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Justin Wilcox

The day before Rampage faced the Dragon Vitor Ribeiro and Justin Wilcox went at it in the main event of the latest Strikeforce Challengers show, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The broadcast began with lightweight action as Caros Fodor went up against Derek Getzel.

A nice technical battle began with both men swinging before an extensive clinch against the cage. From there the fight went to the ground, and as the round neared it’s final seconds Fodor locked in a d’arce choke for the submission win.

It was up to the welterweight division for the next fight as Marius Zaromskis took on Waachiim Spirit Wolf.

A non-fight that began with Zaromskis flying across the cage. Unfortunately he caught Spirit Wolf with a stray finger to the eye, and after a lengthy rest period and a couple of checks from the doctors the fight was ruled a no contest. The time of the fight – just six seconds.

Normal action resumed as Ovince Saint Preux went up against Antwain Britt in the light heavyweight division.

At first it looked like we were in for another no contest when Saint Preux accidentally poked Britt in the eye just thirty seconds in.

Thankfully Britt recovered, and from there the fight progressed nicely, with Saint Preux controlling the first round with some nice strikes and some good ground work, going for a foot lock towards the end.

Britt came back strongly in the second with some ground work of his own, but OSP re-asserted his control in the third, beginning with a hard liver kick, following up with take downs and ground control.

No surprise with the decision as the judges scored in favour of Saint Preux.

The main event saw Vitor Ribeiro facing Justin Wilcox in the lightweight division.

A very interesting fight saw Wilcox outbox Ribeiro throughout. The Brazilian went for a few take downs but Wilcox easily avoided these. He also refused Ribeiro’s invitations to join him on the ground.

Once again there was no surprise with the decision, with Wilcox taking home the unanimous decision.

In conclusion – three good fights and one unfortunate no contest made for a very entertaining show, and given the performances of some of the guys here I wouldn’t be surprised to see them plying their trade in the main shows soon.

I was a little disappointed that the women’s fight between Jan Finney and Liz Carmouche was cut from the British edit though, mainly because the women’s fights are quite often the highlight of the show. I only knew about this particular encounter because it was left on the highlights package at the end.

But apart from that, good stuff, and I hope that the powers that be at Sky, who recently purchased the Living Group of channels, which includes Bravo 2, don’t dump Strikeforce when they close down the channel in the new year. These shows would make a welcome addition to the Sky Sports schedules.

It was time for the lesser lights of Strikeforce to show what they could do as they presented their latest Challengers show, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The broadcast began with the big boys of the heavyweight division as Brandon Cash faced John Devine.

Cash began this fight by throwing a couple of shots. It proved to be his only effective offence before Devine took control. His second takedown saw him take Cash’s back, and it wasn’t long before he locked in a rear naked choke for the submission win. It may not have been spectacular, but it certainly was effective.

Action from the women’s middleweight division followed as Shana Olsen took on Julia Budd.

Budd looked great in her MMA debut, controlling almost every aspect of the fight. The first round clearly belonged to her, although she was deducted a point after throwing a couple of elbows to Olsen’s head on the ground, an illegal move under Strikeforce rules.

The end came in the second. With the fight going to the ground again it wasn’t long before Budd went to work with the ground and pound, and with Olsen unable to defend herself the referee stepped in, giving Budd the TKO win.

Then it was on to a catchweight bout, made at 165, between Billy Evangelista and Waachiim Spirit Wolf.

This was one of those compelling balls to the wall affairs that had you hooked as soon as it began. As soon as Spirit Wolf tagged his man and Evangelista made his comeback you knew what kind of fight you were going to get.

Both fighters gave their all for the full fifteen minutes, even though it looked like it could end in the third round when Evangelista was teeing off and Spirit Wolf looked out on his feet.

All three judges scored in favour of Evangelista, and despite the scores I wouldn’t be surprised if these two faced each other again.

Then it was back up to the heavyweight division as Lavar Johnson faced Virgil Zwicker.

No ground work here as both fighters swung for the fences early on, and although this was little more than a brawl at times it was both entertaining and effective, with a right uppercut sending Zwicker crumpling to the mat as Johnson claimed the knockout win.

The main event featured the welterweight re-match between Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker.

No accidental eye rakes in this fight. Bowling was relentless with his takedown attempts in the first round, but in the second Voelker’s striking came to the fore. After he rocked Bowling he continued his assault on the ground. Bowling offered nothing in reply, and it wasn’t long before the referee stepped in as Voelker earned the TKO win.

In conclusion – the Strikeforce undercard fighters did it again as they delivered five entertaining fights, and while the main event between Bowling and Voelker was great the fight of the night for me was the women’s encounter between Budd and Olsen.

So in short the latest Challengers show gets my thumbs up, so perhaps I should stop using the term lesser lights in the future.

MMA is on the agenda again as I take a look back at Strikeforce’s latest show, featuring Nick Diaz defending his Welterweight title against old foe K.J. Noons in an event shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The broadcast began with women’s action as Sarah Kaufman defended the Welterweight title against Marloes Coenen.

Once again the women put on a very good fight. After two rounds of striking and clinches up against the cage we saw some great ground work at the beginning of the third. Kaufman quickly took the guard and went to work with the ground and pound.

It looked as if Kaufman was going to get the win until Coenen suddenly sprang into action and locked in arm bar for the submission win.

Then it was on to action from the lightweight division as Josh Thomson faced J.Z. Cavalcante.

As good as the first fight was this was even better. Both guys put in some tremendous work on the ground, with both men going for submission attempts in the first round. The frantic pace continued throughout the fight, and it looked like it could go either way.

With the fight going the distance the judges were called into action, with Thomson earning the unanimous decision.

The main event saw Nick Diaz defending the Welterweight title against K.J. Noons.

This proved to be a very good fight, definitely worth it’s spot on the card. No ground work to speak of here, just five rounds of tremendous back and forth striking action.

Noons’ best moments came in the second with some great combinations. But the best moments came from Diaz with his superior striking. It was a joy to watch as both fighters gave their all in this very entertaining encounter.

No title change here as all three judges gave the fight to Diaz, and rightfully so.

In conclusion – Strikeforce have delivered once again, putting on a very entertaining show. All three fights were good examples of the Strikeforce product, and if you haven’t seen this yet then you should do so if you get the chance.

Nick Diaz of Strikeforce with Paul Heyman on THE HEYMAN HUSTLE.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

In the words of Joe Rogan: Batista joins a bunch of savages

Now this picture is something that grabs my attention as a pro wrestling to MMA convert.

Pictured above is former WWE pro wrestling superstar Dave Batista, alongside the Caesar Gracie camp. Rumour has it muscle-bound freak Batista, who trained in BJJ and Muay Thai before leaving the sports entertainment world, is in talks with Scott Coker’s California based Strikeforce outfit.

A future possibility would be the match-up of Batista versus another former WWE heavyweight and current Strikeforce contracted fighter – Bobby Lashley. First impressions are of sceptisism, featuring 2 former WWE guys in a freak show fight. However after watching this video and seeing who he’s training with, it’s clear he’s focussed and taking the MMA switch seriously.

From Sherdog.com:

Scott Coker had stated that he would be interested to see the 41 year old matched up against former WWE star, and Army wrestler Bobby Lashley claiming that it would be a fun fight for the fans. Only time will tell how interested Batista is in competing in MMA at age 41 it is a little late to pick up the sport.  It is yet to be seen if Batista will be able to handle all the hard work involved in becoming an MMA fighter.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

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.

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.

It’s still unclear whether Bravo are airing the fight card on delay for us in the UK, but need wait no longer, see the main event right here. Thank you youtube.

What a shocker!

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

MMA fight promoters Strikeforce and M1 Global team once more, as WAMMA Heavyweight Champion ‘The Last Emperor’ Fedor Emelianenko is challenged by Fabricio Werdum.

The MMA fight card takes place tonight -- June 26, from the HP Pavillion, San Jose, California.

Virgin Media channel Bravo recently has been airing all Strikeforce TV, so far this show is not advertised to be aired. So Fedor fans here in the UK may have to view it by alternative means via the web.

Match-ups:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Jan Finney

Scott Smith vs. Cung Le

Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy

Magomed Shikhshabekov vs. Ron Keslar

Watch the video for a preview of this highly anticipated event.

Video courtesy of www.THEFIGHTNETWORK.com

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com