Strikeforce: Houston

[jmt225]

Main card

• Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (c) vs. Rafael Cavalcante
• Middleweight Championship bout: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Tim Kennedy
• Lightweight bout: KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel
• Heavyweight bout: Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs

Sherdog.com Live Stream

• Heavyweight bout: Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley
• Welterweight bout: André Galvão vs. Jorge Patino

Preliminary Card (Non-televised)

• Lightweight bout: Vinicius Magalhães vs. Rocky Long
• Lightweight bout: Jose Santibanez vs. Reynaldo Trujillo
• Lightweight bout: Adam Schindler vs. Kier Gooch
• Bantanweight bout: Chad Robichaux vs. Humberto Deleon
• Light Heavyweight bout: Chad Cook vs. Arteneus Young

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Meh, I honestly couldn't give less of a fuck about this show. I mean, I'm going to watch it, but nothing intrigues me outside of Jacare vs. Kennedy.

King Mo vs. Rafael Cavalcante is nothing more than a glorified squash match to keep Mo busy until they can find a decent opponent for him. The only way Mo loses is if he doesn't take the fight seriously and gasses in the 1st or 2nd Round. However, I doubt that happens. Mo will take the guy down and control him for 5 Rounds, or eventually put him away with some Ground and Pound late into the fight.

Jacare vs. Tim Kennedy is a very exciting fight. Kennedy looked fantastic in his last fight against Trevor Prangley, and Jacare... well, Jacare is perhaps the best Middleweight in the World not in the UFC. So, yeah... I see Jacare winning this one, but Kennedy will for sure fight his heart out. If Jacare decides to stand and trade with Kennedy, then Kennedy has a bit of a chance. I mean, Jacare's striking has improved light years since he first started in MMA, but still... I think he's over confident about it, when the dude is easily one of, if not THE, best Jiu-Jitsu guys in the sport. If Jacare fights smart and takes the fight to the ground, he wins easily. If Jacare keeps the fight standing... then we'll be in for a war.

KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel should be a nice little exciting fight. Both like to stand and bang, which is why I see Noons knocking Gurgel out in the 1st or 2nd Round. If the fight went to the ground then Gurgel would have a shot, but he's too stubborn for that (plus Noons' takedown defense is too good for that anyway). He'll keep it standing and because of that... Gurgel is going to get knocked the fuck out.

Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs.... well, this could end up being Lashley's first really tough fight. I mean, I don't know anything about Chad Griggs, other than his record of 8-1, but he hasn't fought anybody worth a damn at this point. That plus the fact that he's only 235 pounds, I see Lashley laying and praying his way to victory. If Griggs can keep it standing he'll definitely have a shot, but I don't see how a 235 pound dude keeps someone the size plus the caliber wrestler of Lashley isfrom taking him down. It's just not possible.

And the prelims... nothing worth speaking of. Just a bunch of no-names.

So, yeah... not really an interesting show. It could end up being great, who knows, but I for see the Lashley and Mo fights being snooze-fest, a quick knockout, and Jacare vs. Kennedy.

 

[INDYjon22]

Jacare/Kennedy and Gurgel/Noons are the most interesting fights on this card. The rest of the card is pretty bland and not that exciting looking, though I could be wrong.

Jacare/Kennedy will be interesting. If they stand and bang I would give Kennedy the advantage but if it goes to the ground, which I imagine it will, Jacare will have the advantage. It will be interesting to see where the fight winds up. I expect Jacare to win this fight. He will get Kennedy to the ground and from there Jacare should be able to finish in time. I could see this going to a decision as well, but with Jacare still winning.

Gurgel/Noons will be a slugfest. I don't get why Gurgel doesn't use his tremendous ground skills more often, if he did I would actually expect him to win this fight. However, Noons is way to good on his feet and has way to good of take down defense. Noons should be able to put Gurgel away by the second or work his way to a decision.

Lawal/Cavalcante isn't very interesting. Lawal should be able to dominate with his larger size. Strikeforce really needs to get another big LHW or give Hendo a shot at Lawal because there really isn't a lot of competition for him. I have never been a fan of Lawal but he should be able to lay and pray his way to victory or get some sort of TKO by way of ground n' pound.

Lashley/Griggs doesn't matter to me. Hopefully, Lashley will put Griggs away and finally get a bump up in competition or he loses and Griggs gets a push. I don't really care whose career goes further but it would be nice to see one of these two men emerge as a contender for Overeem.

The rest of the card is just kind of whatever. The only name that stands out is Vinny Maghales and that is only because I hope he gets destroyed by whoever he is fighting. The main card should okay though.

 

[Slyfox696]

And here is the problem I have with Strikeforce. I had no idea they had a card coming up, and the biggest name on this card comes from a former pro wrestler who never was even that successful.

Hell, I have no idea what channel this will be on. Dana White is correct, they have nothing to be worried about when it comes to Strikeforce. I'm not going to pretend to know the MMA business, or what Strikeforce does, but I WILL say that if they don't begin to promote their cards and their fighters better, they will have a LONG uphill road ahead of them.

As for this card, if it's on free TV, I'll watch it just so I can see Lashley. If it's not on free TV, I don't even think about it when it's on.

 

[jmt225]

Hell, I have no idea what channel this will be on. Dana White is correct, they have nothing to be worried about when it comes to Strikeforce.

It's going to be on Showtime.

If there's ever a thread put up on Strikeforce here, that means the show is on Showtime, otherwise you'd know way in advance that the show was on CBS, because they actually promote those cards.

I'm not going to pretend to know the MMA business, or what Strikeforce does, but I WILL say that if they don't begin to promote their cards and their fighters better, they will have a LONG uphill road ahead of them.

Well, to give Strikeforce some credit, this is the first in a long time where they've had the card set in stone a month before the show, which has always been my biggest gripe about them. They like to only set up one or two fights, and then two weeks before the show announce the rest of the undercard bouts. It's ridiculous. However, it looks like they're getting their shit together in that aspect.

But I agree with you, they should definitely promote more. If I didn't have the internet, I certainly wouldn't know they had a show this Saturday.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Well at least with this Strikeforce card we get to see two title fights. The Jacare/Kennedy might be the fight that saves the show. The rest of the main card looks to be setup as squash matches.

Lawal vs. Cavalcante - Hell I'm not even sure if Cavalcante is deserving of a title shot at the moment, he is only on a two fight winning streak but Strikeforce has a pretty thin Light Heavyweight division. It could end up to be exciting if King Mo ends up putting him away with strikes, but that is also where he can get caught be Cavalcante since he has some good striking as well if it stays standing. So like Indy and JMT I think he will take it to the ground and pound him out there.

Jacare vs. Kennedy - I have no problem with Strikeforce going ahead and letting these two fight for the vacant Middleweight title since SF can't make up their minds if a tourney will happen in the Middleweight division and seeing as most of the fighters that were gonna be in it are coming of losses. Hopefully Kennedy's camp was practicing on takedown defenses because Jacare will definitely try and take this one to the ground. I don't rule Kennedy completely out of this one, there is a chance he can catch Jacare while standing, but on the ground he really doesn't have a chance.

Noons vs. Grugel - Will be entertaining. I think we will see a much better Noons in this fight then from his previous fight with Huen where he escaped with a decision. Not trying to take away anything from Grugel because he is a pretty good fighter, but Noons should have his way with him and win by a KO if not then definitely by a decision.

Lashley vs. Griggs - Well this might be each fighters true test. Griggs has fought nothing but nobodys and most being lighter like himself and Lashley has fought a couple known names but were shit names to boot. Lashley really should have no problem controlling the fight considering he has 30-40 pounds on Griggs.

The only thing in the prelims that has any interest to me is the Daniel Cormier/Jason Riley fight. It will be Cormeir's 3rd fight in a month. He has won 2 Heavyweight titles in his other two fights the King of the Cage and XXMA titles so have a little interest in seeing this guy, he should be able to handle Riley with ease though. Riley was the guy that Sylvia defeated to get that bum back to winning after being embarassed by Mercer.

 

[INDYjon22]

Man oh man, what a great fucking card. Not as good as the last couple UFC shows but definitely one of the better Strikeforce events I have ever seen. We knew what the fights were at least a month in advance so it gave me some time to get excited. Also, the fights delivered on the main card.

First up, Lashley vs. Griggs. The commentators hyped the hell out of Lashley from the start. Rightfully so since he was undefeated at that point. Lashley started out with some great take downs and looked to be in tremendous wrestling shape, however he really lacks any killer instinct, which he really needs if he wants to be big. He tried to ground n' pound but just gassed himself and Griggs took it to him. Griggs showed some good heart and really earned that win. Lashley on the other hand needs to go back to the drawing boards.

Gurgel/Noons was exciting as fuck. Gurgel never has a boring fight and Noons is so good on his feet. These two just went at it, and Gurgel was really taking it to Noons. Man, that final flurry in the 1st round was intense and I literally was in shock when Noons hit Gurgel a split second after the bell and knocked him out. If Noons had 5 more seconds the fight would have been over. Fortunately for Noons, he finished Gurgel early in the second. Great fucking fight and I can't wait to see Noons vs. Diaz 2 now.

Jacare and Kennedy went at it in such a close fight. I honestly thought it should have been a draw but I won't argue with the decision. I have become a big fan of Jacare and it is nice to see him finally on top of the Middleweight division. I really hope Strikeforce sets up and immediate rematch cause these two need to go at it one more time. Kennedy also made a fan out of me. The man gave everything he had and is a legit threat at the top of the division as far as I am concerned.

King Mo vs. Feijao was an interesting fight. Mo dominated and looked to be getting ready to coast. I made a comment in the LD that it looked like he was about to just start dancing around like Anderson. However, Feijao stopped Mo before he got to that point. That 3rd round was ridiculous. Feijao really came out in that 3rd round ready to finish Mo and he took it to him. I don't think Mo even knows what hit him. Feijao proved himself to me tonight and I am interested to see where he goes from here. The same goes for Mo, I think we will see a better version of Mo in his next fight.

Great night of fights that was just a ton of fun. Probably, the best Strikeforce card I have ever seen.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm in 100% agreeance with IndyJon that this card brought it last night.

Lashley/Griggs was a fight I saw Lashley losing, just because he will not fight big challenges that Strikeforce offers him. He got offered Shane Del Rosario a few months ago, and turned that down. Also, for the most part, I've never been too impressed with Lashley. He's beaten a bunch of cans, and he struggled against the always terrible Jason Guida. Chad Griggs carried an 8-1 record going into the fight. Sure, records can be deceiving, but I thought that he would have taken it to Lashley, and well, Lashley suffered his first loss. Lashley will certainly have a fight with Batista now.

Noons vs. Gurgel really was a fun fight, and Noons destroyed Gurgel. The fight was kind of overshadowed by bad officiating. I made a joke before the fight that the ref looked like he just stumbled into the arena from the bar, but I really do wonder if he was drunk, as he sat there and let Gurgel get destroyed. If any legit referee was officiating that fight, the near knockout after the bell wouldn't have happened, and the fight would have been stopped at the beginning of the second round, when Noons punched Gurgel's head off again.

Jacare/Kennedy was a good enough fight, but I was expecting so much better out of both. It was kind of slow-paced at times. Still a good fight though, and I'm glad Jacare is the new Middleweight Champion.

As far as King Ho vs. Cavalcante went... I just think it's funny how King Mo thinks he's a top 3 light heavyweight, and you know that he was completely underestimating Cavalcante. Once again, you can never underestimate your opponent in MMA, and King Mo learned that lesson the hard way as now he's out of a title.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Last night's Strikeforce card was damn good, minus the refs fucking up in the Lashley/Griggs fight and the Noons/Gurgel fight.

I watched the prelims on Sherdog, Gavlao vs. Patino was alright. Patino took it to Gavlao the first round, then Gavlao smartened up and won in the 3rd round by strikes. Cormier vs. Riley was over pretty fast. Cormier caught Riley with a powerful right hook then followed with a single leg takedown and jumps on top of Riley and punches him into submission. The announcers were right about Cormier stopping fights like that its no wonder he can fight 3 times in a month. I wanna see this guy get a decent opponent next.

Lashley vs. Griggs I gotta say I chuckled when the did the pre-fight intros and introduced Lashley as a former two time WWE champion. How does mentioning that give him credibility as a MMA fighter? Well Lashley looked good taking Griggs down and that was about it. Once he got him down it was like he drew a blank on what to do next. After they were stood up in the 2nd round Lashley went for a takedown that Griggs stuffed and hammer fisted his way to the end of the round which got him the win because Lashley couldn't get up after the bell to go to his corner. Lashley needs to work a lot harder on his GnP and conditioning if he wants to keep fighting. Kudos to Griggs though for getting the win. We'll see what he can do in his next fight.

Noons vs. Gurgel man was that exciting. Gurgel like a dummy was trying to go punch for punch and kick for kick with Noons, obviously he was losing doing that. Right as the bell rung at the end of the first, Noons threw a left hook that rocked Gurgel, he seemed very out of it in his corner. As the 2nd round started Noons threw a beautiful right left combo that flattened Gurgel, when he was trying to get up Noons was looking at the ref like you gonna call this or what before he started to launch more punches on him. As the ref stepped in for some reason Noons threw an illegal knee to face Gurgel's face. Don't know the reason for that. All I can say is besides the knee I'm becoming a big fan of Noons and can't wait to see him fight again! Hopefully Strikeforce can get Bennett for a fight so those two can have the rematch. It will be interesting if Strikeforce will want to keep him at lightweight or move him up to welterweight.

Jacare vs. Kennedy was a good fight. These two slugged it out for all five rounds. All I gotta say is I'm glad I wasn't a ref for that fight, tough fight to call. I was surprised to see Jacare get a unanimous decision, thought it was gonna be a split decision for the winner. I believe that Jacare won for landing the more powerful punches even though Kennedy landed more, he also cut Kennedy's eye in the 3rd round, so that helps too. The stat I was surprised in was the takedowns. Kennedy was like 3/4 (I think) and Jacare was 0/4, that is where everyone thought Jacare would dominate. Hopefully Strikeforce will let these two go at it again in the near future.

Lawal vs. Cavalcante was another surprising outcome. Feijao came out swinging for the fences but didn't really connect with anything. Mo then got a nice ass slam, but he got right up. Some more punches were thrown from each fighter but nothing really lands worth while. 2nd round seen both of them was much like the 1st back Feijao was striking and Mo lands another takedown. The 3rd round the action got better where Feijao is landing those nice Muay Thai knees and some nice punches, Feijao went for a flying knee that misses and Mo gives him a nice right. After another knee to the face Feijao throws a nice combo that puts Mo on his back with the fight almost over Mo tries desperately for a takedown, put Feijao keeps punching away at the side of his head until Big John stops the fight. Well now that Mo's off his high horse, I'm interested to see how he comes back. As for Feijao, we will have to see you they give him next in SF's very thin LHW division, if he fights like he did last night he will remain champ for a while there.

 

[Rizza]

Hell yes. I can't stand King Mo and I am a big Feijao fan, so it was awesome. Most of the fights were pretty good, and this card really didn't disappoint. Which was funny because I really didn't have a good feeling about it being all that exciting.

Kinda sad to see Lashley just sorta quit like that. I was rooting for him, but something happened to him after that cut. Then when he got stood up from full mount I kinda thought he was done. If you can't work enough from full mount like that, the most dominant position there is, and your striking is terrible, your pretty much fucked. Hopefully he will be back.

Noons-Gurgel was pretty good, Noons was just so much better then Gurgel though, it really didn't seem like a fair fight. I hate both of these guys so I was hoping they would beat each other to a bloody pulp, but I was okay with just one getting beat like that. That hook after the bell was fucking brutal, one of the most brutal punches I have really seen in along time, I mean, he was already knocked out, and because of a technicality with the bell he got to go to the second round. What was with that illegal knee from Noons though? That dude is just a slime ball man, I hope he gets his ass beat real soon. From some reason I just hope that he fights Eddie Alvarez in the future as I feel he is the man to do it, I don't think Gilbert Melendez would give him the type of ass kicking he deserves.

Not much to say about Jacare-Kennedy, expect for it was a very even battle, and IMO the right man won, I had it scored 48-47 Souza.

Mo and Feijao was my favorite fight of the night. I can't stand King Mo, and am a fan of Feijao so it was awesome to see this so called upset. Only to me, it really didn't seem like a upset. I thought since after Mo got his ass whooped on the feet by Mousasi, that Feijao would do worse, seeing how he is a lot stronger, and I thought that if he did take Feijao down he would get tapped. My picks didn't get posted in the thread, but for the prediction contest, I picked Feijao by third round knock out, and I couldn't contain my happiness when I seen that actually happened. I don't see anyone really fucking with Feijao right now. His BJJ it good, his striking is good, his takedown defense is good. Only way I am rooting for him to lose the title is if he faces Babalu. Other then that, I totally support him as the new champ. WAR Feijao !!

 

[jmt225]

I'm not as enthusiastic about the show as the rest of you are.

Lashley vs. Griggs was just complete bullshit. I mean, who in their right mind stands up a fight when someone has full mount? That made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and it completely changed the fight. Who knows what would have happened if Lashley kept the mount for another two minutes.

That said, if Lashley can work on his pacing and submissions, he'll be alright. But, I'll get more into that in the Lashley thread.

KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel was Fight of the Night, as expected. Some great highlight reels from Noons in this one, just pummeling Gurgel.

The knee, while bullshit, didn't even connect, so it's really not that big of a deal. However, Noons shouldn't have thrown it. That was just ******ed. The ref was even more ******ed not to stop the fight immediately, though.

Jacare vs. Kennedy... sorry to say, but I thought it was boring. Just too much hesitation from both sides. Also, Kennedy gave this fight away. If he would have gone for slams and takedowns like he was in the final round the entire fight... then he definitely would have won. However, I agreed with the judges score of 48-47. While Kennedy landed more shots... Jacare landed the better of them.

And King Mo....

That's all I can say. It was great to see that douchebag get his ass kicked. I'm very happy that now all the hype surrounding him will stop.

Overall, it was a decent show, but nothing special in my opinion. Strikeforce has had better, they've had worse.