Strikeforce: Melendez vs Thomson Results
by Robert Sargent
Capping off a largely successful night at Strikeforce, Josh "The Punk" Thomson captured the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship from Gilbert "El Niņo" Melendez in one of the most dominant title fight performances in quite some time.
The lone blemish of the night was the utterly horrendous Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Bobby Southworth and Anthony Ruiz.
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
Josh "The Punk" Thomson vs Gilbert "El Niņo" Melendez
In terms of dominant decision victories in title fights in major organisations, one must think back to UFC 68 when Randy Couture steamrolled Tim Sylvia to find a performance as one-sided as this fight turned out to be.Melendez came out aggressively, but his brief striking offensive would not last long. Thomson stuffed a takedown attempt and scored one of his own, holding Melendez down against the cage for quite a while. Thomson eventually passed to half-guard, landing a few weak strikes, but Melendez squirmed free with 90 seconds left. Thomson managed to get back to his feet and landed a knee, then followed it up with left kicks and punches before the bell. Thomson wins the round.
Melendez tried to push the pace early in round two, but was met with a pair of hard body kicks from Thomson, who followed them up with punches and a right high kick. Melendez tried for a takedown, then landed a hard punch, but Thomson came back with a big punch of his own and a huge knee. Following a clinch, Thomson began to make use of a front kick and Superman Punch combo, which he continued to use throughout the fight. More body kicks landed for Thomson as Melendez tried to come forward with punches. A wild striking exchange ended with Thomson landing two big knees and stuffing a takedown. Thomson landed assorted kicks in the final two minutes, then scored a takedown at the bell. Thomson takes round two.
Thomson landed numerous low kicks in the early stages of round three, then sent Melendez backwards with a quick flurry of punches and a front kick and Superman Punch combo. A pair of knees landed for Thomson, who stuffed a takedown. Thomson slipped on the Strikeforce logo and laughed. He continued to land body and front kicks, while evading Melendez's punches. Melendez finally landed some solid shots with just under 90 seconds to go, but it only seemed to motivate Thomson, who came forward with a barrage of knees and punches that put a stop to Melendez's offence. Thomson landed a hard punch and managed to score a takedown just before the end of the round. Thomson takes round three.
Melendez, whose cardio is legendary, seemed to be somewhat fatigued at the beginning of round four, and Thomson continued to push the pace with effective strikes. Melendez landed a flurry of punches and Thomson replied with five kicks. More kicks landed for Thomson, who had clearly taken Melendez out of his game. A big knee landed for Thomson and both fighters traded punches. Thomson secured a takedown and landed in side-control. Late in the round, Thomson took Melendez's back and secured a rear naked choke, but Melendez managed to escape. Thomson wins the round.
Thomson scored a takedown with four minutes to go in round five, briefly taking Melendez's back once again. Thomson continued to use kicks to keep Melendez at bay, and Melendez seemed to be visibly tired. The fighters traded strikes and Thomson pressed Melendez against the cage. Thomson countered a flurry from Melendez with a hard right, then a knee, and Melendez began to backpedal. With one minute left, Thomson scored a takedown and took Melendez's back. Melendez stood up, but was held against the cage until just before the bell. Thomson takes the round and the fight.
Winner: Josh Thomson by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) after five rounds. He improves to 15-2-0, 1 NC and becomes the new Strikeforce Lightweight Champion.
Billy Evangelista vs Nam Phan
A projected striking battle between the two kickboxing experts never really came to fruition, save for brief periods in rounds two and three, and Evangelista managed to do enough to escape with a close victory to remain undefeated.Following a brief striking exchange, the fighters clinched against the cage and Evangelista scored a takedown. Phan looked for submissions from the bottom as Evangelista punished him with strikes. This continued throughout the round, with Phan unable to get back to his feet as Evangelista landed dozens of punches. Phan attempted a guillotine with under 90 seconds to go, but Evangelista easily escaped and landed more punches from the top. Evangelista handily takes round one.
Round two was a different story, as Phan remained on his feet and landed many effective strikes. Phan rocked Evangelista with a right hook early in the round, then continued to use wild hooks and kicks to keep Evangelista at bay. After a clinch, the fighters traded strikes, with Phan holding the edge with effective counterpunches. Phan knocked out Evangelista's mouth guard and peppered him with punches, but Evangelista scored a takedown. Phan got back to his feet and landed elbows to the side of Evangelista's head, opening a large cut. Evangelista scored another takedown and landed strikes from the top. A close round, but Phan takes it due to damage dealt.
Evangelista came out throwing kicks in round three, but Phan sent him backwards with a punch. Evangelista tried for a takedown, then settled for knees in the clinch. A head kick from Evangelista grazed Phan's head, and he followed it up with a hard punch. Phan rocked Evangelista with a knee and a right hook. Evangelista tried for a takedown and eventually got it, where he landed strikes from Phan's guard. The fight returned to the feet with one minute remaining and both fighters landed solid strikes. Phan rocked Evangelista with two hard punches and Evangelista replied with head kicks. Another close round, but Evangelista takes it and wins the fight.
Two judges agreed, giving the close decision to Evangelista.
Winner: Billy Evangelista by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 7-0-0.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
Bobby "B-South" Southworth vs Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz
This horrible fight featured so little action that most of the crowd seemed to entirely lose interest after just a few minutes.Among the sparse "highlights" of the bout were Southworth attempting an omoplata and a triangle choke in round one, Ruiz scoring a few takedowns and doing absolutely nothing, and Southworth scoring takedowns and looking for Kimuras in rounds four and five. A terrible, terrible fight that reinforces that Southworth has no business holding a title in any promotion, much less one of the stature of Strikeforce.
Bill "The Butcher" Mahood, who suffered a rib injury in his bout with Southworth last September, needs to be given a rematch. A healthy Mahood would completely destroy Southworth, ending this charade of Southworth being a champion.
Winner: Bobby Southworth by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 9-5-0, 1 NC and remains the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
Miesha "Takedown" Tate vs Elaina "Beef" Maxwell
Tate, previously best known as the recipient of a brutal 30-second head kick KO loss to EliteXC contender Kaitlin Young, managed to make fans remember her for her skills in this bout, as she scored a hard-fought decision victory over Maxwell, who had previously gone three rounds with Gina Carano.Maxwell opened up the first three-minute round with a body kick, but Tate promptly took her down. Maxwell tried for a gogoplata, and Tate quickly escaped. Tate moved from half-guard to full mount, landing punches from the top. Maxwell tried to roll to escape and Tate locked on an armbar. Maxwell used a unique scissor hold with her legs to trap Tate's head and neck, but Tate broke free just before the bell and wrenched back on Maxwell's arm. Maxwell was inches away from tapping, but barely survived to the bell. Tate wins the round.
Tate came rushing forward to begin round two and scored a quick takedown. Once again, Maxwell used a rubber guard and tried for a gogoplata, but Tate escaped. Tate pushed through Maxwell's guard and got to full mount, where she rained down punches. Maxwell moved her legs up and once again scissored them around Tate's neck, bending Tate completely backwards and forcing her to give up mount. Tate escaped and moved back to side-control, where she tried for a keylock before the bell. Tate wins round two.
Again, Tate came rushing forward in round three, attempting a takedown. This time, however, she could not take Maxwell down and the referee restarted the action after a lengthy clinch against the cage. Maxwell drilled Tate with a knee, then took her back. Maxwell landed strikes to the side of Tate's head, then locked on to an arm, trying for an armbar or shoulder lock. Tate, visibly struggling, managed to hold out until the bell, losing the round but winning the fight.
Winner: Miesha Tate by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 2-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Eric Lawson defeated Jesse Gillespie by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:03 of round one. He improves to 6-2-0.Jeremiah Metcalf defeated Raymond "The Real Deal" Daniels by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:59 of round two. Daniels, an undefeated professional kickboxer who was making his MMA debut, was quickly taken down and soundly defeated in this bout. Metcalf improves to 9-4-0.
Chris "Kamikaze" Cariaso made it two for two against Anthony "Antdawg" Figueroa, winning this bantamweight bout by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:34 of round two. Cariaso improves to 7-1-0.
Bobby Stack defeated Jose Palacios by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 5-1-0.
Bryan "Kid" Caraway defeated "The Filipino Phenom" Alvin Cacdac by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:39 of round one. He improves to 9-2-0.
Cyrillo Padhillo won his MMA debut against Jesse Jones by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 1-0-0.
Jorge Interiano won a battle of debuting fighters against Travis Johnson by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:00 of round two. He improves to 1-0-0.
Alexandre Trivino defeated Eric Jacob by Submission (Armbar) at 0:37 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
The miserable Light Heavyweight Championship bout aside, this was a very good night for Strikeforce, featuring a number of submission victories and exciting fights. It will be interesting to see where Gilbert Melendez goes from here.
