Strikeforce
STRIKEFORCE NEWS: K.J. Noons lined up for two title shots; contends he's not a dirty fighter after Gurgel win
Aug 23, 2010 - 11:01:52 AM STRIKEFORCE NEWS: K.J. Noons lined up for two title shots; contends he's not a dirty fighter after Gurgel win

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Multiple controversies hit Saturday's Strikeforce: Houston event on Showtime, and former EliteXC 160 lb. Champion K.J. Noons was at the center of one of them.

Noons delivered a knockout blow to opponent Jorge Gurgel after the bell had rung in the first round, and then threw a knee at Gurgel in a flurry at the end of the fight aimed at Gurgel's head. While some may have viewed what transpired as some very shady moves on his part, Noons insisted after the event that none of the blows were intentional.

"I'm not trying to be dirty," Noons said after the event in comments transcribed by MMAJunkie.com. "I'm just trying to finish the fight."

Addressing the first controversial blow, Noons said, "I didn't hear the bell, I heard the 10 seconds. When you hear the 10 seconds, being a fighter, this is your chance. I don't know if I won that round. I don't know if he won that round. You want to end every round showing out good.

"A lot of guys do a takedown. For myself, I want to get that last couple combos in to maybe finish the round good and win the round."

That final left hook looked to knock Gurgel out, and the bout's referee allowed him to come out for the second round. Noons then knocked him down once again with a vicious two punch combo that should have marked the end of the fight, but the referee was indecisive yet again. So Noons went for a flurry to finish the fight and threw the final knee, but he contends it was a blur.

"As best I can remember, I'm almost positive it didn't hit his head, not a direct knee," Noons said. "The ref stepped in and pushed me off. I'm almost positive it grazed and hit his shoulder. If it hit his face, it would be pretty obvious. I wasn't trying to aim for his head. I don't even remember throwing a kick or a knee. I was just going. It is a fight."

Noons now looks ahead to a title shot in Strikeforce, as the organization is looking to give him a shot at either Gilbert Melendez for the Lightweight Title or a rematch with Nick Diaz for the Welterweight Title. Should that fight be next, it could happen on Strikeforce's October event with Diaz already scheduled.

Penick's Analysis: Like I laid out yesterday, I don't blame Noons for the late punch in the least. I believe his explanation that he was trying to steal the round (although he was definitely ahead anyway), but fighters fight to the end. It all happened in such a quick moment that, despite it being after the bell, it was in now way a dirty move. As for the knee, it was thrown with bad intentions, and it was looking meant for Gurgel's head, but he was in the heat of the moment there and the ref should have stopped the fight before it got to that point. Now there's the issue of the title shot for Noons. It says all you need to know about Strikeforce at this point that wins over Conor Huen and Jorge Gurgel have Noons lined up for title shots in two divisions.