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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 9
JULY 23, 2010
LIVE FROM EVERETT, WASH.
Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros open the show, running down the fights coming on tonight's card before breaking down the main event and going to a short interview clip for both main event fighters. Pat Miletich then joins them as the third man as always for these Challengers events, and it's time to get to the first fight 10 minutes into the broadcast.
FIGHT ONE: THOMAS DIAGNE VS. CAROS FODOR (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Fodor tries to push in early and he gets the fight clinched on the cage. Diagne gets separation but gets dropped with a left. He recovers as Fodor stays on him and tries to get to his feet. He gets dropped again with a left hook but he's able to recover and get to his feet where Fodor clinches him. He lands some knees to the left thigh of Diagne. Fodor switches to a knee to the body and continues with the knees to the thigh. Diagne tries to jockey for position on the cage but Fodor continues throwing the knees to the thigh. This accumulation of knees could weigh heavily on Diagne later in this fight. Diagne tries to get separation and Fodor just stays on him. Diagne turns him around finally and lands a few knees of his own. He finally gets separation and Fodor comes straight at him. He tries to keep Fodor away but Caros closes the gap and clinches him again at the cage. Diagne gets double underhooks and turns him around. He tries to get a trip takedown but Fodor holds it off. Diagne separates and lands a spinning back kick to the body. That was nice, but it doesn't do much and Fodor gets right back to the clinch at the cage. He lands some more knees to the left thigh. He drops a level, can't get the takedown and moves right into a punch and knee combination before clinching again. Very smart stuff from Fodor in this round. He lands another knee to the body before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Fodor. It was a bit methodical at times, but had a couple of exciting knockdowns early that Diagne was able to recover from. He's wearing Diagne down with the knees to the thigh and it could pay dividends here in the later rounds.
ROUND TWO: Diagne lands a couple of kicks as Fodor tries to close the distance. He's landing some good punches as he backs up, but Fodor closes the distance and gets the clinch. Diagne separates and Fodor gets right back at him, lands a left and gets the clinch again. He goes back to knees to the thighs. Diagne throws some knees back and they just exchange knees to the legs and body. Fodor lands a hard knee to the body as he grabs a body lock. He continues to work the knees against the cage. He separates briefly to land a short combination and goes right back to the clinch. They jockey for position a bit. Diagne gets in a right elbow against the cage as they're battling for position. Diagne gets separation but Fodor comes straight at him. Diagne tries to hold him off but Fodor gets the clinch again. He picks him up and drops him down right into side control. Fodor briefly goes for a kimura but lets it go. Diagne moves to his knees and Fodor starts landing some bombs. He then pushed him over into half guard. They scrambled and Diagne briefly got to his feet. Fodor landed a big knee to the face and took him down again. He threatened with a keylock but Diagne scrambled out and made it to his feet before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Fodor. Methodical again for a bit, but Fodor turned it on at a great spot with that takedown and nearly locked on a couple of submissions. Very impressive stuff from Fodor here with only a few professional fights.
ROUND THREE: Fodor comes forward but Diagne gets him to back off. He walks right back in and gets the clinch against the cage. He lands some more knees to the thigh. Diagne separates. He throws a spinning kick that doesn't land, but then he catches Fodor with a flashy crescent kick. Fodor walks through it and gets back to the clinch briefly. Diagne pushes in with a kick. Fodor comes right back with a nice combo and then drops for the double leg takedown and he completes it to half guard. He lands a punch to the body and goes for the kimura again. He's got his arms locked in and then pushes it back. He steps over his head but Diagne rolls through. Fodor didn't keep him pinned down and Diagne somehow survived and got back to his feet. That was bad. Fodor goes for a front choke and Diagne tries to push forward but Fodor sprawls. He lands a couple of punches. He continues to throw punches as Diagne is on his knees. He continues to throw punches to the side of the head and then gets back to side control. His corner calls for an elbow (which is illegal in Strikeforce) and he shakes his head. He stays on Diagne with a couple more punches and then gets up in celebration as the fight ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Fodor. That submission didn't finish Diagne, but it came extremely close and Fodor finished off a one-sided fight.
WINNER: Fodor via unanimous decision (30-27 across the board)
POST FIGHT: Fodor apologized for going slow and being patient in the fight and for spending so much time against the cage. He didn't need to, but he's a young fighter not satisfied with the decision.
STAR RATING: (**+) That was a fun start to the show. Both fighters are very early in their career, but Fodor showed some very good stuff in this fight. He pressed the pace well, closed the distance and had a few nice takedowns along with some close submission attempts. He's got things to work on, of course, but for this level for both of them he showed a very nice game and provided a fun fight. Diagne deserves credit for surviving those kimura attempts, but he was thoroughly outworked in this fight.
FIGHT TWO: ABONGO HUMPHREY VS. MIKE KYLE (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Humphrey comes straight forward and eats a couple of punches early. Kyle lands a few more shots and avoids the shot from Humphrey. Kyle lands a nice uppercut. Humphrey lands a good leg kick. He gets in another one and misses a spinning kick. He runs in and gets Kyle clinched against the cage. They exchange knees in the clinch as Humphrey pushes Kyle against the cage. Kyle gets separation and lands a knee. Humphrey presses after him and lands a combination and then takes Kyle down into side control. Kyle tries to sit up on the cage and gets it to half guard. Humphrey drags him back down and Kyle gets him into full guard. Kyle scrambles and Humphrey goes for a choke. Kyle escapes but Humphrey gets side control. Kyle scrambles but Humphrey grabs a choke again. Kyle escapes and gets to his feet. He lands a jumping knee. He gets in a push kick and another flying knee, but Humphrey pushed right through the knee and took him down. Kyle threw his legs up but Humphrey side stepped and landed a couple of shots to get into side control. Kyle reverses. He tries to get to mount but Humphrey revers him! Kyle scrambles to his knees and Humphrey goes for the choke again but the round ends. Awesome first round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Humphrey. Nice takedowns and a couple near submission attempts took it for him, but Kyle is landing the harder strikes at the moment.
ROUND TWO: Humphrey comes right forward and lands a right before backing off. He lands a leg kick. He lands a couple more leg kicks. Humphrey lands a nice left but eats the counter as well. Kyle lands a nice combination that sends Humphrey back. Humphrey tries to rush in for the clinch. Kyle turns him around and takes him down. Humphrey grabs for a heel hook but Kyle gets out. Humphrey was able to spin into his guard, however, and he keeps him on the ground. Humphrey is tiring out here. Kyle lands a couple of punches from the bottom and then tied Humphrey up, forcing the ref to stand them up. That was a quick standup. Humphrey swings some wild punches and Kyle takes him down and gets right to the mount. Kyle takes his back and gets one hook in, but Humphrey rolled. Kyle stayed on his back and continued to transition as Humphrey was rolling. He lands a number of shots and then goes for the rear naked choke. He's got it locked in and forces Humphrey to tap. He extends his hand for a handshake after the fight. He's still trying to repair his image, that's for sure. Nice win.
WINNER: Kyle via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:28 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Kyle said he never gave up when a lot of people thought he should, and said this win was just a stepping stone and he's waiting for the doors to open for his next opportunity. He said he won't call out anybody but will be ready for any opportunity. He said Cain Velasquez is going to go out and kick the s*** out of Brock Lesnar. D'ohkay. He thanked his sponsors to cap it off.
STAR RATING: (***-) Extremely sloppy and Kyle took the win as Humphrey was far too exhausted to do much against him in the second round, but it was still a lot of fun while it lasted. Humphrey kind of got screwed with that quick standup, but he didn't look like he had much left to do anything there anyway.
-Mauro Ranallo announced the August 13 Challengers card with the four woman, one night tournament.
-Sarah Kaufman was interviewed backstage and again addressed being on the Challengers card and said this will be her last time on here before getting on a main card. She predicted a TKO or KO win.
FIGHT THREE: CORY DEVELA VS. BOBBY VOELKER (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Voelker comes right after Devela and gets a body lock. Devela turns him around against the cage. Voelker lands a knee to the body. He lands a couple more as Devela stays on him against the cage. Devela lands a right and continues to stay on him. He forces him to the ground and gets right into the mount. Voelker tries to buck him off as Devela postures up high in the mount with some punches. Devela swings some wild punches down from the mount. Devela continues to land but Voelker bucks him off and springs to his feet. Devela gets him back on the cage in the clinch. Devela separates briefly to land a knee and then drags Voelker down to the ground again, this time into half guard. Devela continues to smother him and tries to improve his position. Elbows would be very helpful here. He lands a right and continues to stay on him in the half guard. Voelker tries to kick him off but he was going for a guillotine. Voelker got out of it and wound up in half guard himself. Devela got him back to full guard with 15 seconds left. Voelker landed a couple of punches before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Devela. He had a couple of nice takedowns, controlled the pace of the fight and had some good position on the ground. Voelker is still very much in the fight, though.
ROUND TWO: Voelker comes in quickly. Devela tries to trip him but flies across the cage in a failed attempt. Voelker comes back at him and Devela clinches him on the cage. Devela goes for a takedown and completes it. Voelker almost reverses it but Devela stays on him into half guard. Voelker pulls off a nice sweep and gets into Devela's guard. Devela stays active from his back and he goes for an armbar. Voelker lands some punches and gets out of it. Voelker pushes him back to the fence and lands a few punches. Devela tries to isolate an arm for a kimura but has to let it go. Devela tries to kick Voelker off to scramble but Voelker stays on him. Devela tries to get his legs up for a submission attempt but can't get anything locked in as Voelker lands a few more punches. Devela grabs a leg and tries to grab it. He gets it but can't grab the knee bar. Devela works back to his feet though. He lost his mouth piece as he was in the clinch and picked it up and put it back in his mouth. He stepped back and landed a huge right that rocked Voelker, but the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Devela. He was extremely active from his back and landed a huge right at the end that rocked Voelker, and if he would have had an extra 20 seconds he may have finished it.
ROUND THREE: Devela gets the clinch and pushes Voelker to the cage immediately. Devela had a body lock but Voelker was able to hold off the takedown attempt. Devela landed a couple of short punches in the clinch. He separated with a nice combo. He shot in for a takedown but couldn't get it. Voelker landed a really nice knee to the head. Voelker grabbed for a choke and Devela scrambled to clinch him on the cage again. They jockeyed for position. They separate briefly and Voelker landed a nice punch before Devela clinched him again. Devela tried to get a single leg but he doesn't have much left here. He separated. Voelker rocks him with a few punches but Devela responds with a big right. He presses back in to the clinch. Voelker goes for a takedown. Devela tries to grab for a choke but Voelker completes the takedown. Devela tries to kick him off but Voelker presses right back at him. Devela grabbed for a heel hook but Voelker scrambled. It once again allowed Devela to get to his feet. He stepped back and landed a nice combination. Voelker lands an uppercut and they start swinging punches at the cage. They both land some hard punches in this exchange and finish the fight in the clinch. Very tough fight to score.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. Voelker was winning the round until Devela came right back with some huge punches that were more significant than much of the rest of the round. Voelker got some punches of his own in as well, but it's a very tough round to score and both have an argument for it. Could be some very interesting judges' scores here.
WINNER: Voelker via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Voelker said after the fight he should have been better and said he needs to go back and work on some things. He said he thought Devela was just going to try to shoot, but he didn't anticipate the clinch. The crowd booed the decision. Devela came in and said he wanted to do the fight again.
STAR RATING: (**+) Another good fight, but I don't agree with the decision. I thought Devela was much more active in the second round and had a big punch land at the end of the round, but being on your back means you lose the round for most judges, unfortunately. Still, it's not a robbery, and was what I expected to see.
-K.J. Noons is interviewed cageside before his fight against Jorge Gurgel on August 21 in Houston.
FIGHT FOUR: SARAH KAUFMAN VS. ROXANNE MODAFFERI (STRIKEFORCE WOMEN'S 135 LB. CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Modafferi rushes in with a flying knee. Kaufman absorbs it and pushes her to the cage. They jockey for position on the cage. Kaufman lands a knee to the body. Modafferi then gets position and lands some knees to the body. Kaufman lands some good knees to the thighs as they continue to roll against the cage. Moddaferi pushes in and takes Kaufman down. Kaufman tries to walk back up the cage and gets to a knee. Modafferi stays on her and pulls her to the ground. Kaufman pulls her to guard. Kaufman keeps control of Modafferi's arms and then the ref stands them up. That was another quick standup tonight. Kaufman walks Modafferi down and she lands a couple of jabs. She lands a hard combination. Modafferi spins for a kick but it misses. She closed the distance with it and they clinched again. Kaufman lands some knees to the legs against the cage. Modafferi tried for a throw but Kaufman held it off. Very even struggle here as Modafferi continues to attempt to grapple Kaufman to the ground as Kaufman stayed on her against the cage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Kaufman. She landed some hard punches and benefited from the quick standup.
ROUND TWO: Kaufman walked Modafferi down and landed some big punches against the cage. She rocks her with a combination and Modafferi tried to drop down for a takedown, but she stood up and used it to get the clinch to recover. Kaufman grabs for a Thai clinch but can't connect. They're still struggling against the cage here and Kaufman landed a knee and unloaded with a combination. She ducked under a spinning back fist and they clinched again. Modafferi tried to jump guard but Kaufman held her up and kept her pinned against the cage. Modafferi tried to trip Kaufman up again but Kaufman held her off and landed a left. Kaufman grabbed the Thai clinch again and started landing some good knees to the body in the clinch. Modafferi grabbed the hold herself and threw some knees. Modafferi tried to throw Kaufman again but almost wound up on her back and they continued to jockey for position on the cage. The crowd started chanting for Kaufman.Modafferi tried again for a trip but Kaufman held her off. Kaufman grabbed the Thai clinch again and landed a few good knees. Kaufman separated with a straight right. She pushed in and landed a bunch of punches in a flurry that forced Modafferi to drop down, and the round ended with Kaufman above Modafferi against the cage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Kaufman. She's getting in a lot of combinations, but Modafferi's doing a good job of keeping the fight clinched, but she's not having any success with takedowns and trips.
ROUND THREE: Modafferi threw a high kick early but it was blocked. She landed a couple of leg kicks as Kaufman walked in> Kaufman connected on a number of punches. Modafferi landed a couple of counter punches and then they clinched again. Modafferi tried to throw some knees with her back on the cage. Modafferi finally pulled off a throw and Kaufman pulled guard. Kaufman tried to kick Modafferi off and Roxy dropped down with a couple of punches. Kaufman landed a couple of up kicks. She got Modafferi off balance and had enough time to bounce back to her feet and push Modafferi to the cage. She landed some knees to the body. The ref halted them and called time to address loose tape on Kaufman's glove. They restarted and Roxy missed a punch. Kaufman landed a combination. Kaufman got in again with a straight right and a left. Modafferi dropped down but Kaufman held off the takedown attempt and threw Modafferi to the cage. They traded more ugly knees against the cage. Kaufman got in a couple of punches in the clinch. Modafferi pulled guard and tried to walk her legs up. She grabs for an armbar, but Kaufman picked her up and slammed her, knocking her out cold! Wow. That was an awesome finish.
WINNER: Kaufman via KO (slam) at 4:45 of the third round
POST FIGHT: Kaufman again asked to get on main card fights on Showtime, she thinks she deserves it. As the Champion with that KO slam, her fight with Coenen absolutely should be on the second or third fight on a main Showtime card.
STAR RATING: (***) The fight as a whole was ugly in the clinch, and a very even battle with not a whole lot going on. But that finish was really good for Kaufman and a definite highlight reel moment.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: LOLOHEA MAHE VS. SHANE DEL ROSARIO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Del Rosario circles on the outside and lands a good kick to the leg. He gets in with another one as he continues to circle on the outside. Mahe swung a right as Del Rosario came in. Del Rosario got in for a clinch and pressed Mahe to the cage. Continues the theme of the night, I suppose. Del Rosario lands some good short punches as well as some knees to the body and the ref separated them. Mahe threw some big punches and Del Rosario covered up. He threw a high kick that pushed Mahe back. Mahe landed a big blow to the body and pressed in, going for a single leg against the cage. Del Rosario threw a knee to the body and reversed the position on the cage. He landed a few nice knees in the clinch, but one of them landed low and Mahe was given time to recover. They restart after a minute. Mahe lands a nice straight right. Del Rosario popped in with a leg kick and then rocked Mahe with a huge left. He worked on him against the cage and rocked him again with a combination. He landed a knee to the jaw in the clinch and then a huge one to the body and Mahe buckles over and the fight was stopped. Mahe's hurting after those knees.
WINNER: Del Rosario via TKO at 3:48 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Del Rosario said he's working really hard and he's ready for a step up in competition. Mauro Ranallo threw out Andrei Arlovski, and Del Rosario said he's past the Lashley situation and would welcome the opportunity to fight Arlovski.
STAR RATING: (**+) Good work from Del Rosario in that first round TKO. Mahe's a big guy, but he can't handle the speed and power of a guy like Del Rosario. He'll certainly get a step up in competition next, and a fight with Arlovski would be a fresh matchup that could be highly entertaining.
-That's another Challengers event in the books. As always, a number of the fighters stepped up with impressive performances, and these Challengers cards continue to bring entertaining fights. Kaufman and Del Rosario likely find their way to a main Showtime card for their next fights, and both should be in some entertaining matchups. Thanks for joining us here once again, make sure to stick with us throughout the week for any fallout from this event as well as the start of the hype train for UFC on Versus 2 and the crazy MMA month of August. Also be sure to join us at BlogTalkRadio.com/MMATorch this Sunday from 2-4PM ET for our final Sunday Conversation show before we move to Tuesday nights!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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