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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 10
AUGUST 13, 2010
LIVE FROM PHOENIX, ARIZ.
Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros introduce the night's card and go to the quick clip interviews with tonight's main eventers in Joe Riggs and Louis Taylor. Then Pat Miletich joins the crew to breakdown the four women in tonight's tournament. We're starting things off with the first semifinal bout.
ROUND ONE: Tate lands an early jab. She shoots in and grabs a clinch but Kujala holds off the takedown attempt. Tate lands a knee to the thigh. She lands a few more before Kujala turns her around. They jockey for position. Tate lands another knee. She gets in a few more to the body and throws some punches in there as well. Kujala tries to get off the cage but Tate keeps her on the cage. Tate finally gets the single leg and takes Kujala down into side control. She pulls Tate back into half guard and tries to lock on a guillotine. Tate was going for an arm triangle choke and the referee stood them up. Unbelievable. They trade punches before the round ends. That ref needs to be fired in between rounds here. Terrible stand up.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. She could have gotten that choke in there at the end with her shoulder in there. Cannot believe the ref stood that up.
ROUND TWO: Tate landed some shots early and Kujala pushes in for a clinch. Tate lands a jab and a body kick. Kujala comes in and they trade punches. Tate puts her on the cage and lands some knees. Kujala lands a few short punches. Kujala lands a knee to the body. Tate lands a knee. Kujala separates. Tate lands a head kick barely. They trade punches. Kujala gets in with a few punches. Kujala lands some punches. Tate grabs the Thai clinch and lands some knees. Kujala lands some uppercuts. They trade punches again. Tate lands a kick. Tate pushes in and gets a takedown with 40 seconds left and she'll take this. She moves to half guard. She lands some short shots as the round ended and it goes to the scorecards. Hadn't even realized but Kujala's wearing long tights. Didn't think that was legal in the states.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. The late takedown stole it after an even back and forth in the stand up exchanges. Two 3 minute rounds is ridiculous here tonight.
WINNER: Tate via unanimous decision
POST FIGHT: Tate said Kujala was amazing and a tough opponent. She said she feels on top of the world and she's ready.
STAR RATING: (N/A) Because there's only six minutes allowed in these early fights I'll hold off on an actual rating. There was some good stuff from Tate and some decent exchanges, but the referee was terrible in this one.
ROUND ONE: The crowd is just dead here tonight. Damm lands a few kicks early. Akano tried to come in close and she overstepped and Damm took her back. Akano tried to roll out and Damm stayed on her back. She rolled to her back and got Damm into her guard. Damm tried to land a couple of punches. Akano lands a couple from her back. Damm lands a few more and this ref is letting them go on the ground. Akano threw her legs up for a triangle but Damm got loose. They're finally stood up with 40 seconds left. Damm landed a spinning back fist. Akano then grabbed a headlock and got a takedown. She spins and goes for a foot lock. Akano heard the ten second whistle and thought the round was done so she paused. The ref told her there was still time left and she tried to grab the leg again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Damm, I guess. She was on top for the majority of the round.
ROUND TWO: Damm landed the spinning back fist again early. Akano came in and tried to get a throw, but turned it into a takedown into half guard. Akano landed a few punches as she tried to break guard. Damm reversed her. Akano went for a triangle, which turned into an omoplata attempt, but then Damm got into her guard. Akano then threw up for a triangle choke and spun over, forcing Damm to tap. Nice finish.
WINNER: Akano via submission (triangle choke/armbar) 1:48 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Akano said she'll submit Tate in the finals tonight.
STAR RATING: (N/A) Same as with the Tate fight for the ratings. Akano's submission was slick, but with only two three minute rounds they don't have much to go on.
-Sarah Kaufman was interviewed and she picked Akano over Tate in tonight's final.
FIGHT THREE: RYAN COUTURE VS. LUCAS STARK (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Couture looks a lot bigger than Stark here. Stark landed a leg kick. Couture landed a jab. Stark landed an overhand right after blocking a jab. They clinch. Couture trips up the leg and gets a takedown. Stark gets to his feet and pulls off a nice takedown on Couture, but Couture threw up a tight triangle and forced the tap. Very nice submission.
WINNER: Couture via submission (triangle choke) 1:15 of the first round
ROUND ONE: Strikeforce is actually showing a preliminary card fight. Amazing. Carmouche comes right forward and gets Schneider to the cage and they jockey for position. Schneider tries to separate with punches and Carmouche closes in and puts her back on the cage again. They trade knees in the clinch. Carmouche pulls off a nice throw and gets into guard. Schneider kicked her off and got back to her feet, but Carmouche got right back to the clinch. Carmouche got her down again on the cage. She landed a couple of short punches and tried to posture up. She landed a hard hammer fist and some body punches from the guard. Schneider tried to kick her off again and land some short punches. That 10 second whistle is terrible, as are three minute rounds as Schneider nearly got an armbar as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Carmouche. Two takedowns was all she needed to do in a three minute round.
ROUND TWO: Schneider landed an early kick and Carmouche pushed in to get her to the cage. Schneider got loose and landed a nice kick. Carmouche got in with a right and clinched. Schneider tried to shoot in but got stuffed. They trade knees in the clinch. They jockey for position against the cage and are separated. Carmouche lands a body kick. Schneider throws a couple of kicks but they miss the mark. Carmouche pushes in for the clinch again. She tries a throw but gets held off. They trade knees again and Schneider turns her around. Schneider gets a takedown with ten seconds left. She stands and lands a punch and drops down with one more as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Carmouche. She held positional control on the cage for the most part. This format is terrible.
ROUND ONE: Akano lands a couple of kicks early. Tate got in with a good punch. Tate landed a straight kick. Akano landed a body kick and got in for the clinch. Tate got low in the clinch and pushed Akano against the cage. Tate got a body lock on Akano's back and tried to take her down but Akano fell back onto her. Tate stayed on her and took her back. Akano tried to get Tate's leg for a submission. She got Tate's foot in a bad spot but Tate got out of it. She stood up and dropped down a few big shots as the round was ending.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Akano. The submission attempt really took it, as it was the only real thing of significance in the round.
ROUND TWO:Akano comes straight forward to to start the round. Tate lands a few kicks early to the legs and body. Tate landed a nice right and blocked a body kick. Tate landed a good kick and a right. She got in with the straight right again. Tate landed a few more shots and grabbed a body lock for the takedown. Akano almost got on top of her but Tate got to her back. Akano rolled through and put Tate on her back, but Tate still had Akano's back. The crowd started booing but then Tate got the hooks in with less than a minute left. The ref looked like he was going to stand them up. Tate landed a couple of punches and tried to get her arm under for the choke but time was running out. Akano reversed and Tate almost got an armbar locked in. Three minute rounds are bullsh***.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. She looked much better there, but these three minute rounds are really ridiculous.
ROUND THREE: Tate landed a really hard body kick. Akano caught it but Tate took her down and got her back. Tate worked for the choke and the ref warned Akano not to grab the glove. Tate kept working for a one armed choke as Akano had her right arm trapped. Akano continued to block the choke. She tried to scramble and Tate stayed on her back. She landed a couple of punches and Akano tried to scramble out. She escaped out but Tate grabbed for her arm with the keylock and got Akano's back again. She flattened her out and landed some punches. Akano tried to roll out and Tate stayed on her. Tate threw some wild flurries and stayed on Akano's back as the round ended. If she doesn't get the nod it's a complete robbery.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. Another entertaining round. Some very good back and forth grappling in this one between Tate and Akano, and again the three minute rounds are bulls***.
WINNER: Tate via unanimous decision.
POST FIGHT: They actually gave her a tournament belt. That's stupid when they don't give a sh** about their actual belt in that division. Tate said her submission defense is better than some thought. She said Sarah Kaufman is amazing and she's coming back to her. They're talking like the Kaufman-Tate fight is next, and Kaufman even said Tate earned the rematch, but Kaufman is fighting Marloes Coenen next. They finally just brought that up. Kaufman said "I'd love to find out the date we're fighting" and the interviewer joked "we all would." They're scheduling is becoming a joke to their interview team even now. That's not a good sign.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: JOE RIGGS VS. LOUIS TAYLOR (182 LB. CATCHWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Taylor takes the center of the cage and tries to walk Riggs down early. Taylor landed a leg kick and then a body kick. Riggs misses a high kick. Very slow start here in the first minute. Riggs grabs a single leg and gets Taylor slipped up, but Taylor gets to his feet, clinches, lands a nice body shot and then pushes Riggs to the cage. Taylor grabs a leg and gets a takedown into Riggs' guard. Riggs put his legs up high in the guard. He's doing a good job of negating Taylor and Taylor stood up to let him back to his feet. Riggs missed a superman punch and backed off. Still tentative back on their feet. Taylor lands a leg kick but gets tagged by a counter left from Riggs. Taylor landed a left kick. Riggs blocks a punch from Taylor. Riggs pushed in and landed a nice left. Taylor tried to throw a spinning back elbow but it was blocked. He got in for the clinch and Riggs landed a nice knee to the body and they clinched. That 10 second whistle is really off-putting. Riggs throws him off and they stand off as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Taylor. He got the takedown and was the one moving forward, but neither did much of anything there.
ROUND TWO: Taylor's corner didn't put his mouth guard in, and the ref halted the action 15 seconds in to get it in. Back to the tentative stand up. Riggs lands a leg kick. He gets in with a superman punch. He blocked a few punches from Taylor. He landed a leg kick. Taylor landed a kick and a punch. He got in close and got an uppercut in as Riggs countered. Taylor got in with a body punch. Riggs pushed forward with a short combo. Taylor tried to shoot but Riggs stuffed it. Riggs landed a left. Taylor came forward and landed a punch while missing a few others. He clinched Riggs on the cage. He backed off with a couple of punches. Taylor threw a couple more punches. He chased Riggs down and drove forward, finally getting Riggs to the ground. He got down into half guard. He landed a short punch. Riggs tried to control Taylor, but Taylor continued to move and throw short punches. Taylor lands a short flurry of punches from the top as the round comes to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Taylor. Another takedown with extended time in top control with not much else happening.
ROUND THREE: Riggs landed a huge left a minute in after another tentative start that rocked Taylor. He pushed Taylor to the cage and took him down, but Riggs needs to do something big here. Taylor's in a lot of pain. Riggs trapped Taylor's arm and started landing punches and Taylor tapped to the strikes. That first punch may have busted his orbital bone, because that's what he grabbed for and it looks busted. He was really hurt on the ground, and tried to tap twice before the ref stopped it.
WINNER: Riggs via submission (strikes) at 2:17 of the third round
POST FIGHT: Riggs told his hometown crowd he loved them. Riggs said it's always up to Strikeforce, but he'd stay at 170 if he could fight Nick Diaz again because he "already beat his ass once." Riggs read his thanks off a notecard.
STAR RATING: (**) It was an extremely tentative fight, but that third round by Riggs was very good. That left busted Taylor up badly, and it was just a matter of hitting him a few more times in that spot to make him quit.
-The three man booth wrapped up the card, which will finish 30 minutes ahead of schedule again.
This was not a great event for Strikeforce. The reffing was terrible, the tournament was essentially pointless as Tate still has to wait for the Kaufman-Coenen fight, and the three minute rounds and semifinal format of the tournament was ridiculous. The main event was alright, and Riggs had a nice finish, but it wasn't a very good fight by any means. Ryan Couture had a nice pro debut, though of course he got the spot because of his name, which is fine. But no other fight between debuting pro fighters is going to get aired on Showtime like that. But thanks for joining us tonight, we'll have fallout from this week's cards and more throughout the weekend and next week as we head towards Strikeforce: Houston next Saturday, once again on Showtime.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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