Strikeforce Challengers 5/21 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers
Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Oregon
May 21, 2010

Strikeforce Challengers typically focuses on young, up and coming talent and tonights show will have Tarec Saffiedine and Tyron Woodley in action. In the Main Event is mma veteran Matt Lindland taking on Kevin Casey. Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich are the announcers for the show.

Lightweight Fight- Pat Healy (22-15) vs. Bryan Travers (13-1)

Travers has 3 wins by KO and 4 by submission. Healy has 13 wins by submission. Healy gets a good reaction from the crowd as he's the hometown guy in this fight. Both guys have a background in wrestling. Healy has a 3" reach advantage.

R1- Travers looked pretty good early in the round landing a coule of strikes and stuffing a take down. Healy landed a couple strikes and then got taken down by Travers. Healy looked better in the second half of the round. 10-10 round if you could give it. Flip a coin. Miletich gave the round to Healy.

R2- Healy landed some quick strikes early in this round. Healy got a take down at the one minute mark of the round but couldn't keep him down. Healy took Travers back and then hit a knee and then a good strike in the clinch. Healy got another take down with one minute left in the round but Travers scrambled back to his feet quickly. Healy took this round.

R3- Healy hit a good right early in the round. Healy got a slam in the first minute of action but couldn't hold him down. Healy clinched him against the cage and controlled the fight. Travers got a take down at the mid-way point of the round. Healy got up and Travers took him back down. Travers got a third take down but Healy reversed position and then hit a belly-to-back suplex on Travers. Close round, Healy did more damage in the round. I've got Healy winning this fight. Possibly could see a split decision coming up.

Judges score cards: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27

Winner: Pat Healy by Decision (Unanimous)

Post fight Healy says he wants to fight Lyle Beerbohm in order to get a shot at Josh Thomson or Gilbert Melendez.

Welterweight Fight- Tarec Saffiedine (8-2) vs. Nate Moore (6-1)

Tarec fought on the February Challengers show and looked very good in beating James Terry by decision. Tarec is fighting out of Team Quest and has finished 5 of his 8 wins by submission. Moore was a D-1 wrestler at Purdue. Moore has finished all 6 of his fights (2 by knockout and 4 by submission). Moore fights out of AKA.

R1- They throw leather early. Moore went for a take down but Tarec sprawled out. Moore is throwing leather but Tarec hit a good strike that wobbled Moore. Tarec quickly capitalized and took Moore's back but he had to give it up as he was too high on Moore's back. Tarec just missed a front kick. Good first round. Tarec 10-9.

R2- Moore is throwing a lot of punches but isn't landing anything. Tarec nailed Moore with a punch as Moore was going for a take down. Big time right hand by Tarec. Good finish by Tarec. Would like to see him Main Eventing Challengers (I said this after his last win) or on the main Showtime cards.

Winner: Tarec Saffiedine by KO R2 1:21

Mauro interviews Josh Thomson. Thomson says he'll take a third Melendez fight as soon as it's offered. He's fighting again on the next card but he doesn't know who he is fighting yet.

Middleweight- Roger Bowling (7-0) vs. Bobby Voelker (21-7)

I saw Voelker fight on the November Challengers show and he showed a lot of resilience in beating Erik Apple by 2nd round TKO after losing the first round on my score card. Voelker has 13 knockouts and 3 submission finishes to his record. Bowling is undefeated and has finished all of his fights. He has 5 knockouts and 2 submissions. Ranallo says Bowling has won most of his fights in the first round. Voelker has a 4" reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Bowling connected with a good strike early and got an immediate take down. Voelker got back to his feet and ate another strike. Bowling just connecting with good strikes and Voelker clinches. Voelker's left eye is bloody. Bowling lands a good kick. Bowling hit a big left. Voelker is eating a lot of strikes and then got slammed. Blood is all in Voelker's eye. Bowling 10-9.

R2- Bowling hit a good strike early and Voelker went down. Bowling jumped on top and took his guard. Bowling went for a kimura and then let Voelker up and landed some nice strikes. Bowling got another take down. The ref stand the fight up with about 80 seconds left. Voelker got a take down with about a minute left but Bowling quickly got back to his feet. Bowling got a take down right at the end of the round. Bowling 20-18. This will be the first time in his career that Bowling has gone to the 3rd round.

R3- These guys are just throwing bombs and Voelker ends up on top in Bowling's guard. Bowling spun out and got back to his feet. Bowling's eye got scrapped by the edge of one of the gloves when they had a ref break from a clinch. They stopped the fight to check it out. They stop the fight due to the incidental foul and go to the score cards since it's in the final round.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all cards for Roger Bowling

Winner: Roger Bowling by Decision

Middleweight Fight- Tyron Woodley (6-0) vs. Nathan Coy (8-2)

Woodley fought on the November Challengers show and beat Rudy Bears by Arm Bar submission in the first round. At the September Challengers show he took out Zach Light by 2nd round Arm Bar submission. Woodley has won all of his fights by submission. Coy is a wrestler from Oregon State. He's the home town guy so he gets a good reaction. Militech says they trained together a couple of years ago.

R1- Coy came in early and Woodley got an immediate take down. Woodley hit a good body punch that floored Coy as he came in wildly. Woodley jumped on Coy's back and landed some strikes. Coy clinched and tried to get a take down but Woodley denied him. Coy clinches Woodley again and is landing some good leg strikes with his knee. Coy looked good in the second half of the round but I've got Woodley taking it 10-9. Good first round.

R2- Coy is working over Woodley's knee. Coy landing some good strikes in the clinch but then ate a knee. Woodley hit a good right after a break. Coy landed a good strike but Woodley absorbed it. They are exchanging some nice shots. Woodley blocked a head kick and Coy ended up on the ground. Woodley took Coy's back. Woodley couldn't get the choke so he landed some strikes. Coy did a good job defending in this position. Woodley grabbed an arm bar at the end of the round but the buzzer sounded to end the round. Woodley took this round with his work in the last minute as he took dominant positions and has a submission attempt that almost ended the fight. Woodley 20-18 but it's a close fight.

R3- Coy is the aggressor at the beginning of the round. Woodley lands some counter punches and then gets a take down. Coy was able to reverse and get the take down. Coy lands some body strikes on the ground. Coy took this round. I've got Woodley 29-28.

Judges score cards: 29-28 Woodley, 30-27 Coy, 29-28 Woodley

Winner: Tyron Woodley by Decision (Split)

Middleweight Fight- Kevin Casey (3-1) vs. Matt Lindland (21-7)

Casey is a Gracie jiu jitsu fighter. Casey fought on the November Challengers show and won in impressive fashion over Chad Vance by Rear Naked Choke in the first round. Lindland got dominated by Jacare Souza in his last fight. Casey has a 3" reach advantage despite being 1" shorter than Lindland. Casey has 2 submissions in his 3 wins. Lindland has finished 7 fights by knockout and 7 by submission. Lindland has a huge advantage in the experience department. Casey spent time at Cesar Gracie's camp training for this fight. Casey's lone loss was in his pro debut to Ikuhisa Minowa.

R1- Casey clinched early but it was Lindland that got the take down. Casey got to his feet and they clinched against the cage. Lindland tried to grab a guillotine but instead got take down. Lindland tried to scramble but got his back taken by Casey. Lindland was able to reverse positions with half a minute left in the round. Casey got to his feet. Lindland threw some knee strikes but didn't hit anything substantial. Casey 10-9. Quadros said Lindland squeaked by in the round and Militech called it even.

R2- Lindland clinched early and took Casey down with knee and foot stomps. Casey got back to his feet but Lindland powered him back down. Lindland is landing strikes but nothing that's going to finish the fight so far. Lindland got the crucifix in the last twenty seconds of the round. Casey was able to reverse out. Lindland dominated that round but didn't do enough damage to come close to a 10-8. So I've got it 19-19 after two. Quadros has the fight 20-18 Lindland.

R3- Lindland got a quick take down. Lindland is landing strikes from the tap. The ref steps in and calls the fight.

The announcers proclaim Lindland as being "back" after beating a guy with only 3 career victories.

Winner: Matt Lindland by TKO (Strikes) R3 3:41

Kind of a disappointing show. Saffiedine/Moore was really good. Bowling/Voelker was good until the strange stoppage. Matt Lindland winning the Main Event of a Strikeforce Challengers Series event is underwhelming. Not a way to elevate new talent. I'd rather see a guy like Tarec Saffiedine Main Eventing against another up and coming fighter than a veteran on the brink of concluding his career on a show about elevating new talent.

Strikeforce Challengers Series 11/20/09 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers Series
Memorial Hall
Kansas City, Kansas
November 20, 2009

This is the final Strikeforce Challengers Series of 2009. Mauro Ranallo is the lead announcer and he is joined in the booth by Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich. Some fighters to watch tonight are Tyron Woodley, Erik Apple and Rafael Feijao. There is also a very intriguing match-up between Kerry Vera and Kim Couture. I’m sure you recognize those last names if you are an MMA fan. No Jimmy Lennon Jr tonight as the cage announcer is Mike Vale.

Middleweight Fight- Kevin Casey (2-1) vs. Chad Vance (7-3)

Casey is a submission specialist and Vance is a wrestler. Casey has a 5” reach advantage.

R1- Casey got him down early and took his back. Casey got a Rear Naked and go the tap. Quick and impressive victory for Casey.

Winner: Kevin Casey by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1

Light Heavyweight Fight- Aaron Rosa (12-2) vs. Rafael Feijao (7-2)

Feijao is a Muy Thai/Jiu Jitsu fighter who was considered a really hot prospect before a loss in his last fight. Feijao has finished all of his fights as he has 6 KOs and 1 submission out of his 7 wins. Feijao trains with Anderson Silva and has him in his corner tonight. Rosa is a striker who has recently quit his full-time job to concentrate 100% on MMA. Rosa has a 2.5” height and 4” reach advantage.

R1- Rosa came out swinging but Fejiao clinched him and landed some good shots. Not much damage done in this round but Feijao controlled the majority of the round. Feijao 10-9.

R2- Feijao hit a good punch/knee combo and then got a take down about mid-way through the round. Elbow strikes are illegal in Strikeforce and Feijao is warned and they are stood back up. Feijao caught Rosa and then started to pound him on the ground and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. A real lackluster fight with an exciting finish.

Winner: Rafael Feijao by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:25

Welterweight Fight- Erik Apple (10-1) vs. Bobby Voelker (20-7)

Voelker is from Kansas City so he’s the hometown fighter. Apple is a Muy Thai fighter and a wrestler. Voelker has a 2.5” reach advantage.

R1- Apple hit some strikes early and had Voelker in trouble but he couldn’t finish. Apple got a take down but Voelker returned the favor with a minute left in the round. Voelker put a lot of pressure on Apple at the end of the round but I had Apple winning the first 4 minutes so I’ve got the first round scored Apple 10-9.

R2- Voelker lands some strikes to start this round and then got a take down. Voelker hurt Apple and then jumped on top for some Ground and Pound and the ref stopped the fight. Good resilience by Voelker in the first round and then he came out strong in the second to put this fight away.

Winner: Bobby Voelker by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:23

Women’s 135lb Fight- Kerry Vera (1-0) vs. Kim Couture (1-1)

R1- Vera hit some nice knees in the clinch. Vera just landed better more concise shots throughout this fight as Couture seemed like she was swinging blindly. Vera got her up against the cage and just destroyed her. Very impressive showing by Vera.

Winner: Kerry Vera by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:35

December 19th we will see Strikeforce on Showtime as Cung Le takes on Scott Smith and Jacare and Matt Lindland fight each other in each fighters Strikeforce debut. Robbie Lawler will also be in action at that show. In January Strikeforce returns to Showtime with the debut of Herschel Walker and Cris Cyborg will also be on the show.

Welterweight Fight- Tyron Woodley (4-0) vs. Rudy Bears (10-3)

Back in September Woodley defeated Zack Light by 2nd round submission during a Strikeforce Challengers Series show. Bears is a kick boxer and Woodley is a wrestler. Bears has won 6 straight fights and Woodley is undefeated.

R1- Woodley got a take down in the first minute of the fight. Woodley went for an arm bar but couldn’t get it and they stood back up. Woodley hit some knees and then got a double leg take down about half way through the round and went for an arm triangle. Woodley was able to position his body correctly and got the tap from the arm triangle. Very impressive fight and finish by Woodley.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 2:52

Strikeforce Challengers Series 9/25/09 Re-Cap

Strikeforce Challengers Series
Tulsa, Oklahoma
September 25, 2009

This is the third Strikeforce Challengers Series event on Showtime. Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich are the announcers for tonight’s event. Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.

Heavyweight Fight- Daniel Cormier (0-0) vs. Gary Frazier (0-0)

This is the MMA debut for both fighters. Cormier was an Olympic wrestler and Frazier has a background in football and track. Frazier is listed as a boxer/wrestler. Cormier is training under Bob Cook at the American Kickboxing Academy (Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cain Velasquez, Josh Thomson). Muhammed Lawal is in Cormier’s corner and is one of the reasons that Cormier got his start in MMA. Frazier has a 5.5” reach and 3” height advantage.

R1- Cormier took the center of the cage and Frazier seems to be content to back off and try to look for an opening but not really any action in the first minute of the fight. Cormier landed the first strikes of the fight and then stuffed a take down attempt. Frazier runs away from Cormier then tries to dive at him but Cormier jumps on top of him and hits him with some Ground and Pound as Frazier is turtled up. Cormier was able to switch position and took side control and landed some punches. Frazier gets back up and runs away from Cormier and then throws some strikes that back off Cormier. Good round for Cormier as he easily took this round. It was a borderline 10-8 round.

R2- Cormier tried for a single leg and Frazier avoided it by grabbing onto the cage on three separated instances. He should have had a point deducted because he clearly did it twice more after he was warned and was able to avoid a take down due to an illegal activity. Cormier landed some strikes about half way through the round. Frazier went for a knee but missed and slipped and Cormier jumped on top and landed some hammer fists. Cormier passed guard to the mount and landed some more Ground and Pound. Frazier gave up his back and Cormier landed some punches on his ears and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.

Good debut by Cormier. Frazier was clearly out of his league in this fight.

Winner: Daniel Cormer by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:39

Catchweight Fight- Thomas Longacre (5-0) vs. Travis Calanoc (4-0)

Colanoc is from Tulsa and is listed as a boxer/jiu jitsu fighter. Longacre is from Tyler, Texas and is listed as a kickboxer. Longacre is the XFL (whatever that is) Featherweight Champion. Longacre has a 3.5” reach advantage in this fight. Longacre is listed at 148 lbs and Calanoc is listed at 146.5 so not sure if both guys missed weight for this fight or what.

R1- Longacre landed a combo in the first minute that knocked Calanoc back to the cage but couldn’t tell if it was a punch or a slip to avoid a punch. Longacre is throwing a lot of strikes and has taken the center of the cage. Longacre looked really good early but he went for a head kick and Calanoc blocked it and landed a knee and then a punch that hurt Longacre. Longacre was able to clinch so that he had some time to recover. Calanoc was able to trip Longacre and tried to pull guard with a guillotine but he slipped right off and Longacre sat down in his guard but he couldn’t hold the position. Really good first round with some twists and turns. Longacre looked really good early but Calanoc came closer to stopping the fight. This round could have gone either way.

R2- Longacre takes the center of the octagon like he did in the first half of last round. Fairly even round with Longacre being more aggressive and looking more confident. Longacre landed a really good combo at the four minute mark. Calanoc pulled guard and grabbed a guillotine but he couldn’t hold it and Longacre quickly got back to his feet. Longacre took this round.

R3- Longacre got a take down about a minute into the fight and quickly took side control but he gave up the position. Longacre is again winning the stand up battle in this round. Calanoc tries to pull guard with a guillotine choke but Longacre quickly slips out and ends in Calanoc’s guard. Calanoc went for an arm bar but Longacre avoided it and got back to his feet. Both guys throw in the last ten seconds trying to land the punch that ends the fight. Longacre is going to win this round and will win the fight. Good fight.

Judges score cards say: All three judges score the fight 30-27

Winner: Thomas Longacre by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Tyron Woodley (3-0) vs. Zack Light (6-8)

Woodley is a two-time All-American wrestler from Missouri and Zack Light is also a college wrestler. Zack Light is also the wrestling coach at the Wolfslair (Michael Bisping, Rampage Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Paul Kelly) in the UK. All 3 of Woodley’s wins have come by submission and he trains with American Top Team (Denis Kang, JZ Calvancante, Jorge Santiago, Thiago Silva, Mike Brown, Luis Cane).

R1- Woodley has some quick strikes. Woodley got a slam on Light about one and a half minutes into the fight. Woodley was able to get mount and land some strikes and then clamped in an arm triangle. Woodley couldn’t finish Light and went back to full mount. Good round by Woodley, he looked solid.

R2- Light came in for a punch and Woodley caught him with a knee. Then Woodley landed a right hand that floored Light. Light quickly got up but Woodley got a fast take down. Woodley again went for the arm triangle but gave it up in favor of the full mount and some Ground and Pound. Woodley again went for the arm triangle. The fighters went back to their feet with two minutes left in the round and Woodley got another take down and mounted. Light pushed off the cage and Woodley clamped in an arm bar and Light tapped. Great counter by Woodley. Woodley looked really good, can’t wait to see him fight again.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 3:38

Heavyweight Fight- Ray Sefo (1-0) vs. Kevin Jordan (11-7)

Jordan played football at Memphis and is listed as a boxer/jiu jitsu fighter. Sefo is a 6-time World Champion Kickboxer. Sefo has the highest knockout ratio in K-1. Sefo has not fought in MMA since 2005. Jordan has a 3.5” height and 3” reach advantage. Sefo has been training at Xtreme Couture. Shawn Thompkins is in Sefo’s corner for the fight.

R1- Sefo lands a couple of kicks and Jordan goes for a take down but Sefo rolls over on top. Sefo tried to pass and he got reversed and Jordan took side control. Jordan went for a key lock but Sefo held on to his arm and avoid the submission. Jordan transitioned to full mount and lands some punches. Sefo is able to survive the round but Jordan definitely takes round one.

R2- Jordan went for a take down right off the bat and got stuffed. Jordan looked like he hurt his leg or his knee and didn’t get up. Sefo seized the opportunity and jumped down on Jordan and then Jordan pushed him off but couldn’t stand up and tapped out. Well that was a freak injury. Sefo was lucky to get out of here with a win. He definitely needs to work on his ground game if he wants to continue in MMA.

Winner: Ray Sefo by TKO (Knee Injury) R2 0:24

Middleweight Fight- Tim Kennedy (10-2) vs. Zak Cummings (10-0)

Kennedy is 1-0 in Strikeforce while Cummings is making his Strikeforce debut. Kennedy beat Nick Thompson in his last fight for Strikeforce. Zak Cummings is listed as a jiu jitsu fighter. Kennedy is listed as a kickboxer. Kennedy is a Green Beret trained in Special Forces.

R1- Kennedy went for a take down and landed it within the first 30 seconds of the fight. Cummings gave up his back and Kennedy landed some strikes and Cummings moved back to his back. Kennedy is landed some good strikes on Cummings. Kennedy is just all over Cummings. Kennedy took this round 10-8. Cummings has a good size mouse on his eye and looks like he has a cut right above his right eye.

R2- Kennedy went for a choke about two minutes into the round but couldn’t lock it in. Cummings went for a take down but Kennedy sprawled out and clamped on a north/south choke and Cummings tapped out. Great fight for Kennedy.

Winner: Tim Kennedy by Submission (North/South Choke) R2 2:43