Strikeforce Events
STRIKEFORCE: "ROCKHOLD VS. JARDINE" PRELIMS LIVE RESULTS: Pelkey's round by round coverage of preliminary fights on Sho Extreme
Jan 7, 2012 - 9:59:00 PM STRIKEFORCE: "ROCKHOLD VS. JARDINE" PRELIMS LIVE RESULTS: Pelkey's round by round coverage of preliminary fights on Sho Extreme

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By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

We have full coverage of the Strikeforce: "Rockhold vs. Jardine" event here on MMATorch for you tonight, starting with the preliminary fights on Sho Extreme. Stay with us all weekend (well, and every day after that, for that matter) for all your Strikeforce, UFC and MMA in general needs.

Its the dream team tonight in the announce booth with Mauro Ranallo welcoming us to the show before welcoming Frank Shamrock and his tie (its such a sweet tie, didn't even say "...and his braces"), and then Pat Miletich. Let's get to some fights.

FIGHT ONE: ESTEVAN PAYAN VS. ALONZO MARTINEZ (160LB. CATCHWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Kim Winslow is the ref. Both guys come out super aggressive, throwing heavy punches and landing their fair share. After three minutes the action has calmed a bit and its Payan who's asserted himself as the better stand-up fighter. Martinez has had enough of getting hit so he finally shoots in and presses Payan against the fence. No dice though, as Payan is quickly back to the center of the cage. Round ends without any more significant strikes landing. 10-9 Payan

ROUND TWO: Payan came out firing again, landing a nice lead left hook followed by a jab. Martinez has slowed down completely, likely both a little gassed by his early output and beaten up by Payan. Payan lands another hard punch, followed by a nasty body kick and Martinez looks hurt. He charges in for a takedown, or at least a short respite, but Payan again gets loose and lands more punches. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the round. 10-9 Payan

ROUND THREE: The final round sees Martinez come out as the aggressor, knowing he's down two rounds. He lands some nice punches and follows them up with kicks to the legs and body, including a nice switch kick. Payan again weathers the onslaught and settles in. He continues to work his jab. Late in the round he digs a Nick Diaz-esque punch to Martinez's body. Round ends with Payan in control. 10-9 Payan

WINNER: Estevan Payan by unanimous decision (30-27x3)

STAR RATING: It was one-dimensional and one-sided, not to mention irrelevant, but both guys fought hard and landed a lot of shots.


FIGHT TWO: CHRIS SPANG VS. RICKY LEGERE (WELTWERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Legere takes the center to start with Spang bouncing around the outside. Legere eventually corners him, grabs his legs, picks him up, and slams him down. Spang with full guard and staying active. He tries for an armbar, but Legere defends well. Legere lands some short punches and elbows, but for minimal damage. Legere passes to side control. He tries to mount but gets stuck in half-guard. Spang gets back to full guard. Spang finally gets back to his feet and immediately lands a head kick. Legere gets them back against the fence and works for a takedown as the round ends. Spang latches onto a tight guillotine and pulls guard. Legere hangs on as the horn sounds. 10-9 Legere


ROUND TWO: Spang comes out firing, trying to land some strikes before Legere's inevitable shot. He lands a nice flying knee, but Legere catches his legs and takes him down. Full guard. More of the same from the first round. Spang's defense is good, but he's losing the rounds by being content to stay on his back. The ref finally stands them up and Spang stays aggressive on the feet. Legere soon grabs a hold though, picks Spang up, and dumps him back to the mat. With 30 seconds left, Legere works to mount, trying to secure the round on the scorecards. He accomplishes the latter, not the former. Legere 10-9


ROUND THREE: The first minute and a half was dominated by Spang, landing punches, knees and kicks at will. Legere finally found his opening and got a nice takedown after switching from a double to a single, and then finally getting it with an inside trip. After a minute and a half of inactivity, the ref stands them up. Spang again goes crazy, landing combos and defending takedowns. Legere again gets the takedown, but Spang is quickly back to his feet, throwing with everything he has trying to finish. Legere fails on a takedown and Spang takes his back. He locks in a choke, but Legere holds on. Legere eventually ends up on top and even ends the fight in mount. Good round after two lackluster ones. 10-9 Spang

WINNER: Ricky Legere by unaminous decision (29-28x3)

STAR RATING: (**-) Really good final round, but the first two were pretty tedious to watch. Legere certainly won the first two rounds, but he did so with almost no offense. Spang was exciting when he was on his feet, but he had no answer for Legere's wrestling, and didn't offer much offense off his back.


GIAN VILLANTE VS. TREVOR SMITH (LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Villante catches a kick early and gets the fight to the mat. The separate soon after and Villante lands a nice leg kick. He follows that with a right to the body and a left hook that hurts Smith. Smith tries to grab a leg but Villante ends up on top landing hammerfists. He keeps landing them and them proceeds to land three in a row right to the back of the head. Kim Winslow steps in to call it off, but she should've been taking a point away. Smith keeps trying to fight, but this one is over. Blech. Terrible reffing.

WINNER: Gian Villante by tko at 1:05 of round 1

STAR RATING: (*-) Nothing to the fight really, but a bad stoppage and a terrible miss by Kim Winslow on the shots to the back of the head.


FIGHT FOUR: JAMES TERRY VS. NAH-SHON BURRELL (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Terry lands a nice overhand right early, and another one shortly after, but in between it was Burrell landing nice 1-3 combos and leg kicks. Terry gets tired of Burrell's striking and shoots in for the takedown. He gets it eventually and works from top position. Burrell gets back to his feet, but Terry gets him back down quickly and gets to mount. Burrell powers out, but winds up giving up his back in the transition. He very slowly but surely recovers position and ends up working back to the feet and gets separation as the rounds ends. 10-9 Terry

ROUND TWO: Terry lands a head kick to open the action. Burrell buries a right uppercut under the chin of Terry that slows him down. Terry lands a big overhand right and grabs a body lock on Burrell. He gets the takedown and moves to back control. Burrell gets back to his feet and throws a knee as they separate. Burrell follows a lead hook with a jab. Nice leg kick by Burrell. Terry shoots in for another takedown with under a minute left. He's stuffed initially, after pressing Burrell against the cage, he's able to complete it. Burrell separates and lands a punch as the round ends. Another round where Terry's takedowns make the difference. 10-9 Terry

ROUND THREE: A similar storyline to the earlier Spang-Legere fight seems to be developing as Burrell comes out in the third round battering Terry with a variety of punches and kicks. He's clearly winning the round with two minutes left, but he needs a finish. Burrell lands a huge right uppercut that rocks Terry. Terry finally slows the assault down with thirty seconds left by pressing Burrell to the cage and eventually taking him to the mat. That's how the round and fight ends. 10-9 Burrell

WINNER: Nah-Shon Burrell by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (***-) Best fight of the night so far, but that's not saying much. Burrell looks like a bright prospect at only 21, but he got lucky here. Terry landed his share of shots and dominated the grappling. Burrell needs a lot of work in the wrestling department, but he has plenty of years to develop.

Thanks for following along with me on the prelims, but click on over to Rich Hansen's live coverage of the main card.