I am live in the arena for tonight's Strikeforce event on CBS. The main card begins at 9PM ET and live play by play coverage will be provided by Torch Supervising Editor Wade Keller tonight, but I'll be adding my in-person thoughts on the fights as they finish tonight. For my thoughts on the preliminary bouts, check out my Prelim Report. Then check back here and to Keller's report throughout the night as the show airs live on CBS.
Fight One - Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision: This was a highly exciting heavyweight bout, though awfully sloppy. Neither fighter had much defense for the strength of the other, with Werdum getting dropped on multiple occasions, and nearly finished in the first round, and Silva not being able to avoid the takedowns late. Werdum was nearly done in the first round and came back to edge out the second and dominate the third. It was not his most impressive performance, but it was effective and keeps him on track toward his eventual desire to fight for a Championship.
Fight Two - Gegard Mousasi def. Sokoudjou via TKO at 3:43 of the second round: Well, I said before the event that we've seen this fight before, and in some ways it's true, but Sokoudjou had a couple of very good exchanges, sweeps and takedowns of his own before succumbing to the hands of Mousasi. That was just an excellent, excellent light heavyweight bout and should establish Mousasi's star further after pulling that one out in front of this TV audience. Man that was fun to watch.
Fight Three - Jake Shields def. Jason "Mayhem" Miller via unanimous decision: Well, this could have been a grappling clinic or a really boring fight, and we got a little bit of the former and a whole lot of the latter. Shields didn't look great, but a lot of that has to go to Miller who was excellent in defending submissions. The crowd was 60/40 against the decision and many were not happy with Jake Shields winning this fight. Miller put in a hell of an effort and came the closest to finishing the fight, but Shields just stayed on him for much of that one and wouldn't let him up. It was a pretty clear victory, it simply wasn't a very entertaining one.
Main Event Fight Four - Fedor Emelianenko def. Brett Rogers via TKO at 1:48 of the second round: That was simply one of the most electric experiences I've ever had. That's the only way to describe it. Brett Rogers proved himself as a legit fighter in that first round, landing some very good punches and bloodying Fedor up with an awesome ground and pound flurry, but in the end he was stopped by the right hand that has stopped so many before him. That was an incredible atmosphere in that first round with both coming near winning that fight and then in the second, Brett looked to be taking the best Fedor was giving him until that unbelievable knock down blow. Incredible, incredible victory for Fedor that introduced him to a much larger audience, and perhaps he can be a viable draw for Strikeforce after this bout. For Rogers, this loss will only make him stronger as a fighter, and he'll be back and viewed as a more serious force the next time he's out in the cage. For Fedor, this could be the beginning of bigger things for him in the U.S., and it was a great performance. This was just another example why he's continued to be the #1 heavyweight in the world.
-That's all for this event for Strikeforce, but we'll have fall out coverage and more throughout the week as we head into two straight weekends of UFC action. Thanks for sticking with us tonight!
[Fedor photo provided to MMATorch by Strikeforce]
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Jamie,
That fight exposed Fedor not as the GOAT but rather as a UFC avoiding
coward. He seems like a good guy on tv and in profile but, really, after
watching a heavyweight in Rogers (not even close to top 10) handle Fedor in
the first do you really, reasonably think that Fedor would have anything
for Lesnar, Carwin or Velasquez. Frankly, I think Mir and/or Dos Santos
give him real problems. Fedor is magic when he doesn't fight
anyone...indeed, Rogers could have won that in Rd. 1
BTW. don't call me some UFC apologist; I'm balanced in my take on this
material. Fedor tonight was far from the mythical "best in the world".
Jamie,
I'm still a little jealous that you got to be at the Strikeforce event,
although I do have a new appreciation for live play-by-play coverage.
Clarkie, I'll agree with you that Fedor basically avoided fighting the best
in the world when he signed with Strikeforce. The part I'm going to
disagree with is Fedor not being the GOAT. The thing that sets him apart
from other fighters is he wins. Period. Whether it be against a Prime Cro
Cop, Nogueria, or even Brett Rogers. No matter how you feel he looked in
his last 2 fights (not too good) he still found a way to win. Look at his
record, and then look at the who's who of people he's fought. If that
doesn't make him the GOAT, then I don't know what criteria you're using to
base your statement. Again, I'm not disagreeing that the move to
Strikeforce seemed cowardly, but I honestly think it had more to do with
his handlers than with him. Look what they did with
Mousasi...http://tinyurl.com/kstfkd. I just hope Fedor wins his next 2
fights so maybe he can get our hopes up again and finally step up and fight
the best competition there is, and we all know that's in the UFC.
Travis Oyler
08 Nov 2009, 01:59
Hers the thing you will dislike fedor no matter what he accomplishes tonite
was nothing short of fedor completely and utterly dominating brett rogers
who was ranked 6th amongst heaveyweights never has a fighter deserved to be
number 1 or called the goat then fedor sorry you are not able to see that
