Strikeforce Challengers 2 Results
by Robert Sargent
MMARising.com was on-site at the amazing Strikeforce Challengers 2 event in Kent, Washington on Friday, which featured a stellar card that concluded with "Smokin'" Joe Villasenor defeating Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos by Split Decision.
Also on the main card, former UFC star Jorge Gurgel won an all-out war over Conor Heun, while Sarah Kaufman remained undefeated with a Unanimous Decision over Shayna Baszler.
"Smokin'" Joe Villasenor vs Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos
Following a one-year layoff, Villasenor returned to action against the ever-dangerous Santos and looked to have some ring rust early on, but pushed the pace in the final round and did enough to take a close decision win.Santos opened up with leg kicks and landed a right cross. Punches were exchanged and Santos landed a one-two. Both fighters landed leg kicks and Villasenor threw a lunging left hook. Villasenor landed elbows over the top and scored a trip takedown. Villasenor moved to half-guard and then to side-control, where he looked to land short punches and knees. Santos stood up and Villasenor landed two knees. Santos landed more leg kicks and Villasenor just missed with two wild punches. 10-9 Villasenor.
Both fighters landed hard body kicks early in round two, and Villasenor followed with a looping hook and a quick flurry. He landed an overhand right, but Santos countered with a combination and stuffed a takedown. Santos landed a body kick and hurt Villasenor with a trio of hard leg kicks. Santos just missed with a spinning back kick, then targeted the body again. Villasenor landed body kicks of his own and a rapid-fire flurry of punches, but Santos punished him with more kicks to his lead leg. An exchange of jabs ended with another hard leg kick from Santos. He tagged Villasenor with a quick combination and the fighters engaged in a lengthy exchange of punches and body kicks. Close round. 10-9 Santos.
Villasenor was noticeably limping to begin round three and Santos drilled him with a hard leg kick. Quick strikes were exchanged and Villasenor looked for a takedown. Santos reversed and wound up on top, then landed punches from Villasenor's guard. Villasenor stood up and escaped an anaconda choke attempt as he rose. Fatigued, the fighters traded jabs and Villasenor backed Santos up with overhand rights and an uppercut. Villasenor landed a combination and a knee to the body. Santos, now bleeding from above the left eye, continued to land leg kicks, but Villasenor checked many of them. Both landed punches and Villasenor got the better of the exchange. Villasenor strung together combinations of punches and kicks, while a tired Santos looked to counterpunch. Villasenor continued to press forward with punches until the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Villasenor.
The judges agreed, as two awarded the fight to Villasenor, who took the Split Decision victory and put himself back in line for a future title fight. That is, if Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le returns to fighting anytime soon.
Winner: Joe Villasenor by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 27-6-0.
Tim Kennedy vs Nick "The Goat" Thompson
Kennedy, a former Army Ranger and current member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, returned to competition after tours of Iraq and Afghanistan (where he was awarded a Bronze Star) and picked up a second-round victory over Thompson after Thompson tapped out due to strikes.Kennedy landed leg kicks early on and shot for a takedown. He took Thompson's back, but Thompson countered with a Kimura and switched to a straight armbar. Kennedy escaped and tried to secure a rear naked choke, but Thompson defended. Kennedy wound up in Thompson's half-guard and took his back, but Thompson spun free and wound up on top. Kennedy scrambled and took Thompson's back again and looked for another choke. Thompson countered with a Kimura and dragged Kennedy to the mat, but Kennedy worked from side-control. He passed straight to mount and landed punches from the top. Thompson managed to regain half-guard, but Kennedy was relentless with punches. Kennedy continued to dominate the fight until the bell. 10-9 Kennedy.
Kennedy landed a nice overhand right early in round two, then followed with a one-two and scored a takedown. Thompson looked to counter with a keylock from the bottom, but Kennedy muscled out and worked from side-control. Kennedy landed short punches from the top, then took Thompson's back in a scramble. He landed a series of hard punches and Thompson tapped out, giving Kennedy a huge win.
Following the fight, Thompson complained about illegal strikes, and replays showed that two or three punches had grazed the back of his head, but it was clear that it was unintentional and that Kennedy was trying to land legal strikes as Thompson turned his head away. The decision stands and Kennedy takes the victory.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Submission (Punches) at 2:37 of round two. He improves to 10-2-0.
Jorge "JG" Gurgel vs Conor "The Hurricane" Heun
Stealing the stage as the Fight of the Night, Gurgel and Heun hit each other with their best shots for a full 15 minutes before Gurgel emerged with an extremely hard-fought victory.Strikes were exchanged right from the opening bell, as both landed quick shots and Heun scored with a solid one-two. The fighters traded body shots and leg kicks, then engaged in a wild exchange of right hooks and uppercuts. Gurgel dazed Heun momentarily, but Heun pressed forward. Both scored with combinations of uppercuts and left hooks at the same time. Heun landed an overhand right, but Gurgel sent him off-balance to the mat with a counter combination. Gurgel threw stiff leg kicks and Heun countered with a right hook to the body. A quick flurry opened a cut below the right eye of Gurgel. Heun nearly tripped Gurgel to the mat with a leg kick. Overhand rights were exchanged and Gurgel landed more leg kicks. Heun pressed forward in the final 20 seconds and backed Gurgel up with two right hooks, then followed with kicks to the body. 10-9 Gurgel.
Action immediately resumed with another quick exchange of punches in round two. The fighters clinched and traded overhand rights. Both threw wild punches and Gurgel drilled Heun with a head kick. Heun came forward with an uppercut and a left hook, but was rocked by three quick punches from Gurgel. Heun regained his composure, but Gurgel rocked him again with a left hook after setting it up with leg kicks. Gurgel tried for another head kick, but Heun countered with a series of punches that cut Gurgel above the right eye and below the mouth. Gurgel, bleeding quite badly, continued to pick Heun apart with leg kicks and quick flurries, but Heun landed a nice hook to the body. Huge punches were exchanged and Gurgel landed another head kick. He rocked Heun with power punches, but Heun held strong. Gurgel scored with yet another head kick and a lengthy flurry of punches before the bell. Great round. 10-9 Gurgel.
Heun looked to push the pace in round three and countered a Superman Punch with a one-two. Both fighters landed kicks and punches, and Heun just missed with a wild spinning heel kick. Heun caught a kick from Gurgel and dropped him with a right cross, but Gurgel immediately looked for a heel hook. Heun stood up and the fighters traded strikes again. Heun caught another kick from Gurgel and landed a body kick of his own. Once more, Heun dropped Gurgel after catching a kick, but Gurgel swept and worked from half-guard. Heun scrambled and got to his feet. Both fighters targeted the body with kicks and an exchange of quick punches followed. Heun blocked a head kick and countered with a right cross. Gurgel implored the crowd to cheer as Heun tried for a knockout shot before the bell. Amazing fight. 10-9 Heun.
All three judges scored the fight in favour of Gurgel, with two of them giving him all three rounds, and Gurgel will unquestionably be a great addition to the Strikeforce lightweight division.
Winner: Jorge Gurgel by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-5-0.
Sarah Kaufman vs "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler
Surviving a very unique knee-in North-South Choke early in round one, Kaufman stuck to a smart game plan of keeping the fight on the feet and overwhelmed Baszler with punches as the fight wore on. Taking a Unanimous Decision, Kaufman becomes one of only two female mixed martial artists today (along with Megumi Fujii) to hold a record of at least 10 wins with no losses and firmly places herself among the top 10 females in the sport.Kaufman opened the fight with her trademarked flurries of quick punches, but Baszler managed to land a solid uppercut and scored a takedown. Baszler stood up and passed Kaufman's guard, then wound up in north-south position. From there, she secured a unique North-South Choke with her knee in to add extra pressure against Kaufman's neck. Kaufman rolled over, but Baszler maintained the choke from the bottom. Kaufman broke free and worked from half-guard, where she landed short punches with her left hand. Baszler used rubber guard and threw punches from the bottom, but the referee stood the fighters up. Kaufman returned to punching and defended a takedown attempt. Knees were exchanged in a clinch against the cage and Kaufman scored with more rapid-fire punches before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Baszler.
Sporting a mouse around her right eye, Kaufman began round two with flurries of punches and kicks, but Baszler landed a combination of her own. The fighters clinched against the cage and Baszler looked to score a takedown. Kaufman landed a hard right hook and followed with a trio of punches. She continued to back Baszler up with her relentless offence. Kaufman landed another solid combination against the cage. And another. And another. Baszler, stuck against the cage, did her best to fire back with counterpunches, but Kaufman kept her in place. A one-two from Kaufman opened a cut on Baszler's lip, and Kaufman hurt Baszler with a leg kick. Kaufman continued to tee off with flurries of punches and landed another hard leg kick. The round ended with a big exchange of punches from both fighters, to the delight of the crowd. 10-9 Kaufman.
The five-minute rounds seemed to be taking their toll on Baszler as round three began, but Kaufman did not slow down at all with her punches. Baszler tried for a takedown, but had to settle for pulling half-guard. Kaufman punched from the top and Baszler regained guard. Baszler looked to set up an armbar and a kneebar, but Kaufman wisely stood up. Kaufman landed punches and clinched, then scored a takedown. She briefly looked to pass to mount, but stood up again. The fighters traded combinations and Kaufman backed Baszler up against the cage with big punches. She followed with another lengthy flurry and clinched. Baszler rolled for a kneebar, but Kaufman easily defended and punched from the top until the bell. Excellent fight. 10-9 Kaufman.
With the victory, Kaufman must now be firmly in line to compete for the first-ever Strikeforce 135-Pound Women's Championship, and the test now lies in finding her a suitable opponent.
Winner: Sarah Kaufman by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-0-0.
Luke Rockhold vs Cory "The One" Devela
Looking to rebound after having a sure victory snatched from him in round three against Terry Martin, Devela was instead dropped just seconds into this contest and was battered with punches on the ground before Rockhold finished the fight with a rear naked choke.Devela rushed forward with a quick one-two, but was dropped by an overhand right counter. Rockhold immediately dove and looked to finish the fight with some vicious punches on the ground. He continued to blast Devela with punches and hammerfists, and the referee really should have stopped the fight. Realising that the fight wasn't going to be stopped, Rockhold gave up his onslaught of punches in favour of a rear naked choke, which elicited a submission from a badly dazed and bloodied Devela. Extremely impressive win for Rockhold.
Winner: Luke Rockhold by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:30 of round one. He improves to 5-1-0.
Dennis "Superman" Hallman vs "Dangerous" Justin Davis
Hallman, who is most famous for defeating long-time UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes twice (in a combined total of 37 seconds), made extremely short work of last-minute opponent Davis, as he scored a takedown and locked on a fight-ending rear naked choke in all of 20 seconds.Hallman immediately shot in for a takedown and got it. Within seconds, he took Davis's back. Shortly thereafter, he sunk in a rear naked choke and Davis was forced to submit. Dominant victory for Hallman, who had to come up in weight for the fight.
Winner: Dennis Hallman by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:20 of round one. He improves to 41-12-2, 1 NC.
Bryan "Kid" Caraway vs Alex Zuniga
With girlfriend and fellow Victory Athletics standout Miesha Tate cheering him on from ringside, Caraway scored takedowns throughout the fight and looked for a number of rear naked chokes, and took a lopsided Unanimous Decision victory in the process.Caraway scored a takedown in the early stages of round one, then landed small strikes from the top and passed Zuniga's guard. He stacked Zuniga against the cage and landed some big punches from the top. Zuniga scrambled and Caraway took his back. Caraway maintained the position for the rest of the round as he looked to secure a rear naked choke. Just before the end of the round, Caraway locked on the choke, but Zuniga was barely saved by the bell. 10-9 Caraway.
Round two was more of the same, as Caraway dragged Zuniga to the mat and quickly took his back. He once again tried for a rear naked choke, but Zuniga fought off the choke attempts for quite some time. A scramble resulted in the fight returning to the feet, where Caraway scored with some hard punches as he backed Zuniga up against the cage. Caraway scored a takedown. He worked from the top, then took Zuniga's back and wound up on top before the bell. 10-9 Caraway.
Zuniga opened round three with a spinning back fist that partially landed. Caraway countered with a Thai clinch and landed knees to the jaw. He took Zuniga down and threw punches from the top. Caraway mixed in elbows to the body, but Zuniga attempted a triangle choke. Caraway easily escaped and took Zuniga's back, then transitioned to Zuniga's half-guard. From there, Caraway landed more punches and elbows to the body. Caraway alternated between back control and mount, then tried for a triangle. The fight was stood up and Caraway landed two head kicks before the bell. 10-9 Caraway in a very dominant performance.
Winner: Bryan Caraway by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.
Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm vs Duane "Bang" Ludwig
Though his ring attire was nowhere near as flashy as in his past bouts, that didn't stop Beerbohm from picking up his biggest win to date, as he dominated Ludwig on the ground for most of round one before submitting the former top-10-ranked star with a bulldog choke.Beerbohm opened the fight with a lightning-fast takedown and looked to work from the top. Ludwig stayed calm and got back to his feet, but Beerbohm took him down again. Ludwig scrambled and got to his feet, then drilled Beerbohm with an illegal soccer kick as Beerbohm tried to stand up. Time was called and Ludwig was deducted one point for the foul. Beerbohm was okay to continue and action resumed. Ludwig stuffed a takedown, but was thrown to the mat with a Judo toss. Beerbohm landed punches from the top and short elbow strikes to the body. He quickly took Ludwig's back as Ludwig tried to get to his feet, then secured a bulldog choke. Ludwig tried to escape the hold, but could not and was forced to submit.
With the massive win, Beerbohm goes from a local star in the Pacific Northwest to a major (and undefeated) contender in the lightweight division. Not bad for a man who has been involved in mixed martial arts for only two years and had to battle through an addiction to crystal meth and time in jail to get to where he is now.
Winner: Lyle Beerbohm by Submission (Bulldog Choke) at 4:27 of round one. He improves to 10-0-0.
Landon "The Show" Showalter vs George Stork
Taking the fight on short notice, Stork put on a game performance against Showalter, but it was not enough and the hometown star - with fans loudly chanting "Show" throughout the fight - defeated Stork via clear-cut decision.Showalter landed knees in a Thai clinch early on in round one, but Stork scored a takedown. He passed to side-control and trapped Showalter in a crucifix, but Showalter got to his feet. Showalter scored with a standing elbow and some big punches. An exchange of power punches in a clinch ended with sharp elbow strikes over the top from Showalter. He continued to dictate the action until the bell. 10-9 Showalter.
Round two began with knees and standing elbows from Showalter, but Stork once again scored a takedown. He took Showalter's back, but Showalter scrambled to his feet and rocked Stork with a flying knee and punches. Showalter continued to punish Stork with more punches against the cage, then dropped him with two vicious knees. Stork recovered and got up, then dragged Showalter to the mat. Stork fought off a kneebar attempt and wound up in side-control. 10-9 Showalter.
An exhausted Stork tried for a spinning back kick to begin round three. Showalter scored with knees and punches, but he was also rapidly tiring. The fight went to the ground, where Stork attempted an Anaconda Choke. Showalter stood up and an exchange of knees and punches followed. Showalter landed short elbows and punches, then followed with more elbows over the top until the end of the round. 10-9 Showalter, who takes the convincing victory.
Winner: Landon Showalter by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-12-1.
Len Bentley vs Marques Daniels
This late addition to the card went the distance, where the judges returned extremely puzzling scores in favour of the hometown fighter, Bentley, even though Daniels appeared to have clearly won the fight.Bentley fell after an initial exchange of punches, which led to a scramble. Daniels attempted a triangle and an armber, but wound up getting cut by a forearm strike. Time was briefly called to check the cut, but action resumed and Daniels dropped Bentley. He followed with a barrage of punches on the ground, then picked Bentley up and slammed him down. Daniels remained on top until the bell and landed sparse punches. 10-9 Daniels.
A big exchange of punches began round two, and Daniels followed with a variety of kicks. Bentley countered with a looping left hook, then floored Daniels with a one-two. Bentley immediately looked to finish the fight with punches on the ground, then tried for a rear naked choke. He then switched to an armbar, but Daniels escaped and worked from top position. Bentley secured another armbar, and this time it was deep. Daniels escaped, but wound up on the bottom. The fight was stood up and Daniels landed a few punches. 10-9 Bentley.
The final round began with a lengthy exchange of punches as both looked for the knockout. Daniels landed kicks and clinched, then scored a brief takedown. A stiff body kick scored for Daniels, and he secured another takedown. Daniels landed big punches from the top until Bentley got back to his feet. Bentley scored with a nice combination, but missed with a spinning back fist and was taken down before the bell. 10-9 Daniels.
What appeared to be a clear victory for Daniels instead turned into a puzzling Unanimous Decision in favour of Bentley, with one judge somehow giving him all three rounds. He clearly lost the first and third rounds, so this decision makes little to no sense.
Winner: Len Bentley by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 5-3-0.
Steve Hadsel vs Taylor Roberts
Over as quickly as it began, Hadsel pressed forward with big power punches that sent Roberts to the mat in a world of unconsciousness.Right from the opening bell, Hadsel teed off with big punches. He landed a combination and punctuated it with a right hook that dropped Roberts. The referee immediately stopped the fight and Roberts stayed on the mat for quite some time, having no idea where he was. Great win for Hadsel and an explosive start to the evening.
Winner: Steve Hadsel by KO (Punches) at 0:17 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
A great show from start to finish, Strikeforce Challengers 2 showcased many of the promotion's future stars and potential champions, and it was great to be a part of such an excellent event.
