Strikeforce Challengers Series 3/26 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers Series
Savemart Center
Fresno, California
March 26, 2010
Showtime

Strikeforce Challengers features up and coming prospects looking to move up the ladder. The Main Event features Lavar Johnson who was shot at a Family Reunion last July in what Mauro called a senseless tragedy (one of Lavar's relatives was killed) and was in critical condition and will be making his return tonight. Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Militech are the announcers for the show. Danny Miller is the ring announcer.The fight to watch on the card is Luke Stewart versus Andre Galvao.

Catchweight Fight (160 lbs)- Justin Wilcox (8-3) vs. Shamar Bailey (13-1)

Bailey is a wrestler with 4 knockouts and 3 submissions to his credit and he has won his last 4 fights. Wilcox is also a wrestler but is listed as a freestyle fighter. Wilcox is on a 3 fight win streak and is training with the American Kickboxing Academy and is a former wrestling teammate of Josh Koscheck. Bailey has a 2" height and 6.5" reach advantage.

R1- Wilcox rocked Bailey early with a kick that connected to Bailey's face. Wilcox connected with a couple of punches and Bailey retreated knocking over the ref. Looks like Bailey has a cut on his forehead and the blood is in his eye. Wilcox hits another head kick but Bailey absorbs it. Bailey keeps wiping blood out of his eye and the ref stops the fight to check on the cut. Wilcox was dominating the fight standing but went for a take down and got stuffed. Bailey went for a take down but Wilcox sprawled out of it. Strong round for Wilcox. I scored it 10-9. Wilcox landed a lot of shots and cut Bailey but never knocked him down despite landing some good clean shots. Good opening round for the first fight of the night.

R2- Wilcox landed a barrage of strikes in the first thirty seconds and Bailey is having trouble with his other eye now. Wilcox hit a good kick and then nailed Bailey with a low blow. Wilcox hit another high kick to the head and then a good overhand right. Wilcox hit Bailey with an open hand to the face and poked him in the eye but the ref didn't stop the fight like he should have and allowed Wilcox an unfair advantage and Wilcox took him down to the mat. Wilcox would have won the round with or without the poor refereeing. Wilcox 20-18.

R3- Wilcox continues his dominance and lands some good strikes early in this round. Both guys are trading strikes in the middle of the round and Wilcox got a take down with about two minutes left in the fight. Wilcox mounted and stayed busy with punches but Bailey did a good job defending by wrapping him up. Wilcox went for an arm bar at the end of the round but couldn't land it. Really good performance by Wilcox as he took this fight 30-27 in my book. Bailey showed a lot of heart but just didn't have the offense to hang with Wilcox. Good opening fight.

Judges score cards: 30-26, 30-27, 30-27

Winner: Justin Wilcox by Decision (Unanimous)

Women's Welterweight Fight (135 lbs)- Miesha Tate (8-2) vs. Zoila Frausto (5-0)

R1- Tate went for an early take down and had to work for it but completed it. Tate was able to land some strikes and then took Zoila's back but Zoila got to her feet and flipped her off. Tate got another take down with 45 seconds left in the round. Tate 10-9.

R2- Zoila landed a couple of strikes at the beginning of the round much to the delight of the round but got take down. Tate is using her shoulder to choke Zoila in side control. Tate went for an arm triangle and couldn't get it so she mounted and landed some strikes. Zoila tried to push her off but got caught in an arm bar and Zoila fought it hard but had to tap out. Really good showing for Miesha Tate.

Winner: Miesha Tate by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:09

Mauro Ranallo hypes up the Saturday April 17th Strikeforce show as he interviews King Mo Lawal ringside. Mo says he been training with guys like Rashad Evans, Mark Munoz, Babalu, Mayhem Miller and Fabricio Werdum. King Mo promises a flashy entrance and is looking for a knockout. Jake Shields also joins Mauro and they discuss his defense against Dan Henderson.
The show features three world title fights:
Lightweight Title Fight- Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Shinya Aoki
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Gegard Mousasi (c) vs. King Mo Lawal
Middleweight Title Fight- Jake Shields (c) vs. Dan Henderson

Welterweight Fight- Luke Stewart (6-2) vs. Andre Galvao (3-1)

Galvao is a BJJ fighter who has won all of his fights by submission. He trains with guys like Anderson Silva and Jacare Souza. Stewart is also a BJJ fighter who has 3 wins by submission and 3 by knockout. Stewart has a 2" height and 4.5" reach advantage.

R1- Stewart landed a nice punch early but got taken down very quickly after that. Galvao went for a leg lock but Stewart did a good job neutralizing it and transitioned back to his feet. Stewart threw some strikes and then got a take down but Galvao bounced right back up. Galvao landed a couple of knees at the end of the round. Really close round that could have easily gone either way.

R2- Stewart went for a knee but fell down and Galvao jumped on top but Stewart flipped him over and they quickly went back to their feet. Galvao got a take down with a minute left in the round. Galvao landed some strikes but got flipped over when he went for an arm triangle. Another close round that was probably taken by Stewart due to his work when they were standing during the first part of the fight. Quadros has Stewart up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Galvao swept Stewart and took him down inside the first minute of the final round. Stewart flipped Galvao over with three minutes left in the round but couldn't do anything before Galvao escaped. Galvao landed a good knee and then took Stewart down but Stewart again flipped him over. Neither guy came close to finishing this fight. Stewart will most likely take the decision. The first and third rounds were close with Stewart taking the second round.

Judges score cards: 30-27 Stewart, 30-27 Galvao, 29-28 Galvao. Wow, how can you have a 30-27 in favor of one guy and a 30-27 in favor of the other guy?

Winner: Andre Galvao by Decision (Split)

Light Heavyweight Fight- George Bush III (5-1) vs. Abongo Humphrey (5-1)

Both of these guys have previously fought at Heavyweight. Bush is a freestyle fighter and is not a former president of the United States. Bush has 3 knockouts and 1 submission in his 5 wins. Bush also played baseball at the Ohio State University. Mark Coleman is in Bush's corner for the fight tonight. Bush is coming off of a loss to Ricco Rodriguez. This is Humphrey's first fight at Light Heavyweight. He is also a freestyle fighter. All 5 of Abongo's wins have come by way of knockout. Abongo's only loss is to Brett Rogers. Bush has a 4.5" reach advantage.

R1- Abongo landed a head kick early but Bush absorbed it and took him down. Abongo grabbed a guillotine up against the cage and Bush tapped out. Surprising finish and good showing for Abongo.

Winner: Abongo Humphrey by Submission (Guillotine) R1 1:44

Heavyweight Fight- Lavar Johnson (13-3) vs. Lolohea Mahe (6-0-1)

This is the Strikeforce debut of Mahe. Mahe came in 2 pounds over the 265 lb Heavyweight limit but Johnson agreed to the fight. Mahe has won all of his fights by way of knockout. Johnson is from Fresno and gets a good reaction during his introduction. Johnson has a 2" reach and 1.5" height advantage. Mahe has a 26 pound weight advantage. Johnson has 11 wins by knockout and 2 by submission.

R1- Johnson is sticking the left jab early. Mahe landed a good overhand right. Mahe went for a take downa nd Johnson locked in a guillotine but couldn't finish with it. Mahe finished the take down with two minutes left in the round. Johnson got back to his feet but got taken down again near the end of the round. Mahe probably stole this round with the two take downs and by clearly controlling the last two minutes of the round.

R2- Johnson missed a high head kick and Mahe landed a good kick to the side. Johnson landed a couple of knees. With four minutes left in the round Mahe looks exhausted. Johnson landed a good right hand. Mahe is just spent and Johnson is landing some strikes. Johnson is not in great shape himself and Mahe is able to stay in the fight. Johnson grabs another guillotine against the cage but Mahe gets out of it. Johnson lands some good strikes and has bloodied up Mahe's nose. Mahe covers up on the fence and eats some strikes and Johnson lands an over hand right that brings Mahe to his knees and then lands a couple more strikes before the ref steps in. Both guys really gassed in this round but Johnson had more left in the tank and was able to finish Mahe.

Winner: Lavar Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:29

Strikeforce Challengers Series 5/15/09 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers Series 5/15/09
Fresno, California

This is the second installment of Strikeforce on Showtime but the first in the “Strikeforce Challengers” series. This show will feature more up and coming fighters (sprinkled with some experienced fighters) who are looking to move up to the bigger Strikeforce shows. Mauro Ranallo is joined by Stephen Quadros. The third member of the broadcast crew is Pat Miletich. Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.

Featherweight Fight- Bao Quach (15-9-1) vs. Tito Jones (6-2)

Quach is 9-1 in his last 10 fights. Quach is a Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu fighter. Quach has fought a high level of competition such as Waggney Fabiano and has a draw against Sengoku Featherweight Hiroki Hatsu. Tito is a wrestler and boxer and is working with Urijah Faber (Faber is in his corner for the fight). Tito is 4-0 as a Featherweight. Jones has a 3” height advantage but everything else is virtually identical. This should be a good opener.

R1- Not much action in the first half of the round as both guys are really feeling each other out and being very tentative. Tito hit 3 good hooks but couldn’t follow it up with anything. They clinched and exchanged knees. Not a lot of action, Bao hit some good leg kicks so probably took the first round just based on landing more strikes. Quadros also says that he gave round one to Bao.

R2- This round is a continuation of round one with slow action and Bao landing leg kicks. Bao just kept landing leg kicks as he circled Tito. Another blah round that had some boo birds from the fans. I’ve got Bao up 20-18 so far in this fight. The leg kicks from Bao look like they are taking their toll on Tito.

R3- Tito needs to finish the fight before this round ends if he wants to get a win. Tito hit a good right hand and then came in and hit another right hand and he jumped on top of Bao but they got back to the feet. Tito is giving Bao too much time to gather his senses. Tito hits a strong right and floors Bao and draws blood but Bao gets back to his feet and there is not much action over the next several minutes. Tito put up a great first half of the round but didn’t finish with authority. Bao won the first two rounds, Tito won round three by a wide margin. The only question is whether Tito can get enough 10-8’s to make this a draw. I think Bao wins this one by decision. This was unfortunate because Tito looks like he has some talent he just didn’t put it together tonight.

Judges score cards say: all score cards 29-28 in favor of Bao Quach

Winner: Bao Quach by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Anthony Ruiz (21-12) vs. Aaron Rosa (11-2)

Rosa is a 25 year old Muay Thai and BJJ fighter. Pete Spratt is in Rosa’s corner for the fight. Anthony Ruiz is a 31 year old wrestler and Muay Thai fighter. Rosa has a 3” height advantage but Ruiz has a 3” reach advantage. I’ve seen 3 Ruiz fights. Two were really boring fights and the other was a pretty boring ref stoppage due to a cut (of course Bobby Southworth was in two of these fights so it could have been his fault). I’m expecting this to go to the time limit.

R1- They threw some punches early before Ruiz clinched and went for a take down. Ruiz hit a couple of good shots out of the clinch but Rosa responded with a couple of his own until Ruiz clinched again. Rosa got a double leg and got a slam into full guard. Ruiz rolled to his back. Rosa went for the Rear Naked Choke as he also had him locked in a body triangle and it looked like Ruiz passed out and the ref stopped the fight. Good showing by Rosa and by far the best fight I’ve seen Ruiz in.

Winner: Aaron Rosa by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:29

Heavyweight Fight- Lavar Johnson (11-3) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (4-2)

Carl is a 25 year old wrestler/fighter. The only time I’ve seen Carl fight was on the ShoXC Elite Challengers show from 9/26/08 where he fell to Shane Del Rosario by TKO early in the second round. Carl has scored a KO in all of his victories. Lavar is a 31 year old Muay Thai fighter. Lavar has a 3” height and 2.5” reach advantage. Lavar has scored a KO in all of his victories but one. I think we are going to see this fight finished before the time limit.

R1- Wow, this was a shocking fight. Carl went in low for a take down and got caught by an uppercut and KTFO. That was unreal. This one was over before it started.

Winner: Lavar Johnson by KO R1 0:18

A commercial is shown for the next Strikeforce show on June 6th featuring Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields. They also hype Rafael Feijao. They cut to Mauro Ranallo who has Scott Smith by his side. Smith will fight Nick Diaz on this show. Lawler/Shields and Smith/Diaz makes for a good night of fights in my book.

“Train hard, I’m ready” – Scott Smith

Women’s Bantamweight Fight- 135 lbs- Sarah Kaufman (8-0) vs. Miesha Tate (6-1)

This fight will be three, three minute rounds. Miesha is a 22 year old submission wrestler. Sarah is a 23 year old Muay Thai and BJJ fighter. Sarah took this fight on short notice due to Kim Couture dropping out. Sarah has finished all of her fights, she is 8-0 with 8 KOs. Miesha Tate had Brian Caraway (her boyfriend) in her corner (he’s a Strikeforce fighter that scored a win on the under card of the Thomson/Melendez fight from last year).

R1- Both women land some good shots early. Tate looks like she got in a good shot or two on Sarah’s eye but Sarah seems to be getting in the better shots overall. Tate got a take down with 20 seconds left in the round so she can rest. Sarah takes the first round.

R2- Tate was able to get an early take down in this round. Somebody is cut and it looks like its Tate. Tate takes this round 10-9 and evens the score 19-19 even though she busted her nose open in that round.

R3- Tate kept going for take downs but Sarah kept denying her. Kaufman landed some Ground and Pound from a weird tradition and took this round. Kaufman wins 29-28 on my score card.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards in favor of Kaufman

Winner: Sarah Kaufman by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Billy Evangelista (9-0) vs. Mike Aina (11-6-1)

Both guys came in a couple of pounds overweight and have agreed to the fight at a catchweight of 157 pounds. Boo! Aina is a 28 year old Kick Boxer and Jiu Jitsu fighter. Aina lost a controversial split decision to Nick Diaz in Elite XC. On the flip side Evanglista won a controversial decision over Nam Phan in Strikeforce last year. Evangelista is a 28 year old Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu fighter who is fighting in his hometown tonight. Aina has a 3” reach advantage in this fight. Aina has 6 losses but has never been knocked out or submitted. Aina trains under BJ Penn in Hawaii.

R1- Pretty even fight for the first several minutes. Evangelista got a take down with around a minute and a half left in the round but Aina popped right back up. This was a close round, they ended in a clinch where Evangelista was more active. I think Evangelista probably took this 10-9. Quadros says he gave the round to Aina due to a combo he threw in the middle of the round.

R2- Evangelista got a take down about mid-way through the round and got some shots in on Aina. Evangelista hit Aina with a knee to what looked like the shoulder as Aina had one knee on the ground. On the re-play it clearly shows that the knee hit Aina in the shoulder and Aina is pointing to his jaw. Maybe the knee knocked his jaw out of place but it definitely didn’t land on his jaw. Aina cannot continue so he is going to be awarded the victory by DQ. This is a shame for Evangelista as he looked like he was on his way to a victory but you can’t throw a knee in Strikeforce (or a lot of companies) when your opponent is downed.

Interesting that they ring announcer specifically said that Evangelista was DQ’d for a knee to the head of a downed opponent when the knee clearly did not hit his head. Post-fight interview Aina said the strike hit him on the jaw. This looks to me like Aina is pulling a Cro Cop (he was getting dominated by Alistair Overeem and bowed out due to an illegal strike and said he couldn’t continue) and looking for a way out of a fight that he didn’t think he was going to win but maybe the strike to the shoulder did affect his jaw.

Dean says he stopped the fight for the knee to the head and the doctor thinks Aina broke his jaw. Disappointing Main Event.

Winner: Mike Aina by DQ (Knee to the head) R2 3:40