clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

HDNet To Broadcast Strikeforce Grand Prix Preliminary Bouts, Weigh-Ins Live

HDNet has agreed to broadcast live preliminary bouts and official weigh-ins for Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament.

By Shaun Al-Shatti
Antonio Silva grounds and pounds Fedor Emelianenko to advance in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. (Photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports)
Antonio Silva grounds and pounds Fedor Emelianenko to advance in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. (Photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports)

Strikeforce officials announced Tuesday morning that the promotion has struck a deal with HDNet to broadcast live preliminary bouts and official weigh-ins for its upcoming ‘World Grand Prix Semi-Finals' and ‘World Grand Prix Finals' events.

In addition to the broadcast, the network's flagship mixed martial arts program -- ‘Inside MMA,' hosted by Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice -- will film a special episode live from each event that will feature extensive pre-fight coverage, including on-set interviews and analysis.

"As we continue to showcase some of the sport's up-and-coming talent on our prelims, we're excited to be able to air them live on HDNet," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker wrote in a press release. "We're excited to give Strikeforce fans even more access to great fights."

HD Net carried a similar broadcast schedule for the ‘Strikeforce: World Grand Prix' event held at American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 18th.

‘Strikeforce: World Grand Prix Semi-Finals' will be held September 10th in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is headlined by two tournament match-ups, Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov and Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio Silva. ‘Strikeforce: World Grand Prix Finals' is expected to be held before the end of the year.