Strikeforce Miami - Results, recap and pictures…
(photo:Sherdog.com)
Strikeforce Miami aired tonight on Showtime and lived up to the hype with some very entertaining performances in the televised matches.
A quick run down of each:
Bobby Lashley vs Wes Sims- As previously noted, Sims took the fight on short notice and it showed. The class clown of MMA stepped in against a tough opponent and was dominated early, resulting in a TKO by referee stoppage early in round 1. Sims complained that the stoppage was premature and it was by a few seconds…but really only saved him a bunch more shots to the head.
Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef- Manhoef takes the fight to Lawler immediately and catches Robbie with some shots that have him staggering a bit. it’s hard to tell if Lawler is trying to lure him in or if he is really rocked. The head punches turn to leg kicks and there is no more guessing as Lawler’s lead leg is repeatedly kicked up in the air (waist high) and he is limping badly. Game over Lawler right? Wrong…. Manhoef moves in for the kill and in a ‘Scott Smithesque’ moment, Lawler throws a looping right that drops Manhoef. Lawler follows up with a big left hand on the canvass that stiffens Manhoef up for a few minutes with eyes rolled back in the head. Just a viscious K.O. and one of the crazier fights I have ever witnessed.
Herschel Walker vs Greg Nagy- In this pro MMA debut, Walker actually looks pretty impressive with decent leg kicks, basic stand-up skills and some very effective ground and pound. Nagy is more of a submission fighter, bu is unable to threaten from his back other than a brief heel hook attempt and just short of 3 rounds of GnP, the fight is stopped with Walker being awarded a TKO after punching Nagy’s head and body for about 2 minutes straight with little or no defense. This was a great effort for Herschel Walker, making his debut with the organization at 47 years of age!!!
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs Marloes Coenen- Coenen who is primarily a submission fighter chooses to stand with Cyborg, and while she isn’t doing a lot of damage, she hold her own and actually catches Cyborg with some nice shots and a few big elbows off the break. Her clinch work looks good in round one as well, delivering some effective knee strikes to the champ. Cyborg’s strength starts to pay dividends though, and she basically overpowers and outstrikes Coenen in a much less close round 2. Round 3 proved to be the final frame as Cyborg gets the TKO stoppage late in the round and Coenen’s face is looking a fair bit worse for wear. This was a good fight…not completely lopsided and a lot of great striking.Cyborg retains her Strikeforce Lightweight Women’s Title.
Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis - These 2 bring the fight in round 1 as Zaromskis come out with a flying kick to set the pace. The two fighters basically square off, trading shots for the next 2 minutes, with Diaz making the most of his reach, but getting clipped with his hands down, which had him scrambling from his back for a short while. Three minutes into the round, Diaz starts to really find his range and is clearly outboxing Zaromski. He gets him against the cage and unloads a patient barrage of shots that rattles the Dream tournament champion and eventually drops him with a short right to finish the fight with lest than 30 secs remaining in round 1. Nick Diaz earns the Strikeforce Welterweight Title.
Following the fight, Diaz makes several references to his brother’s (Nate Diaz) recent decision loss to Grey Maynard, call the decision Bullsh%t. During his post fight interview, he raises the subject again saying “something funny is going on over there..” (in the UFC) and saying the fans should speak up about the bad decision.
So all in all a solid night of fights…the official results for the main and undercard bouts is listed below: (courtesy of Sherdog.com)
Check out a gallery of pictures from the event here.
Loading ...
