With Matt Pelkey covering the event live, I'll go right to the fights on the DVR with this report and skip over the filler. So time to get onto the fights!
FIGHT ONE: TAKEYA MIZUGAKI VS. SCOTT JORGENSEN (BANTAMWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Mizugaki lands an early punch, but then Jorgensen drops him with a huge right early. He goes for a guillotine but can't hold it on the ground and Mizugaki makes his way back to his feet. They exchange knees in the clinch. Mizugaki lands two more knees to the body. They continue to trade the knees to the body while clinched and trading position on the cage. Jorgensen lands a good body shot and they keep trading knees to the body. Mizugaki has definitely recovered here now. Jorgensen continues with the knees. Jorgensen catches a knee and drops him down. Mizugaki got back up to his feet but ate a knee to the head as they stayed clinched. They finally separate halfway through the round. They trade punches. Mizugaki gets in a good combination to the body. Jorgensen comes in and they each land shots in combination. Jorgensen rocks Mizugaki again and stays on him and drops him with a right. He works some ground and pound and stays on him on the ground. Jorgensen trapped an arm and then forced Mizugaki to give up his back. He lands a couple of shots but Mizugaki again somehow gets back to his feet. They went back to the knees to the body in the clinch. They separate with ten seconds left in the round. Jorgensen lands a jab and blocks a counter from Mizugaki as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jorgensen. Man does he hit hard. He dropped Mizugaki twice in that round but wasn't able to finish him off. Great start to the fight, though.
ROUND TWO: Jorgensen comes forward immediately. Mizugaki lands a couple of good shots early. He gets in another combo and then Jorgensen shoots in a perfect spot and gets a takedown. Jorgensen tries to stay on him as he passes guard but Mizugaki again gets back up. Hard to keep that man down. Jorgensen stays on him in the clinch on the cage and lands a number of body shots and knees to the body. Mizugaki continues to respond with knees to the body of his own. Mizugaki tries to turn the position but gets turned right back around and finally they're separated. Misugaki lands a couple of good punches in combination. Jorgensen again shoots in and gets a takedown but Mizugaki again gets right back up. They're back to the clinch but Jorgensen separates. He lands a few good shots and then a big short elbow before going back to the clinch. Jorgensen separated and landed two big punches. Jorgensen again closed the distance and got Misugaki's back against the cage. Jorgensen throws the knees to the thigh now. Knees to the body again. Mizugaki lands an elbow as they separate. He starts swinging but Jorgensen again gets another takedown. Mizugaki won't stay down, though and the end the round in the clinch.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jorgensen. Even though he couldn't keep Mizugaki down, Jorgensen scored with three takedowns and some pretty even exchanges in the stand up. Great performance out of him thus far.
ROUND THREE: Jorgensen lands a good punch early. Mizugaki tries to throw a combo but eats another couple of shots from Jorgensen before he comes in to clinch. Jorgensen lands a big right hand. He ducks out of the clinch and lands another big combo. Mizugaki finally clinches and Jorgensen gets him to the cage. Jorgensen backs off and delivers a combo before blocking one from Mizugaki. Another right lands from Jorgensen. Mizugaki lands a good leg kick. Mizugaki gets in a right. They each trade shots. Jorgensen again shoots and gets the takedown, but Mizugaki rolls throw and gets to his feet. Mizugaki then gets a takedown of his own and gets into half guard. Jorgensen got it back to guard and closes it. He gets to side control and Jorgensen rolls through and gets back up to his feet once again. Mizugaki steps around and gets another takedown into side control. He has a minute to finish or he'll lose this fight. He tries to step over but Jorgensen pulls half guard and locks him up. Mizugaki tries to unload punches as the round comes to an end but Jorgensen responds with upkicks.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Mizugaki. Too little, too late, but he had two real nice takedowns in that round and did a little damage on the ground. Jorgensen should take this one, however.
WINNER: Jorgensen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (***-) Very good back and forth from these guys, and by far Jorgensen's biggest career victory. That performance proved that he can hang with some of the best the division has to offer, and there were questions about that coming in.
FIGHT TWO: JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. RANI YAHYA (BANTAMWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Benavidez lands the first strike as Yahya comes in. Yahya lands a good jab. Benavidez starts to stalk and they both trade shots in an exchange. Both fighters throw again and Benavidez slips but gets right back up. Yahya lands a left but eats a counter right. Yahya lands another good jab as Benavidez tried to pop in. Benavidez drops Yahya with a huge right and follows up with a huge flurry on the ground and that's all she wrote. Big punch from Benavidez right on the jaw.
WINNER: Benavidez via KO at 1:35 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Great finish from Benavidez after some early back and forth from the two. Big win to get him back on track in the bantamweight division.
PRELIM FIGHT A: BRANDON VISHER VS. COURTNEY BUCK
ROUND ONE: Buck lands a good body kick early and Visher starts swinging. They both start trading shots. Buck drops Visher with a shot but as he came in Visher picked him up and threw him to the ground, getting into side control. Buck holds on tight. Visher gets a forearm loose and lands a couple of short shots. He finally back off and lets him up. Visher lands a big left but Buck gets a Thai clinch and rocks him with two knees. This is wild right now. Buck lands a couple of good leg kicks and barely misses a looping elbow. Visher lands a counter left. He catches Buck with a right and then gets a body shot in. BUck recovers. Buck lands a big left. They are throwing heavy shots right now. Buck caught a kick and then landed a right as he rushed forward. Visher got him to the ground again, however. Buck is simply trying to hold on right now. Visher finally moves to mount with :40 left. Buck turns out and gives up his back. Visher lands a couple of shots to the side of his head and Buck rolls over. Visher then drops down with a huge hammer fist and lands three more and Buck is out.
WINNER: Visher via KO at 4:45 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (***-) Exciting and action packed but sloppy as all hell. The finish was brutal but Buck just handed it to him there.
FIGHT THREE: ANTHONY NJOKUANI VS. CHRIS HORODECKI (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Njokuani tags Horodecki with a jab early. Njokuani gets another jab in. And another. His reach is going to be hard to overcome in this one for Horodecki. He lands a few punches in counter mode as Horodecki comes forward. He lands another hard punch and then a good knee as Horodecki clinches him against the cage. Njokuani lands a couple of knees to the body and then Horodecki drops down to attempt a double leg. Njokuani holds it off and finally separates. Horodecki lands a right and then Njokuani lands a leg kick. They exchange punches. Horodecki gets in a left. Njokuani again counters nicely. Horodecki shoots in and goes for a takedown but Njokuani gets him down. Horodecki gets back to his feet and tries to separate to the other side of the cage but eats a head kick to the face from behind him and goes down hard. Njokuani stays on him with punches and Steve Mazzagatti eventually has to step in and stop the bout. Another big TKO for Njokuani.
WINNER: Njokuani via TKO at 3:33 of the first round
STAR RATING: (***-) That's a highlight reel kick absolutely, but not a very smart thing to turn your back on a guy like Njokuani on your feet. He never saw that coming.
PRELIM FIGHT B: BRAD PICKETT VS. KYLE DIETZ
ROUND ONE: Dietz misses a high kick early lands an uppercut on the way around but gets poked in the eye inadvertently. He is able to continue and Pickett lands a good shot. Dietz throws a high kick but it gets caught and Pickett takes him down. Dietz throws some elbows from the bottom and tries to pull his leg up briefly. Pickett postures up and lands a shot. Pickett is staying active in the guard. He postures and Dietz throws some wild upkicks that don't find their mark and Pickett gets back into his guard. Pickett lands a good body to head combo. Pickett lands a good elbow. He gets another good right in. Pickett stands again and eats an up kick. He finally jumps up and dives down with a punch that got blocked. Pickett continues with body shots and Dietz tries to hold onto him. Pickett again postures up and lands a punch. Dietz lands a couple more elbows from his back. Dietz lands some heel kicks to the thigh. Pickett finally passes and Dietz finally rolls around and gets onto Pickett, but Pickett nearly locks in a triangle as the round comes to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pickett. Dietz did well from his back but Pickett scored points with some good elbows and punches from top position.
ROUND TWO: Dietz lands a big knee to start the second. He lands another and then a bunch of punches but Pickett keeps his composure and catches a kick and gets back into Dietz's guard. He drops a big elbow. Dietz again just tried to hold on. Pickett lands a good left and some rights to the body. Pickett drops a good elbow from the top. Dietz pulls rubber guard and throws a couple of elbows before Pickett lifts his back and forces him to drop his leg. Pickett moves to side control but Dietz scrambles and gets back to guard as Pickett drops a punch that misses. Pickett goes back to the body shots. He lands another elbow. Dietz is again just holding on but Pickett gets in another elbow. Dietz gets to the cage and tries to get back up but Pickett gets to north-south position and then pulls off the Peruvian necktie, rolls him over and forces the submission. Nice sub.
WINNER: Pickett via submission (Peruvian necktie) at 4:38 of the second round.
STAR RATING: (**+) Another great finish and a highlight reel submission with a nice rarely seen Peruvian necktie. The rest of the fight was Dietz trying to survive, though, with not a whole lot going on in the ground game.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: DONALD CERRONE VS. ED RATCLIFF (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Ratcliff throws a straight kick as Cerrone comes straight at him and clinches him on the cage. Ratcliff trips Cerrone up but Cerrone gets back to his feet. Ratcliff lands a big left that nearly buckled Cerrone and then he worked the leg kicks. Cerrone pushed forward with a body kick. Ratcliff kicked a leg out from Cerrone. Ratcliff went to a good body shot. He got in another one as Cerrone got him with a straight kick. Cerrone pushes in but Ratcliff clinches him on the cage again. Ratcliff throws a knee to the body. He landed a good combination after trying to sweep him. He lands a good knee to the body as he keeps Cerrone's back on the cage. He separates and lands a combo. Cerrone comes forward and eats a leg kick. Cerrone lands some good knees after he had a leg kick caught briefly. Cerrone landed a big kick to the body and then a hard leg kick. Ratcliff lands a good body shot. Cerrone lands a good quick shot. Cerrone grabs a Thai clinch and lands a knee that initially looked legal but Ratcliff is hurting. On replay it was low. Cerrone pushed forward with a number of kicks with a minute left. Ratcliff is backing up and Cerrone lands a good combo. Cerrone again landed a low blow, though it was as Ratcliff was walking into him and completely unintentional. Herb Dean took a point away for that one.Ratcliff lands a good side kicka dn then a combo and they start throwing bombs late. Cerrone finally gets a takedown with ten seconds left and goes for a guillotine that he can't lock on because he's out of time.
Penick's Scorecard: 9-9. Tough round to score, as Ratcliff controlled the early action before Cerrone picked it up in the second half. I think Cerrone snuck it out late but with the point deduction the round is even.
ROUND TWO: Cerrone starts the second round coming forward throwing kicks. Ratcliff jumps completely over one kick. Cerrone keeps moving forward and slips when he eats a leg kick. Cerrone continues to come forward to land the leg kicks. He throws a high one that gets blocked. He lands a punch and then goes with a kick to the body. Cerrone lands a good left hook. Cerrone again with a right but he eats a counter from Ratcliff. Cerrone lands a good left when Ratcliff throws a body kick. Cerrone lands a good combo and finishes it with a great knee to the head. He keeps coming forward and attacking. Big body kick from Cerrone. He grabbed the Thai clinch again and landed another knee that went low. That's #3. None of these are intentional, but they are damaging. Cerrone's getting another point taken away here. Cerrone comes right back when they restart even more pissed off and he's attacking with a vengeance, landing a number of punches and kicks to the legs and body as he continues to chase Ratcliff down. Ratcliff lands a leg kick. Cerrone lands a big right leg kick. Cerrone with a jab and a kick to the right leg. Cerrone still on the attack with another combo. Ratcliff catches a kick and throws Cerrone back. Ratcliff is backing up throughout this round. Cerrone comes after him but gets spun around and Ratcliff takes his back. Cerrone goes for a kimura, loses it and gets a guillotine on but doesn't have enough time to lock it in as Ratcliff gets saved by the bell.
Penick's Scorecard: 9-9. While the first round was close, this one wasn't, but the point deduction again brings Cerrone down. He needs to finish this one to insure a victory, otherwise if he lost that first round he might be looking at a draw as a best case scenario.
ROUND THREE: Ratcliff jumps with a knee to start but it doesn't hit a target. Cerrone engages and gets behind Ratcliff on the feet. Cerrone tries to wrap him up but Ratcliff spun around. Cerrone landed a jumping knee of his own. Cerrone lands a big two punch combo. Cerrone lands another big combo. As Ratcliff tries to trip him and bring him down, Cerrone stops it and gets down to the mount. Herb Dean halted the action and stood them up, though because Cerrone grabbed the fence to stop the takedown. Cerrone unleashed another big combo. Cerrone stalking again lands an elbow and then they clinch. Cerrone lands a knee to the head. He then gets behind Ratcliff and pulls him down. Cerrone locks his head in an almost reverse triangle and then tries to grab an inverted heel hook to stretch out the hamstring. Cerrone tries to go for the other leg and loses the position. Cerrone immediately takes him back down though and gets the body lock on. He grabs a hold of a rear naked choke, and though Ratcliff fights it off briefly, he's forced to tap before he goes out. Big finish for Cerrone after the point deductions.
WINNER: Cerrone via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:47 of the third round.
STAR RATING: (***+) Excellent performance from Cerrone in the second and third round, but the point deductions and delays took away from the fight a little bit. Still, another very good fight on another very good card from the WEC.
-Well, it didn't matter which event you watched live tonight, because both Strikeforce and the WEC put forth a great night of fights, and if you DVR'd the show you didn't watch live then you got to see all of the great fights on both events. Can't complain when you've got a night filled with nothing but good fights. Thanks for sticking with us for all our fight coverage tonight, make sure to check back throughout the week for followup coverage and an early Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone as we get a weekend off before getting right back to it with UFC 108 on January 2nd!
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