Strikeforce: "Lawler vs Shields" Results
by Robert Sargent
Showcasing many of their top fighters, Strikeforce put on a solid show at "Lawler vs Shields," which featured a number of upsets and saw Jake Shields submit "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler in the first round of their main event catchweight bout.
Among the upsets of the night, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski was blitzed in just 22 seconds by punches from the undefeated Brett "The Grim" Rogers.
Jake Shields vs "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler
Though his striking still clearly needs work, Shields fought a very smart fight and avoided the punching power of Lawler by scoring takedowns and pulling guard, where he quickly submitted Lawler with a guillotine choke.Shields opened the fight with cautious leg kicks, but Lawler walked right through them and looked to close the distance. Shields scored a takedown, but Lawler quickly worked back to his feet and the fighters clinched against the cage. Lawler created distance with some hard punches, but Shields clinched and looked for a takedown. He could not take Lawler down, so he pulled guard instead. Securing a guillotine choke on the way down, Shields had Lawler in danger and Lawler tried to stand up to break free of the choke. He could not, and was promptly dragged back down to the mat, where he was forced to submit.
A very impressive victory for Shields, especially since he was coming up in weight for the fight. His potential challengers remain slim in Strikeforce, however, and he may still be headed to the UFC soon.
Winner: Jake Shields by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:02 of round one. He improves to 23-4-1.
Brett "The Grim" Rogers vs Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski
Taking the fight on short notice, Arlovski was knocked out in just 22 seconds. Not only detrimental to his MMA career, the loss also forces Arlovski to cancel his upcoming professional boxing debut.Arlovski scored with a nice leg kick in the opening seconds, but Rogers drilled him with a left hook. A big flurry of punches followed from Rogers, as he backed Arlovski to the cage. Rogers floored Arlovski with a left hook that flash KOed the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Referee John McCarthy quickly stopped the fight as a dazed Arlovski came to.
Winner: Brett Rogers by TKO (Punches) at 0:22 of round one. He improves to 10-0-0.
Nick Diaz vs Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith
Throwing and landing the most punches of any fight in recorded MMA history, Diaz battered Smith for two full rounds before countering a third-round takedown attempt with an impressive transition to a rear naked choke that ended the fight.Diaz immediately began taunting Smith and peppered him with jabs, then landed a right hook. Smith looked to clinch, but Diaz backed away and unloaded with a series of punches. Smith looked to set up big shots, but found himself on the receiving end of countless punches from Diaz that quickly stifled his offence. Smith clinched, then scored with a pair of big right crosses, but Diaz was completely unfazed. Diaz pressed Smith against the cage and landed knees to the legs, but Smith managed to counter with a right hook that caused Diaz's mouth to bleed. Diaz attempted a standing Kimura, but was slammed to the mat. He quickly got back to his feet and landed short punches, but Smith scored with another hard right hook before the bell. 10-9 Diaz.
Round two opened with Diaz throwing a series of jabs and a left cross. Smith looked to clinch once again, but Diaz shrugged him off. He then absolutely teed off with rapid-fire punches to the body of Smith. More punches landed for Diaz, as it became impossible to even begin to count them all. Smith, whose main weakness throughout his career has been body shots, crumbled against the cage, but he managed to stay on his feet. Diaz continued to throw lightning-fast combinations of punches as Smith turtled and attempted to set up single-punch counters. Smith finally got away from the cage and ate more jabs from Diaz. He managed to land a solid punch to Diaz's midsection, but this seemed to do little more than anger Diaz. Another barrage of punches followed from Diaz, and he dropped Smith with less than 10 seconds left in the round. The CompuStrike totals for this round are absolutely ridiculous. 10-8 Diaz.
The final round was more of the same in the early goings, as Diaz kept Smith at a distance with quick flurries of punches. Well on his way to losing the round (and the fight), Smith finally opened up and scored with some punches of his own, but Diaz ended that in a hurry with a left hook to the liver. Smith, seemingly desperate, tried to take Diaz to the mat. Diaz handily stuffed the takedown, then took Smith's back. Within seconds, he secured a rear naked choke that forced Smith to submit. Complete domination from Diaz.
Winner: Nick Diaz by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:41 of round three. He improves to 20-7-0, 1 ND.
Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs "The New York Bad Ass" Phill Baroni
Using takedowns and solid ground control, Riggs took advantage of Baroni's questionable cardio and won a clear-cut decision after three rounds.Riggs missed with a head kick attempt early in the fight, but managed to score a takedown soon after. He took Baroni's back, then moved to mount, but was unable to put Baroni in any serious danger. Baroni used butterfly guard to keep Riggs at a distance, but Riggs hit him with a hard right. Baroni gave up his back and Riggs looked briefly for a rear naked choke, then gave it up and moved to side-control. Baroni used the cage to get back to his feet and the fighters scrambled, with Baroni taking top position on the ground. He landed punches to the body of Riggs until the fight was stood up. Riggs tried for a takedown, but Baroni sprawled and landed punches to the side of Riggs's head. Baroni wound up in top position just before the bell, but it was not enough to take the close first round. 10-9 Riggs.
Round two began with Riggs landing a stiff kick to the body. He followed up with a Superman Punch, then attempted a takedown. Riggs managed to get Baroni down very briefly, but Baroni fought back to his feet. This time, Baroni scored a takedown, and he managed to land two punches before Riggs got up. Riggs scored with a leg kick and a quick one-two, then tried for a flying knee. Baroni blocked it, then scored a takedown. Riggs trapped him in a triangle choke and looked to secure a triangle armbar, and Baroni worked to free himself before the bell. 10-9 Riggs.
Riggs hurt Baroni early in round three with a knee to the body. As Baroni slowed down, Riggs pushed the pace with a flying knee and a quick flurry. He partially landed a spinning back kick and had Baroni reeling. Baroni recovered, but Riggs targeted his leg with kicks. Riggs added in kicks to the body, then scored with another jumping knee. Riggs began to taunt Baroni as he picked him apart with kicks and knees, and he drilled Baroni with two left crosses. Riggs landed a right hook to the temple, then scored a takedown with 10 seconds left in the fight. 10-9 Riggs. Solid performance from Riggs in this fight.
Winner: Joe Riggs by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 30-10-0, 1 NC.
"Iron" Mike Whitehead vs Kevin "The Monster" Randleman
Competing in just his second bout in close to three years, Randleman was surprisingly outwrestled by Whitehead, whose takedowns and superior striking won him two of the three rounds.Whitehead opened the fight with two hard leg kicks, then landed a grazing head kick. Randleman scored a takedown, but Whitehead got right back to his feet. Whitehead secured a takedown against the cage, then threw Randleman down a second time as Randleman tried to get up. Randleman swept Whitehead and stood up, but was easily taken down yet again. Whitehead passed Randleman's guard, but Randleman used the opportunity to scramble back to his feet. In the process, Whitehead was cut above the left eye. Whitehead continued to push the pace and took Randleman down again, then scored another takedown before the bell as Randleman appeared to be fatigued. 10-9 Whitehead.
Whitehead rocked Randleman early in round two with a short right hook, and he proceeded to slam Randleman to the canvas. Whitehead passed from half-guard to side-control, then kneed the ribs of Randleman. Whitehead switched to short punches to the head, but did little else and the crowd grew restless. After a lengthy stalemate, Whitehead finally passed to mount and looked to set up an arm-triangle choke. Randleman escaped and got back to his feet, then ducked under a series of wild haymakers from Whitehead before the bell. 10-9 Whitehead.
Round three began with another big punch, but this time it was Randleman who rocked Whitehead with an overhand right. Whitehead staggered and was dropped by a left hook from Randleman. Immediately looking to finish, Randleman pounced and landed a series of hammerfists that opened a cut on Whitehead's forehead. Whitehead battled back to his feet and landed a nice one-two, then scored a takedown that Randleman appeared to make no effort to defend. From Randleman's corner, UFC and PRIDE legend Mark Coleman implored him to stand up, and Randleman did so. Whitehead landed a hard right hook, then easily evaded an extremely wild left hook from Randleman. Whitehead scored with another right hook before the bell, but the final round was Randleman's. 10-9 Randleman.
All three judges scored the fight the same, with the first two rounds going to Whitehead. Randleman, who has now lost eight of his last eleven fights, is simply nowhere near the fighter that he was years ago.
Winner: Mike Whitehead by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 24-6-0.
Undercard Fights:
Jesse Finney defeated Josh Bumgarner by Submission (Keylock) at 1:55 of round one. Finney scored an early takedown and soon trapped Bumgarner in a crucifix, then transitioned to the keylock that finished the fight. Finney improves to 4-0-0 with the win.Mike "MAK" Kyle defeated Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante by KO (Punches) at 4:05 of round two. After winning a close but lacklustre first round, Kyle took advantage of a tired Cavalcante and floored him with a right hook, then finished the fight with three more big punches on the ground. Following the massive upset, Kyle, always one of the "bad boys" of MMA, ran to Cavalcante's corner and taunted Anderson Silva. Kyle improves to 12-6-1 with the win.
Booker DeRousse defeated James Wade by TKO (Punches) at 4:06 of round one. Both fighters seemed to tire early in round one, but DeRousse hurt Wade with punches and reversed a takedown, then landed punches until the referee stopped the fight. DeRousse improves to 2-1-0 with the win.
Tyron "T-Wood" Woodley defeated Sal Woods by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:20 of round one. Woodley scored a pair of slam takedowns, then postured up and passed Woods's guard before securing a fight-ending arm-triangle choke. Woodley improves to 3-0-0 with the win.
Lucas Lopes defeated Scott Ventimiglia by Disqualification (Illegal Knee) at 3:26 of round one. Ventimiglia scored a takedown early on and controlled much of the fight on the ground, but drilled Lopes with an illegal knee as Lopes was trying to get back to his feet. Lopes was unable to continue and the referee waved off the fight. Lopes improves to 10-8-0 with the win.
Pat Benson defeated Dave Lehr Cochran by Submission (Armbar) at 2:42 of round one. Despite giving up a massive experience edge, Benson countered a takedown from Cochran by trapping him in a triangle choke, then transitioned to an armbar that forced Cochran to submit. Benson improves to 4-5-1 with the win.
With upsets throughout the night, Strikeforce's latest event was action-packed and entertaining. Familiar faces Jake Shields and Nick Diaz both picked up solid wins, while the heavyweight division has a new force in Brett Rogers.
