Photo: Esther Lin/Forza LLC/Getty Images via Forza LLC
Heading into Saturday night most fans and pundits had Luke Rockhold as the favorite over Keith Jardine in Rockhold’s first defense of his Strikeforce Middleweight title. With that being said, it’s doubtful that many had Rockhold breezing through the fight as easily as he did.
It seemed as if whenever Rockhold threw a strike it landed and the post-fight numbers reflected that as Rockhold connected on 75 percent of his strikes, especially those that ended the fight at the 4:26 mark of Round One.
Questions after seeing Rockhold vs. Jardine:
-What’s next for Luke Rockhold? After his fight he, respectfully asked the UFC to bring some contenders over to Strikeforce to challenge him for his Middleweight crown. It seems as if Rockhold was overlooking the fighter that we was originally set to face in his first defense, Tim Kennedy. That call out may be taken as an insult by Mr. Kennedy and that could make for a rather interesting fight, if that is the next fight for Rockhold.
-What’s next for Keith Jardine? Well, his career has not gone so well as of late. Physically he looked good in his drop to middleweight, but he just couldn’t handle Rockhold. In his last nine bouts his only two wins have been against Aron Lofton and Francisco France. At 36 it may be time for ‘The Dean of Mean” to hang up the gloves.
Notes and more questions following Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine:
-Following the fight card Clinch Gear delivered the following tweet, “Just found out @tarecfighter fought last two rounds with broken arm. Stinson broke his arm in first and Tarec kept going. Wow!” If that tweet is accurate it makes Saffiedine’s victory all that much more impressive.
-Is Saffiedine versus Tyron Woodley the right fight to make for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title? Woodley is a winner, there’s no doubt about that as his 10-0 record shows, but his win tonight may not have helped his cause. The fight was not the most exciting fight of the night, as Woodley used his wrestling to control Jordan Mein. He never really went for the finish and as anyone who is aware of Jon Fitch knows, that type of fighting does not get you a title shot.
-Jordan Mein learned an important lesson in his bout against Tyron Woodley and that lesson was, it’s time to work on his wrestling. Mein is still a very young fighter and he has a lot of time to develop as a well-rounded fighter. His next step should be to get a solid wrestling coach.
-Does Muhammed Lawal deserve a chance at the vacant Strikeforce Light Heavyweight crown? King Mo dominated Lorenz Larkin with his wrestling and ground and pound, handing the previously unbeaten Larkin his first loss in dominating fashion. If Lawal doesn’t deserve a shot at the title, I don’t know who else would.
-What was up going on with the referees and the judges? Following his win over Larkin, Lawal told referee Kim Winslow, “You let him take too many punches,” a statement that was hard to disagree with. You would also be hard pressed to not say the same thing to Herb Dean after the seemingly late stoppage in the Rockhold versus Jardine fight. As far as the judges, well, some of those split decisions should not have been split decisions, we’ll leave it at that.
Jorge Masvidal was looked upon as the fighter that was going to put Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez to the test. While he did take the champion to the five round limit, you would be hard pressed to say he put him to any type of test. Yes, Melendez’s face was far more marked up than that of Masvidal, but the stats told another story as Melendez outstruck Masvidal 145 to 109 and delivered far more power strikes, landing 94 to Masvidal’s 21.
Questions after seeing Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal:
-Did the fight help or hurt Melendez? As far as his recognition as one of the top lightweight fighters in the world, his performance certainly didn’t help him, but I’m not sure hit hurt him either. His performance was solid if slightly unremarkable. Let’s face it, he would have needed a finish to advance his status in the division and since he didn’t he’ll remain stuck behind Frankie Edgar in the overall lightweight rankings.
-What’s next for Melendez? After the fight he asked the UFC to bring fighters over to Strikeforce to challenge him. That’s not a bad idea, but who? Do you throw Clay Guida over or perhaps the loser of the Edgar vs. Ben Henderson fight or maybe even give Kenny Florian a shot at the Strikeforce crown? It’s a tough call, but it may be the right thing to do.
Questions following Saturday’s Strikeforce Card:
-Who can challenge Santos? Seriously, Yamanaka was supposed to be the number two ranked 145 pounder and she was dispatched in 16 seconds and that was after Santos had been out of action for over a year. Is it fair to ask her to drop to 135? If she can make the weight, then what happens, she beats on fighters that are smaller than her? That somehow doesn’t seem fair to the 135 pounders or to Santos.
-What’s next for Gegard Mousasi? Strikeforce needs to name a light heavyweight champion and fast. That belt has not been contested for since Dan Henderson won it back in March, 2011. Do you put him up against former champion Rafael Cavalcante for his next bout and make that for the vacant title and if so, where does that leave Mo Lawal and Renato Sobral in the title shot mix?
Main Card Awards:
-Fight of the Night: I’d like to give it Melendez and Masvidal, but I think it needs to go to Noons and Evangelista. That fight was much closer and was decided by the third round. Overall, I think it was the more exciting fight. Sure, Melendez and Masvidal was for the title and Melendez showed that he can stand and bang, but for an entertaining fight, it was Noons and Evangelista.
-Performance of the Night: Cyborg Santos. Out 18 months and comes back and finishes her fight in 16 seconds, that’s a dominant champion.
-Finish of the Night: Cyborg Santos. 15 punches, all power punches in 16 seconds to end the fight, you don’t get much more efficient than that.
The Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix took a big hit in the name recognition department recently, when the promotion’s heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was scratched from the semifinals of the event due to a toe injury. Strikeforce wasted little time in finding a replacement for Overeem, as the undefeated (8-0) Daniel Cormier was moved into the September 10th event. Cormier’s opponent will be Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Odds have not been posted for the Silva versus Cormier fight, but it’s probably a safe assumption that Silva will be the favorite when the two meet at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. Silva will enter the cage coming off a doctor stoppage victory over Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of the tournament. Cormier’s last fight was a solid unanimous decision victory over Jeff Monson in June of this year.
Even though he will enter the fight with the odds stacked against him, Cormier is not a fighter that should be dismissed as a mere tournament replacement. He is an accomplished athlete, having represented the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic games as a freestyle wrestler (he captained the 2008 team, but was unable to compete due to kidney failure) and while he has a strong wrestling base to fall back on, he is not a one trick pony.
Cormier trains at American Kickboxing Academy with fellow wrestlers turned MMA competitors, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. During his time at AKA Cormier has been working with Velasquez on becoming a better MMA fighter. Cormier recently spoke to MMAJunkie.com about his training and development and how he will not panic if Silva puts him on his back:
“I start on my back a lot in training, and I’m comfortable, as is Cain. You saw when Brock (Lesnar) put Cain on his back. He didn’t panic. We just got up. I’m not just a wrestling guy. If I was, you wouldn’t see the improvements that I’ve made in the standup – and Cain’s standup, and Koscheck’s standup.”
The change in opponents for Silva is not insignificant as he went from facing a 6’5” kickboxer with a great deal of name recognition to facing a 5’11” wrestler that only recently made his full Strikeforce debut. To use a cliché, all the pressure is on Silva in the bout, while Cormier is essentially freerolling.
A fighter with nothing to lose is a dangerous commodity. If you don’t believe that, ask Rick Story who recently saw his run through the UFC welterweight division come to an and at the hands of last minute replacement Charlie Brenneman or ask Silva himself, as he was given a 17 percent chance to win in his bout against Fedor.
Showtime billed the main event of the July 30 Strikeforce event that they broadcast as “The Clash of the Titans.” While there very well may have been a bit of hyperbole built into that title, at the very least the bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson that took place on Saturday night was a clash between two MMA legends.
Henderson, the reigning Strikeforce light heavyweight champion did not have his title on the line in this bout, as it was contested as a heavyweight fight. Henderson came in at 207 pounds, just two pounds over the lower limit for the heavyweight division, while Fedor came in at 223 pounds, a bit below what he has weighed in at for his last few fights.
There was no animosity between these two going into the cage, just two men doing what they do for a living. While it may seem a bit strange to some that the vocation these men have chosen includes trying to knock another man out, to Fedor and ‘Hendo’ it was just another day at the office, a day on the job that lasted less than five minutes.
Fedor came out quickly, perhaps looking to catch Henderson unaware, but Henderson responded with a left that caught Fedor near his right eye, the same eye that was swollen shut by Antonio Silva in his last fight, a loss back in February of this year. The punch left Fedor bleeding as the two fighters worked in the clinch against the cage.
When the two separated Henderson threw a big punch that caught nothing but air and the two then again squared off. The next damaging punch to land would be a right from Fedor that sent Henderson to his back. Fedor pounced on the downed fighter, but Henderson was able to quickly reverse position.
Henderson saw his opportunity and quickly seized it, landing a big right uppercut through the opening under Fedor’s right arm. The punch dropped Fedor and Henderson continued to land a few more strikes before referee Herb Dean had seen enough and stopped the fight.
At full speed it was a stunning stoppage, but when viewed in slow motion the video showed that Fedor was dropped face first to the canvas and appeared to be out for a moment or at the very least stunned enough that he was in a defenseless position.
The fight, Fedor’s third stoppage loss in a row, lasted 4:12. The victory was Henderson’s third straight and also the last fight on his current Strikeforce contract.
During his in-cage interview after the fight, Henderson stated that he would like to defend his Strikeforce light heavyweight title. He also had kind words for his opponent, saying how as a fan of Fedor’s he hopes he continues fighting.
With the third straight loss of his career, the questions will once again arise regarding the next step for the man known as ‘The Last Emperor.” Fedor did not make any rash statements regarding his future, instead saying during his in-cage interview that his future was up to “God’s will.”
While the fight was short, it was one of the better one round fights of the year, ranking alongside Nick Diaz’s stoppage of Paul Daley on April 9.
