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Strikeforce 8/21 Toyota Center in Houston
By Zach Arnold | August 21, 2010
Dark matches
- Chad Cook vs. Artenus Young
- Chad Robichaux vs. Humberton Deleon
- Jose Santibanez vs. Reynaldo Trujillo
- Adam Schindler vs. Kier Gooch
- Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Rocky Long
- Andre Galvao vs. Jorge “Macao” Patino
- Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley
Main card
- Heavyweights: Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs
- Lightweights: KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel
- Strikeforce Middleweight Title match: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Tim Kennedy
- Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title match: King Mo vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante
Random note: Why is Marloes Coenen fighting someone not named Sarah Kaufman? And, why is Scott Coker allowing this? Coenen and Kaufman should be fighting in October in San Jose for the belt. Get it booked, already.
Update: Well, the match will now happen in San Jose in October. The right move and call.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
What is up with the MW tournament in Strikeforce? Hopefully some things are announced on the show this weekend, because it’s going to lose a lot of juice if the champ has to sit and wait for the tournament to come together and then happen, or even if there is another title fight before the tournament.
According to Marloes Coenen’s Facebook, that October fight has been cancelled. So I guess Coker didn’t allow it.
I don’t get Showtime, but if I did, I would watch this card. Noons has oodles of potential, so do Mo, Jacare, and Cormier.
http://fightwireimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/August-18-2010-James-Toney-Workout-CA-Craig-Bennett/G0000uTwcddrLPh4/I0000ZDNyZySkFZA
From yesterday’s training session
Damn, that’s a nice pair of ti..oh wait, oh god.
Seriously though, I wonder where those abs from the UFC’s press photo went?
Imagine trying to grab onto that sweaty blob of humanity, though.
“I wonder where those abs from the UFC’s press photo went?”
Isn’t Photoshop cool? I love it. I made a picture of Dana White several years ago that made him look like a combination of Montgomery Burns and a space alien and people believed it was a legit pic.
That press photo of Toney is quite possibly the worst serious (i.e. non-comedy) Photoshop I’ve ever seen.
Either that or Toney is on the Joe Riggs diet in reverse.
Dana is going to look closer to Homer if he gains any more weight.
This fight is going to get ugly. Toney is going to gas about 2 minutes into the fight.
Ice,
Toney has gone 12 rounds against the likes of Sam Peter ( twice ), Hasim Rahman, John Ruiz & a host of other world class heavyweights looking exactly like he does in that photo. So, I seriously doubt if his cardio is going to be an issue.
Sure, these are five minute rounds & there are no ropes for him to relax on & counter from, but, I don’t see him gassing should this go longer than everyone is expecting.
He’s not boxing. He’s going to be wrestled by a mean, grizzly old man that likes grinding people down past the point of exhaustion and breaking them. Tony will have nothing left at the end of round 1 if he makes it that far.
You know what I think would be hilarious?
If Couture just kept taking Toney down, GNP him for a few seconds and then letting him back up again.
Like 3-4 times each round.
Couture is way too serious and bussiness like a fighter to do something that jokey though.
But the crowd response would drown out the one he got when he rode out sylvia.
I could walk in a boxing gym right now and spar six rounds, and I haven’t fought in years.
I couldn’t roll for ten minutes and I maybe couldn’t run a 10K, but I could spar a good pro for six rounds almost for sure. Not that this speaks to Toney’s ability to last in an MMA fight, but it is true that knowing how to go rounds in boxing is a skill as well as a question of conditioning.
Quick note: it’s “Vinicius” Magalhaes in that match, not Vinny Magalhaes. They are different people. Vinicius Magalhaes is a Featherweight.
Ed. — Thank you for this. Vinny actually just got married recently. 🙂
According to wikipedia they’re both Vinicius Magalhaes .
🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinny_Magalhaes
I know its two different guys, but I wonder what “Vinny” is short for.
Winner of Souza vs. Kennedy should be #9 or #10 in the world. I think it’s a quality fight.
Could care less about Lawal vs. Cavalcante. Cavalcante isn’t too far removed from his loss to Kyle. Seems like if Strikeforce wants a fighter to get a title shot, they will find a way to do so.
I don’t understand the hype for Noons. He looked average in his last fight.
¿Average? Damm the guy destroys Andre “Dida” Amade for 15 minutes with the broken foot and excelent boxing and he look’s average.
Damm, is he was on the UFC, im sure you where jumping for a fight betwen him and Clay Guida or Melvin Guillard, even he can take Diego Sanchez or destroy Sean Sherk (If he tries to box again).
The guy is one of the best boxer’s on MMA. Just his liver shot’s looks amazing.
In his last fight, did he really show anything that we haven’t seen from like 10+ other UFC Lightweights? Heck, even some of the guys in Japan looked better.
He’s too much hype. He’s already been KO’d in MMA. His striking didn’t look very good last time out.
I’m with you regarding the Jacare-Kennedy fight, 45. I can’t say that I would have whoever wins in my personal top 10 but it is a quality fight that I do want to check out.
I cant stand Noons!
I hope Gurgel plays it modest this time and just gets the damn win.
But Noons was kicking some ass for a minute there before he took his little vacation.
He does have a little bit of bad ass in him at his best.
Then again he looks different physically now then he did back then.
Doughy.
He might not be the same fighter that he was then.
We’ll have to see more from him recently to be sure.
I don’t mind the Lawal fight. Unlike other folks, I don’t use the crutch of Lawal’s inflated ranking as justification to demand he fights better opposition while alternately noting that its largely unwarranted. He’s a developing fighter with incredible physical gifts – a heavier version of Josh Koscheck. Except younger. And probably better in year 3 of his career than Koscheck was in year 3 of his.
He’s still not a 205lb fighter though. And Cavalcante is a good developing fight for him. I don’t care about his belt being on the line or that it exists and no amount of smart promotion will ever make me feel otherwise.
Same thing goes with Souza vs. Kennedy. Its a fight Souza should win and Kennedy is the perfect opponent to test his skill and give him some trouble, but not enough to necessarily make this an even money bout. I don’t know how Kennedy beats Souza given Kennedy’s part time training regimen and past losses to a similar but less talented fighter in Mayhem Miller. Its another name on Souza’s record, and a fight with Dan Henderson would make a lot of sense to do next.
Josh Thomson said Bobby Lashley could beat Brock Lesnar. What a troll.
Lashley has been exposed as a joke. I’m glad it happened now instead of when he was getting an undeserved title shot.
When is SF going to learn that they cannot rely on non-serious fighters? Combine that with booking fights that they have an obvious favorite to win…. And it seems like everything they touch falls apart. Lashley losing really hurts them. I wouldn’t be shocked if he never comes back.
Did anyone even take Lashley seriously, aside from a few WWE marks? No he can just go away, like many others who have tried.
According to Helwani’s twitter, Lashley was taken to the hospital on a stretcher. Looks like this will be the last of him.
Thoughts from the show:
1) KJ Noons vs. Gilbert Melendez should be a respectable title fight in either late 2010 or early 2011.
2) Hopefully this is the last we see of Bobby Lashley. Hopefully Walker either doesn’t fight again or gets beat down for his next fight. Hopefully Randy beats down Toney and Kimbo doesn’t get signed by Strikeforce. Let’s get rid of these useless fighters.
3) Ronalo Souza should be ranked either #9 or #10 after that fight. He doesn’t have the wins to put him any higher. Kennedy was tough in defeat, but for somebody with such a cocky attitude, he sure didn’t back it up when it was on the line. I think being punched in the face took away some of his confidence.
4) There is no reason in 2010 that any fighter outside of the UFC should be ranked at Light Heavyweight or Welterweight in the Top 10. That LHW title fight is just more proof of how mediocre the SF LHW’s are. If I was a betting man, I would say we will now see THREE Strikeforce guys in the Top 10…. Which will be even more hysterical. Lawal doesn’t train cardio…. And lost to a guy who was beat down by Mike Kyle a little over a year ago.
Strikeforce will continue to put on shows with Showtime paying the bill, but they continue to lose fighters with the ability to potentially healine cards.
I agree on all points (except I have Souza a few spots lower – because I have Sakara, Horwich and Leites in my Top 10. *wince* Yeah, I know it’s ugly… It’s all because Marquardt got docked a point in his fight against Leites.)
At LHW, I have Feijao, Lawal and Mousasi at #26, #27 and #28.
Rossens got a point,
SF is losing main draws like hot cakes.
Fedor, Mo, Shields, Lashley, Hendo, Shamrock.. and I’m still convinced that overeem is on borrowed time until he faces a decent HW and get exposed as the same ole overeem he’s always been.
Makes you feel kind of sorry for them.
Shame having a pop draw can be more important than having a good night of fights.
Somebody have Kimbo’s phone number?
^^
Lol we were both thinking the same thing from a different angle.
I can understand Strikeforce getting burned by promoting guys like Bobby Lashley. That was to expected.
But they have also gotten burned on legit fights…
1) Fedor losing to Werdum was predicted by basically nobody. And they lost their right to say they have the #1 Heavyweight in the world. If Fedor had lost to Overeem instead, they could have still made that #1 fighter claim.
2) I predicted Shields would beat Henderson…. But let’s be honest…. It was a fight that Henderson should have been super favored to win. Henderson was a natural Middleweight. Has beaten better competition. And Shields is 1-dimensional. They get burned on that fight.
3) How does King Mo lose tonight? He looked gassed so quickly. And just like with Werdum, they now have a kingpin of a division that has a looming loss on his record. Werdum with JDS and Cavalcante with Kyle.
Heck, even Frank Shamrock getting dominated by Renzo Gracie was a suprise back in the day. I never bought into the Shamrock hype, but I would have never bet against him against Renzo.
It seems like whatever they touch, it turns to poo. People are posting pictures of a small poster they had for the event, and 3 of the 4 guys on it lost.
Which really is the biggest problem. They don’t build up BOTH fighters going into a big fight or title fight. They put far too much stock into 1 guy winning. And when it doesn’t go to plan, they are left struggling time and time again.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Herschell Walker vs. Kimbo Slice on CBS now….
“They don’t build up BOTH fighters going into a big fight or title fight.”
Thats an interesting point.
Faves and guys who have been built up have also lost in the UFC, but they seem to be able to keep trucking right over it.
Chuck effortlessly changes gears to jackson, sylvia to Couture, etc.
Maybe thats the subtle cleverness of the two seperate halves of the countdown shows for each contender.
That hedges the bet.
I never considered how significant that might be before.
“…and Cavalcante with Kyle.”
Well I guess a rematch with kyle could be arranged ASAP.
But with the luck streak looking so sour it could make things worse.
What if Kyle became the champion!
🙂
If Gegard can beat Cavalcante that could set up a round robin between all 3 that somewhat justifies them all against each.
But once again, with luck looking so fickle it might go every other way then the way they want it to.
Promoting everyone equally seems like the best stance to take and then run with the results.
“What if Kyle became the champion!”
I would laugh my ass off it that happens. It serves them right for employing that piece of garbage in the first place. And to top it all off, Zuffa owns the rights to the Olsen fight. Dana could absolutely bury them by putting that footage all over the ‘net and directing his millions of followers to check out what a scumbag the Strikeforce champion is.
Then great for Kyle. I don’t see anyone crying about KOTC giving him fights, so I guess its only a thing if a promoter who is DOIN IT WRONG does it. Its a reasonably good fight at a lower level of the sport.
I think it is bullshit that KOTC is using him as well. Mike Kyle has no business in the sport anymore.
I could see cutting him some slack if the Olsen incident was a one-time thing, but that was his fifth or sixth strike and I have no doubt that he is one frustrating round away from doing something stupid again.
…face it mma as a whole is in decline, mma in general has turned into mediocre kickboxing matches. You really don’t see any innovation in mens mma. While the women are indulging in more complex ground fights and gutsy stand up exchanges.
Lashley pretty much disgraced himself tonight & I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he never legitimately competes again.
It’s crystal clear now why him & his people were so adament about avoiding live bodies.
They were hoping to build his record up on stiffs, scrubs & terribley faded “personalities” ( like Sapp & Simms ) until cashing it all in for a big fight payday.
Unfortunately, one of those opponents that they counted on to be a scrub, had some stones & some pop in his right hand. Which was obviously more than enough to do a number on Lashley & cause him to fold up like a cheap umbrulla.
So what happens next to the LHW and MW titles? Do you throw Henderson in with one of the champions despite his loss to Shields? Does Mousasi get a shot despite losing to King Mo? Does Babalu get the chance even though he recently lost against Mousasi?
It’s a mess.
Actually, King Mo losing helps their title situation. Babalu is the #1 contender but he was unwilling to face his training partner. Now Coker can go back to his original plan and give Renato a shot to regain his title and avenge his buddy Mo. Or he can do something colossally stupid and set up Feijao-Kyle in hopes that Feijao avenges his loss to Kyle (and risk having the most repugnant fighter in the sport as his champion).
My money is on him doing something colossally stupid and giving Kyle a title shot.