflict pain."

Just the before the magical punch, Lawler’s leg went flying again, but he came across with the big right and down went Manhoef. 

"I feel really good. This guy is a killer," said Lawler, who admitted Manhoef was putting a beating on his leg. "I knew I would have a chance to catch him. His hand seems to drop when he goes to finish somebody." 

Lawler said he was hurt but never thought about quitting.

"It’s not
something I want to do. I feel like I should go down on my shield. I just
thought if I could lure him in and get him close I could land some
punches."
 
 
This was a much-needed win for Lawler (19-5), a former EliteXC middleweight champ. He was upset by Jake Shields in June and his reputation suffered. Manhoef (24-6) is a vicious striker but he’s one-dimensional, and yet Lawler entered the fight as a minus-180 underdog.

Wes Sims is ever the showman, but that’s about all he offers at this point. Strikeforce wanted to showcase undefeated Bobby Lashley in his first fight with the promotion, and Sims helped deliver the desired outcome. The 6-foot-8 veteran clowned a bit at the beginning of the fight and made himself an easy target for the pro wrestler-turned-MMA fighter.

Lashley got top control just 38 seconds into the fight and mauled Sims on the ground. Sims took 30-40 shots to his head and body. He then turned and gave his back. Lashley landed a few more shots, forcing referee Troy Waugh to step in at 2:06 of the first round. 

Lashley, who turned pro in December 2008, improved to 5-0, and only one of his fights have gotten out of the first round.

UPDATE: Lashley and Sims almost brawled at the postfight press conference. Sims approached Lashley and pushed him before the scrap was broken up by fellow Strikeforce fighter Mo Lawal.

Sims claimed that the fight was stopped early and he was fighting two-on-one. Sims said he complained to the referee that Lashley was cheating when he kept jabbing his throat with his thumb. He called Lashley a turd who was handed the fight because that’s the result Strikeforce wanted for its newest signee. 

A veteran of WWE and now with TNA, Lashley has been a target for some of his MMA opponents who have mocked his involvement in the fake stuff. But he has yet to lose a legit fight. Sims started the fight by holding his left hand high in the air. A classic move, a la "Big" John Studd, used in wrestling to lure an opponent into a test of strength. Lashley stayed calm and when the grossly out-of-shape 258-pound Sims got lazy and too close, he pushed forward for an easy takedown. 

Jay Hieron finally got a big name in his crosshairs and he didn’t squander the opportunity, and some people even got to watch it.

Hieron has had a rough couple of years with fight cancellations and bouts that disappeared from television. Tonight, he got to face UFC veteran Joe Riggs and methodically took him apart. Hieron picked up a unanimous decision 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 to move to one step closer to a Strikeforce welterweight title shot against Nick Diaz or Marius Zaromskis.

"Joe Riggs is a tough guy," Hieron told Showtime’s Lucia Rijker. "I came to Strikeforce for a title shot. I had to prove I could beat Joe and get my legitimate title shot. I hopes it’s Nick Diaz. Let’s go!"

Diaz and Zaromskis fight in the main event of Saturday’s Strikeforce: Miami card in Sunrise, Fla.

The win didn’t come without a few dangerous moments.

Riggs, a heavy hitter, seemed to have trouble getting into a rhythm until he almost knocked Hieron’s head off early in the fourth round. With four minutes left in the fight, Riggs (32-12) caught Hieron with a huge right behind his ear. There was a delayed effect as Hieron’s legs went out and he fell to his back. The Long Island native showed his experience, sweeping Riggs when he tried to jump into Hieron’s guard. He got control of the fight in full guard for the next few minutes. When it got back to the feet with two minutes left, Hieron paid Riggs back with a big left that dropped him to his back. One judge gave the round to Riggs, but the other two gave Hieron (19-4) a clean sweep.

Hieron got screwed a bit in the past when two of his recent fights, scheduled for television, got bumped.

He lost thousands of dollars in endorsement dollars in both cases. That was supposed to be solved this time around. Hardcore fans were angered when the Bobby Lashley and Herschel Walker fights were chosen over Hieron-Riggs for the Showtime telecast. EASports.com stepped up and offered a free stream of the fight online. That produced mixed results with many folks on the Internet who were unable to get the stream to load. Poor Hieron.

Hieron really wants Diaz, who is one of the most high-profile fighters on the Strikeforce roster. Hieron had an opportunity once Affliction was purchased by the UFC to head over to fight for that promotion, but he passed on the opportunity and joined Strikeforce under his existing contract. Now the question is whether Hieron has any fights left on his contract. There seemed to be some confusion on the part of Hieron, his management and Strikeforce management.

Strikeforce: Miami is off and running with three American Top Team fighters featured in the opening bouts. ATT went 1-2 in the three fights, with Hayder Hassan picking up the only win.

Hassan, in the tradition of ATT, is a thickly muscled welterweight. The son of Iraqi immigrants picked his spots against Ryan Keenan in the opening round, dropping the Orlando native in the middle of the first and then finishing the fight in the second with a huge right. Keenan got slugged by a left on the way down, but he was already out cold at 2:42.

"The whole first round I wanted to feel him out," Hassan told Showtime’s Lucia Rijker. "I have a lot of respect for his camp. I’m real happy. ATT is best camp in the world." 

Hassan’s journey to MMA is pretty amazing. His father, a doctor, escaped Iraq in the mid-’70s. However, the fears from the family’s homeland are still present. In recent years, Hassan (above left) told MMAJunkie that some of cousins had to escape as well.

"They had to escape because the coaches would work in the Green Zone where the
American soldiers were," Hassan explained to MMAJunkie. "But because al-Qaeda viewed that as
assisting the U.S. troops, their head coach was actually killed. They sent a
hitman at him and they killed him. My cousin was told that if he doesn’t leave,
he was next. He got a death threat, so he had to leave the country, too."

Hassan and his older brother, Mehdi, were into football and wrestling. Mehdi, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker, eventually landed at Georgetown for football, while Hayder gave up the game and attended Florida State.

As an Arab, the 27-year-old wants to be a trailblazer.

"Culturally, fighting is not really accepted," Hassan said. "Arab sons are
either engineers, doctors or lawyers. Culturally, they say it’s not good to fight because your body is a tool
of God, so you’re not supposed to punish what God has given you. But I think if
God has blessed you with athletic skill and you’re good enough to do what you
want to do, then more power to you."

Hassan is especially excited that the United Arab Emirates is hosting a UFC event in April. 

In another fight, Sabah Homasi out of ATT didn’t have the same luck. He was taken down easily and mounted in the first round by John Kelly. In the second, Homasi scored a takedown but was reversed. Kelly took control, working toward a choke as Homasi tried to get to his knees. Kelly worked for about 30 seconds before he locked on a rear-naked choke. Kelly (4-0) got the victory at 2:48 of the second.

In fight No. 3, Pablo Alfonso seized the moment from ATT fighter Marcos DaMatta. DaMatta (7-1) was inside Alfonso’s guard and got lazy. Alfonso (6-1) slapped on a nasty armbar and the fight was stopped immediately at 1:47 of the first.

David Gomez (1-2) picked up the first win of his career in a three-round decision over Craig Oxley (0-3). Gomez took all three rounds. He cruised at the end of the fight as Oxley looked like he tweaked his knee at the end of the second. 

John Clarke won in a battle of new pros. Clarke hurt John Ray from the get-go. A huge punch and knee stunned Ray just over three minutes into the fight. Clarke got top control, quickly converted it to the mount and finished Ray with strikes at 3:14 of the first.

Jay Hieron has been hunting Nick Diaz. Unfortunately Diaz’s issue with marijuana and state commissions screwed Hieron out of the opportunity to shoot for the Strikeforce welterweight belt during 2009. So when Hieron was offered a shot to fight DREAM 170 champ Marius Zaromskis, he had to wrestle with the consequences of a loss. Hieron and his manager Ken Pavia, decided Zaromskis wasn’t a big enough name in the U.S. to risk a fight against the emerging Lithuanian star. Joe Riggs is a better name in the states and a win over the veteran puts Hieron in line for a Diaz fight in Strikeforce or an exit to the UFC. Watch Hieron when he talks about his contract. He suggests that he’s unaware of whether he has one or two fights left on the deal.

Dan Henderson’s new fight deal with Strikeforce has allowed him to push his apparel line, Clinch Gear, and apparently travel the world. Hendo was spotted last night at one of the many Pro Bowl parties around Miami. He’s pictured with Michael Irvin and NFL insider Jay Glazer. On the right, it’s "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and former MLB star Ryan Klesko. On the left, that’s country singer Craig Morgan with Henderson at a convention in Las Vegas.

Henderson is expected back in the cage in April on CBS against Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields.

Scott Coker and Showtime roll out their first card of 2010 but by the oddsmakers take, there aren’t many competitive fights. Pro wrestler turned MMA fighter Bobby Lashley has finally signed with a big promotion and Strikeforce is already taking a beat for not matching him up more competitively. The promotion initially tried Shane Del Rosario and then Jimmy Ambriz. Both were denied licenses by the Florida Boxing Commission. Former UFC fighter and an alum for season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Wes Sims was tabbed as the guy. The fight hasn’t been received well by oddsmakers. The Venetian, the leading MMA book in Las Vegas, has chosen not to post a number on the fight.

At BestFightOdds.com, only three websites out of eight chose to book the fight. Lashley is anywhere from a minus-1100 to minus-1500 favorite.

Strikeforce: Miami odds (Courtesy Venetian Resort Hotel Casino):
Marius Zaromskis (+220) v. Nick Diaz (-300) – Welterweights
Marloes Coenen (+450) v. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (-700) – Featherweight
Greg Nagy (+300) v. Herschel Walker (-400) – Heavyweight
Joe Riggs (+220) v. Jay Hieron (-300) – Welterweight
Robbie Lawler (+140) v. Melvin Manhoef (-170) – Middleweight

This is where every beginner mixed martial artist would love to be. Greg Nagy has been handed his dream just two fights into his professional career with a slot on tonight’s Showtime/Strikeforce card and he gets to face legendary football star Herschel Walker.

Nagy’s story is pretty similar to many other MMA beginners. Now based out of Phoenix, Nagy played high school football in New Jersey at East Brunswick High School. He played tight end and defensive. After school, his family relocated to Arizona and he hooked up with Rage In The Cage Training Centers. After just less two years of training and only two pro fights, Nagy was surprised to get a shot at fighting someone of Walker’s stature.

"It was a little bit surreal," Nagy on receiving the call to fight the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner. "I’m ready for the fight. I have the utmost confidence in my trainers."

Nagy said he got lucky because Walker’s trainer and former Strikeforce matchmaker Bob Cook knew RITC’s Roland Sarria, and the rest is history.

Nagy said his family has only seen him fight on tape.

"They’re all excited and supportive. No one told me I shouldn’t take the fight," said Nagy.

Nagy, who graduated high school in 2001, told Cagewriter that his favorite football player was Barry Sanders.

Their goals are different but the risk is still huge for both Herschel Walker and Bobby Lashley. Walker is risking serious injury fighting in a pro mixed martial arts fight at 47-years-old. He has no false expectations. Walker knows he’ll never be a champion but that’s not the case with Lashley. He’s hoping for a fight against the world’s best, Fedor Emelianenko, down the road. He’ll face the toughest test of his career in 6-foot-10, 258-pound Wes Sims.

The photo above was the first time 26-year-old Greg Nagy had met Walker. The football legend said the kid was a little intimidated.

"Strikeforce: Miami" weigh-ins were today at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. All the main card fighters made weight.

SHOWTIME TELEVISED CARD (weights courtesy of MMAJunkie):
Nick Diaz (169.5) vs. Marius Zaromskis (169) 
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (144.5) vs. Marloes Coenen (143.75)
Greg Nagy (210.5) vs. Herschel Walker (214.25)
Robbie Lawler (185.75) vs. Melvin Manhoef (185.75)
Bobby Lashley (252.25) vs. Wes Sims (258.25)

PRELIMINARY CARD (broadcast on EASportsMMA.com):
Jay Hieron (170.25) vs. Joe Riggs (170.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired):
Pablo Alfonso (139.25) vs. Marcos da Matta (139.75)
Hayder Hassan (170.5) vs. Ryan Keenan (168)
Sabah Homasi (171.5) vs. John Kelly (170.5)
Michael Byrnes (154.5) vs. David Zitnik (154)
David Gomez (144.5) vs. Craig Oxley (144.75)