Strikeforce Houston 8/21

[Mossfan8480]

In regards to the oxygen cans, Scott Coker had this to say:

"You know, I'll tell you, the cans, the oxygen cans were brought to our attention actually this morning by one of our guys and I didn't see any anything, but I heard that they [Noons and Lawal] were taking some oxygen. Like you say, canned oxygen. So, we're going to look into it, but right now I just don't have enough information so I don't want to comment until I find out what it was. And from what I hear everything that they did was approved by the commission, so we'll talk to them and have a conversation with them."

- Scott Coker

Courtesy of Bloody Elbow http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/23...es-fighter-use

[mgoblue]

Wow, that would be a pretty big hit for Strikeforce...you'd have to suspend them, wouldn't you?

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by Stumbleweed

Wow, how the hell are they (Texas athletic commission, or whoever) gonna let that one go? Jeez, way to ruin your promotion, idiots.

because Texas doesn't really have an athletic commission, as boxing and MMA fall under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. According to their site, it's a 7 member board that regulates 29 industries, "ranging from boxing to electricians, from elevators to auctioneers."

It's not all on Strikeforce, as other orgs like Bellator also have events in Texas, presumably without any testing as well. Still, this is stuff the UFC shined light on awhile ago. Strikeforce even made the effort to test all their fighters in St. Louis, because Overeem was defending his belt and that state's commission only does random testing.

[XFactah416]

You can't suspend KJ and Mo.

If the guys at ringside are that stupid to let King Mo and KJ take a hit of oxygen, that falls, once again, on the athletic commission.

Well, if it were me, I would suspend KJ for the intentional throwing of the knee after he knew Gurgel was out. Think Babalu and David Heath. Maybe Gurgel can file for a NC claim with KJ taking a hit of oxygen.

[Mossfan8480]

"Texas Authorities Respond to Strikeforce: Houston Controversies -- Nothing to See Here, Move Along"

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/23...ies-respond-to

[Stumbleweed]

Yeah, if Gurgel and Feijao have any sense, they'll file suit or a complaint about it... even though Feijao won, that's still a competitive disadvantage that shouldn't have been allowed to happen, regardless of what Texas says. That's Strikeforce's problem as much as it is an issue of the commission/rulemaking body... their fighters are the ones getting screwed over.

[idrisguitar]

im not a ufc/wec fanboy, im an mma fan, but god it seems at every strikeforce event something embarrassing happens that in some way or another harms the sport.

i just wish they would stop and bellator starts getting more attention.

also didnt help that most fights were boring. they have a habit of making lame matchups to make sure they protect their big names. and i love how it backfired with lashley this time,

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by idrisguitar

im not a ufc/wec fanboy, im an mma fan, but god it seems at every strikeforce event something embarrassing happens that in some way or another harms the sport. i just wish they would stop and bellator starts getting more attention. also didnt help that most fights were boring. they have a habit of making lame matchups to make sure they protect their big names. and i love how it backfired with lashley this time,

I don't want strikeforce to stop, as I enjoy the sport of MMA. They could do some thing differently, but stuff like horrible refs is out of their control.

I hope they start promoting their fights more evenly, as they ended up with 3 brazillian champs the mainstream audience knew nothing about. It doesn't have to hurt the entire organization when stars lose if people know who the other fighters are.