...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
We have full coverage of the Strikeforce: "Rockhold vs. Jardine" event here on MMATorch for you tonight. Our coverage began with Matt Pelkey's live round by round coverage of the prelim bouts, which you can read by clicking this here link.
FIGHT ONE: TAREC SAFFIEDINE VS. TYLER STINSON
ROUND ONE: Steve Mazzagatti is your referee. I can't tell you how awesome Stinson's hair is tonight. He has a ponytail on the top of his head, and it's completely vertical. Stinson lands a straight left, which is Frank Shamrock's Key To The Cage for Stinson, so that's good I guess. Saffiedine's landing kicks at will, and Stinson's not able to get out of the way. Saffiedine's switching stances frequently, as well. Stinson keeps pushing forward. Saffiedine's landing plenty of kicks to Stinson's lead right leg. Nice jab/headkick combo by Saffiedine. They clinch, and Saffiedine pushes Stinson against the cage. Stinson caught him with an elbow which made Saffiedine retreat immediately. Stinson charged recklessly, but got taken down. Stinson grabbed an arm and went for a belly-down armbar, but Saffiedine escaped. 1 minute left. The aforementioned wicked elbow opened up a cut near Saffiedine's right eye, which will come into play. Left hook to the eye by Stinson, and another. Saffiedine can't see out the left eye, or so it would appear. Saffiedine clinches as the round ends. 10-9 Stinson. Round was close until Stinson landed that elbow. Stinson has turned this into a brawl, which bodes well for him.
ROUND TWO: Saffiedine starts round two on the defensive, As Stinson has all the momentum here. Saffiedine's corner is telling him to use his technique. Stinson lands a left punch right head kick that has Saffiedine retreating. Stinson gets Saffiedine against the fence, but Saffiedine scrambled out of it. Saffiedine looks panicky in here right now. 2 minutes into the round. Saffiedine shoots and gets a takedown. Half-guard for Saffiedine parallel to the cage. Full guard now. Stinson is throwing elbows from the bottom, and is doing a good job controlling Saffiedine's posture. Saffiedine's landing some short right elbows now, inside a loose guard. Both guys are being very active, which is leading to an entertaining stalemate. Even Her Dean wouldn't be telling these guys to 'work' and he tells that to everyone when they hit the ground. There's a decent amount of blood flowing out of Stinson's head right now, but hard to see where the cut is exactly. 10-9 Saffiedine. He was effective on the ground, but credit to Stinson for being active down there.
ROUND THREE: Heidi Androl's ringside interview with Miesha Tate ran into the third round by a few seconds. Six seconds in, Stinson ate a kick to the jewels. Someone needs to tell Mauro Ranallo that "The peninsula south of the border" is an awful line. At the restart, Saffiedine lands an identical leg kick two inches lower, and follows up with a takedown. Saffiedine is dropping bombs before Stinson gets his bearings. Full guard. Saffiedine's in full control, dropping elbows and punches from guard. Stinson's gone from leaking blood to flowing blood. Mazzagatti restarts them on the feet with one minute left. Stinson's hair is bloody awesome. Saffiedine with a standing knee, Stinson counters with a left hook. 20 seconds left, and both guys are going to be getting lots of stitches. Stinson is coming forward with flying knees and kicks, and Saffiedine's retreating as the fight ends. 10-9 Saffiedine. Great performance by both guys, and a really fun fight. Stinson's a keeper, and Saffiedine survived a tough challenge.
WINNER: Tarec Saffiedine by Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (***) Saffiedine's training at Team Quest paid off in spades, as he won this fight while in Stinson's guard. Not his best fight, but certainly the most important for his overall growth.
By the way, there's only one proper way to score this fight; 29-28 Saffiedine.
- Between fights, they show several fighters in attendance. Among those shown are Miesha Tate, who will be fighting Ronda Rousey on March 3 in Columbus, Ohio, and Daniel Cormier, who will be fighting Josh Barnett "later in the year." Sounds like Cormier won't be ready come March 3. Uh-oh
- Heidi Androl interviews Luke Rockhold (a name straight out of The Flintstones) about his fight with Keith Jardine.
FIGHT TWO: TYRON WOODLEY VS. JORDAN MEIN
ROUND ONE: Frank's key to the cage for both men are that Mein needs to triple up on the jab, and Woodley needs to set up the takedowns. Well, yeah. Chris Tagnoni is the referee for this fight. Mein is flashing a ton of jabs early, none come close. Woodley with a left nice body kick. Followed by an outside leg kick a few seconds later. Mein is in the center of the cage, throwing lots of feints. Woodley shoots, presses Mein into the cage, grabs a single, but Mein won't go down so easily. Woodley is pressing, throws a couple of knees, but Mein's height is working against Woodley here. 3 morons are chanting USA because Mein is from Canada. Tagnoni breaks them up at the 2 minute mark. Upon the restart, Mein presses forward. Mein with an uppercut that pushes Woodley into the fence, but Woodley reverses and gets a takedown. Going for an arm triangle, but Mein avoids. Half-guard, but Mein has Woodley's head controlled. Mein almost escapes, but Woodley managed to keep him down with 90 seconds left. Woodley is trying hard to go from half-guard to mount, but being against the cage isn't helping. Huge elbow finds it mark on Mein's forehead. Woodley throws another elbow, but Mein dodges and gets back to his feet with 30 seconds left. Mein back to the middle of the cage. Woodley lands another leg kick, and a knee from clinch. 10-9 Woodley
ROUND TWO: Mein takes the center of the cage, and lands a leg kick, his first of the fight to Woodley's five in the first round. Woodley backed up Mein with a nice overhand right. Woodley grabs Mein and presses him against the cage. Takedown, half-guard. The half-guard is loose, but Woodley doesn't try to get mount, and winds up in full-guard, 90 seconds in. Woodley's corner is yelling for him to stay busy. Mein is trying to wall-walk back to standing, but Woodley presses him back down. typical Woodley fight so far (that wasn't a compliment). Woodley is content to sit in guard and press chests. Mein throwing 12-6 elbows from the bottom, so I guess they're 6-12 elbow, no? Mein's guard is wide open, but Woodley doesn't care to pass. According to Mein's corner, Woodley is just 'hugging and holding.' Yep. Crowd is booing, Miletich says the ref should have stood them up. Mein might had a good guillotine, but he's not even close to getting into the right position. Mein is starting to land those elbows as Woodley's getting sloppy, pressing his head to Mein's chest now rather than chest to chest. I think Mein is outstriking Woodley this round. Woodley postures up, but doesn't land anything. 10-9 Woodley. I wish I could give it to Mein, but you have to do more than that when you're on your back for 4:30 of a 5 minute round.
ROUND THREE: Dave Walsh and Luke Thomas are having a nice Twitter conversation about Pantera, and I am missing it to watch Tyron Woodley. Mein takes the center, Woodley backs up. Again. Mein throws a left knee and gets taken down for his efforts. The knee landed, but so what, he landed on his back. Ranallo: "Woodley may not be all that exciting, but it is verily effective." Yep. Goldy would have said, "Woodley is a dominant wrestler, and so classy!" I think Woodley is trying to listen to Mein's heartbeat, because his ear has been pressed against Mein's chest for like 2 minutes now. Woodley is like flypaper. Really boring, sleep inducing flypaper. Tagnoni stands them up with 90 seconds left (finally). Woodley shoots from like 42 feet away and winds up clinching. Mein has him against the fence, but Woodley's not letting go. Mein with underhooks as Woodley throws knees. Mein tries for a hip toss, to no avail. The round ends, thank God. 10-9 Woodley
WINNER: Tyron Woodley by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (0) I've never liked even one second of a Woodley fight. He's effective as hell, don't get me wrong, and a good dude too. But I hate watching his fights. that said, the only thing that would have angered me more than watching this fight is if Mein would have been given the decision. two fights went to decision tonight. 4 of the 6 scorecards were indisputably wrong. At least the rightful winners of both fights so far got their victories.
- Final thought. That fight sucked. I never want to see another Tyron Woodley fight. As a matter of fact, the next time he fights, I'm going to close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears, and scream, "LALALALALALALA," for 20 minutes.
- Heidi Androl giggled her way through an interview with The Dean of Mumbling, Keith Jardine. Jardine: "I have nothing but, yawwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn, excitement for tonight."
- I'm still a little salty about having had to sit through that last fight. I need me some Lawal versus Larkin. Coincidentally enough...
FIGHT THREE: MUHAMMED LAWAL VS. LORENZ LARKIN
ROUND ONE: Lawal has a 6.5 reach advantage. Kim Winslow is the referee. She kinda looks like Skeletor, and has the same voice. Anyhoooo. Larkin's hair is awesome, half pink. Lawal throws a jab, goes for a single, and gets the takedown. That should be the end of this round, I say 35 seconds into the round. Mitelich is already calling for Larkin to go to 185. Lawal is keeping good posture and landing slicing elbow. Only a matter of time now. Lawal stands up, but isn't able to land as he dives back into half-guard. He's always looking to throw, unlike Mr. Woodley. Larkin looks to sweep, and that was a bad idea as Lawal continues to land elbows. Lawal winds up in full-guard against the cage, but stands up and lands punches at will. 2 minutes left in the round. Half-guard now. He's too strong, and too good. Lawal lands several right hands to the ribs, and then lefts to the head when Larkin rolls away from the body shots. Winslow with an ill-conceived standup with 1 minute left. Larkin won't throw hands because he's scared of the inevitable takedown. 10-9 Lawal. there was no real killshot to make it a 10-8. Larkin landed one punch at the end, to which Ranallo said, "But is it enough?" Uh, no it's not, Mauro,
ROUND TWO: Heidi Androl interviews Daniel Cormier between rounds of a fight involving Cormier's best friend in the world. and once again, her interview runs long. She's so competent. Cormier confirms, essentially, that he won't fight in Columbus. That blows. Lawal goes for a weak single leg, gets punched in the face a half dozen times, but still eventually finishes the takedown. I feel bad for Larkin, because this fight never should have been booked. Not only is Lawal just flat better, but he's much bigger, and he's a style nightmare for Larkin. Lawal is dominating, throwing a million huge right hands to the face of Larkin. Winslow decides that a million rights to the face aren't enough, but eventually decides to stop the fight after literally 21 unanswered shots in a row. The fight should have been stopped 14 strikes earlier. This Kim Winslow won't be happy until someone dies on her watch. Lawal is mad that the fight wasn't stopped earlier.
WINNER: Muhammad Lawal by TKO at 1:32 of round number 2.
STAR RATING: (**-) Not much to it. Larkin got outstruck 60-7. Moving on...
FIGHT FOUR: ROBBIE LAWLER VS. ADLAN AMAGOV
ROUND ONE: Steve Mazzagatti is the referee tonight. Lawler looks, um, off. Lawler comes in aggressive, but Amagov gets the takedown, to the amazement of Miletich. Lawler gets up, gives up his back, and gets re-planted. Open half-guard. Lawler starts to get up, and Amag0v lands a knee to the head while Lawler is down. Mazzagatti stops the fight, and tells Lawler he's going to "definitely take a point for that." Yep. 3:50 left in the round as they restart. 30 seconds of feinting, not one strike thrown. Lawlwr lands a flying knee that knocks Amagov down. Lawler sailed over Amagov as he fell to the ground, and then smashed a face down Amagov with 3-4 haymakers on the ground to end the fight. That was, um, ruthless.
WINNER: Robbie Lawler by TKO at 1:48 of round number 1
STAR RATING: (**) Nice finish, but essentially a whole lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.
- Mauro interviews Dana White. Awkward. Ranallo has Dana trying to sell the Tate-Rousey fight. Awkwarder. Ranallo has Dana trying to sell Jardine. Awkwardest.
FIGHT FIVE: LUKE ROCKHOLD VS. KEITH JARDINE
- Jardine walks out to the fight music from Rocky (not the theme). There should be a law...
- As Jimmy Lennon introduces Rockhold, Cormier holds Rockhold's belt over the cage next to Rockhold's advertising banner. Kinda cool touch.
ROUND ONE: Herb Dean is your referee. At least no one will get killed on the ground, as they'll be stood up after being on the ground for 5 seconds. Leg kick by Jardine. And another. Body kick by Rockhold. flying bocy kick by Rockhold pushes Jardine back. They reverse against the cage, and Jardine is looking for the takedown. Rockhold rerverses, and it's somewhere between chess match and stalemate against the cage. If they were doing this on the mat, Herb Dean would have stood them up 42 times already. Elbow by Rockhold has he disengages. 2 minutes in. Rockhold with a spinning back kick. 10 seconds later, another, but not as effective. Jardine comes forward with a right and gets tagged with a left by Rockhold. Left by Jardine, but Rockhold pushes him into the cage briefly. The third minute of this fight is the best minute of the night so far. Back to center cage, and both guys are throwing hard body kicks. 90 seconds left. Jardine with an outside leg kick. Rockhold catches Jardine behind the ear and drops him momentarily. Rockhold presses forward but Jardine shook it off. Jardine charges in, but got tagged. Rockhold going for the finish, mounts Jardine, and it's over. That was a really fun fight. The finish came way too late. Zombie Jardine managed to stand up while being blasted, but he was out of it. Not as bad as the Lawal stoppage, but Rockhold was landing absolute bombs. Dean can be excused, because Jardine did managed to get back to his feet during the onslaught.
WINNER: Luke Rockhold by TKO at 4:26 of round number one.
STAR RATING: (***) I really liked this fight. The outcome was expected, but they got there in a manner that was very entertaining. So far, it's the fight of the year, round of the year, and KO of the year.
- After the fight Ranallo, towing the company line, asked Rockhold if Tim Kennedy was next. Rockhold, to his credit, no-sold the question and called out the UFC middleweights, asking them to come to him. Admirable, but naive. Kind of like me, other than the admirable and naive parts.
- All in all, it was a decent night. It's about as good a night as Strikeforce 3.0 can hope for. In other words, decent is their ceiling.
Follow Rich Hansen on Twitter @MMATorchRich
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
