Chris Leben returned to the UFC following a year-long drugs suspension stemming from his UFC 138 loss to Mark Munoz. Unfortunately, he opened UFC 155's main card against short-notice replacement Derek Brunson, and the two combined for a horrible fight which Brunson took via unanimous decision. It marked the 3rd loss in 4 fights for The Crippler, who looked every bit a shot fighter as you could ex...

If you could throw a label on this fight, it would probably be called "second chances". Maybe even "third chances" in reference to one of the combatants. One man has battled opponents in and out of the cage for many years. The other is looking to take advantage of a late-replacement spot in the big time. Chris Leben (22-8, 12-7 UFC) faces off with Derek Brunson (9-2, 0-0 UFC).

Leben is currently...

Chris Leben, the Cat-Smashing "Crippler," returns after a year-long, forced hiatus to face Strikeforce crossover Derek Brunson, who's replaced Karlos Vemola on short notice. The middleweight affair will lead off Saturday's UFC 155 pay-per-view event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, which is headlined by the rematch for the UFC heavyweight championship between Junior dos Santos and Ca...

Chris Leben

Record: 22-8 overall, 12-7 in the UFC

Key Wins: Wanderlei Silva (UFC 132), Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC 116), Aaron Simpson (Ultimate Finale 11)

Key Losses: Mark Munoz (UFC 138), Brian Stann (UFC 125), Michael Bisping (UFC 89)

How he got here: After plowing through the west coast circuit with a 14-1 record, including becoming the inaugural WEC middleweight champion, Chris Leben rose to ...

Many are celebrating the death of Strikeforce, and with good reason. The matchmaking possibilities for SF fighters in the UFC are endless (I addressed a few of them here), and it's good for fans that want to see guys like Luke Rockhold and Gilbert Melendez test their skills against the best talent in the world. But there is a downside to this for some guys - namely, the fighters that might not b...

We're just a few weeks away from ONE FC: Pride of a Nation which goes down on August 31st live on ONEFC.com and we thought it would only be right to give Phil Baroni an exclusive Fight Blog hosted on MiddleEasy. The New York Bad Ass will take on Evolve MMA's Rodrigo Ribeiro in Manila at the end of this month, so check out what's floating through Baroni's mind in this second installment of h...

Two up-and-coming middleweights duked it out last night (August 18, 2012) as Anthony Smith took on Lumumba Sayters on the Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman main card in San Diego, California.

Between both men, they had 32 career fights and zero decisions.

Obviously, this one was destined for a first round stoppage and both fighters delivered.

Lumumba Sayers was on an incredible roll, scoring two...

The co-main event of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman is an important middleweight fight between elite submission specialist Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 5-1 Strikeforce) and Derek Brunson (9-1 MMA, 3-0 Strikeforce). Brunson is a heavy underdog in this one, and for good reason, as Souza is regarded as one of the best middleweights outside the UFC. Jacare is ranked #12 in the SB Nation M...

The co-main event of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman is an important middleweight fight between elite submission specialist Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 5-1 Strikeforce) and Derek Brunson (9-1 MMA, 3-0 Strikeforce). Brunson is a heavy underdog in this one, and for good reason, as Souza is regarded as one of the best middleweights outside the UFC. Jacare is ranked #12 in the SB Nation M...

Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman

Brent Brookhouse: I'm writing this after almost everyone else, so I'll keep it short since everyone already covered my thoughts. Kaufman isn't likely to get a stoppage with strikes, she can win on the feet but she can't get the stoppage. That means Rousey will be able to get her hands on her and get it to the ground and get the submission. I'll go ahead and assume ...

Strikeforce is all set to kick off its latest Showtime televised fight card, emanating from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, headlined by a championship title fight between 135-pound titleholder Ronda Rousey taking on former division queenpin Sarah Kaufman.

It all goes down tomorrow night (Aug. 18, 2012) at 10 p.m. ET on the cable television network.

Also looking to rec...

A former middleweight champion will be tested by one of the best prospects this Saturday night (August 18, 2012) as Ronaldo Souza takes on Derek Brunson in the co-main event of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman in San Diego, California.

"Jacare" got his fire back, handling Bristol Marunde on short notice earlier this year in Columbus in a bout he was originally scheduled to face Brunson. Now, he'l...

Strikeforce may be riddled with marketing issues and lack of media coverage, but one thing they have going for them, at least for tonight, is a great card. It's stacked from top to bottom, and I've been looking forward to it for weeks. With two title fights on the line, it's a shame it wasn't promoted more. The main event features a great match-up with middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold facing ...

ShoFIGHT is putting on a decent looking card this weekend with bouts like Lyle ‘Fancy Pants' Beerbohm vs. Marcus Aurelio and John Gunderson vs. Karo Parisyan in a welterweight title main event. There was a bout between former Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove and Terry Martin scheduled for the card, but after Martin ran into some licensing issues, undefeated Strikeforce veteran Derek Brunson ...

On today's Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey conference call, Scott Coker announced that Derek Brunson did not pass his medicals and thus has been removed from his scheduled bout with Ronaldo Souza. Coker did not give any details beyond saying that it was "not severe" and he "couldn't get into it."

The search is on for a new opponent for Jacare, but it's going to be interesting to see if the promotio...

After rattling off four straight wins under the Strikeforce banner, including a title earning UD over Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Houston, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza was gaining a lot of praise throughout the MMA blogosphere; some sites even went as far as to claim that he was one of the last challengers out there with a chance of beating Anderson Silva. Many of us thought this hype was a bit infla...

This is a guest post by Rory MacLeod (smoogy)

A year ago, we selected the inaugural class of fighters that would make up the first edition of the World MMA Scouting Report. It's been a gratifying experience to see some of the athletes we selected go on to succeed in major fight opportunities, and a heartbreaking one to see others come up just short. For each pick that claimed a significant title...

Robbie Lawler was expected to face a firm test from a rising prospect last night (January 7, 2012) in the co-main event of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine, when wily Russian striker Adlan Amagov challenged his place in the middleweight division.

Instead Lawler, who apparently had been battling medical issues in some of his recent fights, showcased exactly why he's considered one of the most da...

The opening match on the main card of Saturday's Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine will be a welterweight bout featuring Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson.

You might recall Tyler Stinson (22-7) from his four-fight foray in the Bellator promotion, where he was triangle choked by Dan Hornbuckle and Steve Carl but picked up wins over Leonardo Pecanha and Nate James. He's fresh off a fifteen-second...

Two vastly different welterweight strikers will clash this Saturday night (January 7, 2012) at Team Quest prospect Tarec Saffiedine takes on powerful scrapper Tyler Stinson on the Strikeforce: "Rockhold vs. Jardine" main card.

Tarec Saffiedine comes from a martial arts background and has become proficient in taekwondo, Muay Thai and karate. He's coming off the most impressive victory of his four...