Jun 7, 2009 - 12:44:51 PM By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
Strikeforce has its work cut out for itself. It has much to do in order to rid itself of the stench associated with Elite XC, and for a while it will have to work even harder to show everyone that, although some Elite XC fighters call this home, Strikeforce is its own entity and a damned fine one at that.
Strikeforce does not have all of the talent in the world, but for the talent they do have it must be lauded that they do they best that anyone could. While the UFC heads towards 100 and sets its eyes collectively on even bigger things, there is a "little promotion that could" with a cable and network television deal that is doing its best to see to it that by UFC 200 that there could indeed be more than one man or promotion left standing.
If the UFC is Rocky Balboa then Strikeforce is "Clubber" Lang, and last night it was the hungry young contender firing off their salvo as they declare that MMA is about more letters than a U, F and a C.
Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead
Our first bout of the evening took place in the light heavyweight division and was contested between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin "The Monster" Randleman and "Iron" Mike Whitehead of 'The Ultimate Fighter 2' fame. These two men are world class wrestlers and both have striking power, so it was expected that we would see a grappling match up which could end at any time due to the power of both. We indeed saw the former but very little of the latter.
Round one began with Whitehead working the inside kicks to the front leg of Randleman. Randleman scored a takedown but Whitehead quickly scrambled to return to his feet. Whitehead would return the favor by scoring a double leg takedown of Randleman. Randleman used the wrestling maneuver known as the "elevator," and regained his footing as this fight returned to the feet. Another takedown by Whitehead would lead to another "elevator" by Randleman and following this yet another takedown by Whitehead. Going with the theme of the evening it was Randleman once again getting back up. Whitehead landed a particularly solid uppercut and scored yet another takedown for good measure as Randleman holds on as the round comes to an end.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Mike Whitehead
Mike Whitehead landed a hard right hand to open up the second round and immediately took Randleman down. He did so with ease this evening. Whitehead enjoyed side control and was using his forearm to choke Randleman and smothering his foe. Whitehead got the full mount but Randleman reversed position, got to his feet and landed a straight right hand. Whitehead spent the remainder of the round lumbering towards a tired Randleman and pawing at his opponent with the jab.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Mike Whitehead-
Kevin Randleman with a sense of urgency staggered Mike Whitehead with a straight right hands early in round number three. Whitehead returned fire with a right of his own but was then dropped by a left hook from Randleman. Randleman pounced but Whitehead survived the onslaught and made it back to his feet. A combination by Whitehead was followed up with yet another takedown. In half guard it was Whitehead working towards a kimura but sensing he could not finish opted to let it go. Randleman escaped and with one minute remaining; this fight was back on the feet. A right hook landed by Whitehead and Randleman scored with the jab as time expired.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Mike Whitehead-
Bent Scores The Fight: 30-27 for Mike Whitehead
Official Scores: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 all for Whitehead
Winner is Mike Whitehead by Unanimous Decision
This was a clear cut and dominating win by Mike Whitehead. The only concern I have with the scoring by the judges is that I imagine they gave the third round to Randleman, and I believe that his dropping of Whitehead with the left hook was not nearly enough to win the round. This was a shutout in my eyes and a good win for Whitehead while Randleman may be best served retiring.
Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs
All talk was over and it was time for these two to settle their differences over the course of three rounds in the cage. Baroni weighed in at 168.75 lbs. and looked leaner than ever while Riggs looked to be in his best possible shape ever. Something would have to give and what we saw, while not what many including myself predicted, did more than live up to it's expectations and delivered a solid, if one sided, finish.
Riggs opened things by attempting a head kick and soon after the two clinched. Riggs took Baroni down and looked to have the rear naked choke in tightly on him but the "New York Bad Ass" survived. Baroni would reverse his position and had Riggs in his half guard. Riggs moved to side control but Baroni got back to his feet. Riggs took him down once more but Baroni wound up atop him and in full guard. Hard body shots being thrown by Baroni but not much else and the two were separated and forced to stand. Riggs scored a single leg takedown but Baroni took Riggs back and was landing a few punches as the round ended.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Joe Riggs-
Kicks to the leg from Riggs opened the second round before both fighters traded flickering jabs. Spinning back fist attempt by Riggs but this one looked better than it really was. Riggs connected with a "Superman" punch which connected cleanly and definitely staggered Baroni. Riggs followed this up with a takedown but Baroni quickly got back to his feet and answered with a double leg takedown of his own. Baroni was in full guard momentarily before this fight was back on the feet. A left hand by Riggs gets Baroni's full attention before Baroni shoots in for the takedown which Riggs easily defended with the sprawl. A left hand from Riggs followed up with a right hand before Baroni again scored a takedown. Baroni was on top in full guard when Riggs slapped on a triangle and looked to finish. Baroni amazingly escaped but was thoroughly gassed. Right hand lands by Baroni as Riggs scrambled to his feet and the "NYBA" held on as the horn sounded.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Joe Riggs-
A touch of gloves started off the third and final round before a hard knee by Riggs visibly shook Baroni. A hard heel kick to the body by Riggs would soon follow. Riggs connected with the left hand before adding a knee for good measure. The left hand landed once more before Baroni answered with a crunching body blow. Riggs was just landing at will by this point and took off for Baroni with a flying knee. Baroni shocked everyone including Riggs by throwing a leg kick towards the head of Riggs who smiles and taunts his opponent. A right hand by Baroni was answered by two brutal hooks from Riggs. Baroni would land one more blow to the body before Riggs put an exclamation point on his dominance tonight by scoring a takedown as the round and this fight came to an end.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Joe Riggs-
Bent Scores The Fight: 30-27 for Joe Riggs
Official Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 all for Riggs
Winner is Joe "Diesel" Riggs by Unanimous Decision
All of the talk led to nothing that we expected. Joe Riggs was on tonight and thoroughly outclassed and dominated his opponent. Much credit must be given to Baroni for never giving up or giving in and taking Riggs the distance, but this ends up as just a moral victory as he lost and did so convincingly. Riggs may never look this good again, and certainly not against a championship opponent, but for tonight he looked for all the world like a new and improved Joe Riggs. The back looked healthy and he moves on to what he hopes are much bigger things and maybe to one day finally meet Scott Shields.
Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith
Our third bout of the evening would be the first of two contested at a catch weight. This one pitted the crowd pleasing brawler Smith against the often hated Diaz in what was expected to be a thrill a minute bout. What ended up happening was not competitive at all but was as enjoyable as perhaps we could have expected this fight to be. Diaz came in off his win over Shamrock which did much to elevate his status among those fans not quite familiar with him and Smith, of course, was the hard charging slugger who fought two wars with Robbie Lawler. Tonight was the night for Nick Diaz but Scott Smith has nothing to be ashamed of. Diaz is just a superstar who hasn't quite been introduced to the entire world yet but soon everyone will know just how good this man is as a fighter. You don't want to pass your joint to him for you may never get it back but you certainly do not ever wish to stand across from him in the cage because Nick will just end up smoking you instead.
Jimmy Lennon, Jr. introduced Nick Diaz as a "world renowned cage master," and I am not quite sure just what that means. Both fighters traded from the start before clinching against the cage. As Scott Smith began in earnest to find the chin of Nick Diaz, the Gracie fighter stuck it out and taunted him with it. Diaz landed a hard left hand followed by a head kick and the compustrike ticker would begin to go off of the charts and start to smoke. Nick Diaz was befuddling Scott Smith with his erratic style, which was not the most technically sound but damn if it wasn't effective. Smith landed a decent right hand before the two would clinch once more and Diaz began rattling him with knees. Diaz taunts and would eat a right hand in doing so but was not moved. Smith now had Diaz back in the clinch and took him down to the ground. This fight would quickly return to the feet and both men traded once more with Diaz winning each time. Smith unfurled a kick to the leg of Diaz and would land another right hand out of the clinch. Nick Diaz took Scott Smith down with a leg trip and one round was in the books.
-Bent's Score: 10-9 for Nick Diaz-
First fifteen seconds of round three had elapsed and Nick Diaz had uncorked twenty punches. The two men continued to trade as Smith picked up his own pace and landed an excellent straight right hand. Diaz answered this with a blazingly quick three punch combination before tagging Smith with a brutal body shot. Diaz was just teeing off at this point but Smith persevered and fired off two right hands of his own. Blood was pouring from the right eye of Diaz but he just kept pounding on Smith and never let up. The two clinched for a moment but soon after it was Diaz pumping out the jab as if he were Ike "Bazooka" Quartey. Smith missed with an errant "Superman" punch attempt and the two clinched again. Nick Diaz was just landing at will as the round came to an end and Smith literally crawled to his stool when this was over.
-Bent's Score: 10-8 for Nick Diaz (Yes. A 10-8 round. This was absolute domination.)-
Diaz slapped Smith's hand away and had no interest in touching gloves or shaking hands as the third and final round began. Nick continued to pick Smith apart before dropping "Hands of Steel" with a beautiful left to the liver a la Micky Ward. Diaz quickly took Smith’s back, dug the hooks in, slapped on the rear naked choke and forced Smith to tap out immediately. Fight over.
Winner is Nick Diaz by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:41 of Round 3
Nick Diaz arrived following his massacre of Frank Shamrock, but he truly showed the world he was here to stay in dismantling the ever durable Scott Smith. Diaz addressed his pre-fight antics following the fight by stating that they are "all part of the show" before going on to roast Smith's team for their lack of loyalty; and he added to this that they are "not good friends to have." Following this, Diaz invited Smith to train with his team, and I for one think he should take the Cesar Gracie prodigy up on his offer.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers
The heavyweights took center stage next and in one corner stood former UFC Heavyweight Champion Arlovski, and in the other an unassuming former tire changer for Sam's Club named Brett Rogers. Rogers felt he was being denied a big money bout with Kimbo Slice and desperately wished to be the first to expose the myth of the back alley brawler. Rogers has felt disrespected by many, and I for one am in that group as I predicted his head would be ripped clean off following tonight's bout. Rogers proved everyone wrong, and in winning this bout has shown that he deserves more than some garbage fight with Kimbo but a title shot against the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem.
Dana White thinks he scored a coup, and many of my fellow staff members here at MMATorch seem to agree that he did so by signing Kimbo Slice and placing him on 'The Ultimate Fighter 10.' Funny how everyone chided him as a worthless fighter, but yet champions his placement on a UFC program. At any rate, Strikeforce pulled the coup by not signing Slice to his bloated Elite XC deal and instead sticking with Brett Rogers. What Rogers did tonight will trump everything Slice does in his entire career. What is funny to me is that the UFC was excited to announce a guy who can draw basic cable ratings, while Strikeforce now has a guy who blasted out a guy who gave Fedor a run for his money. I stand corrected on everything I said about Brett Rogers, and I have to say that he is indeed, for real. Hopefully all of us at MMATorch can agree on this one, even though I still do not see what is so great about Kimbo Slice. Twenty-two seconds show what could be so great about Brett Rogers.
Round one began with Rogers feinting like crazy and Arlovski returning the same. Rogers saw his opening and lunged in with a left hand that staggered Arlovski before a following with a right hand and then a left to finish him off and shock the world. This one was over nearly as fast as it started and an upset which rivals any we have ever seen has taken place. Rogers no longer has to change tires, and with three punches has changed all of the top ten heavyweight rankings worldwide. That sound you hear is jaws being picked up off of the floor and the furious keystrokes of folks adding Rogers into the mix at heavyweight.
Winner is Brett Rogers by way of KO at :22 of Round 1
I predicted Arlovski would destroy Rogers. So did everyone else. This doesn't mean I wasn't hoping for something different to happen, but rather that I felt like I knew it would not. Rogers gave us a feel good moment and you had to be touched by the fact that he was a Sam's Club employee who desired to buy a house, and here he knocked out the Playmate-boffing million dollar purse fighter in Arlovski. Rogers stated that he was "hungry" before adding that he is "ready for anybody" in the post fight interview. Alistair Overeem is next for Brett Rogers in August and I for one am not picking against Rogers again.
Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields
Our main event of the evening was yet another catch weight bout this time between Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler. Lawler was most recently the Elite XC Middleweight Champion and Shields was most recently the Elite XC Welterweight Champion until both found themselves with belts not even suited to hold their pants up and jobless. Enter Strikeforce to pick up both contracts and match the two up against each other in a non-UFC super fight which was a much anticipated one.
A kick to the leg from Shields opened things up before he scored a takedown of Lawler. Lawler showed his advantage in terms of strength by hulking up and forcing Shields' eyes to get as big as young Ralphie's on Christmas morning. The two men clinched and Lawler was landing some knees which would bring a lesser man down to the ground but Shields would not budge. A body kick by Shields following the separation of the two and he was doing well in avoiding the power shots of Lawler and showing the smarts not to trade with the "Ruthless" one. Shields would be up against the cage as Lawler began to fire off some shots which if they connected may have ended the night, but Jake jumped to pull guard with a guillotine choke. Lawler would posture up and attempt to slam his way free but the hold was in too deep and he was forced to tap out. Shields wasn't the stronger man but jiu-jitsu simply and effectively proves that you do not have to be in order to come out on top.
Winner is Jake Shields by Submission (Guillotine) at 2:02 of Round 1
Jake Shields threw his arms into the air in triumph as Robbie Lawler shook his head and made his way back to his corner. Shields beat the bigger man tonight and did so the Gracie way by way of his excellent Jiu-Jitsu skills. Following the fight it was Shields who thanked Lawler for making the fight happen before adding that we may see the two rematch in a year or two. He described his guillotine by simply stating that he "got his neck and wouldn't let go" before smiling and declaring that the best is indeed yet to come for him. He called out Cung Le and said that he wants the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion to come back so he can take his belt.
What I find odd about this is the fact that Shields wishes to not only remain at a heavier weight following the bout with Lawler but that this would mean adding even more weight to his frame. Although this is not necessarily odd seeing that he really has no bouts at 170 lbs. that are compelling as he has zero interest in fighting Joe Riggs and Strikeforce really has nothing else for him.
We are likely to never, ever see Shields against his friend and training partner Nick Diaz, but that would be one hell of a fight if both would ever to agree to such a thing. At any rate, Shields showed he could hang with the bigger Lawler and demonstrated how effective Jiu-Jitsu can be against a much bigger and stronger opponent. As for Lawler, he will bounce back and I think the right fight for all parties would be to set him up against Nick Diaz in a rematch from UFC 47. This would be an outstanding main event for a future Strikeforce show.
Well, there you have it. Another Strikeforce event in the books and another raging success for the company which should now be placed comfortably as the number two promotion in the world, and especially after Affliction folds up in August. The future is bright as well and on August 15 we have a main event of Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg in a mega fight in the women's division to go along with a likely Strikeforce heavyweight title fight between Alistair Overeem and Brett Rogers. Strikeforce may not have all of the talent locked down as the UFC does, but they certainly know how to use their talent and are trying their best to prove that it isn't the size of the wand but rather the magic one can wield with it as they look to continue their success and build off of what was again, another fantastic card. At any rate, this was a much better card in terms of being fun to watch and featuring definitive finishes to the main bouts than has been any recent UFC PPV card.
Take note Dana White. While you have been trumpeting your success of adding Kimbo Slice to the roster of a reality show, the reality is that another promotion is looking to bring a real challenge to your door.
Once Affliction folds and Fedor is brought into the fold it could mean we have a legitimate number two promotion with a chance to give the number one its most competition yet.
Look what happened to Caplan once Elite bought him off. I assume you're
now on Coker's payroll, so it seems likely you've read Selling Out to the
#2 Company in the Industry for Dummies, by Sam Caplan
Michaelthebox
07 Jun 2009, 14:50
This is a puzzlingly Strikeforce-nuthugging article. Whats with the
tangent about Kimbo vs. Bret Rogers, like somehow Strikeforce scored a huge
coup by getting Rogers rather than Kimbo, while the UFC got screwed?
Ratings pay the bills, and the UFC already has a bunch of talented
prospects, like Velasquez, Carwin, and Dos Santos.
Strikeforce is in good shape with Rogers, but acting like Kimbo is some
sort of negative value is just baffling.
Mr. Exaggerater
07 Jun 2009, 19:01
Every time you write an article you have to go over the top with it. You
write like Maura Renallo speaks, with bad puns and over the top statements.
First you said Rogers would be murdered by Arlovksi. Now that Arlovski got
killed you claim Rogers is the second coming. Dude, Rogers is just Houston
Alexander and Arlovski has a glass chin. Put Rogers against a real
heavyweight then let's see how he does. And no Arlovski is not that great
to me. Who did he beat? Tim Sylvia? Joke. Vladimir Matyushenko? He is a
light heavyweight. Werdum? Rothwell? Total jokes. Don't quit your day job.
juan
07 Jun 2009, 20:57
arlovski is a great fighter, but his glass chin is his downfall. how can
you say that when he was obviously winning against fedor.
there is no way rogers is for real. if he ever has to go deep into a fight
he is screwed unless its kimbo.
and this writer predicted baroni to beat riggs? give me a break. baroni is
probably one of the worst fighters ive seen. i dont think i have ever
watched a fight that he has won
