FanHouse CristianeSantos

On this week's edition of The MMA Hour, MDS and I were joined by Strikeforce fighter/commentator Frank Shamrock and CEO Scott Coker to talk about this Saturday's card on Showtime, headlined by Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg.

We also looked back at last weekend's UFC 101 and WEC 42 events. Where does Miguel Torres go from here? Who's next for Anderson Silva? Can anyone beat BJ Penn at 155 pounds? All those topics and much more were discussed. Enjoy the show below.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has long been considered the master of mixed martial arts game planning, so it's no surprise that as Couture prepares to corner Gina Carano in her fight with Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos on Saturday night, he's got a plan in place.

When Gina Carano steps into the cage with Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos Saturday night, the Strikeforce MMA promotion will be putting on what its CEO, Scott Coker, calls not just the biggest women's MMA fight ever, but the most significant women's competition in the history of any combat sport.

In an interview with FanHouse, Coker -- who has worked in martial arts most of his life -- spoke about the historical significance of Carano vs. Cyborg and why he made it the main event on an MMA show that otherwise features only male fighters. The full interview is below.

Female mixed martial arts fighter, Erin Toughill, will have to wait a little longer to make her Strikeforce debut. Toughill was once slotted to compete on Strikeforce's August 15 card, but the organization's director of communications, Mike Afromowitz, confirmed with FanHouse on Thursday that she is only being reserved as an injury replacement in case Gina Carano or Cristiane Santos get injured prior to their 145-pound title bout scheduled for the same card.

Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos has been one of the most talked about fights in MMA over the past year. However, unlike Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko or Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields, this fight is actually going to happen. The female MMA stars will finally meet on August 15 for the new Strikeforce 145-pound title. The event airs live on Showtime.

FanHouse recently spoke to "Cyborg" in New York City where Strikeforce held a press conference to hype the upcoming title match. Check out the full video interview below.

Scott Coker has been successfully promoting combat sports for over two decades, so you would think he has been to Madison Square Garden once or twice before. Think again. Amazingly, the founder and CEO of Strikeforce made his first business trip to MSG on Tuesday for the Gina Carano - Cristiane Santos press conference. The 145-pound women's title fight airs live on Showtime on August 15.

FanHouse spoke to Coker outside of MSG about everything from getting MMA legalized in New York State to the rapid growth of Strikeforce. Check out the full video interview below.

Strikeforce rolled the dice Tuesday by holding a press conference for its upcoming Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos 145-pound title fight on August 15 in unchartered territory for MMA: Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theatre. The event, which features three other title fights, airs live on Showtime.

Afterwards, both competitors held a public workout outside MSG. While the obvious point of this event was to promote the upcoming show, it did help raise awareness for a sport which is currently banned in New York State, as many fans were getting their first glimpse of MMA.

FanHouse spoke to Carano about meeting the New York press and her toughest challenge to date. The full video interview is below.

Strikeforce announced Wednesday that they will be holding a press conference at the WaMu Theatre inside New York City's Madison Square Garden on July 14 to hype the August 15 fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane Santos. The event is also open to the public.

Call me crazy, but I think that this is a historic moment for Strikeforce, mixed martial arts and, more specifically, women's MMA.

Gina Carano and Cristiane Santos (better known as Cris Cyborg) will step into the cage in the main event of the August 15 Strikeforce show in what is being billed as the biggest fight in the history of women's MMA. But there's a looming question over the fight: Can Carano and Cyborg make weight? And on a call Thursday to promote the bout, neither Carano nor Cyborg was in the mood to discuss it.

It's been almost a year since we've seen Shayna Baszler compete in an MMA cage. Following her last fight, a highly-visible loss to Cristiane Santos on CBS in July 2008, the 28-year-old was forced to sit on the sidelines while Pro Elite figured out what they were going to do with their contracts. Once Strikeforce purchased most of the significant ones in February, it was only a matter of time before Baszler got back to work and resumed her promising career.

At Friday's "Strikeforce: Challengers" event in Kent, Wash. (Showtime, 11 PM ET/PT), Baszler (9-5) will face undefeated star Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman (9-0) made her successful 135-pound Strikeforce debut last month, defeating Meisha Tate via unanimous decision. FanHouse spoke to Baszler about her time off and preparing for Kaufman. The full interview is below.