MMA News – July 14, 2011

• Kazuo Misaki is the newest addition to the Strikeforce roster.  Misaki, who has competed at middleweight and welterweight for DEEP, Sengoku, PRIDE, and Pancrase, should instantly see some high profile fights for Strikeforce.  He also had one of the best fights in 2010 against Jorge Santiago and should have some exciting bouts in the U.S.
• Another big heavyweight contest has been added to UFC 137, as Cheick Kongo will square off against Matt Mitrione.  This will be a huge step up for Mitrione and a real test for the former football player’s mettle.
• In a couple of replacements, Matt Hamill will be replacing Vladimir Matyushenko and is fighting Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133, while Felipe Arantes will make his UFC debut against Yuri Alcantara at UFC 134.  Hamill is very wise to take this fight on short notice to try and rebuild his stock after a big loss to Rampage Jackson.
• It doesn’t look like Nate Marquardt will be fighting for Bellator after all.  CEO Bjorn Rebney says that Marquardt isn’t a good fit, meaning he’s probably asking for too much money and doesn’t want to fight in a tournament.