Strikeforce is back on Showtime tonight with their fourth event in this "Challengers" series. We've got Jorge Gurgel against Billy Evangelista in tonight's main event, and Al Bernstein begins his night tonight by pronouncing Jorge's name "Hor-hay." He brings in Stephen Quadros as his color commentator tonight, and he runs down both guys in the main event. Pat Miletich is the third man in the booth and we're ready to get underway with a women's bout on this card.
FIGHT ONE: ELISHA HELSPER VS. ZOILA FRAUSTO
ROUND ONE: Frausto jumps forward with a Superman punch that is flashy but misses. Helsper stays calm on the outside. They both landed a leg kick and Helsper beggan to move forward. Frausto throws a high kick and Helsper blocks it. Helsper checks another kick. Frausto lands a good jab as Helsper continues to come forward. Frausto lands a good leg kick. Frausto again goes for the Superman punch again as Helsper feints attack. Both are playing a bit of a cautious game here. Helsper popped in with a good leg kick and punch combo and then popped right back out. Frausto tries the head kick again but it's blocked and Helsper continued to be the one moving forward. Helsper got in close and landed a few punches but Frausto pushed her back. Frausto landed a good straight kick to the body. Helsper landed a leg kick that was nearly got but she got out of it. Frausto landed a good jab with a minute left in the round. Frausto lands an inside leg kick after Helsper avoids a combination. Helsper throws a few leg kicks and then Frausto gets in with the Superman punch and throws a number of shots in succession. Helsper responds nicely with a great flurry of her own to finish the round much better than it started.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Helsper. She pushed the action and avoided damage while landing a bit more of her own. Good action in the last minute after a lackluster first four.
ROUND TWO: Helsper came forward early but Frausto lands the first blow. She tried to get in with a few punches but Helsper caught her nicely and pushed her back to the cage with a flurry. She separated from the cage with a nice elbow. Frausto threw a high kick again but Helsper continues to push forward. Frausto throws a straight kick to counter Helsper's leg kick. Helsper lands a leg kick and now Frausto comes forward. LEg kick lands again by Helsper. Frausto again with the missed Superman punch and Helsper tries to clinch and take her down. Frausto, however, bucks her off right away. Frausto lands a big high kick that momentarily stuns Helsper and Frausto pounces. She follows her and gets her on her on the ground. Helsper is cut open by a few punches while she was on her back, but her up kicks caused Frausto to back off and she stood back up. Helsper rushes forward with a flurry and gets Frausto's back against the cage. Frausto grabbed the Thai clinch, however, and landed two knees to the head and a couple to the body and then Helsper backed off. Frausto got in with another straight punch and misses the two that followed. Helsper tries to push forward with a flurry at the end and she lands a few shots right before the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Frausto. Much better round then the first and Frausto did some real damage there. Helsper's going to need to take this one for herself or Frausto's going to keep taking her spots if she stays back.
ROUND THREE: Helsper lands a body punch and pushes Frausto's back against the cage. She lands a number of body punches before Frausto clinched to hold that attack off. She takes Frausto down and gets right into half guard. She throws a few punches, and Frausto holds on for dear life and the ref stood them up. Asinine, she wasn't even given a chance to work from that position. Terrible reffing continues in these smaller shows that Strikeforce keeps putting on Strikeforce. Frausto continues landing shots on the feet but Helsper comes forward with a flurry of her own. Frausto gets in another good knee to the head but Helsper gets double underhooks against the cage and tries for the takedown. The ref is right in there telling them to advance and then separates them. Frausto lands two good punches and then a kick in combination. She definitely hits harder than Helsper here. Helsper gets in a couple of punches and Frausto grabs the Thai clinch to land the knee again. She then lands a few more punches and takes Helsper down herself. She stands and lands a few punches on the downed Helsper, though Helsper tries to hold her off with up kicks until the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Frausto. Good battle, but Frausto landed harder punches and negated the takedown with one of her own late.
WINNER: Frausto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Yay, more awkward Stephen Quadros questions! Zoila gives Helsper credit for continuing to come forward even as she landed a bunch of hard shots flush. She said she likes her kicks, and that was a big factor in the fight.
STAR RATING: (**+) Very exciting second and third round for the women here, and a good bout to get things kicked off.
FIGHT TWO: THOMAS DIAGNE VS. MERRITT WARREN (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Warren opens up with a leg kick, and the two exchange a couple more early. Warren again lands the leg kick, but then Diagne popped forward with a side kick to the body. Warren tried to use his jab to get in close but Diagne got away from him nicely. Warren pushes forward with a punch and tries to grab a headlock as Diagne lifts him up and slams him down. Warren tried to hold onto his headlock with Diagne in side control, but then Diagne pushed out and got into his half guard with his head free. Warren threw a couple of punches from the bottom and Diagne landed a couple of short punches himself from the top. Diagne tries to pass and Warren grabs full guard. Diagne postured up and landed a couple of good shots. Warren tried to grab a leg lock and Diagne stood up. Warren grabs a heel hook and takes Diagne down and wrenches it a bit further and Diagne yells in pain and taps out. Nice submission for Warren.
WINNER: Warren via submission (heel hook) at 3:49 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Warren said the win was beautiful. He tries to call out Kentucky and gets a *crickets chirping* response. Warren said Diagne's mistake was taking him to the ground. The crowd is just silent through this post fight interview.
STAR RATING: (**+) The fight stalled a bit once it hit the ground, but Warren pulled of a great submission when Diagne was looking to be in great position to do damage in that one. Good win for Warren.
FIGHT THREE: LUKE ROCKHOLD VS. JESSE TAYLOR (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Rockhold throws a side kick that Taylor avoids early and then Taylor shoots in. He gets Rockhold against the cage but Rockhold holds him off nicely. Rockhold lands a couple of elbows to the body as Taylor takes him down. Rockhold walks up the cage, however and gets to his feet. Taylor stays with it, though, and eventually gets him down. Rockhold tries to throw up for a triangle and then an armbar, but Taylor escapes and gets on Rockhold's back. Taylor tries to jump up for a rear naked choke but he gets up too high and Rockhold gets him off and takes his back. He gets both hooks in tight and Taylor is in trouble. Taylor tries to roll and Rockhold hooks on a body triangle tightly. He finally locks in the rear naked choke and Taylor tries to hold it off. He holds on and Rockhold finally forces him to tap. Good, impressive win for Rockhold.
WINNER: Rockhold via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:42 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Taylor said he's gonna get a cocktail, plane ticket and tee time, in that order. He said he's looking forward to what's next and he'll take whatever they give him.
STAR RATING: (**+) Good, exciting work from both guys on the ground, with Taylor gutting it out as Rockhold stretched him with the body lock and choke. Another very impressive performance from Rockhold.
FIGHT FOUR: BRANDON CASH VS. SHANE DEL ROSARIO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Cash throws a big bomb off the bat. Del Rosario holds on but then gets dropped by another big bomb. The ref looked like he was going to step in and stopped it but he let them continue. Del Rosario again survives but Cash stays on him and lands shot after shot before getting to the mount, moving to side control and then back to mount. Del Rosario is holding on for dear life here. He somehow gets back to his feet but Cash stays on him and takes him down. Rosario goes for a triangle but Cash pulls his head out and stays in top position in the half guard. Rosario gets full guard as Cash stays on him. Rosario throws his legs up again but Cash steps up and drops down with a couple of big shots. Rosario gets an omoplata out of nowhere and forces Cash to tap! Wow. Great win after getting his ass kicked for the first half of that round.
WINNER: Del Rosario via submission (omoplata) at 2:57 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (***) Great comeback by Del Rosario, even though the ref nearly stopped it after he got dropped. Cash was putting on a beating for a while but Del Rosario's ground game was very active and he picked up a great submission with the omoplata.
-Quadros brings in Cung Le cageside, who says it's been really hard for him to give up his belt but he felt it was the honorable thing to do with him out of action. He says he wants to make sure the fans don't turn their back on him and he confirms earlier reports that he'll be back on December 19th.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: JORGE GURGEL VS. BILLY EVANGELISTA (CATCHWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Gurgel lands an inside leg kick off the bat. He comes forward with a jab and Evangelista lands a right. Evangelista rocks Gurgel's leg with a kick that nearly buckled it. Gurgel kept his spot in the center with a very pro-Evangelista crowd cheering against him. Gurgel lands a good jab and lands a counter hook as Evangelista comes forward. Evangelista closes the distance and eats a short flurry. He goes to the outside leg kick and lands a couple in a row. He pops forward and eats a few punches from Gurgel. Evangelista throws a high kick that Gurgel blocks. Good leg kick again lands from Evangelista. He moves to a straight kick to the body. He feinted and got Gurgel to engage and then landed a couple of shots of his own. Evangelista hops in and out of different stances and lands a good straight right hand. Gurgel gets in with one of his own and then he lands a leg kick. Another leg kick lands from Gurgel but Evangelista lands two in response. Evangelista lands a punch and then backed out nicely to avoid the counter. Evangelista engaged and the two traded shots briefly before Evangelista took Gurgel down at the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Evangelista. The takedown sealed it, but he probably was ahead due to aggression and engaging in the exchanges, along with some good hits landed.
ROUND TWO: Gurgel takes the center and puts Evangelista's back on the cage. He lands a couple of shots and they trade leg kicks. They get in close and clinch and Evangelista lands a good knee to the body. They trade kicks. Evangelista engages and Gurgel lands a couple of good punches. Gurgel pops in swinging wildly again but doesn't land. Gurgel again comes forward with a wild combo and gets a couple of them to their mark as Evangelista counters a couple of times. Gurgel lands a leg kick and a flurry, and Evangelista countered with leg kicks of his own. Gurgel went for a spinning back fist and a second punch and Evangelista took him down. He landed a couple of good punches from Gurgel's butterfly guard. He passes to half guard and lands some more punches. Gurgel gets him back to his guard. Evangelista stays on him with punches as Gurgel tries to get his back to the cage. Gurgel goes for a kimura from his full guard but then lets it go. Evangelista smothers him against the cage and lands some more punches from the top. The ref stands them up even though Evangelista had an advantageous position. Gurgel then drops him with a head kick! He pounces and slaps on a guillotine but Evangelista is able to survive and pops his head out, landing a couple more shots before the bell.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Evangelista. Until that head kick and guillotine attempt this round was almost all Evangelista. That was another not great stand up by this ref that came close to being a death knell for Evangelista.
ROUND THREE: Gurgel again takes the center and immediately tries to close the distance. They trade quick flurries early. Gurgel lands a good right hand and keeps Evangelista to the cage. Evangelista lands a couple of shots of his own as Gurgel stays on him. Evangelista lands a good overhand right as Gurgel knows he's got to do something here. Gurgel's leg kick is caught and he eats a right hand. Evangelista again lands a solid counter right. Gurgel sloppily swings more punches but eats the counters. Evangelista is landing some very nice counters and gets another blow in with an elbow. Gurgel again with the overhand right getting through. Straight jab from Evangelista and then he avoids the counter. Inside leg kick from Evangelista. Gurgel throws two high kicks and then throws a flurry at Evangelista before stuffing a takedown attempt. Evangelista gets Gurgel to the cage but Gurgel turns him around and nearly gets a takedown. Gurgel continues to push the pace and gets in on Evangelista with a good flurry. Evangelista trips Gurgel up and takes him down with :30 left. He got cut open by a kick as he took him down. Gurgel is stuck in his full guard and tries to swing punches from his back before the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Evangelista. Despite Gurgel's wild swinging and him pressing the action early, Evangelista hit harder and landed some great counters and got the late trip takedown.
WINNER: Evangelista via unanimous decision.
POST FIGHT: Gurgel said he was embarrassed and disappointed in himself. Quadros started the interview by saying "we'll talk to the loser first," to which Gurgel just gave him a quick, "c'mon, man." Evangelista told Gurgel "good try" on the guillotine attempt. He balks on answering if he wants Josh Thomson for the Lightweight Title.
STAR RATING: (***-) It was a good fight, though like most Gurgel fights very sloppy with a lot of action looking better than it actually was.
-That's another event in the books for the Strikeforce: Challengers series, and there's still another yet to come on Showtime this November. Tomorrow night brings Fedor vs. Brett Rogers on CBS, and make sure to stick with us live tomorrow night as I'll be looking to report live from in the arena in Hoffman Estates, IL. Thanks for joining us here again and we'll see you tomorrow night!
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