Michael David Smith Posts

It's week 9 in the 2009 NFL season, and we've got some big games ahead of us.

Can the Baltimore Ravens stay in the AFC North race by winning on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals? Can the Indianapolis Colts effectively end the AFC South race by winning at home against the Houston Texans? Will anyone show up in Jacksonville to watch the Jaguars face the Chiefs?

For all of that and more follow along below or follow me on Twitter @MichaelDavSmith.

The early ratings are in for CBS's Saturday night MMA show, and although the numbers aren't as good as the network did last year with Kimbo Slice, CBS executive Kelly Kahl tells FanHouse he's encouraged that CBS improved on its usual Saturday night ratings among the coveted young male demographic.

Now the question is whether MMA will improve to CBS in 2010. Kahl said it's too soon to say about that, but that a significant improvement in the targeted demographic means CBS accomplished its first goal. Kahl noted that MMA on CBS beat college football on ABC in the demographic.

All the big stories coming out of Saturday night's big night of fights are about the winners: Fedor Emelianenko showed once again that he's the best in the world, Jake Shields won the Strikeforce middleweight belt, Gegard Mousasi took another step toward elite status and Fabricio Werdum made his case that he should get Fedor next.

But I'd like to take a moment to praise the losers of the four fights.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- The best fighter in the history of mixed martial arts did it again on Saturday night, as Russia's Fedor Emelianenko beat Minnesota's Brett Rogers by second-round technical knockout in the main event of the M-1 Global/Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers show.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Jason "Mayhem" Miller is a great entertainer. He showed in his fight with Jake Shields on Saturday night that he's a pretty good fighter, too -- but not quite good enough to beat Shields in a fight that often felt like a stalemate and left a lot of fans booing Saturday night at Strikeforce, Fedor vs. Rogers.

Miller, as usual, had an entertaining entrance, featuring dancing girls and some dancing of his own. Shields didn't need an escort of entertainers, however, he just strolled into the cage and did his business. He shot immediately for a takedown and got Miller exactly where he wanted him. Amazingly, when Shields got to full mount, Miller was able to stand back up without taking much damage.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Gegard Mousasi is one of the emerging stars of mixed martial arts and one of the dominant forces in the light heavyweight division, as he showed once again by defeating Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with a second-round TKO Saturday night at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill -- In a good way to start the return of MMA to network television, Fabricio Werdum beat Antonio Silva by unanimous decision Saturday night at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.

Silva floored Werdum in the early going and appeared close to finishing him on the ground, but Werdum stayed poised and managed to get back onto his feet. Midway through the first round Silva threw Werdum onto his back, but when Werdum stayed there, Silva wanted none of it and took the fight back to his feet. It went that way for much of the round, with Silva controlling it but always careful not to get caught in one of Werdum's submissions. The first round was exciting and left the crowd giving the fighters a standing ovation.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Strikeforce has its next female MMA star: Marloes Coenen.

Coenen, a 145-pound submission whiz from the Netherlands, needed just 65 seconds to get Roxanne Modaferri to tap with an arm bar Saturday night on the undercard of the Fedor vs. Rogers show, and in that 65 seconds she showed everything a star needs: Presence, poise and the ability to dominate an opponent in the cage. It doesn't hurt that Coenen is a beautiful woman, but that's just an added bonus. The important part is that she can fight.

FanHouse has Strikeforce results for all of the Nov. 7 M-1 Global/Strikeforce fights, plus live MMA coverage from Chicago and live MMA Twitter updates.

In the main event, the best heavyweight in MMA, Russia's Fedor Emelianenko, will take on American Brett Rogers. Other fights on the card include Jake Shields vs. Jason Mayhem Miller for the Strikeforce middleweight title, plus Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva and Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Full Strikeforce results are below.

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Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers will fight for the heavyweight championship of MMA in just a few hours, and I'm sitting at cageside and tweeting live.

The Fedor fight, presented by Strikeforce and M-1 Global, represents a significant moment in MMA history, as the best fighter in the world is fighting for free on CBS. Whether you're watching in the arena, on TV or stuck somewhere that you just want updates, follow along below or follow me on Twitter @MichaelDavSmith and I'll hook you up with everything you need to know.