Strikeforce: Houston Recap
First fight of the night. Arena ended up about 70% with 3/4 of upper section closed off.
Overall I believed that Strikeforce: Houston was a good show. There were some good fights on the undercard as well as some high quality bouts on the Showtime portion of the card. The one resounding problem with the show, for those in attendance as well as those at home, was the sub-par standard of refereeing.
There were multiple gaffs in the refereeing last night particularly on the main card. One that continues to stand out was when a gassed Bobby Lashley had mount on Chad Griggs and the fight was stood up. Or at least it seemed to have been stood up, Lashley had his eye checked by the ringside physician and instead of the fighters restarting with Lashley in mount the bout was restarted from standing. It could be argued that Lashley would have won the round and made it into the third if the referee was on top of his game.
Aside from the refereeing mistakes the fights were great, the crowd was really behind the Texan fighters initially, but as with all MMA events the crowd quickly jumped on the oppositions bandwagon as soon as it got rolling.
Bobby Lashley it turns out was “severely dehydrated” after his loss to Chad Griggs. I do expect to see him back in Strikeforce action. Hopefully next time he comes more prepared though, surely he should have known that Houston is one hot city and fluids should be overly consumed. I do believe that yesterday was one of the hottest days of the year also but that should be no excuse for an athlete in an air-conditioned building. All credit to Chad Griggs though; he withstood the early wrestling onslaught and came out of there with a TKO victory.
The KJ Noons, Jorge Grugel fight in my opinion was one of the best of the night. There were some moments during the fight that were a bit iffy. I’m talking about the after the bell shot and the knee to the head right at the end. Despite those two mishaps though Noons really did impress me. Here’s hoping he sticks with MMA this time instead of running away to do some other sport.
I may have been one of the few in the Toyota Center who was actually rooting for Souza to win against American fighter Tim Kennedy. As becomes the norm with these types of fights though we did have the standard “U-S-A” chant echoing throughout the arena. In my honest opinion I thought that Souza did win the fight. I figured he had the first round in the bag and took rounds 2 and 3 barely. Rounds 4 and 5 I knew would probably (I say probably because this is MMA judging) have gone to Kennedy so I was not disappointed in the result.
Ah the main event, King Mo with his WWE style entrance wearing a crown, walking to the cage with rose petals scattered at his feet. Give me a break this is MMA not pro-wrestling, get in there and fight. I don’t know how this fight came across on TV but to me Mo did seem really cocky, he looked like he was keeping his arms down way too much especially considering he is not one of the fastest light heavyweights. Aside from the suplex the first two rounds of that fight were boring to watch and people even got up to leave. I’m glad I wasn’t one of those who left though because Feijao turned up the heat and knocked King Mo down with a solid knee followed by a flurry of punches. I did feel that Big John let the fight go on way too long though, those elbows from Feijao were unnecessary and the fight should have been stopped before then.
I hope that Strikeforce does return to Houston sometime in the near future but based upon the commissions lack of drug testing and the complete mess of officiating that probably wont happen for some time. Come on Texas, get your mess sorted out!
New York Senate Passes Bill To Legalize MMA
New York moved one step closer to becoming the 45th state to regulate mixed martial arts, as the state Senate voted 32-26 to pass a bill on Wednesday that would legalize the sport.
A similar bill is currently in committee in the state Assembly, where it is expected to pass before facing a close vote on the Assembly floor. If it gets out of the Assembly, Gov. Paterson is expected to sign it into law and fans could see a mixed martial arts event in Madison Square Garden as early as this fall.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the sport’s most well-known promotion, is hoping an Assembly vote will take place over the next two weeks before the current legislative session ends.
WEC 47 Bowles vs Cruz Weigh-in Results
Image courtesy of MMAJunkie. Check out the entire WEC 47 gallery here!
WEC 47 will take place tomorrow night live from Columbus, Ohio. The fighters taking part in the event weighed in earlier tonight an below are the official numbers. The event will air live on Versus tomorrow night at 10PM EST.
Main Televised Card
-Brian Bowles (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (134)
-Joseph Benavidez (135) vs. Miguel Torres (134.5)
-Jens Pulver (145.5) vs. Javier Vazquez (145)
-L.C. Davis (144.5) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (145)
-Karen Darabedyan (156) vs. Bart Palaszewski (155)
Preliminary Card
-Chad George (135.5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)
-Erik Koch (144) vs. Chad Mendes (145)
-Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
-Leonard Garcia (145) vs. George Roop (145.5)
-Courtney Buck (145) vs. Fredson Paixao (144.5)
-Bendy Casimir (155.5) vs. Ricardo Lamas (155)
Canadians Love Their Hockey a Bit Too Much
I was just browsing through Google Reader when I came across Sportsnet.ca‘s article on Herschel Walker winning in his MMA debut. Now while the article doesn’t mention anything the title certainly does. Look up there at the top, “Ex-NHL…” Wait, what? Herschel Walker played in the NHL? Nah… they just love hockey too much.
Strikeforce Miami Live Results and Recap
Join us later tonight for live results and recap from Strikeforce Miami. The main card will begin at 10PM EST on Showtime. There will also be a free online stream of the preliminary bout between Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs on the EA Sports website which is set to start at 9:05 EST. We will be live blogging the EA Sports feed and the live show as well as providing quick results for all of the other prelim bouts.
Strikeforce Miami Quick Results
Nick Diaz defeats Marius Zaromskis via TKO at 4:38 , Round 1*
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Marloes Coenen via TKO (Strikes) at 3:40, Round 3**
Herschel Walker defeats Greg Nagy via TKO (Strikes) at 2:17, Round 3
Robbie Lawler defeats Melvin Manhoef via KO at 3:33, Round 1
Bobby Lashley defeats Wes Sims via TKO (Strikes) at 2:06, Round 1
Jay Hieron defeats Joe Riggs via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Pablo Alfonso defeats Marcos da Matta via arm bar at 1:47, round 1
Hayder Hassan defeats Ryan Keenan via KO at 2:42, round 2
John Kelly defeats Sabah Homasi via rear naked choke at 2:48, round 2
Michael Byrnes vs. David Zitnik
David Gomez defeats Craig Oxley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Ray defeats John Clarke via TKO (Strikes) at 3:14, round 1
*For vacant welterweight title
**Womens 145lb title defense, Santos is current champion
Strikeforce Miami Live Recap
Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (170-pound)
Round one: Here we go with the main event! Zaromskis comes out quick and tries to take DIaz out but Diaz returns some good shots of his own. Diaz looks for the single leg takedown but Zaromskis catches him and both fighters end up clinching against the cage. Diaz spends around a minute kneeing Zaromskis in the leg which against the cage. Zaromskis gets taken down by Diaz but gets back up quick and Diaz connects with a good left. Zaromskis tags Diaz though and Diaz falls and shells up. Diaz is bleeding and Zaromskis goes after him, it is not over for Diaz though who continues to throw some big shots. The crowd begins to chant “Diaz”. There is absolutely no defense from either fighter at this point and Zaromskis gets tagged with a massive uppercut, it looked as though he would go out but he continued standing and staggering around until Diaz connected with one more good shot and Zaromskis went down. Diaz takes the fight and the Strikeforce welterweight championship.
Result: Nick Diaz defeats Marius Zaromskis via TKO at 4:38 , Round 1*
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen (145-pound)
Round one: Fight gets underway fast with both fighters throwing big shots and then ending up in the clinch against the fence. Coenen tries to get the armbar from guard but Cyborg gets out and drops a huge right hand on the face of Coenen. Cyborg picks up Coenen from guard and slams her down then drops two big shots once again. Coenen gets a couple of upkciks and the referee stands the women back up and both fighters begin exchanging blows. Coenen drops levels and looks for the takedown but Cyborg stands her back up and both fighters end up against the cage in the clinch. After separation both fighters begin throwing massive shots once again. A very hard round to call but I would go with Cyborg 10-9.
Round two: Cyborg unloads on Coenen and knocks her down but Coenen is still in it. Cyborg gets into guard and picks Coenen up to slam her but Coenen manages a safe landing right back on the ground. With a minute left Cyborg unleashes a great amount of shots on the grounded Coenen but none do any real damage. That second round clearly belongs to Cyborg so I have it at 20-18 right now for the champion.
Round three: Cyborg quickly goes for the takedown but cant and the fighters end up against the cage. The fighters separate and Cyborg begins to unleash. Coenen goes for the takedown and it is reversed by Cyborg who takes Coenen down and into half-guard. While in half-guard Cyborg keeps trying to keep Coenen down while throwing some blows. Coenen got Cyborg into her guard and Cyborg stood up and began to unleash. Coenen got out and both fighters got back to standing. Coenen through a big right hand and Cyborg returned a few before taking Coenen down and unleashing once again. Coenen shelled up and Cyborg continued the onslaught until the referee stopped the fight to give Cyborg the victory.
Result: Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Marloes Coenen via TKO (Strikes) at 3:40, Round 3
Greg Nagy vs. Herschel Walker (215-pound limit)
Round one: Walker tags Nagy with a straight jab early on which makes Nagy stagger back but then the fight gets back to normal. Walker is looking extremely tight in his stance and even throws a bit of a dance in there. Nagy goes for the takedown but Walker sprawls and attempts to take the back of Nagy. Walker then takes mount and begins to unleash the GnP. Nagy defends the initial onslaught of GnP. Nagy gets Walker in a heel hook but Walker gets out almost immediately and goes back to sprawl position. Walker then got north-south of Nagy and then into side control. First round went to Herschel Walker easily 10-9
Round two: Walker gets a good takedown in the opening minute of the first round and ends up in side control. Walker then transitions onto the back of Nagy who rolls over to give Walker high mount. Nagy escapes the mount and tries to get back to his feet but Walker keeps forcing him back down to the ground. Walker takes the back of Nagy again and flattens him out but can’t get the hooks in or the choke. Nagy tries to roll over again and Walker once again gets mount on Nagy. That round once again was all Herschel Walker 20-18 so far on my scorecard.
Round three: Nagy comes out quick in this round but Walker takes him down against the cage and lands in Nagy’s guard. Nagy goes for the armbar on Walker but Walker pulls his arm out quite easily. Walker gets back to where he left off in round number two, high mount. Walker begins with the punches from high mount and Nagy just struggles to get out of it any way he can. Walker gets to back mount and Nagy just covers up, the referee stops the fight because Nagy is not trying to improve his position.
Result: Herschel Walker defeats Greg Nagy via TKO (Strikes) at 2:17, Round 3
Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef (185-pound limit)
Round one: The first thirty seconds pass with no contact and then Manhoef connected with a kick to the midsection of Lawler. After a minute the crowd begins to boo a little bit due to the lack of contact. Manhoef gets Lawler to shell up against the fence but Lawler gets away. Manhoef begins unleashing with 2:15 left in the round, there are some powerful leg kicks and huge uppercuts going in. Lawlers leg is clearly hurting but out of nowhere Lawler connects and KO’s Manhoef. I am left thinking WTF?
Result: Robbie Lawler defeats Melvin Manhoef via KO at 3:33, Round 1
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims (265-pound limit)
Round one: Wes Sims acts like his normal self at the start of the fight by trying to play games with Lashley but he quickly gets taken down and Lashley begins with the GnP. Sims later regained control of Lashley but could not get back to standing. Lashley postures up and starts throwing down punches until Sims rolled over and the fight was stopped due to strikes. Sims thought the stoppage was pre-mature.
Result: Bobby Lashley defeats Wes Sims via TKO (Strikes) at 2:06, Round 1
EA Sports MMA: Roster Additions
Cung Le, Scott Smith, Robbie Lawler, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Matt Lindland are the latest fighters to join the EA Sports MMA roster. They will join some other notable fighters in the game such as cover-boy’s Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture.
Herschel Walker Showing His New Moves in Open Workout
47-year-old Herschel Walker will be making his MMA debut January 30th in Florida. His opponent has not yet been decided.
Forrest Griffin on MMA 101
Inaugural MMA Live Middleweight Rankings
Here is the third day of our inaugural rankings. Today we feature middleweight fighters, if you missed the lightweights or welterweights from previous days check them out by clicking their links.
1) Anderson Silva – I don’t think anybody can argue that Anderson Silva deserves the number one spot. He is that overpowering in the division that he hardly even tries anymore, as we saw in the Thales Leites fight. Silva holds the record for most consecutive victories within the UFC at 9 after his win over Leites. Silva has also defended the middleweight championship five times since winning it in 2006.
2) Nate Marquardt – Since losing to #1 Anderson Silva in 2007 Marquardt has been on the rise again. He had one slip up against Thales Leites in which he dominated the fight but ended up losing 2 points for infractions. Since losing there Marquardt has gone on to TKO victories over Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia. Marquardt will be facing off against undefeated submission expert Demian Maia (#3) at UFC 102.
3) Demian Maia – Maia has had 5 fights in the UFC. He is a true submission master winning all 5 fights via submission, 3 rear naked choke and two triangle choke. He didn’t just win these fights by submission, 4 of the wins also came with some extra cash because Maia won “Submission of the Night” honors. Marquardt will be Maia’s toughest opponent to date but a win over him should almost promise Maia a title shot within the near future.
4) Yushin Okami – Okami is currently 7-1 in the UFC with his only loss a decision to Rich Franklin. Okami has UFC wins over the rising welterweight, Mike Swick, the late Evan Tanner and Dean Lister. Okami was scheduled to fight at UFC 98 but a torn ligament never allowed the fight to take place.
5) Gegard Mousasi – You would have to go back two years and a total of 12 fights to find the last time Mousasi lost. Mousasi has never competed in the UFC but he has faced many top named fighters over his years fighting including Evangelista Santos, Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Mark Hunt. Upcoming fights for Mousasi include Renato Sobral at Affliction Trilogy and Sokoudjou at Dream 11 in September.
6) Dan Henderson – A true veteran of MMA Dan Henderson has spent many years fighting and in his prime years he owned the middleweight division. Previous wins include Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Renzo Gracie and Gilbert Yvel. His upcoming bout at UFC 100 is against fellow TUF 9 coach Michael Bisping. It has been said by Dana White that the winner will earn a title shot against Anderson Silva (#1).
7) Vitor Belfort – Another one of the sports legends is kind of making a comeback. UFC President Dana White also mentioned that Vitor Belfort might be coming back to the UFC to challenge for the middleweight title. Belfort is a UFC heavyweight tournament winner and a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Belfort’s most recent win was a stunning KO of Matt Lindland at Affliction Day of Reckoning. Belfort was out cold for around 5 minutes.
8 ) Thales Leites – His last fight for the title was an absolute embarrassment. Leites spent the fight retreating from the champion and falling to the mat on any attack that came towards him. Despite that Leites has wins over Nate Marquardt and Drew McFedries and his upcoming bout with Alessio Sakara at UFC 101 should show fans whether or not he is still prepared to fight.
9) Jorge Santiago – After streaking many wins together since leaving the UFC Santiago will be returning to the USA to face #7 Vitor Belfort at Affliction Trilogy. Hopefully for Santiago he doesn’t see himself drop like Matt Lindland.
10) Robbie Lawler – Lawler was doing great in his fighting right up until the start of June when he faced welterweight stand out Jake Shields at a catchweight of 182lbs. Lawler got destroyed in the opening round via guillotine choke.
Inaugural MMA Live Welterweight Rankings
The lightweight rankings were yesterday and here is day two of the rankings, the welterweights.
1) Georges St. Pierre - GSP has been one of the most dominating welterweights of all time. Since winning the title initially from Matt Hughes at UFC 65 GSP has only slipped once to Matt Serra. Many say that Serra got lucky in his striking and connected well on that one shot. Since losing to Serra though GSP has shown an amazing skill set defeating some of the biggest names in the welterweight division. Names such as Matt Hughes (#9), Jon Fitch (#3) and BJ Penn (lightweight #1).
2) Thiago Alves – Alves will be challenging for the title this July 11th against GSP (#1). On his road to the title shot Alves defeated #9 ranked Matt Hughes and #8 ranked Josh Koscheck. In the bout against Hughes, Alves may have come in a few pounds over limit but he wowed fans with his flying knee KO of a true MMA legend.
3) John Fitch – Fitch is an amazing fighter at welterweight, he has faced off against many different opponents and come out on top most of the time. At UFC 87 Fitch challenged for the title against GSP and took him all the way to a decision which he ended up losing. After that fight Fitch had a few issues with the UFC and even got fired for a day before returning to face Japanese fighter, Akihiro Gono. Fitch won that fight via unanimous decision. Fitch, like GSP and Alves will also be fighting on July 11th at UFC 100. His opponent will be Paulo Thiago (#7).
4) Jake Shields – Shields was the EliteXC welterweight champion before the promotion went bust. Now he finds himself, like most former EliteXC fighters, fighting for Strikeforce. Shields recently made quick work of Robbie Lawler in a catchweight bout (182lbs) defeating him via guillotine choke in the first round.
5) Mike Swick – After losing a middleweight bout to Japanese standout Yushin Okami, Swick dropped down a weight class. Swick now finds himself fighting at welterweight and he is having a hard time losing. Since making the drop Swick has defeated Marcus Davis, Jonathan Goulet and Ben Saunders.
6) Martin Kampmann – Kampmann has only had two fights at welterweight but he is looking good. He first beat Barros and then Carlos Condit, the former WEC welterweight champion.
7) Paulo Thiago - Thiago does not yet understand what losing is like. Maybe he will learn though when he faces John Fitch (#3) on July 11th at UFC 100. Thiago’s most recognizable win is over #8 Josh Koscheck. He defeated Koscheck via TKO at UFC 95.
Josh Koscheck - Koscheck has always been one of those fighters that gets so close and then falls back down. His most recent loss was to #7 Thiago and his most recent win was the event before that which was a stunning KO over Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Koscheck’s next fight will be against MMA veteran Frank Trigg at UFC 103.
9) Matt Hughes – Hughes could be called the greatest welterweight fighter of all time. Unfortunately he has let himself go a bit recently losing to Alves (#2) and St. Pierre (#1). Hughes did do a good job in his fight against Serra though which is why he still sees himself within the top 10.
10) Dan Hardy – Hardy has been putting on quite a show in his last few fights defeating Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham and of course Marcus Davis. Hardy may not fully deserve the number 10 spot but he made it there.
Outside top 10:
Karo Parisyan
Matt Serra
Special thanks to those who help put the list together, Jim Kammer, Tommy Yacyshyn and Zachary Romaniuk. Middleweight rankings will be right here on MMA-Live tomorrow.