Bobby Lashley always has been in a hurry to get to the top of the heavyweight division, and he's getting less and less shy about asking for what he wants – namely, the Strikeforce title. First, he has to get through Chad Griggs (8-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) at "Strikeforce: Houston" on Aug. 21. On paper, Griggs is his toughest test yet. But if he earns a win, Lashley wants a shot at the belt in early 2011. "I'm staying ready," Lashley (5-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) today said. "I've been training really hard, and I'm going to continue to train after this fight." Lashley has not fought since his promotional ...

by Marco Yanitelli The following statement by M-1 Global's president Vadim Finkelchtein was posted on M-1 Global's official website. It is in response to actions taken by Dana White and the UFC to strike Fedor where it really hurts—his wallet. "I'm afraid to disappoint the fans, but it seems that Fedor's shirt will never be available. Just today I got the call from Tapout, and was told representatives of the UFC threatened to break all contracts with their organization and categorically demanded Tapout discontinue the Fedor Emelianenko T-shirt line. "That Dana White has displayed such an attitude ...

When MMA Fighting asked Dana White following UFC 115 whether he was concerned Strikeforce would try to re-sign their middleweight champion Jake Shields, the UFC president made it very clear, once again, that he does not view the San Jose-based organization as being any kind of threat. "Strikeforce doesn't mean jack sh** to me," White said. "I could care less what they're doing. I can't even believe that people put their name in a conversation. 'Oh, what about Strikeforce?' What about Strikeforce? They're minor league. You might as well ask me about what is going ...

Pre-fight conference calls are generally quite routine affairs. They serve a purpose: getting quotes to reporters to pass on to the fans, but often it's a lot of words with little meaning. The fighter always has had "the best camp of my life," is in the "the best shape of his life," and has plans to win. A few colorful characters sometimes stray from the script, but every once in a while you get something unexpected. Heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko dropped one of those moments during Friday's Strikeforce call leading up to his fight with Fabricio Werdum on June 26. Asked by MMA Fighting why their fight ...

  Yesterday, I wrote an article because I felt that Strikeforce was lacking as an MMA promotion. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/407851-strikeforce-or-how-to-a-promotion-lacks-common-sense) Overall, I just think Strikeforce has made a series of really bad decisions that have been going against their ability to compete with the UFC. Today, there are multiple reports of even more failings on behalf of Strikeforce. First up is Mauro Ranallo, Frank Shamrock, Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz electing attend the opening of a medical marijuana center in San Jose, California. That, in and of itself, is okay but at the same time is it okay for two champions to be supporting such a hot button issue? Especially when both of ...