Strikeforce on Showtime "Lawler vs. Shields" 6/6/09 Re-Cap

Strikeforce on Showtime “Lawler vs. Shields” 6/6/09
St. Louis, Missouri

This is the second installment of Strikeforce on Showtime (third if you count the Challengers Series show) and this looks to be a great line-up. On top we have a battle of former Elite XC champions as Robbie Lawler takes on Jake Shields. We have former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andre Arlovski taking on up and comer Brett Rogers. Slugger Scott Smith will take on Nick Diaz, who is coming off of a win over Frank Shamrock at the last Showtime show. Gus Johnson is the lead announcer and he is joined by Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Kevin Randleman (17-12) vs. Mike Whitehead (23-7)

To me this is the least interesting fight on the televised card. Whitehead has a 4” reach and 3” height advantage and is 10 years younger than Randleman (27 vs. 37). Randleman is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

R1- Randleman looks like he is ready to go before the bell rings. Whitehead missed a head kick and got taken down early but Randleman couldn’t get an advantage and they stood back up. Whitehead was able to get a double leg and took Randleman to the mat but Randleman flipped him off. Whitehead got another take down but Randleman again quickly got him off. Whitehead gets yet another take down but Randleman rests and gets up again. Randleman is already really tired and it’s just the first round. Not a good first round at all. Whitehead basically took Randleman down at will and Randleman basically didn’t take much damage. Whitehead gets this 10-9 for the takedowns but if he was fighting a better fighter I think he would be getting taken to the woodshed. They should have started with Baroni/Riggs or put Feijao’s match on PPV instead of the prelims.

R2- Whitehead got a take down and is controlling Whitehead but not doing any damage as the fans boo. Whitehead is just basically laying on Randleman for the first 3 minutes of this round. Randleman finally got out but he’s just exhausted and has been since 3 minutes into the fight. Whitehead is throwing really soft strikes. This is just a bad fight. Whitehead looks like he is pawing at a kitten with some of these strikes. Whitehead is winning 20-18. I would be really surprised if either guy fights for Strikeforce again. I know if they worked for UFC this would be their last fight for that company. This is just a bad fight. Why didn’t they start with Riggs/Baroni?

At least the ring girl is cute. That’s the highlight of this fight so far.

R3- Randleman landed a big overhand right to start the round. Whitehead hit another big punch and got in for some Ground and Pound but Whitehead survived but he’s wobbly. Whitehead gets a take down and he’s going to try and ride this round out by laying on Randleman. Whitehead goes for a kimura. Randleman gets back to his feet and we have 30 seconds left in the fight. Randleman takes this round but Whitehead will win the fight 29-28. Not a good fight. Not a good opener. Keep Whitehead on the under card from now on please.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all three score cards.

Winner: Mike Whitehead by Decision (Unanimous)

The scroll the crowd and we see Pat Miletich, Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson, Interim Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, and Fedor Emelianenko (gets a big reaction from the crowd). Mauro acknowledges the Affliction show in August but doesn’t say it by name (they do have an in ring advertisement for the brand).

Welterweight Fight- Phil Baroni (13-10) vs. Joe Riggs (29-10)

While neither one of these guys excites me I think this should be a good exciting fight between two veterans who should be hungry for a win and going for the knockout. Baroni is on a 3 fight win streak since moving down in weight. Josh Thomson is in Baroni’s corner. I can’t believe Joe Riggs is only 26 years old. Riggs is a former WEC Middleweight Champion. No touch of gloves when John McCarthy brought them together. Riggs is training with Arizona Combat Sports.

R1- They clinched early and Riggs got a take down. Riggs quickly went for a Rear Naked and it looked like he was going to get it but couldn’t lock it in and Baroni moved him back to full guard. Baroni struggled to get up and ended up in Riggs guard but McCarthy stood them back up. Riggs quickly went in and got a single leg take down but Baroni stuffed it and took the advantageous position as the bell rung. This was a really close round with Riggs winning the first half and Baroni the second half. I think Riggs edges this round out 10-9. Not exactly what I was expecting but it was competitive and a decent first round.

R2- They exchange some leather early in the round and then Riggs goes in for a Superman man punch and ended up with a take down but Baroni quickly reversed it and got a double leg of his own. They stood up and Riggs landed some punches in the corner. Riggs hit a punch and then a knee and Riggs is starting to open up with some strikes. Baroni got a take down but Riggs went for a triangle but couldn’t fully get it in and ended up releasing the submission. I’ve got Riggs taking this round as he landed the best strikes of the round and nearly finished the fight with a submission. Riggs is up 20-18 on my score card but both rounds have been close. Baroni actually out struck Riggs in the first round.

R3- They touched gloves to start the third and final round. Riggs landed some good strikes to open up the round and Baroni is in trouble early in the round but Riggs gave him time to recover. Riggs really controls this round as Baroni is taking a lot of shots and looks to be running out of gas but is somehow hanging on. Baroni made a run late in the round but Riggs took him down to ride out the fight. This was a good, competitive fight. I’ve got Riggs 30-27 and I’m confident that the judges will see it as a Unanimous decision (the first round was debatable but I can’t see giving Baroni rounds 2 or 3).

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards.

Winner: Joe Riggs by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-fight Joe Riggs says that he broke both of his hands and that he has a really bad flu. Riggs says he would like to fight Jake Shields.

Mauro announces the return of Gina Carano. She will take on Cris Cyborg on August 15th. We will also see Josh Thomson versus Gilbert Melendez for the Lightweight Title. Mauro had Josh and Gilbert with him at ringside. Gilbert says he will train harder and this time it will be a different story. Josh says he just got his walking boot off two weeks ago and has been training hard ever since. Josh says they will steal the show.

The next show will be the Strikeforce Challengers Show on Friday June 19th featuring Joe Villasenor. They also announce Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem for the August show.

Catchweight 180 lb Fight- Scott Smith (17-5) vs. Nick Diaz (19-7)

Smith is coming off of a comeback win against Benji Radach back at the April debut show on Showtime. On that same show Nick Diaz dominated Frank Shamrock. This should be a really fun fight. Diaz has a 4” reach advantage in this fight. They do not touch gloves when McCarthy brings them together before the start of the round.

R1- Diaz is using his reach early to his advantage as he’s keeping Smith at bay and making Smith come in and lunge when he throws punches. Diaz is landing lots of jabs. Diaz has Smith against the cage and is peppering him with jabs but Smith clinches him and ties him up until McCarthy breaks them up. Smith immediately sticks a good right hand but Diaz absorbs it. Smith got a take down but then released it and then hit a combo on his feet. Good fight so far, I’ve got Diaz up 20-19 but Smith started to really close the gap in the last part of the round and seemed to be finding his groove. Diaz threw 146 strikes in the first round!

R2- Diaz got in a good body shot that hurt Smith about a minute into the round and then Diaz started to pick him apart with jabs and strikes. Diaz looks like he’s bleeding from his eye. Diaz keeps hitting him right in the forehead with jabs. Diaz is just peppering Smith with a constant barrage of light punches. Smith missed a big head kick. Smith misses with a trio of big strikes and Diaz clinches him. Diaz completely controlled this round and had Smith down on the ground at the end of the round. Diaz threw 221 punches in that round and landed 125 of them. Borderline 10-8 round. I think the only thing keeping it from being 10-8 is Smith stayed on his feet for the whole round until the end and did actually get some offense in on Diaz. Diaz leading 20-18 going into the final round.

R3- They exchange some letter in the first 20 seconds of the round and then clinch. Smith misses another big kick and Diaz lands another good body shot that takes Smith to the ground. Diaz goes to take his back and Diaz locks in the Rear Naked and get the win.

Another great showing by Diaz. I don’t know what weight class Diaz is in but I’m thinking he needs a title shot here in Strikeforce. Either that or put him up against the winner of Lawler/Shields. Diaz landed 207 of 397 strikes in this fight to Smith’s 31 of 93.

Winner: Nick Diaz by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 1:41

Post-Fight Diaz throws Scott Smith’s training partners under the bus and says Smith should come down the road and train with his team, “a real team.”

Heavyweight Fight- Andre Arlovski (15-6) vs. Brett Rogers (9-0)

Rogers beat Abongo Humphrey at the last Strikeforce show. Arlovski’s last fight was a loss to the #1 Heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko. Arlovski had won 5 in a row going into that fight. They show Fedor and hype his PPV fight on August 1st against Josh Barnett and they show Barnett as well. The winner of this most likely gets Overeem in August. Rogers has a 18 lb advantage and a 4.5” reach advantage. Arlovski is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and this is his Strikeforce debut. For the third fight in a row neither fighter touches gloves as McCarthy pulls them together to go over the rules.

R1- “Rogers comes in and drops Arlovski quickly and this one is over almost immediately. Wow! Rogers just destroyed a Top 5 fighter in seconds. On the re-play Rogers threw some punches and missed but kept coming and landed 3 to 4 straight punches against the cage. He hit two really big punches consecutively. Big time win for Rogers. Bring on Overeem!

Post-fight Rogers said he wants a title shot. I think he might have a good point.

“I was hungry baby”- Brett Rogers

Winner: Brett Rogers by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:22

They hype the Affliction PPV as they show highlights of Fedor/Sylvia and Fedor/Arlovski and Fedor joins Mauro ringside and they do an interview through an interpreter. Next they highlight Josh Barnett and show highlights of the Barnett/Yvel fight. Barnett joins Mauro ringside.

Catchweight 182 lb Fight- Robbie Lawler (16-4) vs. Jake Shields (22-4-1)

Shield is a former Elite XC Welterweight Champion and Lawler is a former Elite XC Middleweight Champion. Both guys had the belts when Elite XC went out of business so they were never beaten for their belts.

R1- Shields went for a take down but Robbie fought it off and then they clinched around the ring. Shields grabbed a guillotine and tapped out Robbie Lawler. Great showing by Shields. Lawler looked like he just never really got started and Shields got an opening and took it.

Post-fight Shields says he wants Cung Le’s belt. Says for Cung to fight him or give it over to him.

Winner: Jake Shields by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:02

The big winners tonight were Nick Diaz, Brett Rogers and Jake Shields. Showtime is doing a good job of matching up fighters and giving some of the lesser known guys a chance to get wins and potentially become stars in the future (Diaz against Shamrock, Shields against Lawler, Rogers against Arlovski). This show started slow as the worst fight of the night (Randleman/Whitehead) opened the show but the last three fights were all either very good fights or very good spectacles. Solid night of fights and Strikeforce now has some interesting fights coming up with Rogers/Overeem, Shields/Le, Carano/Cyborg, and Thomson/Melendez either signed or on the horizon and they have a guy in Nick Diaz that has just looked fantastic in his last two fights.

Retro Re-Cap: UFC Fight Night 7 12/06/06

UFC Fight Night 7 12/06/06

Welterweight Fight- Shonie Carter (81-16-8) vs. Marcus Davis (14-4)

R1- Davis got a take down and mounted early. Shonie gave up his back and Marcus went for a Rear Naked Choke but Shonie rolled through it and got in some brief offense at the end of the round. Round One to Davis 10-9.

R2- Shonie got stunned by a right hand early in the round and went down. Davis is landing jabs just really outclassing Shonie in this round. Davis is up 20-18 at this point.

R3- This was a fairly even round. Fight goes to Davis as he outclassed Shonie in the first 2 rounds of the fight.

Judges score cards say: Davis 30-26, Davis 29-28 and Davis 30-27.

Winner: Marcus Davis by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (23-4) vs. Drew Fickett (30-4)

R1- Karo got a push take down about a minute into the fight and got in a shot or two but couldn’t keep Fickett down. Karo hit a good Superman punch about half way through the round. Karo looked good in the first round and is up 10-9.

R2- Karo catches a Fickett leg right at the beginning of the round and gets in some punches and lands a take down. Karo has him in the corner and both guys get cut. Karo has a bad cut under his eye. Fickett got a double leg take down with about one minute left in the round and lands some elbows. Karo controlled this round for 4 of the 5 minutes and takes a 20-18 lead into the final round.

R3- Karo is hitting jabs early in the round. Fickett tries to go for a leg lock but Karo ends up on top but let’s Fickett up. Karo is getting the better of this round as he’s hitting strikes and also threw Fickett to the ground at one point. Karo is going to take this fight 30-27.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all 3 score cards.

Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (9-1) vs. Jeff Joslin (5-2)

R1- Koscheck shot in and got a double leg take down after about a minute and a half. They stood up but Koscheck got another take down. Koscheck controls the round but didn’t look like he did a lot of damage. Koscheck up 10-9 after one round.

R2- Koscheck stuck with a take down and got one about half way through the round. The ref stands them up and Koscheck immediately gets another take down. Koscheck is up 20-18 as he’s just out wrestling Joslin in this fight.

R3- Koscheck continues to dominate by out wrestling Joslin in this round and gets a guillotine. It looked like Joslin was thinking about tapping but slipped out of the move. Koscheck is going to take this fight 30-27. Not an exciting fight but an effective one for Koscheck.

Judges score the fight: 30-27 on all 3 score cards

Winner: Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (18-0) vs. Joe Riggs (28-8)

Sanchez has a 3.5” reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Diego sticks Riggs with a left hand that floors him at the one and a half minute mark and then Diego jumps on top and hits a knee as he comes in and this fight is over.

“He believes Diego’s stand-up is about 3 years behind his”- Goldberg quoting Riggs who was talking about Sanchez.

Winner: Diego Sanchez by KO (Knee) R1 1:45

Strikeforce on NBC 11/30 Show Re-Cap

Strikeforce on NBC 11/30 Show Re-Cap

This weeks show features a compilation of the 10 best knockouts of the season.

10. Cung Le vs Mike Altman- This was Cung Le’s MMA debut. Le hit a spinning back kick to knock Altman up against the cage and then popped him in the chin with a right hook for the KO. Cung Le did a back flip after the win.

9. Frank Shamrock vs Cesar Gracie- This was just 21 seconds into the fight and Frank nailed him with a right and then hit some Ground and Pound and the ref stopped it as Gracie’s corner threw in the white towel.

8. Luke Stewart vs Bryson Kamaka- Stewart hit a couple of knees. One to the chest and one to the forehead and this one was over. This one only lasted 19 seconds.

7. Joe Riggs vs. Eugene Jackson- Riggs hit some Ground and Pound on Jackson and then postured up and nailed Jackson with several punches from the half guard position and Jacksons lights went out.

6. Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Riggs- Riggs got a shot that floored Misaki and Misaki answered and knocked Riggs down and then got a Ground and Pound victory. Not really a good “knockout.”

5. Duane Ludwig vs. Tony Fryklund- Ludwig just nailed Fryklund with some Ground and Pound and then when they stood up he delivered a tough left hand that knocked him out.

4. Terry Martin vs. Cory Devela- Devela was winning this fight but walked in to a Martin left that floored him and then Martin hit him with a right on the ground to finish him off.

3. Paul Buentello vs. Tank Abbott- Buentello hit him with a big right hand and Tank fell over like a tree being chopped.

2. Paul Buentello vs. Carter Williams- Buentello hit several uppercuts coming out to start a round and this one was over.

1. Cung Le vs. Brian Warren- Le hit several punches and Warren stumbled and then Le knocked him out with a good right hand. The funny thing is that this was about 30 seconds after Warren mocking Cung Le.

Strikeforce "Destruction" 11/21/08 Re-Cap

Strikeforce "Destruction" Re-Cap

This show is from San Jose. The main fights will be a Strikeforce Light Heavyweight fight where Bobby Southworth defends against Renato "Babalu" Sobral and then Scott Smith fights Terry Martin in the Main Event. Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten are the announcers as usual. Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.

Middleweight Fight- Nik Theotikos (5-1) vs. Luke Rockhold (2-1)

5 of Nik's first 6 fights have ended in the first round. He is 2-0 in Strikeforce fights. Luke comes out to a Metallica song. He's from San Jose. Luke has never been past the first round in a fight. Looks like this one will be a quick one.

R1- Nik quickly grabs Luke in a guillotine and seems to have it in really tight. Luke gets out and is in Nik's guard. Rockholt gets in a lot of strikes while in Nik's guard. Rockholt takes Nik's guard and wins via Rear Naked Choke. Good win by Luke as he had to escape an early submission and then dominated after that point.

Winner: Luke Rockhold by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1

Gina Carano is interviewed after the fight.

Welterweight Fight- Joe Riggs (28-10) vs. Luke Stewart (6-1)

Riggs is 10-10 since losing to Matt Hughes. Riggs is a 3-1 favorite in this fight. Big John McCarthy is the ref for this fight (he had previously retired but has now returned).

R1- Stewart gets a quick take down but they quickly stood back up. Stewart is controlling the pace of the fight and got Riggs back on the mat at the three minute mark of the round. Not a lot of damage done in the first round but it goes to Stewart as he controlled the fight. Stewart landed 10 strikes in round one to Riggs one strike and Stewart got 2 take downs to zero of Riggs. Stewart has a bunch of hotties in the crowd cheering for him.

R2- Riggs takes Stewart's guard early in the round and is laying in some punches. Riggs is landing some good shots now and Stewart dives at Riggs legs to try and hold on but McCarthy stops the fight.

Winner: Joe Riggs by TKO (strikes) R2 2:05

Woman's Fight- Kim Couture (0-1) vs. Lina Kvokov (0-1)

This is Couture's second professional fight. Both of these women are 0-1 so basically the only reason this fight is on the show tonight is due to Kim's last name. Randy and Gina Carano are both in Kim's corner for the fight.

R1- They come out throwing punches. Kvokov with horrible defense. Kim is pulling her hair and punching her and Kvokov is basically just in this fight to be a punching bag. They have a split screen on Randy for the first minute of the fight. The ref stops the fight a couple of minutes into it. Kvokov just didn't look like she belonged in the ring or wanted to be there.

"The first thing you should do is keep your eye on your opponent. That way you can see the punches coming."- Bas Rutten

Winner: Kim Couture by TKO (strikes) R1 1:44

Josh Thomson was originally going to fight but he injured his toe. So Duane Ludwig is stepping in to take his place.

Lightweight Fight- Duane Ludwig (17-8) vs. Yves Edwards (34-14-1)

Edwards was last seen getting demolished at the hands of KJ Noons. Ludwig defeated Sammy Morgan in his last fight. Josh Thomson joins Bas and Kenny to help announce the fight. Mike Brown (WEC Featherweight Champ) is in the corner of Edwards for the fight.

R1- Yves gets a quick take down. Yves looks like he's bleeding even though he hasn't been hit with a punch yet. Not a lot of action but Yves basically stays on top of Ludwig for the entire first round. Yves 10-9 in round one.

R2- Edwards got a take down but Ludwig got right up. Yves got another take down about one and a half minutes into the round. Ludwig gets back to his feet and slams Edwards to the mat but Edwards gets back up and takes Ludwig down again.

R3- Ludwig fought off Yves and got a take down about a minute and a half into the round. I've got it 20-18 Yves so Ludwig needs to finish. Not a very exciting fight, kind of disappointing. I've got Yves 29-28 for the decision win.

The judges score cards say: 29-28 in favor of Duane Ludwig for all judges. surprising. Duane did out strike Yves. I'm just very surprised that it was "unanimous".

Winner: Duane Ludwig by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Bobby Southworth (c) (9-5) vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7)

Southworth's strategy in every fight I've ever seen him in is to simply grab his opponent and lean on them for 5 rounds. Babalu has won 13 of his last 15 fights.

R1- Southworth gets a quick take down and lays on Babalu. Babalu gets up and they clinch against the cage. Three and a half minutes gone in the fight and little to no action so far. Babalu hits an elbow and Southworth's nose is busted open. McCarthy pauses the fight to take a look at the cut. The announcers are surprised that the fight is continuing. Southworth pushes Babalu to the ground and jumps on top as the bell rings to end the fight.I think you have to give this round to Babalu due to damage inflicted on Southworth.

During the intermission they stop the fight due to the cut (it was actually over his eye) and give Babalu the TKO victory.

Winner and new champion: Babalu Sobral TKO (cut) R1 5:00

Middleweight Fight- Terry Martin (18-5) vs. Scott Smith (13-5)

Cung Le joins Bas and Kenny to call the fight.

R1- Scott Smith hit a big shot early in the round and Terry Martin got KO'd. Quick work by Scott Smith. That was a big time KO. Smith hit him on the temple as he leaned in and Martin just fell where he was standing.

Winner: Scott Smith by KO R1 0:24

Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion II 9/20/08

Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion II 9/20/08

Lon McHeron (this is how they spelled it but I think they spell it differently on the TV show) and Ken Shamrock are the announcers. Ken marvels at the "sights" at the Mansion. They discuss the "distractions" that the fighters are facing tonight. Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.

Middleweight Fight- Kenneth Seegrist (5-0) vs. Eric Lawson (6-2)

R1- Seegrist goes for a quick punch but gets caught and gets taken down immediately after the bell rings. See grist grabs a guillotine but Lawson slips out. Lawson takes his back and gets a slam but Seegrist grabs another guillotine but Lawson gets out. Seegrist grabs yet another guillotine but Lawson slips out again. Lawson lands some punches and mounts Seegrist and Lawson submits Seegrist with a Rear Naked Choke to give Seegrist his first loss. Seegrists forehead is busted open.

Winner: Eric Lawson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 3:07

Light Heavyweight Fight- Anthony Ruiz (21-11) vs. Trevor Prangley (17-5)

Hopefully this is better than the snore fest Ruiz had with Bobby Southworth earlier this year.

R1- Ruiz clinches early and Prangley gets in a couple of shots. Ruiz likes to lay and lean on people if the Southworth fight is any indication. Prangley landed a nice knee. Ruiz answered with a couple of punches and clinched. Prangley has Ruiz's back and is trying to work a choke on the ground. Ruiz gets out of trouble First round goes to Prangley.

R2- Prangley gets a big take down immediately and gets side control. Trevor has Ruiz's back but doesn't have the hooks in on him. Ruiz gets back to his feet but gets taken down again. Prangley is up 20-18 in a rather boring fight.

R3- Prangley gets another take down at the beginning of the round. Prangley is riding Ruiz's back again. Ruiz gets back to his feet and again gets taken down.

Prangley is going to win this 30-27 in a very boring fight. Ruiz basically did nothing in this fight, much like the last fight he had against Southworth. Judges score the fight 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Prangley

Winner: Trevor Prangley by Decision (Unanimous)

Hef is at ringside surrounded by babes.

Lightweight Fight- Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) vs. Justin Wilcox (5-2)

Ishida comes out to "Give it Away" by the Chili Peppers. Wilcox comes out to a generic rap song. Both guys are listed as wrestlers. Apparently Wilcox was on TUF Season 5, at least that's what Jimmy Lennon Jr tells me during introductions. This is Ishida's mainland US debut (he has fought in Hawaii).

R1- After one minute they haven't landed any punches but it's already more exciting than the last fight as they feel each other out. Ishida shoots in and goes for a take down and Ishida grabs an amazingly fast arm bar and this one is over. Amazing move. Almost looked like a flying arm bar. Wow.

Winner: Mitsuhiro Ishida by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 1:21

Middleweight Fight- Terry Martin (17-5) vs. Cory Devela (9-2)


Devela's nickname is "The One" so I'm guessing he's a fan of Billy Gunn. The last I saw of Martin he was losing to Vitor Belfort in Affliction earlier this year. He looked decent until the finish.

R1- Martin gets a slam and takes down Devela in the first minute. They stand back up and exchange a little bit. Pretty even first round.

R2- Martin gets a take down and is in Devela's guard. Devala gets back to his feet. Devela seems to be winning the stand up fight.

R3- They stand up for the majority of the round and then Terry Martin hits a good punch and knocks Devela down and the ref stops the fight pretty quickly.

Winner: Terry Martin by TKO (strikes) R3 2:08

Lightweight Fight- Ashe Bowman (9-4) vs. Josh Thomson (16-2)


Bowman comes out to some Van Halen, circa Sammy Hager. Gilbert Melendez joins the announcers for this fight. Ashe apparently trains with Ken Shamrock. Thomson is the Strikeforce Lightweight champ but this is a non-title fight. Thomson is on a 7 fight win streak. Thomson has a skunk stripe in his hair.

R1- Josh goes for a high kick early but it's blocked. Thomson lands some punches and takes down Ashe and quickly finishes. Great showing by Thomson against an over matched fighter.

Winner: Josh Thomson by TKO (strikes) R1 1:14

Ken Shamrock with a thrilling post fight interview in which he doesn't even ask Josh who he wants to fight next. Based on tonight I wouldn't mind him fighting Ishida before the Melendez re-match. Especially since Ishida has a recent victory over Melendez.

Middleweight Fight- Joe Riggs (28-10) vs. Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2)

They announce Misaki as a "World Top 10 Fighter." I look around at some web sites and he is ranked number 9 at mmafighting.com for Middleweight Fighters, below Frank Trigg and above Yoshihiro Akiyama. MMA Weekly has him at #6, below Matt Lindland (who based on his Affliction fight doesn't deserve to be in the Top 25) and above Yushin Okami.

R1- They kind of dance around for the first couple of minutes feeling each other out but not throwing any punches. Misaki gets the first strike as he lands a kick. Riggs lands a decent jab. Lots of dancing around and we are at the end of round one. I don't see how you could possibly give this round to either fighter.

R2- Misaki lands a combo about two minutes in. Very little action in this round, similar to the first. Misaki lands a kick to the gut. Riggs hits a punch and Misaki goes down but he pops right back up. Misaki returns the favor and Riggs hits the floor and Misaki jumps on top and continues to pound on Riggs. The ref stops the fight and it's over. Riggs was still covering up so Riggs is complaining of a quick stoppage.

Winner: Kazuo Misaki by TKO (strikes) R2

Not a real good show but Ishida and Thomson put on good quick exhibitions. Check those out as they only put in a total of about 3 minutes. Martin/Devala and Seegrist/Lawson were decent fights.