Strikeforce

For those of you who have little or no knowledge of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), there was a big event that took place today. The event was held in Rutherford, New Jersey by the MMA organization Strikeforce. MMA is a combat sport that is on the rise in the United States. MMA has been around for years but it has been primarily popular overseas until recently. In the last five years MMA has become more popular in the United States due to organizations such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Strikeforce. These fights usually take place inside of an octagon cage and are three rounds that last five minutes each unless it is a championship fight. In the case of a championship fight, there are five rounds instead of three.  Today’s Strikeforce event kicked off the start of an 8-man heavyweight tournament that leads to a championship fight. The two main fights of the event featured four of the sport’s top heavyweight fighters that are looking to gain the Strikeforce Championship belt. The first major fight featured Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov whom were both trying to regain the top status they once had. The first minute of the first round seemed to be going Arlovski’s way but in MMA that can change quickly and it did. Kharitonov backed Arlovski into the cage and unloaded several punches and eventually dropped Arlovski. Two punches later Arlovski was knocked out cold and the referee jumped in to stop the fight and awarded Sergei Kharitonov the winner by KO. The main event was between Antonio Silva and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor was a huge favorite coming into the fight and after the first round it looked to be an even fight. Then as the second round started Silva charged Fedor and took him to the ground. Silva managed to get on top of Fedor and dropped several punches on Fedor. By the end of the round Fedor could no longer see out of his eye and the doctor stopped the fight giving Silva the win by Technical Knockout. This event provided great entertainment and the next step for two fighters. While two fighters move on in the tournament, it may mark the end for one the greatest MMA fighters in history. Fedor Emelianenko is arguably the best fighter in MMA history and after the fight he said this may be his last fight. As a big fan of Fedor it is sad to see one of the best fighters leave the sport in this fashion. Although it may be his last fight he will never be forgotten in the MMA world.