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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
-It's 10pm on the east coast, which means it's time for Strikeforce's fifth event on Showtime! The broadcast opens with a Mauro Ranallo voiced-over rundown of Strikeforce's 2009 happenings, with Cris Cyborg "breaking down barriers" and M-1 Global bringing the "greatest fighter in the history of the sport" to Strikeforce.
-Ranallo then introduces the show, talking about next week's Super Bowl before discussing some of the fighters on tonight's card, showing Herschel Walker, Bobby Lashley, Cris Cyborg and Nick Diaz in the back. The camera then hits Ranallo and he talks about what's to come in 2010 with Dan Henderson likely to face Jake Shields in April before going to a quick rundown of the athletic feats of Walker. He's then brought in backstage for a quick interview, and he agrees with the notion that this is the most difficult thing he's done because it's "mano de mano," as he put it. He said he doesn't really care what people were thinking of him trying to fight, he just needed to get into a good camp and he discussed said camp heading into this debut.
-Frank "Braces" Shamrock then joins the broadcast to discuss Scott Coker's recent signings from "around the world" that bring this card Bobby Lashley, Melvin Manhoef and Marius Zaromskis. Stephen Quadros is brought in finally as the third man in the booth to once again challenge grammar and sentence structure to its limits throughout the night. He runs down some more of what we're going to see tonight on the card before Ranallo goes through the whole card as the graphic comes on screen.
FIGHT ONE: BOBBY LASHLEY VS. WES SIMS (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Sims looks very much like he hasn't had any training, that's for sure. They go to a video package for Lashley, who says he explodes when the bell rings. He talked about how he's been training a lot of different things and is feeling better than he has for any fight thus far in his career. He expects a fast and hard finish.
ROUND ONE: Sims really wants to do the "test of strength" straight out of pro wrestling. Lashley's having none of it and Sims finally throws a jab. Lashley tries to get in with a combo but misses. He finally drops in for a double leg and completes the takedown. Sims grabs the neck of Lashley but eats a ton of right hands by Lashley before finally letting go. He tries to go for an arm bar but Lashley gets out and back into guard. Lashley holds Sims head down and starts pounding him with punches. Sims finally rolls out and gives up his back. Lashley throws a couple of punches to the side of the head and the ref stops the fight. Sims gets into the refs face about Lashley holding him down with a thumb in throat, which Lashley had been warned about, and then about a "back of the head" punch that Lashley got warned about. The finish was a bit quick but Sims wasn't defending himself there either.
WINNER: Lashley via TKO at 2:06 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Lashley said anytime you come out victorious you've got to be happy with it. He applauded Sims for taking the fight on short notice and said he's still building. He's looking for that sixth, seventh and eighth win before he goes for the big fight (Fedor).
STAR RATING: (*+) There wasn't much to see here. It was Lashley doing exactly what he was supposed to do in this one, take down an out of shape Sims and hit him until he stopped. It was the type of fight that would be nowhere near television if not for Lashley's name, and that's about what we got. Good win for Lashley, but anything less than that would have been no good for him.
FIGHT TWO: ROBBIE LAWLER VS. MELVIN MANHOEF (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Manhoef says he's very excited to fight for Strikeforce. Lawler said he's been doing it for a long time and it's just another day. He says he's going to put his hands up and not let Manhoef run him over.
ROUND ONE: Manhoef takes the center as Lawler circles on the outside. Slow start here as both fighters look for an opening. Manhoef walks Lawler down. Lawler throws a jumping kick but eats a kick to the body. Lawler throws a high kick to push Manhoef back as he continues to be stalked. They trade leg kicks and Manhoef lands a big body kick. Manhoef then lands a left. The crowd is a bit restless already because it hasn't been a brawl yet. Manhoef keeps the center and gets Lawler to the fence. He lands a couple of punches and Lawler feints that he's out of it. Manhoef lands another big body kick. Lawler throws a punch and Manhoef counters with a couple. He lands a big shot. He keeps taking out the lead leg of Lawler with kicks and then unloads with shots. He gets Lawler to the cage again and lands a punch. He's being very calm and picking his shots here, this is nice to see from Manhoed. He keeps taking out the leg, and then Lawler busts in with a huge right and knocks Manhoef down. He lands one more left on the ground and Manhoef is out cold and bleeding. Holy shit. They continue to check on Manhoef for a while as Lawler limps badly around the cage. Wow, what a two punch knockout by Lawler. That was insane and seemingly out of nowhere. The replay made it even more brutal. The right caught Manhoef on the button, and he stumbled to the ground. Lawler followed him down and landed another huge right that put him out cold. The ref got there at the right time.
WINNER: Lawler via KO at 3:33 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Lawler said he felt really good. He said I knew he was going to have a chance to catch him, and he was waiting for him to drop his arms. He said he's going to rest his leg after this win and run with it, and he finished with "we'll see what happens, who knows," in regards to a possible rematch with Jake Shields.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was simply an awesome finish by Lawler after what looked like a great first round from Manhoef. Lawler landed literally three punches to Manhoef's 23, but he made those two punches count after getting his right leg nearly crippled by Manhoef's leg kicks and taking some definite body damage from the kicks of Manhoef. That was great.
-Rex Ryan, coach of the New York Jets, is brought in cageside to discuss Herschel Walker's debut tonight. He's booed mercilessly by the Miami crowd. He said they'll be sending a bunch of their guys to Jay Glazer and Randy Couture's MMA training and told the crowd they'll be coming to beat them twice next year.
FIGHT THREE: HERSCHEL WALKER VS. GREG NAGY (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Walker says people don't know what type of athlete he is. He said this is all about competition. He said this is the hardest workout he's ever done, and he said he needs to prove to himself that after talking the talk he needs to walk the walk. He gets a good reception from the Miami crowd as he walks down to the cage. He certainly looks nothing like a 47 year old. He is absolutely ripped.
ROUND ONE: Walker stands in the middle as Nagy circles. Nagy lands a punch as Walker gets in a jab. He's a bit stiff walking in there. He throws an ugly leg kick but it lands. He lands another leg kick. He starts yelling at Nagy to engage. He lands a couple more kicks and then Nagy goes for a takedown. Walker stuffs it. He tries to rotate behind Nagy and take his back but Nagy holds it off a bit. Walker moves to the mount briefly and then the half guard and lands a ton of punches on Nagy before Nagy covers up. Nagy tries to wrap a leg up but eats some more punches. Walker moves Nagy's leg behind his head and drops a punch on him. He does it again and lands another punch. He drives his knee down onto Nagy's shoulder and tries to drop another punch. He stands up and Nagy tries to grab a heel hook but Walker rolls right out. Nagy got back to his knees but Walker pulled him back down and got to north-south position. He moves it over to side control. Walker lands an elbow and gets warned. He locks in a crucifix and throws down some punches. He lands a few more punches as the round comes to an end.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Walker. Very good first round of MMA action by Walker. Nothing too surprising, and he looks like he's in his first fight, but he's doing some very good things in there and showed some vicious punches on the ground.
ROUND TWO: Walker throws another ugly leg kick as Nagy tries to circle on the outside. He lands a kick to the thigh. He throws another one. Nagy tries to get in close. Walker clinches him, lifts him up and throws him down to the ground and gets to his side. Nagy tries to cover up and Walker looks for an opening. He powers Nagy to his stomach and takes his back. Nagy rolls over and Walker is in full mount. He gets up really high and Nagy tries to throw his legs up to get him off balance. Nagy kicks Walker off of him but Walker gets right back on him as Nagy gets to his feet. Walker still has a hold of him with his head down and the crowd yells for him to throw a knee. He obliges them! Nice. Nagy tries to push forward but Walker just stays on him as he goes back to the ground. Walker is on his side again and throws a number of punches. Nagy again gives up his back. Walker postures up and throws a few punches to the side of Nagy's head. Nagy turns and eats a hammerfist and a number of shots. He rolls through again and Walker is in the mount. He locks up the hands and throws some more punches. The round ends with him on top again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Walker. Nagy literally did nothing in that round, and Walker picked some good spots to land punches and then had a great takedown. Good round again.
ROUND THREE: Nagy comes out and lands an overhand right but Walker clinches him and drops him down to his back on the cage, right into his guard. Nagy goes for an armbar but Walker pulls his arm out. He gets almost immediately to mount. He gets his knee on his shoulder again and is trying to get an open spot to Nagy's face. He is still really high up in the mount. He lands some punches and Nagy rolls and gives up his back. Walker lands more shots to the side of the head. The ref should stop this because Nagy's literally doing nothing. Walker throws a number of punches to the shoulder and the ref comes in very unemphatically and stops it.
WINNER: Walker via TKO at 2:17 of the third round.
<>POST FIGHT: Walker said the experience was exciting. He thanked his opponent for giving him an opportunity to fight, and he said it was really tough. He said he didn't think he did anything right in this fight. He said it was all the AKA guys that he trained with. He said he left it up to the guys at AKA as far as if he'll fight again. He said not to boo people in the cage because this is the hardest thing he's ever done.
STAR RATING: (**-) Again, nothing special out of Walker's Strikeforce debut, but it was impressive that a 47 year old could do what he did in his first fight. He had some good takedown defense and some hard punches on the ground, but plenty to work on as he had multiple advantageous positions he couldn't finish in. That said, Walker certainly proved this wasn't some freakshow with him, and his athleticism was definitely on display here.
PRE FIGHT: Cyborg said growing up she was too physical for other sports. Coenen said she didn't realize how strong she was early on in life. She said with Cyborg it will be an all out war. Cyborg said the cage is her world. She said she likes the pressure. Coenen said she wants to take her standing, and she wants to knock her out. Cyborg said Coenen's mom will be crying after this fight.
ROUND ONE: Coenen lands a straight kick and Cyborg lands an overhand right immediately. They get right to the clinch and Cyborg pushes her to the cage. They jockey for position in the clinch on the cage. Coenen just misses a big parting shot as she separates. Cyborg lands a leg kick and Coenen connects with a counter. Cyborg got in to the clinch and got a takedown into Coenen's guard. Coenen tries to get an armbar but Cyborg steps out of it and drops a big right hand. She stands back up and eats an upkick before dropping back down with another big punch. Coenen pulls back to closed guard. Cyborg pushes her against the cage and drops another punch. Coenen throws her legs up for something but Cyborg gets up and out of it. Cyborg drops back in for a punch. Cyborg steps back out and Coenen lands an upkick. Cyborg lets her get back up. Coenen lands a good punch. Cyborg lands another combo> Cyborg is swinging her hands here. Coenen backs away and circles around. Cyborg lands a couple of leg kicks. Coenen lands a good left hook. Coenen comes in for a takedown but Cyborg keeps her up in the clinch. Coenen pushes her to the cage and lands a knee and a couple of foot stomps. Cyborg turns her around and throws a knee. Coenen lands a good elbow as she separates. Cyborg comes right back at her and Coenen again lands a counter left. Cyborg responds. Coenen lands another punch and the round ends with Cyborg throwing a spinning kick to the body.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cyborg. Her aggressiveness, along with the takedown and more strikes landed won her this one, but Coenen's holding in there.
ROUND TWO: Coenen lands an early leg kick and then gets in with a good hook. Coenen lands another good shot but Cyborg knocks her off balance. Coenen lands a good up kick to keep her at bay. Coenen almost got pulled back up as Cyborg dropped down and grabbed her. Cyborg then dropped down but Coenen got her into guard. Coenen held Cyborg in the closed guard pretty well early on. Cyborg tried to scoot her to the cage and did so nicely. She postures up and Coenen throws the upkicks again. Cyborg backed off and allowed Coenen to stand again. Cyborg landed a leg kick. Coenen missed the left hook and Cyborg landed the one of her own in a counter. Cyborg landed a good body kick. Cyborg starts to walk her down. Coenen lands a good straight punch. Cyborg lands a good punch and then Coenen went for a takedown. Cyborg stuffed it beautifully and Coenen pulled guard to get it to the ground. Coenen tried to lock in a shoulder but Cyborg got out of it. Cyborg dropped back down into her guard again. She pushed her up to the fence again. Coenen threw her legs up to block and avoided any major damage at the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cyborg. Again the Champion controls a round. Coenen's just not getting much done here and Cyborg is landing shots and getting takedowns.
ROUND THREE: Coenen came in trying to press the action. Cyborg landed a good kick. Coenen shot in but Cyborg held it off. Coenen rushed her all the way across the canvas to the cage and clinched her against the cage. Cyborg got separation and landed a number of shots to Coenen against the cage. Coenen tried to shoot but Cyborg spun her down and landed in her half guard. Cyborg landed a couple of body punches. Cyborg tried to posture up to land punches but Coenen did a good job of covering up. She got it back to full guard. Cyborg again postured up and threw some right hands. Coenen kicked out Cyborg's legs with an upkick and got back up to her feet. Coenen unleashed a big right hand but Cyborg didn't even get phased. Coenen again shot in and wound up on her back. Cyborg started unleashing punches as Coenen tried to cover up. Coenen continued to cover her face but Cyborg was standing and landing punches non stop and the ref stepped in to end it. Big, impressive victory for the Champ.
WINNER: Cyborg via TKO at 3:40 of the third round.
POST FIGHT: Cyborg said she trained well and hard for this one and is very happy with the win. She said the staredown at the weigh-ins motivated her even more. She said Coenen was the toughest fighter she's faced because she's got a lot of game, a lot of technique and a lot of heart. She said MMA has a lot to gain from Coenen.
STAR RATING: (**+) That was a very impressive performance from Cyborg against a very good challenger in Coenen. Coenen was throwing everything she could try on the feet but the one big punch she landed didn't even phase Cyborg. On the ground she was doing good defensively for awhile, but Cyborg proved just to be too much to handle by the end of that one.
-Brett Rogers was brought in at cageside. He said if he got a rematch against Fedor he'd be a lot more aggressive. He said he doesn't care who he fights next, he's up for anyone. He said he's all about the Title, and said he'd face Alistair (Overeem), Bigfoot (Silva) or anyone. He said both Lashley and Walker put on good performances and again said he's willing to take on any heavyweight.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: NICK DIAZ VS. MARIUS ZAROMSKIS (WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PRE FIGHT: Zaromskis said every single fight is important, but this being his first fight in the U.S. it's even more so and he wants to show people how good he is. Diaz said he's ready to put on a good fight for his fans, take care of his family and his team, and that's what he's here for.
ROUND ONE: Diaz with the intense staredown as the ref gives instructions. Zaromskis comes out quick. He lands a kick. He lands a good combination. Diaz then gets in with a couple and knocks Zaromskis off guard. Diaz lands a combo and Zaromskis responds. Diaz then goes for a single leg against the cage. Zaromskis holds it off but Diaz batters his thigh with knees. Zaromskis is going to have some trouble later on with this barrage to the thigh. Zaromskis throws a knee to the body. Zaromskis can't get out of this right now and his thigh is getting murdered by these knees. This is great strategy by Diaz here. He finally pulls the leg out and gets Zaromskis on his back. Zaromskis gets back to his feet but then Diaz starts landing punches. He lands a few more and then Zaromskis rocks Diaz! He smells the blood and tries to get to him and gets Diaz to the ground. Diaz survives however and then gets back to his feet after limited offense by Zaromskis. Diaz lands a few punches again. They trade shots but Diaz is landing a ton of shots with that reach. Zaromskis is swinging but not landing as he can't get past the reach. Diaz again peppers him with a ton of shots. Diaz with a big uppercut and a body shot. Diaz is just picking Zaromskis apart. Diaz then cocks a right and unloads it right on the button and Zaromskis goes down. Diaz lands one shot on the ground and it's all over. Hell of a one round fight right there.
WINNER: Diaz via TKO at 4:38 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Diaz said he's just ready to go home and eat. He said he prepared for everything and worked hard for this fight. He thanked Cesar Gracie. He said something funny's going on as he said his brother won his last fight. He shrugged off a question about Hieron while thanking his sponsors. Man Quadros is terrible at this.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was one of the more exciting one round fights you'll see. Diaz was relentless with his striking, both to the body and to the head, after wearing down Zaromskis' right leg early on. On top of that, Zaromskis nearly finished it himself with a huge left that rocked Diaz and knocked him down. He couldn't finish, however, and Diaz rocked him with punch after punch. He landed 95 of 117 strikes. In less than a round. That's on top of even more kicks and shots. It's insane the amount of punches he peppers his opponents with.
-The announcers recap the night's action to tie up the broadcast. Strikeforce will once again leave 20 plus minutes on their allotted time on Showtime as we get to the end of this one.
Well, this was definitely an eventful evening of fights. Herschel Walker made a much publicized debut and proved he was no joke as an athlete, Robbie Lawler came from behind against Melvin Manhoef with a beautiful knockout, Cris Cyborg retained her Women's 145 lb. Championship with a dominating victory over Marloes Coenen and then Nick Diaz finished off Marius Zaromskis in very exciting fashion to finish off the night. Thanks to everyone for checking our coverage out for the event, and as always be sure to check back for more fallout from the event and more as we head into next weekend's UFC 109 event on pay-per-view!
[Herschel Walker photo courtesy of Mike Lano]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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