Small Show Round-up

Strikeforce Challenger Series VI was supposed to be headline by veteran fighter Trevor Prangley and rising star Karl Amoussou, but last night they changed the main event to the Women's 135lb. Title bout between Sarah Kaufman and Takayo Hashi. I must say I didn't know much about Amoussou, but after watching some videos on Youtube, I am very excited to see him fight. Still, I think it's great that Strikeforce decided to move the women into the main event spotlight. Just like what the WEC is doing for the lighter weight classes, Strikeforce is doing a great job of giving a platform for female MMA. This ain't the WNBA folks. These girls always put on exciting fights, and follow all the same rules as the men. This is the second women's title Strikeforce has established, the 2nd being Cris "Cyborg" Santos's 145lb. title. Strikeforce is doing a great job helping put women's MMA on the map.

Seemingly lost in these packed weeks of fights was Jason David Frank, the Green/White/Red Ranger (yes, he was all of those at some point). He notched his 2nd MMA victory in less than a month at a recent Lonestar Beatdown event. This time, it was by TKO in the first round. Frank looked like Anderson Silva, getting his opponent, Chris Rose, in the Muay Thai clinch and reigned knees upon him. After Rose fell to the mat after some heavy strikes, Frank pounced and pummeled him until the referee pulled him off. Frank is doing everything right so far. He's taking smart fights and trying to get better, not get into the spotlight (not yet, anyway). I hope he continues to win and gets good; the sport could use an ambassador like him. "When times are tough, you gotta fight your way out of it. You only have two choices: you can sit there and wallow in your pain and feel sorry for yourself, or you can be a fighter," said Frank in an interview with Inside the MMA. His attitude is great, and he is showing that he has legitimate skills. Being a former Power Rangers nut, you know if there's any developments on Jason David Frank, you can find them here.

Also, at last night's Bitetti Combat 6, the saga of Paulo Filho continued. While Thales Lietes and Glover Texiera picked up good wins, it was Filho who marred the night. He was originally slated to face veteran fighter Yuki Sasaki, but withdrew from the event because of personal issues. Hours later, he retracted his statement and said he would fight at the event after hearing Sasaki would only fight him. However, Filho no-showed the weigh-ins, and the fight was scrapped. I can't speculate what's wrong with Paulo Filho, but I hope he hasn't relapsed, and I wish him luck to find the help that he needs.