Zaromskis is coming off an utter destruction of Myeon Ho Bae, winning by 0:19, first-round KO on Oct 25. The victory earned Zaromskis the 2009 DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix crown. Remarkably, it was the third consecutive time Zaromskis won a fight with a head kick in the opening round. On July 20, 2009, he defeated both Jason High (2:22) and heavily favored Hayoto Sakurai (4:03) with head kicks to win DREAM’s 170-pound tournament.

Zaromskis turned pro on Feb. 4, 2000. He fought several times for UK-based Cage Rage before joining DREAM in early 2009. Two of his three losses came against former Cage Rage British champion in Che Mills <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Mills> .

STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the premium cable television network, SHOWTIME.   Next Saturday, November 7, STRIKEFORCE will make its live debut on CBS with its “Fedor vs. Rogers” mega-fight that it is co-promoting with M-1 Global.

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 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 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

Call it jealousy, envy or whatever word you can conjure up to describe why the Yankees are so beloved by their fans (and themselves) but despised by everyone else with a pulse. Not only has the organization spent money like a shipload of drunken sailors on leave during the worst economic situation in 80 years, but even outbid themselves during this free agency free-for-all.

Other organizations have made their feelings well known and have publicly denounced many of the Bronx Bombers’ moves, dating back longer than just this past offseason. Perhaps one of the more colorful ‘nicknames’ came out of a 2002 New York Times interview with Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, who berated the Yankees for outbidding his team for Cuban free agent pitcher Jose Contreras. Lucchino initially did not want to comment on the issue but then stated, “No, I’ll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America.” The name has taken on a life of its own, even being mentioned in the Wikipedia page for ‘Evil Empire’ to reference the Yankees. Not surprisingly, the fan base of the Yankees embraced the nickname and wear it as if it were a badge of honor.

This past winter, southpaw CC Sabathia was the biggest fish on the open market as far as staring pitchers went. After blowing everyone else out of the water with a six-year, $140 million offer, the Yankees added a year and $21 million to the contract, as well as an “opt-out” clause after three years. Why top it out at $161 million instead of an even $160 you may ask? That’s an easy answer, if you subscribe to the Yankee mentality. You see, they had to ensure that Sabathia would average $23 million per year, topping Johan Santana’s paltry $22.9 million average he received from the cross town Mets a year ago.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who traded a bevy of youngsters right before the trading deadline last July to acquire Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians, obviously wanted him back. The small market club offered five years and $100 million and were even contemplating adding a sixth year when the Yankees began courting the near 300-pound hurler.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin was not too thrilled at the Bombers for upping their offer by 40 percent. “They could have offered him 110,” he said to reporters in November. “There was no reason to go up to 140. It sounds to me like they’re overbidding.

“(The Yankees) have been pretty adamant about bidding on everybody,” continued Melvin. “That doesn’t mean that’s what the market is. That’s just one team’s offer.”

Read between the lines with that last part of Melvin’s statement and you can understand why it always seems like ‘us versus them,’ with ‘them’ being the Yankees and ‘us’ the other 29 teams.

After the Yankees signed Sabathia, they also inked righthander A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira for a shopping spree that cost them $243 million for all three new players.

As if you really needed to be  told, the Yankees also have the top four highest paid players not only in baseball, but in all of sports. Alex Rodriguez, who wasn’t satisfied earning $25.2 million a summer, opted out of that monster deal he originally received from the Texas Rangers and resigned with the Yankees for $275 million over 10 years. Up next is shortstop Derek Jeter with his $189 million/10-year deal he signed in 2001. Newbies Teixeira (8 years at $180 million) and Sabathia follow to give the impression that there is a printing press pumping out $100 bills somewhere in the bowels of that new ballpark.

Speaking of the Bombers’ new digs, a mere $26,325 will buy you a full season seat in the Field Level. For those without a calculator handy, that comes out to $325 per game, of course not counting the gas, tolls, parking lot, hot dog and beer. Add at least another $100 per nine innings for all the extras and who do you think will be sitting in Sections 115 through 125

On second thought, even those guys are feeling the recession these days. Perhaps if things get worse before getting better, the Yankees one day will have to do things the old fashioned way, just like the rest of the country.

The Yankees becoming ‘commoners?’ Don’t bet on it.

Photo by Bill Menzel

After finishing in third place in the 2007 Mr. Olympia, 38 year-old Dexter Jackson knows that the window of opportunity may be closing on him. In September, he will give it another go, this time coming off three consecutive first place finishes in the calendar year.

Earlier, Jackson won the Arnold Classic, IFBB Australian Grand Prix VIII and the IFBB New Zealand Grand Prix. While that is a nice accomplishment, the Mr. O is a whole different world.

Persevering through his career, Jackson finished third in the 1992 NPC Southern States Lightweight Division. He next took the stage three years later, which was also his first victory in the NPC USA Championships Light-Heavyweight Division.

Jackson turned professional in 1999, which included a ninth place finish in his inaugural Olympia show. He would not taste victory again until the 2002 Grand Prix England, and has finished first on eight different occasions since then.

Competing in eight out of the last nine Mr. Olympia contests (he missed the 2005), Jackson has finished ninth, ninth, eighth, fourth, third, fourth, fourth and third. To break into the top two, he will need to come into Las Vegas looking the way he has all year, possibly even better.

At the Australian Grand Prix, Jackson’s thighs were extremely impressive, as was his abdominal section. His obliques appeared as if they were carved away from his midsection and all of his 5’6″ frame looked to be in peak condition.

Having his eye on the prize, Jackson knows what he has to do in September. “I’ve beaten everybody else and Jay (Cutler) is the only person I haven’t beaten and he’s the Mr. Olympia, so he’s the man to beat,” he said. “I don’t look behind me, I only look what is in front of me.”

And the time in front of him is getting shorter.

Photo credit: wikipedia.com