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King Mo Lawal (left) v Rafael Feijao

Two title fights, a controversial referee’s decision and the next step in the career of a former WWE superstar were the talking points as Strikeforce presented their latest show in Houston, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The show began with heavyweight action as Bobby Lashley faced Chad Griggs.

This is the fight that will end all of those Brock Lesnar comparisons. Lashley began extremely well with a series of take downs, but a knee in the clinch against the cage clearly hurt him, and moments later Griggs connected with a blow that opened up a nasty cut underneath Lashley’s left eye.

Although Lashley began the second round strongly Griggs began to work his way back into the fight as Lashley visibly tired. Griggs connected with an uppercut as Lashley went for the shoot, and it was all downhill from there. Griggs connected with more blows to the head as the round ended, with Lashley quitting seconds later, giving Griggs the win that nobody expected.

It was down to the lightweight division for the next fight as K.J. Noons took on Jorge Gurgel.

This was a fight full of incident. After some great exchanges in the first round Noons connected with a left that sent Gurgel crashing just as the round ended.

Noons kept up his attack into the second as another big left sent Gurgel down again. Noons then hesitated for a second, expecting the referee to stop the fight, before unleashing with a few more blows, including a knee while Gurgel was still grounded, a move that is illegal under MMA rules. However the referee, in his infinite wisdom, missed this blow completely as Noons was given the knockout win, despite the fact that he clearly should have been disqualified.

The first title fight of the show saw Tim Kennedy taking on Jacare Souza for the vacant Middleweight title.

An entertaining five round affair with very little ground work was an even looking striking contest, with both fighters giving a good account of themselves. Kennedy sustained a nasty cut above his left eye that worsened as the fight went on, although it didn’t stop him from getting the take down as the fight came to an end.

All three judges scored in favour of Souza. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two are matched up again in the future.

The main event saw King Mo Lawal defending the Light Heavyweight title against Rafael Feijao.

The proved to be a very good fight. Mo looked good early on with his massive slam, but Feijao showed some great defensive work as he popped straight back up.

That was how the fight played out for the first two rounds, until Feijao unloaded with a barrage of fists and knees. Mo grabbed hold of the Brazilian and held on for dear life, but it didn’t stop the elbows as the referee stepped in and called a halt to the proceedings, giving Feijao the highly impressive knockout win.

In conclusion – apart from the blind referee in the Noons/Gurgel fight this turned out to be a great night for Strikeforce, with the main event between Mo and Feijao the best of the bunch.

I do wish they’d sort out the refereeing decisions though!

Miesha Tate v Hitomi Akano

A catchweight bout, a four-woman tournament and the debut of the son of a legend were the talking points of Strikeforce’s latest Challengers show, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The show began with the semi-finals of the tournament to find the number one contender to the Women’s Welterweight title, beginning with Miesha Tate against Maiju Kujala.

Fought over two three minute rounds, this fight featured  a controversial moment towards the end of the first when the referee stood the fighters up when Kujala had a guillotine choke applied.

Apart from that we saw a pretty good performance from Tate as she took home the unanimous decision. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the referee hadn’t intervened in that first round.

The second semi-final saw Hitomi Akano taking on Carina Damm.

An excellent back and forth grappling battle saw both girls putting on great performances, especially in the first round, a round which was again marred by a questionable stand-up.

Akano took the win in the second after some more impressive ground work and a modified triangle.

Then it was on to action from the lightweight division as Mr. Couture’s baby boy Ryan squared off against Lucas Stark.

A quick fight saw Couture get the take down after a brief feeling out period. Stark soon got to his feet and got a take down of his own, only to quickly find himself in a Couture triangle choke with no means of escape. An impressive performance from debutant.

The women’s welterweight tournament final followed as Miesha Tate faced Hitomi Akano.

This was one of the best ground fights I’ve seen in ages. Fought over three three minute rounds this featured tremendous performances from both girls.

Tate certainly lived up to her nickname with some impressive take downs, with some great defensive work from Akano frustrating her all the way.

But despite Akano’s defensive work it was Tate’s attacks that earned her the unanimous decision, and a possible re-match with Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman.

The main even saw Joe Riggs taking on Louis Taylor in a catchweight bout made at 182 pounds.

A fight that didn’t exactly set the world alight to begin with saw two tentative performances in the first two rounds. It was almost as if both fighters were looking for counter moves, with neither man willing to make that first move.

But the fight suddenly came to life in the third when a big right from Riggs rocked Taylor, who tried to recover by going for a clinch against the cage.

This only resulted in a Riggs take down, with Taylor tapping out as Riggs went to work with the ground and pound.

In conclusion – despite the somewhat lacklustre main event, Strikeforce Challengers proved to be a very entertaining show.

The highlight for me was the women’s welterweight tournament, and the performances of Tate and Akano. It was a shame that their fight only lasted nine minutes. Just imagine what those two could have done with three five minute rounds.

So in all a good show, with another one just a few days away.

British mixed martial arts is on the agenda again as Dave O’Donnell’s Ultimate Challenge presented their latest show Invincible, shown on a four day delay on Sky Sports here in Britain this past Wednesday night.

The show began with heavyweight action as Ian Hawkins went up against Mark Potter.

A controversial fight saw Potter cut his taller and heavier opponent down to size with some great body shots. But Potter went too far and kicked Hawkins in the head as he slumped to the ground.

The referee quickly stepped in and disqualified Potter straight away. Potter would surely have won but for that moment of madness.

It was down to the middleweight division for the next fight as Earl Brown faced Jake Bostwick.

Sadly we only got highlights from the first round, and there wasn’t much from the second because Bostwick connected with a big right that knocked Brown out cold, giving Bostwick the KO win. You have to wonder if the near twenty year age difference was too much for Brown to overcome.

After a highlights package from some of the other fights it was on to featherweight action as Tom Dixon took on John Kelly.

A fast paced fight saw both men going all out from the start. Kelly looked like he was going to overwhelm his teenage opponent early on, especially after a big slam, but Dixon came back well, opening up a cut on the bridge of Kelly’s nose.

Round two didn’t last long. A big left from Kelly sent Dixon crashing out before he hit the ground, taking home the knockout win.

Then it was up to lightweight as Brad Wheeler faced Francis Heagney.

A nice technical ground battle saw Heagney get the early take down after a four shot combination, and from there he all but dominated. Wheeler went for a couple of submission attempts but Heagney escaped easily, and with his ground and pound going unanswered towards the end of the round the referee wisely stepped in and gave Heagney the TKO win.

Welterweight action followed as Edgelson Lua took on Jamaine Facey.

This proved to be another great ground battle. Lua put in some good work in the first round, but the extraordinary moment when he took Facey’s back and synched in a rear naked choke, keeping the choke on for what seemed like an eternity. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Facey managed to escape.

They continued with the ground work in the second round with more transitions and reversals before Facey took Lua’s back and unleashed with the ground and pound. Lua failed to respond and it wasn’t long before the referee stepped in and saved him from further punishment, giving Facey the impressive TKO win.

The main event saw Valentino Petrescu challenge Jimi Manuwa for the Light Heavyweight title.

A great striking battle began with both fighters testing the waters early on, but as the fight progressed Manuwa had great success with some knees from the clinch, which set him up for the quick combinations that sent Petrescu crashing to the ground, giving the Poster Boy the title retaining KO win.

In conclusion – on the same night that a certain middleweight fight was happening Dave O’Donnell and his crew once again proved something that we’ve known for some time – that Ultimate Challenge is the best MMA promotion in Britain right now.

All the fights here were highly enjoyable, and I was pleased that we didn’t see any of the UK1 kickboxing fights that drag the show down a little.

So in all another good show, and here’s looking forward to their next outing in September.

ESPN Classic continued their journey through the UFC’s archives this past weekend as they reached the final of the sixth series of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes v Team Serra, featuring Mac Danzig against Tommy Spear in the final and Clay Guida against Roger Huerta in the main event.

It was welterweight action for the majority of the show, beginning with Dan Barrera against Ben Saunders.

This was a good three round ground battle. Barrera tried to seize the initiative by going for the take down, but each time he took the guard Saunders nullified his attack.

The third round saw Saunders on the attack throughout as he took Barrera’s back and went for a rear naked choke. He also scored with a couple of powerful kicks, but in the end he couldn’t put his man away.

The judges gave Saunders the unanimous decision, proving that you don’t have to be on top to attack effectively.

George Sotiropoulos against Billy Miles was next.

Miles began this one with all guns blazing, but it wasn’t long before the Aussie established control, taking Miles’ back, flattening him out and locking in the rear naked choke for the very impressive submission win.

Richie Hightower against Troy Mandaloniz followed.

These two were meant to be best buddies, but that didn’t show in this one. Hightower looked on top for the majority of the fight, but Mandaloniz stayed in contention with some good blows, and he ending up taking the win after one of the simplest of punches – a left jab – dropped Hightower. The referee soon stepped in, giving Mandaloniz the TKO win.

Then it was on to Jon Koppenhaver against Jared Rollins.

From a battle of best friends we went on to a fight between two guys who apparently didn’t like each other very much.

It was an outstanding balls to the wall battle, with neither man holding anything back. Both men were bloodied up at the end of the first, but that didn’t stop them, and even though both were exhausted in the third Rollins dropped Koppenhaver with a big knee. However, War Machine was able to reverse the positions, and soon he took home the win with a relentless ground and pound attack, giving him the TKO win.

The TUF welterweight final saw Mac Danzig taking on Tommy Speer.

The all-Team Hughes battle saw Speer going for the take down early on, only Danzig to take control seconds later, moving from the guard to take Speer’s back so he could synch in a rear naked choke for the great submission win.

John Kolosei against Matt Arroyo followed.

This fight between two Team Serra members proved to be a very entertaining affair, Arroyo went for a couple of arm bar attempts, but Kolosei was able to escape.

However, it was third time lucky for Arroyo as he finally managed to lock in the arm bar for the submission in the final seconds of the third round.

The main event was the only bout fought outside the welterweight division as Roger Huerta took on Clay Guida.

This was an outstanding fight with two different stories. For the first two rounds Guida was able to take Huerta down at will, and he did a great job controlling the fight on the ground and with the striking.

But things changed dramatically at the beginning of the third when Huerta rocked Guida with a knee. Moments later he took Guida’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion – while I’m not really a fan of the reality show part of The Ultimate Fighter the finales always deliver, and this was the case with the sixth instalment, and the two main events, especially the Guida/Huerta battle were outstanding contests.

So overall this gets the thumbs up for me. But don’t expect any more TUF Finale retro-type reviews. I’ve already done them all from season seven onwards and it will probably be a while before ESPN Classic get back to seasons one through four again!

So I’m looking through the Sky EPG this past Tuesday night, looking for something to watch, and it was by chance that I noticed that Irish channel Premier Sports were showing MMA, and just two days before they became a subscription channel! The show in question was Cage Contender 5, held in Dublin on July 24th.

The show began with action from the bantamweight division as Paul Cowzer faced Keith Coady.

The fight featured some frantic striking exchanges in the first round. Cowzer was on top for the majority of the round, and he looked like he was going to get the win after he staggered Coady.

The second round began at a slower pace, but speeded up when Cowzer dropped Coady again, this time with a left, Seconds later and Cowzer had the mount, with the referee stepping in to save Coady from his relentless ground and pound assault.

The bantamweight action continued as Paddy Holohan faced Milan Kovac.

After a great striking battle we went to the other end of the spectrum. Holohan scored with the take down early on, and after Kovac tried to get to his feet Holohan took him down again.

It wasn’t long before Holohan took Kovac’s back and synched in a rear naked choke, and with just one second left of the first round Kovac tapped, giving Holohan the win with a dominating performance.

It was up to the lightweight division for the next fight as Norman Parke went up against Tom Maguire.

Another enjoyable fight with some good ground work. Parke pulled off some good take downs in the first round, be he couldn’t really capitalise on his good work.

It was Maguire who scored with the take down at the beginning of the second, but he went right into Parke’s guillotine. Seconds later and he was tapping, giving Parke the submission win.

Then it was on to the title fights, beginning with Liam Shannon facing Cathal Pendred for the vacant Welterweight title.

This one looked like it would be over in the first few seconds as Shannon got the early take down, quickly taking Pendrad’s back and synching in a rear naked choke. However, Pendred was able to escape.

From there we got an exciting back and forth three rounder. Both fighters had their moments, especially on the ground, but in the end the fatigue factor came into play, with neither man able to get the stoppage.

So in the end the judges were called into action, and all three gave the fight and the vacant title to Pendred in a fight that really could have gone either way.

The next championship battle saw Myles Price challenging Martin Begley for the Lightweight title.

A very good fight saw Begley score with an early take down, but it wasn’t long before Price took control on the ground, dominating the rest of the round.

The extraordinary finish came early in the second. After some more work on the ground Price leapt onto Begley’s back as they got to their feet. A rear naked choke later and Price had the title winning submission.

The main event saw Paul McVeigh facing Artemij Sitenkov for the vacant Bantamweight title.

A very good performance from McVeigh here, dominating on the ground for the most part. Sitenkov had his moments, but McVeigh was always one step ahead of him, and it really came as no surprise when McVeigh got the win and the title when Sitenkov tapped out to a leg triangle and arm bar.

In conclusion – well, I may have found out about this show by accident, but that made it all the more enjoyable. All six fights delivered, with the McVeigh/Sitenkov the best of the lot.

So as far as this little slice of Irish MMA action goes it was great, although it’s a shame that Premier Sports has now become a subscription channel, especially as I don’t want to pay a monthly fee in the hope that they might show more MMA action in the future.

Besides, I’ve never really been a fan of Gaelic football or hurling anyway!

The Ultimate Fighting Championship presented their latest live offering on ESPN in the early hours of this past Monday morning here in Britain with their second show on U.S. network Versus, headlined by the light heavyweight clash between Vladimir Matyushenko and Jon “Bones” Jones.

The show began with the lightweight clash between Tyson Griffin and Takanori Gomi.

The proverbial blink and you’ll miss it affair. After a brief feeling out period Gomi connected with a big right that sent Griffin crashing. The referee quickly stepped in, giving Gomi the great knockout win as Griffin suffered his first KO loss.

Then it was up to the welterweight division as John Howard faced Jake Ellenberger.

A good if unspectacular fight began with some quick exchanges before setting down into a nice ground battle. As the fight progressed a series of elbows from Ellenberger swelled Howard’s left eye to the point that the referee stopped the fight on the advice from the doctor, giving Ellenberger the TKO win.

More lightweight action followed as Darren Elkins took on Charles Oliveira.

The second blink and you’ll miss it affair saw Elkins score with the quick take down, only for Oliveira to lock on an arm bar seconds later, with Elkins tapping out just forty-one seconds into the fight. Awesome stuff from the debutant.

The middleweights were up next as Mark Munoz went up against Yushin Okami.

The only fight of the broadcast to go the distance was an interesting back and forth affair. Okami put on some great defensive work as Munoz went for a number of take downs.

But the main story centred around the striking game. Both men got in some good shots, with a big left from Munoz sending Okami to the ground.

But with neither man unable to stop the other the judges were  called into action as they gave Okami the split decision.

The main event saw action from the light heavyweight division as Jon Jones went up against Vladimir Matyushenko.

Another good performance from Jones saw him get the take down after a brief feeling out period. Matyushenko controlled his left arm briefly, but it wasn’t long before Jones took side control and unleashed with a series of elbows, with the referee quickly stepping in, giving the TKO win with another impressive performance.

In conclusion – well, for a while we Brits thought that we weren’t going to see this show. I’m thankful that I did, because it was a really enjoyable event, with five good fights topped of nicely by Jones’ performance in the main event, and the appearance of legendary referee “Big” Jon McCarthy in the Munoz/Okami fight.

So in all another great show, the perfect appetiser to next weekend’s big middleweight showdown. Am I the only one who wants to see Sonnen hand Anderson his ass on a plate?

Strikeforce returned to Bravo 2 screens this past Monday here in Britain with their latest Challengers show, headlined by the heavyweight clash between Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Mahe.

The show began with action from the light heavyweight division as Abongo Humphrey squared off against Mike Kyle.

A very exciting fight saw Humphrey put on an excellent display of ground work in the first round as he went for a number of guillotine attempts.

Humphrey kept this momentum going into the early part of the second, but as he began to tire Kyle took control, and it wasn’t long before he took his man’s back and locked in a rear naked choke for the submission win. An impressive outing for both men here.

Then it was down to the welterweight division as Cory Devela took on Bobby Voelker.

A nice technical battle saw Devela putting on a great performance on the ground. Voelker looked game at times, especially with the striking exchanges, but Devela was able to keep up with him in this respect.

With the fight going the distance the judges were called into action as they gave the split decision to Voelker, a decision that didn’t sit too well with the crowd, and with me, as I was sure that Devela had done enough to win.

The only title fight on the show saw Sarah Kaufman defending the Women’s Lightweight title against Roxanne Modafferri.

This may well be one of the best fights I’ve seen in recent times. Modafferri looked great in the first round, controlling the fight on the ground, while Kaufman came back well in the second with some tremendous striking.

But this fight will be remembered for it’s highlight reel moment towards the end of the third. As Modafferri went for an arm bar Kaufmann lifted her up and slammed her to the ground, knocking her out in the process, giving her the title retaining knockout win and keeping her unbeaten record intact.

The main event saw Shane Del Rosario facing Lolohea Mahe in the heavyweight division.

Despite giving away over twenty pounds Del Rosario really took the fight to his opponent with his superior striking.

A borderline knee to Mahe that was ruled a low blow stopped him momentarily, but in the end Mahe just had no answer to Del Rosario’s attack, and it was a series of knees in a muay thai clinch that saw Mahe slumping to the ground, with the referee quickly stepping in a giving Del Rosario the TKO win.

In conclusion – after British viewers were left disappointed when they didn’t get to see a certain Russian losing Strikeforce made up for this with a great show as the lesser lights once again showing that they’re ready to step up to the main stage. Although given the performances of Sarah Kaufman and Shane Del Rosario the term lesser lights may seem a little inappropriate.  So in all another good show from Scott Coker and his crew. Very enjoyable.

So here’s the deal. Here in Britain ESPN Classic has been showing The Ultimate Fighter from the beginning, but I haven’t been following it, mainly because it seems to be on a different time every week.

So it was by chance that I saw that the season four finale was being shown this past Wednesday. So I thought what the hell, I haven’t seen it before, so let’s give it a look see.

The show began with middleweight action as Jorge Rivera faced Edwin Dewees. A good striking battle, a back and forth affair with each man rocking the other, until Rivera scored with the knockdown, with the referee stopping the fight when Dewees had no answer to Rivera’s ground and pound, ending a very good performance.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Din Thomas faced Rich Clementi. A very good fight here, and a very impressive performance from Thomas as he out boxed Clementi on numerous occasions throughout the two rounds, with a big left sending Clementi crashing down. Thomas took his back seconds later, and it wasn’t long before Clementi tapped out to a rear naked choke. Nice stuff.

It was back to middleweight action next as Pete Sell faced Scott Smith. This was one crazy fight. Despite the fact that these two were good friends they went all out to get the win, putting on a great striking battle that bloodied both of their faces by the end of the fight.

The crazy finish came in the second. Sell connected with a left to the body the doubled Smith up in pain, but it wasn’t enough to put him away as he connected with a big right that sent Sell down like a sack of spuds, with the referee stopping the fight immediately, giving Smith the knockout win. As soon as the fight finished both fighters laid down on the canvas. Crazy, just crazy.

The middleweight final saw Travis Lutter go up against Patrick Cote. After some good striking battles it was great to see some ground work. Lutter looked impressive as he controlled the fight on the ground. Cote went for a kimura at one point, but that was his only moment of offence as Lutter soon locked in the arm bar for the submission win, earning a future title shot against Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. (Lutter never actually fought for the title. He failed to make weight, and his match with Silva was turned into a three round affair.)

The middleweight action continued with Martin Kampmann against Thales Leites. This was the first fight of the show that went into the third round, and it proved to be a very good battle. Leites was able to out-strike the striker in the first round, but Kampmann showed some excellent defensive work whenever the Brazilian tried to take the fight to the ground.

From the second round onwards the fight belonged to Kampmann as he basically beat Leites up. Leites lay on his back on numerous occasions, exhausted, wanting to take the fight to the ground, but the Dane was having none of it.

No surprise with the decision her as all three judges scored in favour of Kampmann.

Then it was on to the welterweight final as Matt Serra faced Chris Lytle. The most even fight on the show was also, for the most part, the most entertaining. Both guys put on good displays, but it seemed so close that they looked like they were neutralising each other at times.

Once again the judges were called into action, split on favour of Serra, who, like Lutter before him, also won a title shot. (Serra would go on to cause one of the greatest upsets in UFC history when he beat Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title.)

In conclusion – this is the first time I’ve seen this show, and I really enjoyed it. There wasn’t one bad fight here, and the showed was topped off nicely by the Serra/Lytle battle.

As for the differences between the UFC of 2006 and the UFC of today, well, Bruce Buffer is certainly a lot more animated with his introductions than he was back then, and Joe Rogan had a bit more hair. But the thing that I noticed the most was that Big John McCarthy is sadly missed from today’s UFC’s shows.

So if you get the chance to see this show again, then please do. Also, keep an eye on the TV listings, otherwise you’ll miss out on the next Ultimate Fighter finale when it’s on ESPN Classics. Mind you, I’ve already seen the season five finale, so I won’t actually be missing that one!

It’s time to look at British mixed martial arts action again as we take a look at the latest Ultimate Challenge show, Feel the Pain, shown this past Wednesday on Sky Sports here in Britain, presented by Jason Barrett and Dave O’Donnell, with Rob Nutley, Pierre Guillet and Malcolm Martin handling commentary duties.

The opener saw UK1 kickboxing action as Ashley Pollard faced Mahcin Bahtkiewicz for the Heavyweight title. It was interesting to that they once again used MMA-style gloves instead of traditional boxing gloves. This was a very one sided fight. Mahcin came forward from the opening bell, raining down a torrent of blows as Pollard crumbled. Kicks to the leg sent Pollard down for two eight counts, and when he went down for a third time the referee wisely stopped the giving, giving Mahcin the impressive title win.

After a brief highlights package showing some of the other fights, the kickboxing action continued as Djo Lema faced Scott Jansen for the vacant UK1 Lightweight title. This one had quite a reserved start until Lema suddenly sprang into action, with a big right sending Jansen down for the count. A very good performance from Lema here.

The MMA action began with Jason Ball against Tim Radcliff in the lightweight division. A very enjoyable three rounder saw Radcliffe take control in the first, setting up the take down with a few kicks to Ball’s legs. Once he took it to the ground he put on a tremendous showing, transitioning at will and going for a few submissions. Ball came back well in the second, cutting off the cage well and moving Radcliff into position so he could unload with the big right. The third round was a more even affair, with Ball continuing his good striking work before Radcliff once again took control on the ground. All three judges gave the fight to Radcliff, and although the scores weren’t announced, it would have been interesting to see how close they were.

It was up to the middleweight division for the next fight as Chris Greig went up against Jack Mason. A very cagey fight saw Mason go for a couple of take downs in the first. Greig was able to escape with east, and he soon gained the upper hand in the striking game. It was pretty much the same at the beginning of the second, until Mason pulled guard as he synched in a guillotine choke for the submission win. An interesting fight, but not the most explosive one I’ve seen on an Ultimate Challenge show.

The main event saw the big boys coming out to play as Darren Towler faced Ben Smith in the heavyweight division. With the size of these two it was obvious that this fight wouldn’t go the distance. Smith got the early take down, but Towler quickly reversed and showed some good ground work. Smith soon regained control, and after some ground and pound he took Towler’s back and synched in the rear naked choke for the submission win, ending a very good fight.

In conclusion – another very enjoyable outing from Dave O’Donnell and his crew here. There were some really good fights here, although I must admit that even though I quite like them, I’m starting to find the inclusion of the UK1 kickboxing fights a little bit of a turn off. After all, it does say MMA on the marquee as it were, and I’d rather see more MMA fights on an MMA show.

And did we have to have so many shots of Alex Reid and Katie Price sitting in the audience? That’s one tabloid couple I could do without!

MMA action returned to Bravo 2 this past Monday night here in Britain with Strikeforce Los Angeles, headlined by Robbie Lawler against Renato Sobral, and with Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich handling commentary duties.

The show began with a catchweight bout, made at 160, with K.J. Noons facing Conor Heun. A very entertaining opener saw two fighters with decidedly different tactics. While Heun looked to take the fight to the ground, and looked great in the first round with some good sequences, Noons preferred the striking game, and looked just as good, especially when he defended against Heun’s take down attempts in the third. By the end of the fight Heun’s face was a bloody mess. So with the fight going the distances the judges came into play as they gave the split decision to Noons.

Then it was on to middleweight action as Tim Kennedy took on Trevor Prangley. A very good ground battle saw Prangley defend Kennedy’s take down attempt early on with a hip throw, but it wasn’t long before Kennedy took his man down.  From there it was all Kennedy, controlling all aspects with some ground and pound before taking Prangley’s back. The South African tried to fight back, standing up at one point, before finally succumbing to Kennedy’s rear naked choke.

It was down to the welterweight division for the next fight as Marius Zaromskis faced Evangelista Cyborg. No ground work in this one, just plenty of crisp striking as Cyborg really took it to Zaromskis. The man dubbed “the new age Cro Cop” got off a few good shots, but after rocking his man a few times Cyborg countered Zaromskis’ flying knee attempt with a big right. The referee quickly stepped in when Cyborg went for some ground and pound as the Brazilian secured the highly impressive knockout win.

The main event saw more catchweight action, this time made at 195, as Robbie Lawler faced Renato Sobral. Everyone thought that Sobral would constantly go for take downs in this fight, but it was his striking that came to the fore here. Sobral did go for a few take down attempts, but Lawler was easily able to defend. That was why we had an entertaining back and forth striking battle, and while Lawler managed to turn the Brazilian’s face black and blue Sobral scored with some hard kicks that coloured the left side of Lawler’s body. It was a close battle, with the judges giving Sobral the close unanimous decision.

In conclusion – Strikeforce’s latest television offering proved to be a very entertaining affair with four very good fights, topped off by a very exciting main event, once again showing that Strikeforce is a viable alternative to the UFC, even though they may lack an array of household names.