Undercard Fights:

Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran defeated Dustin “The Beast” Neace by Verbal Submission (Rib Injury) at 1:39 of round one. The brief bout was a fast-paced one and Curran scored with kicks and a quick combination early on. In a clinch, he landed a knee to the ribs of Neace and Neace quickly turned his back. The referee stopped the fight due to what appeared to be a very painful rib injury on Neace’s right side. Curran improves to 30-12-1 with the win.

Shamar Bailey defeated John Kolosci by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) after three rounds. Bailey started out like he was shot out of a cannon and violently slammed Kolosci to the mat, but slowed down as the fight progressed. Bailey continued to score takedowns throughout the fight, but could do little with top position and never came close to a finish. Bailey was docked one point in round two due to an illegal knee to the head on the ground. Bailey improves to 10-1-0 with the win.

Nate Moore defeated Louis “The Battery” Taylor by Submission (Punches) at 3:24 of round two. Moore scored takedowns in round one, but Taylor did well to fight back to his feet and prevented Moore from doing any damage. Taylor was deducted one point in the second round for holding onto Moore’s shorts in a clinch, but it made little difference and Moore took Taylor down soon after. He took Taylor’s back and landed a series of weak punches until Taylor eventually tapped out. Moore improves to 6-1-0 with the win.

Christian Uflacker defeated Jonatas Novaes by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-25, 29-26) after three rounds. This lacklustre opening fight saw Uflacker score takedowns throughout, but Novaes’s jiu-jitsu skills on the ground prevented Uflacker from doing anything at all. The most action was in round three, but a lengthy stoppage came when Novaes illegally upkicked (twice) and soccer kicked (once) Uflacker when both fighters were on the ground. He was docked two points for the infractions and Uflacker recovered and cruised to an easy victory. Uflacker improves to 2-0-0 with the win.

A previously scheduled bout between Mark Miller and Deray Davis was cancelled at the last minute when Strikeforce evidently could not find a space to fit it onto the card.

With Fedor Emelianenko’s second-round knockout of Brett Rogers sure to live on in the minds of millions of mixed martial arts fans who followed along with the debut Strikeforce broadcast on CBS, the promotion has established itself as a major player in MMA and will only continue to grow in 2010.