Respect in the Cage 3: From the Fox theater in Pomona, CaliforniaA unique blend of Mixed Martial Arts and a party atmosphere highlighted Respect in the Cage 3 and perhaps in direct conflict with the cliché “party all night long,” 5 of the 7 scheduled bouts ended in less than 63 seconds. In those bouts, a total of 3 minutes and 1 second of cage time was recorded and the rear naked choke was the chosen method of completion in most cases.

In the night’s opening bout, (4-1) made short work of David Barnett, rushing him into a clinch where he easily hopped on his back and secured a standing rear naked choke. The win improves the California Submission Wrestling product’s record to 4-1 while the Inland Empire-based Unbreakable Gym product drops to 1-1.

A featherweight bout followed and served as the 2nd longest and also the most competitive fight on the card. Cooper Gibson came in sporting Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s replicated shorts, complete with rear side eyes. He brought his best Shogun impression as well, outstriking Chris Mercardo in the first round easily as Millennia MMA product mounted little offense of his own. In the second, Gibson was able to shoot and score a takedown where he quickly got to full mount. But Mercardo slipped away and returned a shot that opened up a chance for a standing rear naked choke of his own. Gibson managed to do a full front flip in attempt to smash his backmounted dominator into the canvas but that only allowed the choke to be sunk deeper and he would have to tap.

Georgi Karakhanyan: Featherweight prospect, Bellator fighterWhen Bellator Fighting Championships began releasing the names of those who would populate their 2010 roster, eyebrows began to progressively raise with each passing day's announced signing. They raised considerably more when the featherweight tournament was confirmed to include one Georgi Karakhanyan.

“Georgi K.” is how he is endearingly referred to by most. “Insane” is how he fights and so it serves as a fitting nickname for someone who has progressed so much in such a compressed period of time. In just over 3 years of professional fighting, he has compiled an otherworldly 12-1 record and has quickly become the subject of future top 10, 145 pound discussions. He hasn't trained for much longer than that either and he didn't originally intend on dedicating his future to the sport of MMA.

“I started getting into Brazilian jiu jitsu in April of 2006. It was nothing serious, nothing like 'oh I was going to become a professional fighter' or 'I was going to be in MMA.' It was basically just to see what Brazilian jiu jitsu was all about,” said Georgi when asked about his trek into MMA. 3 short years may indicate that he was a natural at the Brazilian martial art, but it was hard work and determination that yielded the success story we see today.

Strikeforce has revealed their payout figures for their Strikeforce: Miami event, which took place this last Saturday, January 30th, 2010.

Of interesting note is the discrepancy in pay scales in the co-main event match between champion Cristiane Santos ($35,000 including win bonus) and challenger Marloes Coenen ($2,000), as well as the pay discrepancy for Robbie Lawler ($100,000) and Melvin Manhoef ($5,000). Marloes went on to give Cyborg the most competitive fight she’s had in Strikeforce yet, despite being bullied around the ring by a much more physically dominant Cyborg. In his fight with Lawler, Manhoef was landing repetitiously with thunderous leg kicks before Lawler fed him a fight-ending short hook, one of three he landed the entire fight, to seal the deal and end the fight via knockout.

Also of note is the payout to NFL great Herschel Walker (a whopping $600), who reportedly donated what would’ve been a six-figure payout to charity.

The Croatian Sensation: Ready to meet Shamrock in MayComing off of an impressive card put on by up-and-coming promotion Strikeforce, it seems that this weekend’s anticipated UFC 109 bout between two MMA legends isn’t the only one that we have to look forward to.

This weekend, MMAWeekly confirmed that talks have already begun between Frank Shamrock (23-10-2) and Pat Miletich (29-7-2) to negotiate the terms of a bout in May, at an as-of-yet-undisclosed Strikeforce event.

Currently, Strikeforce has no events planned for the month of May, and has made no announcements regarding one.

Miletich returned to MMA following a years-long layoff, where he refocused his efforts on training the fighters of his team Miletich Fighting Systems back home in Bettendorf, and would eventually step in to coach his own International Fight League team, the Quad Cities Silverbacks.