Strikeforce: "Fedor vs Henderson" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsStrikeforce returned to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois tonight for one of its biggest events at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Henderson.” The card was headlined by a heavyweight bout between “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce 205-pound champ Dan “Hendo” Henderson.

The newly-renamed Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship was on the line this evening when Marloes “Rumina” Coenen defended against Miesha “Takedown” Tate, and Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley and Paul “Semtex” Daley faced off at 170. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

 

Dan “Hendo” Henderson vs “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko

Round 1:
The fighters traded power punches immediately to begin the fight and Henderson wobbled Emelianenko briefly with a left hook. More big punches landed for both fighters and Henderson got the better of the exchange. Emelianenko’s right eye began to swell up and Henderson pressed him up against the cage. The fighters traded knees to the thighs and body as they battled for position in the clinch.

After more strikes, Henderson broke free of the clinch with a right hook and a glancing left. Emelianenko countered a kick with a right hook and Henderson answered with a left hand. Emelianenko dropped Henderson with a flurry of punches, but recovered and landed a huge uppercut under Emelianenko’s arm. Emelianenko fell face-first to the mat and appeared to be recovering as Henderson pounced with punches, but the fight was stopped.

Winner: Dan Henderson by TKO (Punches) at 4:12 of round one. He improves to 28-8-0.

 

Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Miesha “Takedown” Tate vs Marloes “Rumina” Coenen

Round 1:
Tate closed the distance right away and clinched against the cage. Coenen countered with a knee and reversed. Tate tried to jump guard, but Coenen avoided it and Tate looked for a takedown. Coenen circled out and landed a left hook. She followed with a knee as Tate closed in and clinched. Coenen secured a modified Brabo Choke as Tate took her down and Tate had to fight her way out.

Tate moved to side control and isolated Coenen’s arms. She landed two short elbows and tried to move to mount. Tate switched briefly to North-South position before eyeing a Kimura on Coenen’s left arm. Coenen was unable to escape out and Tate stayed on top until the end of the round. Close opening five minutes. 10-9 Tate.

Round 2:
Tate backed Coenen up to the cage again in round two, but ate a knee to the body. More knees scored for Coenen and she countered a takedown from Tate by quickly securing back control. Coenen locked on a body triangle and used punches to try to set up a rear-naked choke. Tate rolled and Coenen landed elbows.

Coenen continued to throw strikes to set up the choke and began to punch to the body as well. Tate attempted to counter with a straight armbar from the bottom, but Coenen postured up and began to rain down punches. Coenen looked to switch to an armbar and tried again for a rear-naked choke before the bell. 10-9 Coenen.

Round 3:
The fighters traded strikes to open round three and Coenen landed leg kicks. A nice right hand followed for a smiling Coenen, but Tate caught a kick and took her down. Tate did very little from the top, but eventually stood up and landed a right hand. Coenen tried for a triangle choke and Tate settled back into her guard.

Coenen struck from the bottom and held on. Referee John McCarthy stood the fighters up and Coenen landed a leg kick. Tate took her down and Coenen worked for a Kimura. Tate stacked Coenen up against the cage and maintained top position until just before the bell when Coenen swept. 10-10. Tate was unable to do anything with top position on the ground.

Round 4:
Coenen landed a hard right hook to open round four and added in leg kicks. Tate missed with sloppy punches and appeared to be tired. Another leg kick landed for Coenen and Tate clinched. She took Coenen down, but had to fight off a guillotine choke. Tate moved to side control and threw short punches with her right hand. Coenen responded with elbows from the bottom. Tate secured an arm-triangle choke and passed to the other side. Coenen tried to defend, but was forced to submit.

Winner: Miesha Tate by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:03 of round four. She improves to 12-2-0 and becomes the new Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

 

Tim Kennedy vs “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler

Round 1:
Lawler circled for the opening minute as Kennedy threw occasional leg kicks. A right hook scored for Lawler and time was called after he was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Lawler defended a takedown. He landed a nice flurry and avoided another takedown, but Kennedy took his back in a scramble. Lawler escaped briefly, but Kennedy secured back control again.

Lawler tried to stand and Kennedy moved from a front choke to the back, and then to a Kimura. Lawler escaped to his feet. A lead left hook landed for Kennedy and he took Lawler down. From side control, Kennedy landed short elbow strikes and moved to mount. He landed punches momentarily and looked to set up an arm-triangle choke, but Lawler scrambled out. Lawler stuffed a takedown and landed strikes late in the close round. 10-9 Kennedy, just barely.

Round 2:
Kennedy landed kicks in the second round, but was unsuccessful in an attempt to take the fight to the mat. Punches were exchanged and Lawler landed a grazing uppercut as Kennedy dropped for a takedown. Kennedy began to bleed badly from the bridge of the nose, where he had been cut badly in past fights. He worked from the top in Lawler’s guard.

Lawler threw hammerfists from the bottom as Kennedy kept busy with punches and elbows from the top. More punches landed for a bloodied Kennedy, as he targeted both the head and body. Lawler fired back with an elbow from the bottom. Another brief flurry of punches from Kennedy closed out the round. 10-9 Kennedy.

Round 3:
The final round began slowly as Kennedy threw occasional kicks and finally shot in for a takedown. Lawler defended and remained on his feet. Kennedy threw a kick to the upper body and followed with a jumping kick to the chest. He avoided a clinch attempt, but Kennedy landed a leg kick. Action slowed way down until Kennedy threw another kick.

The fighters exchanged punches briefly and Lawler landed an uppercut. Kennedy landed a pair of body kicks and one to the leg. Lawler seemed content to circle and threw very little. Kennedy landed a knee and took him down, then flurried with punches and elbows. He closed out the round on top. 10-9 Kennedy.

Winner: Tim Kennedy by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 14-3-0.

 

Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley vs Paul “Semtex” Daley

Round 1:
Woodley landed a nice right hand to open the fight and he clinched after catching a kick from Daley. Time was called after Daley was kneed in the groin. After the restart, Woodley tried for a takedown, but Daley defended and stayed on his feet. Woodley backed him up to the cage and continued to try to take the fight to the mat. The fighters were separated and Daley was aggressive with punches.

Woodley once again tried for a takedown, but had to settle for another clinch against the cage as Daley’s takedown defence looked to be much improved. Woodley circled out and avoided a Daley right hook. Woodley ducked under a hook from Daley and the fighters clinched. He punched to Daley’s ribs and the round ended with an exchange of knees to the body. 10-9 Woodley.

Round 2:
The second round began with a clinch and Woodley quickly pressed Paley up against the cage. He finally got Daley down and threw a handful of punches from the top to the head and body, but Daley tied him up and prevented him from landing anything damaging. Daley tried to stand and Woodley went for a rear-naked choke. Daley flopped to his back and Woodley landed short strikes until referee John McCarthy stood the fighters up. Daley stuffed a takedown and landed punches on the ground. 10-9 Woodley.

Round 3:
Daley tried to land a big right hand to open the final round, but ate a knee and a combination for his efforts. He pushed forward with a flurry and Woodley took him down. Daley looked briefly for a Kimura from the bottom, but let it go and Woodley struck from the top in half-guard. He landed short punches and elbows until Daley managed to battle back to his feet midway through the round.

Woodley got Daley down to a knee, then tripped him, but Daley stood and landed a knee. Woodley dove for a leg and Daley countered with punches. He was warned for striking to the back of the head, but action continued and Daley landed a hard body kick after the fighters stood. Daley scored with punches and a knee as Woodley dove for a leg again. Daley then surprisingly locked on an omoplata, but Woodley escaped before the bell. 10-9 Daley.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-0-0.

 

Tarec “Sponge” Saffiedine vs Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith

Round 1:
Smith closed the distance early with jabs and Saffiedine countered with a leg kick. Another leg kick scored for Saffiedine and he continued to keep his distance with single strikes. The fighters traded punches and Smith clinched against the cage. Saffiedine reversed and landed knees to the body. He broke free with three punches to the head a ribs. Saffiedine returned to leg kicks and he followed with a knee to the body.

A head kick briefly wobbled Smith, but he caught Saffiedine’s leg and clinched. Saffiedine reversed again and landed more knees. The fighters were quickly separated and Saffiedine landed a kick-punch combo, then another immediately after. Smith’s face began to swell up as Saffiedine peppered him with punches and kicks. Saffiedine threw a spinning heel hook to close out the round. 10-9 Saffiedine.

Round 2:
Saffiedine opened the second round with more leg kicks and quick combinations of kicks and punches. He scored with a head kick and a standing elbow over the top. Saffiedine rocked Smith with a knee and a barrage of punches, but Smith held on. Saffiedine kept him backed up against the cage and picked his shots with punches and a flying knee as Scott bled from the nose.

Saffiedine landed a series of elbows and Smith backed him up with an elbow of his own that was thrown in an uppercut fashion. Big punches landed for Saffiedine and Smith dove for a desperation takedown. Saffiedine fought it off and took Smith’s back. He tried for a rear-naked choke, but Smith scrambled out and landed an elbow as the fighters stood. Smith slowed way down as Saffiedine picked him apart with punches and a head kick. The round ended in a clinch. 10-8 Saffiedine.

Round 3:
As in the first two rounds, Saffiedine opened round three with kicks and punches in combinations that kept Smith on the defensive. Smith backed up and Saffiedine blasted him with another flurry of punches. Smith missed with a looping right hook and Saffiedine snapped his head back with jabs. He followed with a leg kick and kept out of Smith’s range.

A left cross connected for Saffiedine and he followed with more jabs. He missed with a right hook and Smith landed one in return. The fighters exchanged head kicks and Saffiedine landed a hard leg kick. Smith missed with a Superman Punch and other strikes as he rushed in aggressively. Saffiedine wisely kept his distance and circled away. Head kicks were exchanged before the bell. 10-9 Saffiedine.

Winner: Tarec Saffiedine by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.

 

Undercard Fights:

Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante defeated “King” Bobby Green by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-1, 1 NC, 1 ND with the win.

Tyler “The Evolution” Stinson defeated Eduardo Pamplona by KO (Punch) at 0:15 of round one. He improves to 22-7-0 with the win.

Alexis Davis defeated Julie “Fireball” Kedzie by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-4-0 with the win.

Derek Brunson defeated Lumumba Sayers by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:33 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0 with the win.

Gabriel Salinas-Jones defeated Bryan Humes by Submission (Brabo Choke) at 1:19 of round three. He improves to 5-0-0 with the win.

 

  1. I had Marloes Coenen winning all three rounds. Miesha Tate surely scored with takedowns, but couldn’t do anything.

    Marloes had her on the verge of tapping twice in the first round.

    Marloes clearly dominated the second round.

    Miesha had control in round 3, but was all lay’n’pray. Marloes scored with strikes and the reversal.

    Miesha won, but she didn’t show the versatility of a champion (which Marloes Coenen has).

    Mark my words: Sarah Kaufman will take that belt again in her next fight against Miesha.

  2. As to Fedor, I love the man, but he should retire at this point… as Dana (White) pointed out, he was fighting a Middleweight… and was losing (even if the stoppage was early)…

  3. misha tate got lucky , marloes is the far more well rounded fighter. marloes lacks experience with cage tactics as a result of the majority of her fights bewing contested in rings. marloes gives up the takedowns too easy because of her faith in her subs , but in north american mma all you need to do is get takedowns and you get decs. all of mieshas talk about bringing it making it exciting , the only fighter i saw tonight even trying to make it excitibng wasa marloes. wmma lost alot of fans tonight , its like this fitch may be a good wrestler but no one wants to watch his fights and he at least trys to do something . for 10 mins in this fight all mosha did was stall and take elbows and get rteversed . the refs are wreckiong mma both the daly and coenen fights wre won by wrestlers who were actually getting beat up . sarah kaufman will stuff mieshas takedowns ands beat her up like marloes did. marloes should of just kept jabbing misha for the last 2 rds and she would of won easy . instead marloes went out and tried to get miesha to engage but no all the shit talker miesha did was try to stalkl out and then got lucky through inexperience on marloes part , hell even mieshas corner yelled out how marloes could of exploded off the cage and got out of the danger position. its a sad day for wmma when the most boring fighter ekes out a win /

  4. […] Full play-by-play for all of the fights on tonight’s Strikeforce card is available here. […]

  5. Robby:

    I agree entirely. Marloes is the better fighter, and she was clearly dominant in the striking department, and came up with some brilliant moves both standing and on the ground. Miesha was on the verge of tapping twice in the first round. The stats showed that. Oh, and I think she won round 1 also.

    In fact, I will go as far as saying Marloes also has the best ground game in the division.

    I saw some people say Marloes is not as strong at 135 lbs. I disagree. She actually seemed stronger than Miesha. At least, in terms of arm strength, she reversed all moves by Tate and tried a kimura.

    Miesha was relying on lay’n’pray the entire fight. I wouldn’t say she was lucky, though. She exploited Marloes’ one weakness.

    Marloes needs to work on her wrestling. It’s a big hole in her game. She doesn’t have good clinch power, and she tires out after she defends takedowns for two or three minutes. It was a problem in her last three fights. She defeated Kaufman, because Kaufman won’t take the fight to the ground, and Marloes’ striking is superior.

    If she doesn’t improve her wrestling, she will keep on having trouble facing the likes of Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche, Sara Mcmann, Shayna Baszler and so on.

    Now, Kaufman will destroy Miesha in their next fight, and Marloes has got a good chance of getting the title back from Kaufman. Styles make fights…

  6. The end of an era.
    Too bad U.S. fans never got to see Fedor in his prime.
    He’ll fight again, unfortunately lose again 🙁
    He is still the greatest MMA fighter ever.