Strikeforce Morning After: Luke Rockhold Says UFC Fighters Are Needed

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Luke RockholdSaturday's Strikeforce card, headlined by a main event of Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine was a perfectly good night of fights. And yet something was missing -- something that Rockhold himself put his finger on in his post-fight interview.

What's missing from Strikeforce these days is enough talented, recognizable fighters to fill up a full fight card, and enough talented, recognizable fighters to put together a complete weight class. And so it was no surprise that when Rockhold was asked after the fight who he'd like to defend his middleweight title against next, Rockhold said he'd like to fight someone from the UFC.

"I like fighting, I like getting paid, but I love competition and striving to be the best," Rockhold said. "Right now all the best guys are in the UFC, at least the Top 10 ranked -- besides myself, maybe, in some rankings. Those are the guys I want. I want to climb to the top, I want to fight the best in the world, and I think they should bring over some top contenders. Let's see who the true No. 1 contender is, because I believe I am, and I'd love the chance to prove it."

Showtime executives probably gulped hard when they heard those words -- here's the guy who just won the main event on the first card of the new Showtime-Strikeforce partnership, and he's basically saying Strikeforce isn't good enough.




But Rockhold is largely correct: The best guys are in the UFC, and if Rockhold wants to prove that he's one of the best guys, there's really no way for him to do it until he's fighting opponents from the UFC. If Zuffa won't either move Rockhold into the UFC or move UFC fighters into Strikeforce, there's just no way for Rockhold to show where he stacks up.

Unfortunately for Rockhold, all indications are that it's simply not going to happen: The UFC is going to keep its best fighters in the Octagon, and Strikeforce will have to make do with what it has. Don't expect a Top 10 fighter from the UFC to be challenging for Rockhold's Strikeforce belt.

That's too bad for Rockhold, but that's the reality: Strikeforce is capable of putting together entertaining fight cards, but if you want to see the best you have to watch the UFC.

Strikeforce Notes
-- Starting with this card, all of Strikeforce's preliminary card fights will air on Showtime Extreme, which is a welcome development -- at least for people who get Showtime Extreme. Unfortunately, the level of talent on display in some of the undercard fights was lacking. About the only thing Alonzo Martinez showed in his unanimous decision loss to Estevan Payan is that he can take a punch, and Martinez took a whole lot of punches for 15 solid minutes. Martinez really didn't look like he belonged in a televised fight. And Ricky Legere's unanimous decision victory over Chris Spang was a ho-hum affair. I realize Strikeforce preliminary cards aren't exactly going to have Top 10 fighters, but they need to improve the matchmaking on the prelims to give the fans a reason to tune in a couple hours before the main card starts.

-- Seeing UFC President Dana White interviewed during a Strikeforce broadcast was a surprise, and another indication that the UFC's ownership of Strikeforce is not, contrary to what White says, "business as usual." White looked a little uncomfortable in the role, but the bottom line is that White -- not Scott Coker -- is the promoter the fans want to hear from, and it just makes sense that White would be the promoter to appear on television during a Strikeforce show.

Strikeforce Quotes
"She explained to me that she wants to give us a fair chance to keep continuing, and I respect that. Because if that was me, I would rather be put to sleep than her jump in and me still be awake." -- King Mo Lawal, saying he understood why referee Kim Winslow stopped his win over Lorenz Larkin when she did. It's to Lawal's credit that he was concerned enough about his opponent that he wanted the fight stopped sooner, and it's also to Lawal's credit that he acknowledged that the referee has a hard job knowing exactly when to step in.

Having said that, I thought the stoppage was a little slow -- Winslow let Larkin take a couple punches too many.

Good Call
The judges for that Payan-Martinez fight all got the scores right -- 30-27 for Payan -- which gave me some hope that we'd see a night of good judging. Unfortunately, there were some highly questionable scorecards in the three split decisions later in the night, including ...

Bad Call
The scores were all over the map on the Tarec Saffiedine-Tyler Stinson fight. Only one judge got it right, 29-28 for Saffiedine. One judge scored it 30-27 for Saffiedine, which was highly questionable given Stinson's performance in the first round, and another scored it 29-28 for Stinson, which was highly questionable given Saffiedine's performance in the second and third rounds.

Stock Up
Gian Villante is an athletic young light heavyweight with potential, and it was good to see him turn in an impressive first-round TKO win over Trevor Smith. Villante did a phenomenal job of ground and pound, grabbing Smith's leg with one hand and battering Smith in the face with his other hand.

Stock Down
Keith Jardine is a fighter I've always liked, but it's hard to see why he should keep fighting. Jardine is just 2-6-1 in his last nine fights, and he's now been brutally knocked out several times in his career. For the sake of his long-term health, Jardine needs to seriously consider hanging up the gloves.

Fight I Want to See Next
Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Kennedy. Bringing in a middleweight from the UFC would be great for Rockhold, but the reality is that it's not going to happen. Kennedy is the Strikeforce middleweight who makes the most sense for Rockhold.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/08/strikeforce-morning-after-luke-rockhold-says-ufc-fighters-are-n/

Mirko Cro Cop Filipović Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch

UFC on Fuel 1 adds T.J. Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson

With so many fight cards upcoming in early 2011, Joe Silva has been a busy man filling them all up. The UFC matchmaker recently added a bantamweight showdown to the UFC on Fuel card in February as Ultimate Fighter finalist T.J. Dillashaw will take on fellow up-and-coming prospect Walel Watson. The fight has been confirmed [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/01/06/ufc-on-fuel-1-adds-t-j-dillashaw-vs-walel-watson/

Mike Brown  Junie Browning Paul Buentello  Josh Burkman 

Hermes Franca headed to prison in sexual abuse case

Hermes Franca was able to dish out plenty of punishment during his time inside the cage. Now, the former UFC lightweight contender will be trapped inside a different cage, as he was sentenced to just over three years in prison after entering a guilty plea to charges related to a sexual abuse case. The charges [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/01/07/hermes-franca-headed-to-prison-in-sexual-abuse-case/

Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis 

Strikeforce Live Blog: Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein Updates

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This is the Strikeforce live blog for Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein, a welterweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Woodley (9-0) is coming off a win over Paul Daley by unanimous decision. Mein (23-7) is a Canadian prospect who scored a TKO win over Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos last September in his Strikeforce debut.

The live blog is below.




Round 1: Mein pumps out jabs to feel out Woodley. Woodley misses on an overhand right but connects on a kick to the body. 55 seconds is the amount of time elapsed until Woodley shoots. Woodley works for the single-leg with Mein's back against the fence. The referee separates them. Mein misses on a big right hand. Woodley scores the trip takedown and quickly looks for an arm-triangle choke. Woodley settles inside of Mein's halfguard. Mein tries to roll out but Woodley's top control is too good. Woodley lands a nice elbow with under a minute left. Mein escapes to his feet. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Woodley.

Round 2: First strike of the second round is a Mein leg kick that is momentarily caught. Woodley hits the mark on a big right hand that stumbles Mein backwards. The strike also allows Woodley to set up clinch and then the takedown. Woodley is concentrating more on staying in top position instead of landing strikes. Mein off his back actually seems more active than Woodley. Mein lands elbows on Woodley's shoulders. Mein attempts a guillotine but the sweaty Woodley slips right out. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Woodley.

Round 3: Mein tries a jumping knee and Woodley drives him to his back. More of the same with Woodley burying his head into the chest of Mein and pinning him down. Woodley stands up and drops down an elbow. Mein eyes a kimura and for some reason the referee stands them up at this time -- not when Woodley was pinning Mein, but when Mein was looking for a submission. They clinch. Mein tries a takedown but it's blocked. The fight ends with them each trading a knee in clinch. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Woodley. Crowd boos.

Tyron Woodley wins via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

There's some strange scoring all around tonight, including ones on the undercard, specifically the Burrell-Terry fight. You can sorta, maybe make a case for Mein winning round two for his offense off his back, but Woodley definitely wins at least two of these rounds.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/07/strikeforce-live-blog-tyron-woodley-vs-jordan-mein-updates/

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Gil Martinez Blog: A VERY Happy New Year!

Christmas was great. I hung out with my family and friends and had dinner at Ray Sefo?s house. I ate more at Thanksgiving but I still ate way too much during Christmas. I?ll be at UFC 141 on Friday. I don?t have any fighter on the card so I?ll be able to enjoy all the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/30/gil-martinez-blog-a-very-happy-new-year

Edson Drago  Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus 

Robbie Lawler stops losing skid with exciting Strikeforce TKO

Robbie Lawler's didn't win in 2011, but started 2012 with a thrilling win over Adlan Amagov. At Strikeforce in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Lawler won with a quick TKO.

Amagov started well with a takedown, controlling Lawler from the start. Unfortunately, he threw a knee to Lawler's head when Lawler was on the ground, and Amagov lost a point for the first round. When the fight re-started, Lawler threw a nasty flying knee. He landed the knee but still flew over Amagov's head. Lawler spun around to follow up with more strikes until the bout was stopped at 1:48 in the first round.

Lawler only threw eight punches in the fight, but it was all he needed to stop the losing streak. In 2011, Lawler lost to Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. His record is now 19-8, while Amagov falls to 9-2-1.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cagewriter/robbie-lawler-stops-losing-skid-exciting-strikeforce-tko-045048530.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Where Does Johny Hendricks Belong?

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Johny Hendricks did at UFC 141 what was once viewed as nearly impossible: He finished Jon Fitch.

And Hendricks didn't just finish Fitch, he obliterated Fitch with a knockout punch that completely shakes up the welterweight division in mixed martial arts. Fitch no longer even has a claim for the No. 2 spot in the Top 10, where he has resided for years on many lists (though not on mine), and Hendricks has a strong claim not just to be in the Top 10, but to be towards the top.

So how high does Hendricks go? And how far does Fitch drop? And how does the rest of the welterweight division look at a time when Georges St. Pierre is in the midst of an extended layoff? We rank the Top 10 below.

Top 10 welterweights in MMA
(Editor's note: The individual fighter's ranking the last time we did welterweights is in parentheses.)

1. Georges St. Pierre (1): GSP had demonstrated his dominance over the division so completely that even with a long layoff, he deserves to stay on the top. Unless he has a setback in his recovery from ACL surgery he's expected to face the winner of the upcoming Nick Diaz-Carlos Condit fight in the summer or fall of 2012.

2. Nick Diaz (2): Condit will be the best opponent Diaz has ever faced, but I like Diaz to win the interim welterweight title fight in February. The big question after that will be how long Diaz has to wait for his shot at GSP.

3. Josh Koscheck (4): With two losses to St. Pierre, Koscheck won't get another title shot any time soon, so he's in more of a gatekeeper role in the UFC right now. Koscheck draws Mike Pierce at UFC 143.

4. Johny Hendricks (NR): The quick knockout of Fitch moves Hendricks all the way up to No. 4 in the welterweight Top 10. As an NCAA champion wrestler who hits hard, Hendricks has the right skill set to beat St. Pierre, although he probably won't get the chance to do that any time soon. The UFC should keep Hendricks active against good competition, and if he keeps winning he'll be ready for a title shot once the Diaz-Condit winner has faced GSP.

5. Carlos Condit (5): Condit likes to stay active, so it's disappointing for him that circumstances outside his control led to him fighting just once (and for only half of one round) in 2011. He'll be chomping at the bit for Diaz.

6. Jake Ellenberger (6): The silver lining of the St. Pierre injury is that it has given new contenders in the welterweight division time to establish themselves. It used to be the case that St. Pierre was No. 1 and he had beaten all of the other elite 170-pounders. But now the division has sorted itself out to the point that Koscheck is the only one of the five best welterweights after St. Pierre has previously faced him. Diaz, Hendricks, Condit and Ellenberger would all be new opponents for St. Pierre.

7. Jon Fitch (3): Fitch fought twice in 2011, his draw with B.J. Penn and his loss to Hendricks. Once viewed as a guy who just wins and wins consistently, Fitch hasn't won since he beat Thiago Alves in August of 2010.

8. Rory MacDonald (7): MacDonald should dispatch Che Mills in March, and after that he'd make a lot of sense as a future opponent for Hendricks or Ellenberger. Someone from that group will emerge as a welterweight title contender in late 2012 or early 2013.

9. B.J. Penn (8): Penn is taking some time off following his loss to Diaz, and there's been talk that he just doesn't have the desire to fight anymore. But when he's on his game he's still one of the elite mixed martial artists at either 155 or 170 pounds.

10. Jake Shields (9): With losses to St. Pierre and Ellenberger, Shields went 0-2 in 2011. He should get started with a much better 2012 by beating Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/07/mma-top-10-welterweights-where-does-johny-hendricks-belong/

Mikey Burnett  Murilo Bustamante  Grant Campbell  Gesias JZ Calvancante