Strikeforce Challengers Series 2/26/2010 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers Series
The Civic
San Jose, California
2/26/2010

This is the first Strikeforce Challengers Series event of the year and tonight we will see the crowning of the first Woman's 135lb Champion. The announcers for the show tonight are Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich. Danny Miller is the ring announcer tonight (where is Jimmy Lennon Jr?).

Middleweight Fight- Raul Castillo (6-0) vs. Yancy Medeiros (3-0)

Medeiros is a Hawaiian fighter has a background in kick boxing and is a free style fighter. He is only 22 years of age and was also a wrestler in high school. Castillo is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter who is based in California. 4 of Castillo's 6 wins have come by way of knockout. Castillo has met Nick Diaz in 3 grappling matches and has won 2 of them.

R1- Yancy took this round as he stuffed several take down attempts and landed some good combinations. Yancy finished the round very well and landed several shots in the last minute of the round. Yancy 10-9.

R2- Yancy took this round and is up 20-18 going into the final round. Not as much action in this round. Yancy again avoided a take down and won the stand up although he didn't land that many strikes in the round.

R3- Yancy hit a good strike with about a minute and a half left that briefly floored Castillo. Yancy wins the fight on my score card 30-27. He looked good for only having 3 professional fights under his belt before tonight.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards

Winner: Yancy Medeiros by Decision (Unanimous)

Herschel Walker joins Mauro Ranallo ringside and they discuss his pro debut victory over Greg Nagy. Strikeforce Champion Gilbert Melenedez is also interviewed and they talk about a potential rubber match against former champion Josh Thomson and he also says he would like to test himself against DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki. Mauro also hypes a "major" announcement that is coming on Monday.

Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz and his trainer Cesar Gracie are both ringside for the fights tonight.

Welterweight Fight- James Terry (7-1) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (7-2)

Tarec has a background in kick boxing and is a free style fighter. He has won 5 of his 7 fights by submission. Tarec trains with Dan Henderson at Team Quest and previously fought in the DREAM promotion in Japan and was 1-1 during his stay in DREAM. Terry is a free style fighter from San Jose so he is the home town fighter in this fight.

R1- Tarec looks good early and has taken the center of the ring and is landing some strikes. Tarec hit a head kick but didn't land it full force and Terry kept his feet. Terry got a take down with one minute left in the round but within 20 seconds Tarec was back on his feet. Terry has a ct on his face. Tarec 10-9.

R2- Tarec is landing good systematic strikes and has bloodied Terry's mouth. Tarec is up 20-18 going into the final round.

R3- Terry got an early take down in this round but Tarec again quickly got back to his feet without sustaining any damage. Tarec has opened up a big cut under Terry's left eye and Tarec is continuing to land good systematic strikes. Tarec got a full mount with 10 seconds left in the round and got in some Ground and Pound before the bell rung. I've got Tarec winning this fight 30-27. Terry showed a lot of heart and a good chin. Tarec looked very good. He should be Main Eventing the next Strikeforce Challengers event and then possibly moving on the main Strikeforce cards after that.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all cards

Winner: Tarec Saffiedine by Decision (Unanimous)

Mauro Ranallo interviews Lavar Johnson. Johnson was involved in a tragic shooting last July at a Family Reunion. He was in the hospital for a month and his cousin was killed in this incident. He has now been medically cleared to resume his MMA career. In his last fight he won in his Strikeforce debut in only 18 seconds. He will headline the next Strikeforce Challengers Series event.

Middleweight Fight- Luke Rockhold (6-1) vs. Paul Bradley (12-1)

Bradley fights out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and is a freestyle fighter with a background in wrestling at the University of Iowa. Bradley is moving up in weight for this fight. Rockhold is a jiu jitsu fighter with a background in wrestling. Rockhold has won all of his fights by submission and has won his last 4 with the Rear Naked Choke. Rockhold is the home town fighter in this fight. Rockhold has a 7" height and 5" reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Rockhold caught Bradley coming in with a right hand directly behind the ear a minute and fifteen seconds into the round. Rockhold jumped on top to try and finish but Bradley was able to hang on and stay in the fight. Rockhold hit another good counter right hand that floored Bradley but Bradley got back to his feet. Bradley hit some knees to the body the ref stopped the fight as Bradley went down for the third time in the round. Rockhold looked good as he hurt Bradley twice before the finish.

Winner: Luke Rockhold by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:24

Middleweight Fight- Trevor Prangley (22-5) vs. Karl Amoussou (11-2-1)

Amoussou is a French Judo Fighter. Amoussou has finished 7 of his 11 fights by way of submission. Prangley is a wrestler/free style fighter. He is based out of San Jose by way of South Africa. Prangley has a 2" height and 3.5" reach advantage.

R1- Prangley is the aggressor early but twice he came in and ate some good shots from Amoussou. Prangley got a take down two minutes into the round but Amoussou tied him up and the ref stood the fight up. Amoussou landed some more good shots and then Prangley answered with a right hand. Prangley hit Amoussou with an accidental eye poke and Amoussou could not see out of his eye so the fight was stopped and ruled a no contest. Amoussou looked really good and this looked like it was going to be a good fight so this is a disappointing result.

Decision: No Contest/Technical Draw (Doctor Stoppage)

Woman's Welterweight (135lb) Title Fight- Sarah Kaufman (10-0) vs. Takayo Hashi (12-1)

They are naming this the Welterweight Title and saying the title Cyborg Santos currently holds is the Middleweight Title. Hashi is a freestyle fighter from Tokyo, Japan. Hashi has a background in grappling and says she feels she is a better well-rounded fighter than Kaufman. She has won 8 consecutive fights and has avenged the only loss on her record. Kaufman is a Muay Thai/BJJ fighter from British Columbia, Canada. She's a self-proclaimed "nerd" and brought her crossword puzzle book with her to help her relax before the fight. Kaufman has won 8 of her 10 fights by knockout and has a 3" reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Kaufman hit a good right thirty seconds into the fight that briefly knocked Hashi down. Kaufman hit a left half way through the round that briefly dropped Hashi to her knees. Kaufman blocked a kick and landed a good right. Kaufman 10-9.

R2- Not much action in this round. Kaufman 20-18.

R3- Kaufman landed a good right at the three minute mark of the round but Hashi absorbed it and kept her feet. Kaufman hit a big right that floored Hashi but she didn't follow up. Kaufman 30-27.

R4- Not a lot of action in this round. Hashi tried to grapple with Kaufman but couldn't ever get an advantage. Kaufman 40-36 going into the final round.

R5- Hashi hit a front kick to the face but it didn't have anything behind it. Kaufman continues to control the fight but didn't do anything to put Hashi away. Kaufman won on my score card 50-45.

Judges score cards: 50-45 on all score cards

Winner and new Strikeforce Woman's Welterweight Champion: Sarah Kaufman by Decision (Unanimous)