AKA's Josh Thomson is rehabbed and ready to defend his championship tonight.

Josh Thomson’s months and months of frustration will come to an end, when he steps into the cage against Gilbert Melendez to unify the Strikeforce lightweight championship.

Thomson has been out of action since April with a variety of injuries, as he was supposed to take on Melendez in a rematch of their first fight on June 27, 2008.

Now that he has gotten past the training camp and weigh-ins without any issues, Thomson is ready to finally end the year-long layoff.

“It was frustrating,” Thomson (16-2) said. “It made me stronger mentally and now it’s really pushing my limits on trying to get by. Making sure I’m training smarter and harder.”

It wasn’t so much the pressure of fighting or even fighting a world-class opponent that was bothering Thomson. The pressure he felt was to get through the camp without re-injuring himself and forcing the fight back yet again.

He had his teammates like Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch help me get over the mental hurdles of returning to fight after an injury.

“Koscheck and Fitch have given me a lot of support, mentally there was more pressure to get to the fight,” Thomson said. “I don’t feel any pressure in this fight. Getting to the fight was the pressure.”

The biggest concern Thomson had was his timing, which after a longtime away from fighting at full speed would diminish.

The injury also slowed his development, where he said he was keeping up with everyone in the gym, the injury forced him to play catch-up with the other fighters as they grew, matured and learned with him on the sidelines.

“[My teammates have] all gotten better,” Thomson said. “Now I’m trying to catch up and hopefully surpass them before the fight.”

As he sat on the sidelines, Thomson found himself being more of a coach, helping his teammates prepare for fights.

While his teammates practiced, Thomson attempted to mentally digest the stuff they were learning, so he could try and emulate it when he finally was healthy and at 100 percent.

“ I played it in my mind,” Thomson said. “Everyone was here for support and I give them my all, and whatever they needed. I felt like a leader in the gym and make sure.”

Melendez has been on a tear since losing to Thomson in the first fight, having defeated Rodrigo Damm and Mitsuhiro Ishida.

Melendez became the interim champion after defeating Damm, which naturally made him the No. 1 contender.

Thomson doesn’t worry about not having a chance for a tune up fight. He understands that it comes with the territory and that it wouldn’t be fair to Melendez if he took an “easy fight” before fighting the No. 1 contender.

“I’m not afraid of Gilbert,” Thomson said. “There’s no benefit of fighting a tune-up. It’s disrespectful of him. We’re ready. He fights me. He doesn’t. After we move onto the next fight. I’m not looking for any sympathy.”

When he steps into the cage tonight, Thomson will finally make his Showtime debut, and a win would help set up bigger fights with the recent working agreement with DREAM.

Thomson said he will defend against anyone Strikeforce puts in front of him.

“It’s great. It’ll be wonderful to fight Tatasuya Kawajiri and Shinya Aoki,” Thomson said. “As long as I have the title, I want them to come here and fight.”

Matt Lindland is ready for StrikeForce Newcomer "Jacare'' Souza

Lindland (21-6) will take on submission expert “Jacare” Souza (10-2) at middleweight (185 pounds) on the star-studded fight card being headlined by Cung Le vs. Scott Smith at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Lindland, the 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, holds wins against Pat Miletich , as well as former champion Carlos Newton   and Jeremy Horn. Lindland is one of only two men to submit Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Travis Lutter  .

QUESTION: How’s your training been going for Dec. 19?

LINDLAND: “How’s my training going? I answer those questions every day. Can’t you be a little more creative than that? My training is going good and if it wasn’t I’d lie to you anyway and tell you it was.”

QUESTION: OK. Fair enough. We’ll get right into the politics questions. In 2008 you won the primary for a seat on the Oregon House of Representatives but were defeated in the general election. What did you learn from that experience and how active are you currently in politics?

LINDLAND: “You know, I’m really not that active. I’m an activist. I’m a registered Republican and I just felt it was my civic duty to run. I felt like we did not have a qualified candidate to run. Would I run for politics again if I had to? Yeah, absolutely. I would first try and find someone more qualified than me to do it and get behind them and support them instead but if I felt there wasn’t anyone qualified then I would.

QUESTION: You must have learned a lot during your run in politics?

LINDLAND: “I did learn a lot about the political process. I learned it’s not about valuables and principles but how much money you can raise. Politics is dirtier then NHB (No Holds Barred) when fighting was first starting and there were no rules. Politics has fewer rules than that.”

QUESTION: Who is the toughest fighter you’ve ever faced?

LINDLAND: “I think it just really depends on what point of my career I was in. I mean, early in my career I faced the legend Pat Miletich (in 2003). Then I had to face Fedor Emelianenko (in 2007) who is the best heavyweight in the world. It just depends on where you’re at in your career and when you’re fighting these guys. But I guess the obvious answer would have to be Fedor. Everyone knows I’ve fought him and he’s a phenomenal fighter.”

QUESTION: You fought him in Russia. Was that tougher to do on his home soil than over here in the States? And would you like to face him again?

LINDLAND: “I think so. They don’t make calls in Russia when guys grab ropes and stuff. He’s in a different weight class now. It’s a fight I don’t need to take but I’ll fight whoever. It doesn’t matter to me.”

QUESTION: Do your two children James and Robin like and participate in mixed martial arts?

LINDLAND: “Robin is a sophomore and doing track and field. As far as martial arts goes she’s the highest ranked kid we’ve ever had come out of our kid’s program. Both kids are pretty active in studying the martial arts. It’s not something they’re pursuing long term but I think teaching martial arts to kids, any combative sport, is a must. It teaches them a lot of good principles.

Herschel Walker prepares to make his MMA debut in Florida for StrikeForce.

Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Pro Bowl competitor, will face an opponent to be announced in one of as many as five live, SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) televised bouts on the StrikeForce card.

The 6 foot 1 inch, 220 pound former running back, who already holds a fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and boasts additional training in the combat disciplines of Muay Thai and Kenpo, recently entered a 12 week MMA training camp at San Jose, California’s American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), which plays home to a host of the world’s greatest fighters, including StrikeForce Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and undefeated middleweight superstar Cung Le.

Walker, a 1999 College Hall of Fame inductee who was also selected to Sports Illustrated’s NCAA All-Century Team that year, has never been one to shy away from the road less traveled.

Following his junior year at the University of Georgia where he had set the NCAA freshman rushing record en route to an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl championship victory over Notre Dame, Walker, a born-again Christian, astonished the sports world by withdrawing from school to play professional ball in the newly formed United States Football League (USFL) rather than wait to enter the NFL draft after the graduation of his collegiate class, a rule maintained by the world’s largest professional football league at the time.

While the vast majority of football players typically follow an intensive weight room regimen, Walker relied on bodyweight exercise, conditioning, and calisthenics while maintaining very little body fat.

Walker was eventually drafted in 1985 by The Dallas Cowboys and established himself as a premiere running back in the league.  In 1986, he was the driving force behind a historic trade that sent in to The Minnesota Vikings in exchange for five players and six draft picks.

In 12 NFL seasons with four different teams, he became the only player to gain 4,000 yards three different ways – rushing, receiving, and kickoff returns.  He is one of six players to exceed 60 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns receiving and is the only player in NFL history to register a 90 plus yard reception, a 90 plus yard run, and a 90 plus yard kickoff return, all in one season (1994).

Off the gridiron, Walker has achieved a handful of feats, including a seventh place finish in the 1992 Winter Olympics two-man bobsled competition.  Now 47 years of age, the native of Wrightsville, Georgia will look to conquer a whole new world.

Diaz will make his first start since he submitted hard-hitting Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith with a rear naked choke in the third round (1:41) of their StrikeForce:  Lawler vs. Shields matchup at St. Louis, Missouri’s Scottrade Center on June 6, 2009.  The 26 year old Diaz, a native of Stockton, California, will put a five fight win streak on the line.

Cyborg made history on August 15, 2009 when the 24-year-old native of Brazil stopped superstar Gina Carano with a punishing barrage of strikes in the first round (4:59) of their meeting to become the first-ever StrikeForce women’s champion.  The long-awaited showdown between Carano and Cyborg also marked the first women’s main event in the history of any major MMA promotion.

Doors at BankAtlantic Center open at 7 p.m.  The first non-televised, preliminary card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

StrikeForce ready to shine on CBS

The series offers fight fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the world’s Number One ranked MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and his opponent, undefeated, American Brett Rogers, who will square off in Saturday night’s primetime main event.

FIGHT CAMP 360°: FEDOR VS. ROGERS originally premiered on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 PM ET/PT on Showtime and is now being made available for broadcast on CBS affiliates nationwide.

Luke Rockhold, right, is ready for Jesse Taylor.

Luke Rockhold is fighting on his fourth Strikeforce card. He had won his previous four bouts all by submission.

He has fought guys who aren’t necessarily known by the the general public, or even some of the more hardcore fans.

But all of that changes today, when he takes on Jesse Taylor, a man known for his great run on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and his antics outside of the cage.

“It’s real nice [to fight Taylor],” Rockhold (5-1) said. “Now the names are being more recognizable. It could do nothing but good. I train with the best guys in the world. I prepared for him. I respect what he brings to the cage. It will be big.”

Rockhold isn’t in any hurry though.

He’s preferring to take his time with his fights, considering that none of his fights have left the first round, and in total he has less than 15 minutes of actual fight time.

So fighting on the Strikeforce Challengers series, provides him an opportunity to gain valuable ring time, as well as prepare him for the bigger challenges that lay ahead of him.

He also added a win over Taylor, can set him on the course for bigger fights on the main Strikeforce shows.

“I don’t want to jump too fast,” Rockhold said. “I’ll take whatever [Strikeforce] gives me. There’s a good chance, I can be on the main cards, but I don’t want to look to ahead and handle business.”

Another way he plans on negating the lack of ring time, Rockhold is using intense training sessions at the well-known American Kickboxing Academy to get him ready both physically and mentally for the grind of a potential three-round fight.

By training with the likes of Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and others, Rockhold gets to work on all aspects of the fight game and become a more well-rounded fighter.

“We fight like three days a week,” Rockhold said. “Not many teams spar like us. We put on pads and fight for at least 15 minutes a day, if not more. I definitely think it gives me a big edge.”

He added that having fresh fighters switch him, makes him push harder.

Taylor (13-4) brings a strong wrestling base, but that doesn’t necessarily concern Rockhold because AKA has some of the best wrestlers a camp can have in former NCAA champions and Olympians in Cormier.

“It was a very good training camp. Best I had so far,” Rockhold said. “My stand up is coming along. I’ve been working with a lot of wrestlers. I was working with Cain, Fitch, Nate Moore and Daniel Cormier. I’m prepared for big wrestlers and make it easier for a smaller one.”

All of the high-level training is leaving Rockhold confident that he will earn his victory in the Strikeforce cage.

“It’s going to be a fast-paced fight,” Rockhold said. “I’m going to keep it on my feet. There will no stalling time. I’m prepared for his wrestling style and keep it a high-pace fight. It will be good. I’m not stopping.”

Fans will get a glimpse of life with Fedor.

FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will feature unrestricted access to one of the most enigmatic professional athletes of today, Fedor Emelianenko and his next opponent, the undefeated Brett Rogers, as they prepare to headline “Strikeforce/M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights” to be broadcast live on Nov. 7 on the CBS Television Network.

FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will premiere on Showtime on Nov. 3 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.  The CBS Television Network will also make the show available to its 203 affiliated stations for broadcast in advance of the fight.

“Fedor is beyond captivating as a fighter, and more so, as a man,” director Ron Yassen said in a press release. “It’s a pure joy to film him so intimately as he strives for perfection in life and sport with grace and charm.  While training for this most important match, he kindly opened up his life to us in and out of the ring, without the ego that often comes with being the very best at one’s craft.”

Woodley gets his chance to shine in StrikeForce Main event.

The highly regarded Woodley will be making his main event debut in the scheduled three-round, 5-minute welterweight (170 pounds) bout that will be one of five televised on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). 

In other Showtime fights,  also slated for three, 5-minute rounds: Bobby Voelker (20-7), Kansas City, vs. Erik Apple (10-1), Newport Beach, Calif. (170 pounds); Aaron Rosa (12-2), San Antonio, Tex., vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (7-2), Rio De Janeiro (205 pounds); and in 135-pound women’s fights, Kerry Vera (1-0), San Diego, Calif., vs. Kim “Sugar Free” Couture (1-1), Las Vegas, Nev., and undefeated  Sarah Kaufman (10-0), Victoria, British Columbia, vs. Takayo Hashi (12-1), Japan.

In his last outing, Woodley registered an impressive second-round submission (armbar) over former Tito Ortiz protégé, Zach Light fight at the StrikeForce Challengers event in Tulsa, Okla. A popular up-and-comer, the 5-foot-9, 27-year-old Woodley, the 11th of 13 children raised mostly by a single mother, has won all his fights by submission.

The streaking Bears has won six in a row – five inside the distance — and eight of his last nine. Bears, who is making his StrikeForce Challengers debut, is coming off a second-round TKO (punches) over Brendon Seguin on Aug. 28,

The promising Feijao, who has won all seven of his outings by stoppage, will be trying to rebound from one of the year’s biggest upsets. In an off-TV match last June 6, he lost by second-round TKO (punches) to Mike Kyle in St. Louis.

“That was a very disappointing night, but I’ve put it behind me,” Feijao said. “I appreciate this opportunity and I’ll be ready to go on Nov. 20. I owe it to StrikeForce and the fans to show what I can really do.”

 Rosa, who turned pro in November 2005, won his initial 10 starts before losing two in a row. He has won his last two fights, including a first-round submission (rear-naked choke) over Anthony Ruiz on May 15, 2009, in Fresno, Calif. Eight of Rosa’s 12 career wins have come by stoppage.

The Feijao-Rosa scrap smacks with importance. The winner could be in line to face StrikeForce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi.
 
Voelker has won three of his last four starts and six of eight. A pro since February 2006, more than half of Voelker’s victories (12) have been the result of knockout or TKO.

 Apple will be appearing for the first time before a paying audience since scoring perhaps a career-best triumph – a second-round submission over promising Matt Makowski on Aug. 28, 2008. Apple’s pro debut came in April 2003 and he competed regularly through August 2006. But he has fought only twice since. His lone defeat came in his effort before last to Brock Larson in March 2007.

 Couture, the former wife of MMA legend Randy Couture, will be making her eagerly anticipated StrikeForce and 2009 debut. After losing her first fight, Couture registered a 1:44, first-round TKO over Lina Kvokov on Nov. 21, 2008.

 Vera also is seeking her second consecutive victory. She scored a three-round unanimous decision over Leslie Smith on May 15, 2009.

The undefeated Kaufman has won eight of her 10 starts by knockout. In her last outing, she outpointed tough Shayna “The Queen Of Spades” Baszler across three (five-minute) hard-fought rounds on the June 19 StrikeForce Challengers card.  A dancer since the age of two, the exciting, hard-hitting Kaufman also owns a points victory over promising Miesha Tate.

Hashi, a pro since April 2004, will enter the cage with an eight-fight winning streak.

Jorge Gurgel and Billy Evangelista set as Main Event for StrikeForce Challengers.

Both fights will be contested on the live SHOWTIME® televised portion of the fight card. In the main event, unbeaten lightweight (155-pound limit) sensation Billy Evangelista (9-0) will battle with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and electrifying brawler Jorge Gurgel (13-5). The live SHOWTIME telecast, which will include as many as five bouts, will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Both Del Rosario and Cash are California boys coming from Irvine and Fresno, respectively. Both are also coming off solid and quick first-round knockouts in their last fights. On Sept. 26, Del Rosario knocked out Lloyd Marshbanks in just 34 seconds at the M-1 Challenge in Rostov, Russia, for his seventh first-round KO in eight fights. In February, Cash knocked out Steve Gavin after just 26 seconds in the first round.

“We’re both big guys that just like to come out swinging,” said Del Rosario, who was a high school basketball star. “It could be a quick ending for either guy on Nov. 6.”

The southpaw Del Rosario said he is feeling good physically after suffering a broken left thumb and torn ligaments a year ago in September. The injury kept him out of January’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” event. “It was tough sitting on the sidelines and having to watch for eight months,” Del Rosario said. “But it’s only made me stronger and hungrier to come back.”

He said he didn’t mind the travel to Russia. “I actually like it,” he said. “It gets you more pumped up when you’re away from home and seeing new things.”

“I’m so stoked to be fighting on a STRIKEFORCE card on SHOWTIME,” said Cash.  “I expect to see a guy across the cage who wants to fight. I’m a brawler and I want to finish this fight. He may have a little more experience than me but I’m a little hungrier.

Rockhold is a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., and a member of Team AKA, one of the country’s most fearsome fight squads.  Among his teammates are STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and MMA superstars Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. 

In his last effort, Rockhold made quick work of highly touted Cory “The One” Devela at a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event in Kent, Wash., back in June. The victory over Devela was Rockhold’s fourth straight and his third by way of submission.  

Taking up judo as an adolescent, he went on to excel in high school wrestling competition, Rockhold captured first place in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and eventually reaching the California State Championships. Toward the end of his high school career, though, Rockhold began to gravitate towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the combat art that utilizes choke holds and joint locks to finish opponents.

Just three years into his professional mixed martial arts career, Jesse Taylor has experienced a roller coaster ride while trying to beat back his inner demons and take advantage of the talent he was born with. He is attempting to notch his eighth consecutive win and continue the upswing that he set in motion after becoming one of the sport’s most infamous characters courtesy of reality television.      

A former NCAA Division I wrestling star for Cal State Fullerton, Taylor ranked as high as number three in the Pac-10 conference before deciding to try his hand at MMA.  A trip to with the star-studded, Oregon based fight squad Team Quest eventually led Taylor to a successful audition for Spike TV’s seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show.

Taylor’s success continued on the series as the California native won all three of his elimination bouts to secure a place in the season finale.  Before his scheduled appearance in the live Spike TV championship, Taylor’s reckless behavior in Las Vegas one night before the event cost him his hard-earned spot and the opportunity to launch his career into the next stratosphere.

Since the incident, Taylor has claimed that he has matured and re-dedicated himself to becoming a fighting champion.  Thus far, he has backed up his words, stopping Drew “The Master” Fickett in the first round (1:42) of action on October 2, 2008 and competing successfully nearly every month since January of this year.

On Aug. 15, Taylor suffered his first defeat after seven consecutive wins, losing to former International Fight League (IFL) champion, Jay Hieron at STRIKEFORCE:  Carano vs Cyborg at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion. 

 Also on Nov. 6, former Fresno State wrestling star and Fresno native Casey “The Underdog” Olson (11-3) will return to action in the cage in a lightweight matchup against an opponent to be determined.

Tim Kennedy now faces Undefeated Zak Cummings

Tim Kennedy’s life has changed since he was able to focus on fighting full time. He has more time to train and doesn’t have the idea of possibly being deployed on another combat tour coming anytime soon.

He has more time to focus on training and get a proper bit of rest, rather than sneaking in the workout on top of all of his military duties and doing it all on four-to-five hours of sleep.

“It’s amazing,” said Kennedy who has been on combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I’ve never felt like I do now. It makes a difference [getting a full training session and rest in].”

Kennedy is going to headline Friday’s card against Zak Cummings (10-0) in Bixby, Okla. Kennedy’s original opponent was supposed to be Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, but Santos pulled out of the card due to an injury, and was replaced by Cummings who went from an slot on the undercard, to the main event.

Kennedy said the change didn’t throw things off too much because it was known early enough, so his camp could adjust the game plan.

“They’re opposite fighters, so we’re going to take a southpaw wrestler differently than a Chute Boxe guy,” Kennedy said.

The fight is Kennedy’s second fight this year.

Kennedy has spent time working with Mark DelaGrotte and Jorge Rivera to prepare for the bout to learn different aspects of striking and jiu-jitsu.

It’s all part of Kennedy’s attempt to get back in the MMA game, and catch him up to the other fights who didn’t have long layoffs in between fights.

“I feel like I’m behind the curb where MMA has evolved to,” Kennedy said. “I feel like I’m playing catch up. I feel comfortable. I’m still working on a lot of stuff I’m behind on and catching up. Hopefully still building my resume and getting big fights.”

He was disappointed when Cung Le vacated the middleweight title, as that was one fight Kennedy was working towards.

Kennedy might be the main event in this fight, but he’s willing to fight anywhere Strikeforce wants him to fight.

“I’m excited [to fight as a main eventer],” Kennedy said. “Where ever Strikeforce decides to put me, I’m going to do it. I just care and the type of quality of people. I want to fight the good guys out there. I’m not going to do this forever. I want to fight to the best.”

It’s all part of the next chapter in Kennedy’s life.

“I’m happy with what I did with my and contributions I’ve made,” Kennedy said. “It’s a different era for me right now. I’m always going to love fighting and the military. Right now, [the army] is giving me time to fight and it’s what I want to do.”

Thomson re-injured his leg during training.

MMA Weekly is reporting that Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson has broke his leg yet again.

The Web site reports that Thomson re-injured the limb while practicing, and he is getting X-rays to see the extent of the injury.

Thomson is looking to unify his lightweight title with Gilbert Melendez’ interim title, and is aiming for a Dec. 19 Showtime date for the two to fight.