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)
Showing posts with label Sarah Kaufman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Kaufman. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Strikeforce Challengers Series 6/19/09 "Villasenor vs. Santos" Re-Cap
Strikeforce Challenger Series 6/19/09
Joe Villasenor vs. Evangelista Santos
Kent, Washington
This is the second installment of the Strikeforce Challengers Series. Mauro Ranallo is the lead announcer and he is joined by Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich. The Challenger Series focuses on hungry prospects and veterans looking to make an impact.
Middleweight Fight- Luke Rockhold (4-1) vs. Cory Devela (9-2)
Rockhold fought on the Strikeforce “Destruction” show last November and defeated Nik Theotikos by first round submission. Devela fought Terry Martin in September for Strikeforce and lost by TKO in the third round. Rockhold has won all of his fights by submission. Rockhold is a wrestler and jiu jitsu fighter. Devela is the only fighter on this card from Washington.
R1- Devela came in right of the bat and landed a punch but took a punch and was floored. Rockhold followed him to the floor and nailed him with a bunch of punches. Devela bleed on the mat and then Rockhold locked him in with the Rear Naked Choke and Devela tapped out. Great showing by Rockhold. Rockhold has looked really good in both of the fights I’ve seen him in.
Winner: Luke Rockhold by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 0:30
Women’s Fight- 135 Pounds- Sarah Kaufman (9-0) vs. Shayna Baszler (11-5)
Baszler trains with Josh Barnett. Baszler comes to the ring with a guitar on her back. Baszler fought Christiane Cyborg on CBS for Elite XC in 2008 but lost by TKO in the second round. Kaufman beat Miesha Tate at the first Strikeforce Challengers show by Decision. This is being fought under 3 five minute rounds, which is a change from the usual 3 minute rounds that most women’s MMA fights are fought under. Mauro let’s us know that future women’s fights will be contested under 5 minute rounds.
R1- Baszler was able to get a trip early and took Kaufman’s guard. Kaufman got out of that position but Baszler got a brief choke before Kaufman could get out of the submission hold. The ref stood the fight up with a minute thirty left in the round. Baszler clinched her and the ref broke them up. Close round that probably goes to Baszler due to the take down and submission attempt.
R2- They clinched and Kaufman snuck in a good right hand as they broke the clinch. Kaufman hit a good combo. Kaufman is starting to pick Baszler apart on their feet now. Kaufman clearly took this round as she closed very strong and I’ve got the fight 19-19 going into the final stanza.
R3- Baszler went for a single leg take down but Kaufman stuffed it and ended up on top. Kaufman got a take down and landed some brief Ground and Pound but then let Baszler up to her feet. Kaufman is clearly winning the stand up game. Baszler went for a last minute knee bar but Kaufman stuffed it and will take this fight by decision.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Kaufman. I had the fight 29-28 in favor of Kaufman.
Winner: Sarah Kaufman by Decision (Unanimous)
Josh Barnett joins Mauro Ranallo at ringside. He talks about the Baszler fight and the upcoming fight that he has against Fedor on August 1st for Affliction.
Catchweight Fight (160 pounds)- Jorge Gurgel (12-5) vs. Conor Heun (8-2)
Heun is a 30 year old wrestler who has 5 submissions out of his 8 wins. Heun has a brown belt in jiu jitsu under Eddie Bravo. Gurgel is a jiu jitsu fighter who prefers to stand on his feet and that’s the reason that he’s no longer in the UFC. Gurgel has 9 submissions in his 12 wins. Heun has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Gurgel is hitting some leg kicks. When the fighters get close together they are both just swinging for the fences. Gurgel continues to hit leg kicks and is the more accurate striker so far. Heun started to come on at the end of the round and he landed some good strikes. This was a very close round. I’m not sure Heun did enough at the end of the round to get the nod.
R2- Heun is pushing forward at the beginning of this round and looking to get in close range to throw strikes. Gurgel hit a nice high head kick but Heun took it and didn’t go down. Gurgel caught Heun with some punches but doesn’t follow up. Gurgel hits a good right hand. Gurgel had a head kick blocked and then gets Gurgel on the cage and hits some strikes and draws blood from Gurgel. They are just swinging for the fences and the fans are eating it up. Gurgel landed some nice strikes to close the round. Great round. I’ve got Gurgel up 20-18 so far.
R3- Gurgle hit a body kick but Heun took Gurgel down and they scrambled back to their feet with 3 minutes left in the round. Gurgel got caught Heun and Heun jumped on top and then grabbed the rubber guard and then they stood back up with a minute and a half left. Really good fight. I’ve got Heun taking this round but Gurgel winning the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards show: 29-28, 30-27 in favor of Gurgel.
Winner: Jorge Gurgel by Decision (Unanimous)
They show a hype video for upcoming Gina Carano/Cyborg fight.
Middleweight Fight- Nick Thompson (38-10-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (9-2)
Kennedy is a kickboxer who is a Special Forces Army Ranger. Thompson fought Jake Shields for the Elite XC Welterweight Title on CBS last July but fell victim to a guillotine choke in the first round. Thompson is a boxer and a wrestler. In Thompson pre-fight interview he seems to think that Jake Shields has the Strikeforce Title. Thompson is the most experienced fighter on this show. Thompson has 21 submission victories in his career. Thompson beat Paul Daley in a recent fight.
R1- Kennedy shot in early but Thompson grabbed his arm and went for a kimura. Thompson finally released the attempts and Kennedy tried to take Thompson’s back and ended up getting half guard. Both guys are very active on the mat so far in the first round. Kennedy mounted but Thompson quickly pushed him back to half guard. This was a good first round that was the opposite of Gurgel/Heun as this fight was contested almost solely on the ground. Kennedy won the first round 10-9.
R2- Kennedy got a take down at the one minute mark of the round. Kennedy lands some strikes and Thompson tapped out to the strikes.
Post-fight Thompson gets in the refs face. Maybe about the strikes as it looked like Kennedy hit several shots to the back of Thompson’s head and the ref did nothing to stop them.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Submission (Strikes) R2 2:37
Middleweight Fight- Joe Villasenor (26-6) vs. Evangelista Santos (16-12)
Santos is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter. Cyborg is coming off of an elbow injury. Villasenor fought and defeated Phil Baroni on CBS in May of 2008 in only one minute winning by TKO. Villasenor is a boxer and jiu jitsu fighter. Villasenor trains with Greg Jackson’s camp. He has not fought since the Baroni fight. Cyborg has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Villasenor is the aggressor early but is getting caught with some counter punches. Villasenor gets a take down about half way through the round. First round goes to Villasenor 10-9.
R2- They throw some good leather early into this round. Cyborg is hitting low kicks. They really mixed it up at the end of the round. Really close round. Villasenor is the one pushing the action but this one could have gone either way.
R3- Cyborg got a take down a minute into the third round. Villasenor got to his feet without taking any damage. Villasenor is pushing the action and has opened up a cut on Cyborg. I’ve got Villasenor taking this round and the fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Villasenor, 29-28 Cyborg (?), and 29-28 Villasenor.
Winner: Joe Villasenor by Decision (Split)
This was a decent show but definitely one where you didn’t miss much if you missed it. Gurgel/Heun was a really fun fight and was FOTN. I hope Villasenor gets moved up to the main show because he’s a solid fighter and I’d like to see how he does against some of the top Middleweights that Strikeforce has. Luke Rockhold looked great and it looks like Sarah Kaufman is positioning herself for a possible fight with the winner of Carano/Cyborg.
Joe Villasenor vs. Evangelista Santos
Kent, Washington
This is the second installment of the Strikeforce Challengers Series. Mauro Ranallo is the lead announcer and he is joined by Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich. The Challenger Series focuses on hungry prospects and veterans looking to make an impact.
Middleweight Fight- Luke Rockhold (4-1) vs. Cory Devela (9-2)
Rockhold fought on the Strikeforce “Destruction” show last November and defeated Nik Theotikos by first round submission. Devela fought Terry Martin in September for Strikeforce and lost by TKO in the third round. Rockhold has won all of his fights by submission. Rockhold is a wrestler and jiu jitsu fighter. Devela is the only fighter on this card from Washington.
R1- Devela came in right of the bat and landed a punch but took a punch and was floored. Rockhold followed him to the floor and nailed him with a bunch of punches. Devela bleed on the mat and then Rockhold locked him in with the Rear Naked Choke and Devela tapped out. Great showing by Rockhold. Rockhold has looked really good in both of the fights I’ve seen him in.
Winner: Luke Rockhold by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 0:30
Women’s Fight- 135 Pounds- Sarah Kaufman (9-0) vs. Shayna Baszler (11-5)
Baszler trains with Josh Barnett. Baszler comes to the ring with a guitar on her back. Baszler fought Christiane Cyborg on CBS for Elite XC in 2008 but lost by TKO in the second round. Kaufman beat Miesha Tate at the first Strikeforce Challengers show by Decision. This is being fought under 3 five minute rounds, which is a change from the usual 3 minute rounds that most women’s MMA fights are fought under. Mauro let’s us know that future women’s fights will be contested under 5 minute rounds.
R1- Baszler was able to get a trip early and took Kaufman’s guard. Kaufman got out of that position but Baszler got a brief choke before Kaufman could get out of the submission hold. The ref stood the fight up with a minute thirty left in the round. Baszler clinched her and the ref broke them up. Close round that probably goes to Baszler due to the take down and submission attempt.
R2- They clinched and Kaufman snuck in a good right hand as they broke the clinch. Kaufman hit a good combo. Kaufman is starting to pick Baszler apart on their feet now. Kaufman clearly took this round as she closed very strong and I’ve got the fight 19-19 going into the final stanza.
R3- Baszler went for a single leg take down but Kaufman stuffed it and ended up on top. Kaufman got a take down and landed some brief Ground and Pound but then let Baszler up to her feet. Kaufman is clearly winning the stand up game. Baszler went for a last minute knee bar but Kaufman stuffed it and will take this fight by decision.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Kaufman. I had the fight 29-28 in favor of Kaufman.
Winner: Sarah Kaufman by Decision (Unanimous)
Josh Barnett joins Mauro Ranallo at ringside. He talks about the Baszler fight and the upcoming fight that he has against Fedor on August 1st for Affliction.
Catchweight Fight (160 pounds)- Jorge Gurgel (12-5) vs. Conor Heun (8-2)
Heun is a 30 year old wrestler who has 5 submissions out of his 8 wins. Heun has a brown belt in jiu jitsu under Eddie Bravo. Gurgel is a jiu jitsu fighter who prefers to stand on his feet and that’s the reason that he’s no longer in the UFC. Gurgel has 9 submissions in his 12 wins. Heun has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Gurgel is hitting some leg kicks. When the fighters get close together they are both just swinging for the fences. Gurgel continues to hit leg kicks and is the more accurate striker so far. Heun started to come on at the end of the round and he landed some good strikes. This was a very close round. I’m not sure Heun did enough at the end of the round to get the nod.
R2- Heun is pushing forward at the beginning of this round and looking to get in close range to throw strikes. Gurgel hit a nice high head kick but Heun took it and didn’t go down. Gurgel caught Heun with some punches but doesn’t follow up. Gurgel hits a good right hand. Gurgel had a head kick blocked and then gets Gurgel on the cage and hits some strikes and draws blood from Gurgel. They are just swinging for the fences and the fans are eating it up. Gurgel landed some nice strikes to close the round. Great round. I’ve got Gurgel up 20-18 so far.
R3- Gurgle hit a body kick but Heun took Gurgel down and they scrambled back to their feet with 3 minutes left in the round. Gurgel got caught Heun and Heun jumped on top and then grabbed the rubber guard and then they stood back up with a minute and a half left. Really good fight. I’ve got Heun taking this round but Gurgel winning the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards show: 29-28, 30-27 in favor of Gurgel.
Winner: Jorge Gurgel by Decision (Unanimous)
They show a hype video for upcoming Gina Carano/Cyborg fight.
Middleweight Fight- Nick Thompson (38-10-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (9-2)
Kennedy is a kickboxer who is a Special Forces Army Ranger. Thompson fought Jake Shields for the Elite XC Welterweight Title on CBS last July but fell victim to a guillotine choke in the first round. Thompson is a boxer and a wrestler. In Thompson pre-fight interview he seems to think that Jake Shields has the Strikeforce Title. Thompson is the most experienced fighter on this show. Thompson has 21 submission victories in his career. Thompson beat Paul Daley in a recent fight.
R1- Kennedy shot in early but Thompson grabbed his arm and went for a kimura. Thompson finally released the attempts and Kennedy tried to take Thompson’s back and ended up getting half guard. Both guys are very active on the mat so far in the first round. Kennedy mounted but Thompson quickly pushed him back to half guard. This was a good first round that was the opposite of Gurgel/Heun as this fight was contested almost solely on the ground. Kennedy won the first round 10-9.
R2- Kennedy got a take down at the one minute mark of the round. Kennedy lands some strikes and Thompson tapped out to the strikes.
Post-fight Thompson gets in the refs face. Maybe about the strikes as it looked like Kennedy hit several shots to the back of Thompson’s head and the ref did nothing to stop them.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Submission (Strikes) R2 2:37
Middleweight Fight- Joe Villasenor (26-6) vs. Evangelista Santos (16-12)
Santos is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter. Cyborg is coming off of an elbow injury. Villasenor fought and defeated Phil Baroni on CBS in May of 2008 in only one minute winning by TKO. Villasenor is a boxer and jiu jitsu fighter. Villasenor trains with Greg Jackson’s camp. He has not fought since the Baroni fight. Cyborg has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Villasenor is the aggressor early but is getting caught with some counter punches. Villasenor gets a take down about half way through the round. First round goes to Villasenor 10-9.
R2- They throw some good leather early into this round. Cyborg is hitting low kicks. They really mixed it up at the end of the round. Really close round. Villasenor is the one pushing the action but this one could have gone either way.
R3- Cyborg got a take down a minute into the third round. Villasenor got to his feet without taking any damage. Villasenor is pushing the action and has opened up a cut on Cyborg. I’ve got Villasenor taking this round and the fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Villasenor, 29-28 Cyborg (?), and 29-28 Villasenor.
Winner: Joe Villasenor by Decision (Split)
This was a decent show but definitely one where you didn’t miss much if you missed it. Gurgel/Heun was a really fun fight and was FOTN. I hope Villasenor gets moved up to the main show because he’s a solid fighter and I’d like to see how he does against some of the top Middleweights that Strikeforce has. Luke Rockhold looked great and it looks like Sarah Kaufman is positioning herself for a possible fight with the winner of Carano/Cyborg.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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
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
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