Professional MMA has been Rocked!

Many-a-things have rocked the MMA world as of late;



4. Alex Reid wins national title

After announcing his retirment from MMA in May 2011 at Ultimate Challenge (seven months after being outclassed by British MMA prospect Tom 'Kong' Watson in a BAMMA title fight), Alex Reid was openly challenged to a fight by Jason Barrett. Though Reid refused, Barrett harassed Reid for several weeks by interrupting an interview with Reid and O'Donnell, threatening him while he was dining with then-girlfriend-now-wife Chantelle Houghton, and attempting to attack him in public. Funnily enough, the cameras were at all of these incidents and Reid accepted the challenge in a martial arts exhibition. See below:

and if you think it couldn't get any more ridiculous, see the pre fight weigh in- yes that's a kiss!!

Finally, the fight itself shows that this was a fixed publicity stunt and Alex Reid is so lazy to train that he has to fix a fight to win a "National Title" against someone with a 3-7-0 record.

Disgusting! Michael Bisping, Tom Watson and James Thompson should be ashamed that British MMA is like this.

3. Bobby Lashley and Jason David Frank pull out of fights

WWE and TNA Wrestler Bobby Lashley  was scheduled to face Eddie Sanchez at Titan Fighting Championship 19 in his 8th professional MMA fight on July 22nd-unfortunately he pulled out of it due to personal reasons. After only 3 fights, Brock Lesnar was given a title shot with the UFC- the first fight was not even under Zuffa and the second was a loss; a message to Titan: follow Zuffa's example and GIVE LASHLEY A TITLE SHOT!

Green White Red Zeo  Power Ranger Jason David Frank was also scheduled to fight in his first MMA fight of 2011 against Shawn Machado on July 22nd (this fight with Legacy FC 7)-almost one year after his professional debut.However, he suffered a possible bicep tear so the earliest he would be fighting would be September :(

2. Kimbo Slice is now a Professional Boxer

Street-fighting legend and fan-favourite Kimbo Slice will now be fighting as a boxer. After being cut from the UFC after winning his first fight (only by unanimous decision) and losing (by being competely outclassed) in his second, Kimbo was set to be a professional wrestler and take on Shinichi Suzukawa at IGF's Genome 14 in Japan in February but was injured in practice. The fight never materialised.

On August 13, Kimbo will make his boxing debut in a four-round exhibition match against James Wade (0-1 record) at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami,Oklahoma. Kimbo's thoughts on boxing are below

"I feel like a baby all over again. I'm thinking about this at night. I'm gonna be a problem in the heavyweight division. I'm going to be coming in with a bad demeanor. I want to see what it's like to break some ribs, break a jaw with one punch. This is a career move. I love fighting. I like to knock people the fuck out. I love engaging. Maybe some people think I'm crazy"

1. Fedor and Overeem are released from Strikeforce

Fedor Emelianenko,   four-time World Combat Sambo Gold Medallist ; the first and last WAMMA World Heavyweight Champion; the last PRIDE World Heavyweight Champion; and undefeated for eight years in MMA, has been released by Strikeforce for losing his third cage-fight in a row. Fabricio Werdum defeated him in the first round by a triangle/armbar  (June 2010), Antonio Silva's punches caused his eyelid to swell up and cause a TKO in the second (February 2011), and Dan Henderson caused a punches-based TKO on July 30th 2011.

Alistair Overeem, the only man to hold a world title in the K-1 and an MMA organisation at the same time, was released from Strikeforce because he refused to enter the 2011 Heavyweight Grand Prix in September as it was too soon since his win over Fabricio Werdum in July.

The good news is that we will see James Toney fight Ken Shamrock in a unique 8x3 minute round MMA match that has a 30-second time limit when on the ground; it will be as early as October but more likely November.
Otherwise, Anderson Silva will be facing Yushin Okami  on August 27th 2011 at UFC 134, Rampage Jackson will be fighting Jon Jones for the light-heavyweight title on September 24th 2011 at UFC 135 and last, but certainly not least, Cain Velasquez will take on Junior Dos Santos on 19th November 2011 at UFC 139.