Amongst a chorus of boos, the Showtime play-by-play announcer for Strikeforce was able to get a few lines out of the beaten Fedor, who was swollen, bloodied and appeared to be the victim of a brutal crime rather than a sanctioned fight with rules. His right eye was barely recognizable and was the reason why the doctors stopped the fight following the second round.

The fight was the main event at the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament at the IZOD Center in New Jersey.

Silva dominated the fight, especially the second round, one in which he put a new definition on the MMA term ‘ground and pound.’ He was able to keep Fedor down and hit him repeatedly with raining hammer fists.

Fedor’s record now stands at 31-3 with one no-contest, but he has dropped his last two fights and has looked much less of the intimidating force he once was. It is definitely time for Fedor to go after seeing this one-sided bout. No official announcement was made, but there really isn’t any need for one at this point besides confirming what everyone already knows.

Officials from M-1 Global (the organization that Fedor fights under) and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker did their best to deflect the possibility of carrying on with out their main draw. The post fight press conferences went on without Fedor, who needed to be taken to the hospital with a possible broken orbital bone. When asked about Fedor retiring, all three said that they felt he would fight again.

Photo: Esther Lin/Strikeforce

With a world title shot on the line, STRIKEFORCE Women’s welterweight prospects Miesha “Takedown” Tate, Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano and Maiju Kujala will compete in the first-ever STRIKEFORCE Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) women’s single-elimination tournament at STRIKEFORCE Challengers on Friday, Aug. 13, from Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz., live on SHOWTIME®.

The draw to determine the semi-final matchups for the two-round tournament will take place at the Official Weigh-In on Thursday, Aug. 12. A complete list of tournament rules will be provided in the coming days.

The SHOWTIME telecast (live at 11p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) will begin with the two semi-final bouts. The winners of each bout will compete in the tournament final later that night, just before the main event matchup of Joe Riggs vs. Louis Taylor. Each of the three tournament fights are scheduled for three, 3-minute rounds.

“We are going to fast-track these four talented prospects in a quest to determine the best in this deep women’s division,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. “Having all four women square off on one night with the chance to separate themselves from the pack is what STRIKEFORCE Challengers is all about.”

The tournament winner will become the official No. 2 contender in the competitive STRIKEFORCE women’s welterweight division. This Friday, July 23, live on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast), current world champion Sarah Kaufman will risk her 135-pound crown against top-ranked challenger Roxanne Modafferi. The winner of that title fight will face Marloes Coenen next. The tournament winner will be the next in line.

“Marloes has made the move down to welterweight and she will get the next title fight,” Coker said. “She has proven that she belongs in the cage with our champion. So, after the tournament, we’ll have another legitimate contender to challenge for the title.

“We will have some terrific women’s matchups at 135 pounds in the next several months. It all starts this Friday with Kaufman and Modafferi, which is an excellent fight.”

The 23-year-old, 5-foot-7 Tate (9-2), of Olympia, Wash., is known for her superior skills, athleticism and determination. She notched her eighth professional victory on March 26, 2010, by submitting previously unbeaten Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto with a textbook armbar in the second round (4:09) of a hard-fought bout during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on SHOWTIME at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

As a teenager, Tate joined her high school boys’ wrestling team in order to compete in a fast-paced, aggressive sport. She was introduced to MMA by a friend in college and, soon thereafter, her desire to challenge herself led to the birth of a professional career.

Recently, Tate began using her MMA skills for a noble cause – rape prevention. Last month, she began production on a DVD in which she and MMA legend Frank Shamrock thoroughly demonstrate MMA techniques that can be used by women to effectively defend themselves against attackers.

Damm (15-3), a 31-year-old resident of Brazil and sister of STRIKEFORCE veteran Rodrigo Damm, has been dubbed “Barbie Girl” by the Brazilian media because of her striking appearance. While competing in Japan in 2006, the 5-foot-4 Damm gained widespread public notoriety and was featured in a clothed pictorial for the Japanese edition of Playboy magazine.

A student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since the age of 15 and a professional mixed martial artist since 2004, Damm enters the tournament on a stellar 10-fight win streak. Her last victory, a first-round TKO (punches) over Aline Serio, came last Feb. 27 in Brazil. The Aug. 13 tournament will mark Damm’s third start in The United States. On April 3, 2008, she submitted (armbar) Sophie Bagherdai in the second round (1:52) in Los Angeles. One month later, she crushed Lashonda Knox with a knee strike in just 11 seconds in Racine, Wisc.

Akano, a 35-year-old who fights out of Tokyo, Japan, is a former champion of the Japanese women’s promotion Smackgirl and is an expert in submission holds. Fifteen of her 22 career victories have come by way of submission.

In her professional MMA debut in Tokyo on Nov. 26, 2004, the 5-foot-4 Akano lost a unanimous decision to Megumi Yabushita, but bounced back and reeled off seven straight wins, the last of which was a unanimous decision over American star Debi Purcell in Smackgirl on Feb. 15, 2006.

On April 11, 2009, Akano made her STRIKEFORCE debut when she moved up in weight to challenge the No. 1 female fighter in the world, Cris Cyborg. Despite giving up size to the naturally bigger 5-foot-7, 145-pound Cyborg, Akano fought valiantly and took the hard-hitting Brazilian into the third and final round before being stopped via strikes.

Three months after the loss to Cyborg, Akano rebounded and forced Miki Morifuji to tap out from an armbar in the second round (4:17) in Tokyo.

A woman of many talents, Akano is known for using “Between the Sky,” a song she wrote, as her entrance music.

Kujala (4-1), a native of Imatra, Finland, has already been victorious in tournament competition, winning a single-elimination tournament in The Netherlands on March 27. In the semifinal round of the event, Kujala submitted Akvile Vitkauskaite with a rear-naked choke in the second stanza (4:12) and, in the championship bout, she earned a unanimous decision over Titiana van Polanen after 10 minutes of battle.

Kujala brings a three-fight winning streak to the STRIKEFORCE Challengers cage. Her sole loss came to Aisling Daly via unanimous decision on Nov. 7, 2009.

Tickets for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event are on sale at the Dodge Theatre Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at (800) 745-3000, and online at www.livenation.com and www.STRIKEFORCE.com.

In the main event, Phoenix native and MMA star Joe “Diesel” Riggs (32-12) will square off with knockout artist Louis Taylor (6-1) at a catch weight of 182 pounds.

A former super heavyweight who once competed at over 300 pounds, the 27-year-old Riggs is now a dangerous threat in multiple STRIKEFORCE divisions. He holds the rare distinction of having competed at heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight during the course of an eight-year career.

Taylor, of Chicago, has rattled off two consecutive knockout wins since the STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL: Fedor vs. Rogers event in Chicago, Ill. on Nov. 7, 2009. The 5-foot-11 Taylor has scored knockouts in four of his six victories and has only gone to the judges’ scorecards once in his pro career.

Dodge Theatre doors will open at 5:15 p.m. MT for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m. and the first main card bout will begin at 8 p.m.

The SHOWTIME telecast will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast.)

STRIKEFORCE Challengers, where tomorrow’s champions are born, is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series is designed to provide today’s top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised event.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Source: Mike Afromowitz/StrikeForce

CLI plans to elevate the STRIKEFORCE brand through its years of successful action sports and performance athletic brand expertise, innovative marketing initiatives, and extensive retail partnerships.  CLI will bridge the gap between core MMA athletes and worldwide consumers for the first time by bringing the STRIKEFORCE-specific product line further into the youth consumer market with an entirely new product offering. The collaboration with CLI will build the STRIKEFORCE organization into a complete lifestyle and culture brand, securing a commanding role in the fastest growing sport in the world.

Bruce Pettet, CEO of Collective Licensing International, said, “We’re looking forward to building STRIKEFORCE into a great consumer brand at retail. We are excited to partner with STRIKEFORCE where CEO Scott Coker has successfully established relationships with world-class partners like CBS, SHOWTIME®, EA Sports, Rockstar Energy Drink, and Full Tilt Poker among others.”

“We are confident that CLI’s excellence in brand building will be a catalyst behind the continued growth of the STRIKEFORCE brand and will enhance our connection with consumers worldwide,” said STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO, Scott Coker.

STRIKEFORCE is leading the MMA community with new and innovative events and is revitalizing the sport with its focus on elevating the star power of athletes and bringing unexpected and exciting opportunities to MMA fans.  In addition to its roster that includes a host of the world’s top male competitors, STRIKEFORCE is recognized as the leading platform for women’s MMA competition.

About Collective Licensing International, LLC:

Collective Licensing International, a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE:PSS), was formed in January 2004 and is the owner and/or license operator of the Airwalk®, Above The Rim®, Vision Street Wear®, Sims®, Lamar® and LTD®, World Snowboarding Championships(tm), genetic®, Dukes(tm), Rage®, Ultra-Wheels®, and Hind®.  Collective Licensing International is based in Englewood, Colorado.  www.collectiveintl.com <http://www.collectiveintl.com/>

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.STRIKEFORCE.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

Source: Mike Afromowitz/StrikeForce

“Mixed martial arts is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic and popular sports in the world. The

Strikeforce brand already represents the absolute best of this business domestically, and Shine International is thrilled to help them extend their brand internationally,” said Chris Grant, President of Shine International. “Strikeforce attracts the world’s best fighters and their events are superior to any others being offered to international broadcasters today. They are ideal partners for us.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring STRIKEFORCE fights to the homes of MMA fans throughout the world,” said STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO Scott Coker. “Shine International is a world renowned leader in the international television business and, with their support, we are confident that we will be able to greatly expand the scope of the STRIKEFORCE brand.”

The STRIKEFORCE library of programming includes 30 episodes of previously recorded fights that have aired on NBC and more than 56 hours of fights that have aired on SHOWTIME®. The deal between STRIKEFORCE and Shine International also encompasses new, upcoming live fights through February 2012 as well as STRIKEFORCE Challengers fights, pitting STRIKEFORCE up-and-comers against each other. STRIKEFORCE recently announced its first broadcast on CBS to air live fights on the U.S. network, further increasing the leagues exposure, with the first event slated for November 7, 2009 at Chicago’s Sears Centre Arena.

STRIKEFORCE has experienced significant growth since it launched its MMA series with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event that played host to a capacity crowd of 18,265 at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion on March 10, 2006.  After signing a landmark deal to air live events on SHOWTIME earlier this year, STRIKEFORCE earned the premium network its highest MMA rating ever on August 15, 2009 with “Carano vs. Cyborg.”  Shortly before the live telecast, the main event principals-Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Santos-were the most searched terms on Yahoo! and Google, while the fight was the most discussed subject on Twitter.

About Shine International

Shine International is the sales and distribution arm of the Shine Group, a leading independent production and distribution company focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats. Shine International distributes programming from the growing library of programming of the Shine Group, including Reveille, Kudos, Dragonfly, Princess Productions and Metronome, along with a broad array of programming acquired from independent producers and U.S. networks, to more than 150 countries worldwide.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <https://mail.svse.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

Photo: Esther Lin/STRIKEFORCE

Source: Mike Afromowitz, STRIKEFORCE