Strikeforce returned to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri tonight with “Heavy Artillery.” The impressive card was headlined by a Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship bout between Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem and once-beaten challenger Brett “The Grim” Rogers.
Also on the card, Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski battled Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in another hard-hitting heavyweight clash, while Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza defeated “Smokin'” Joe Villasenor in a middleweight title eliminator bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of the action.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship
Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem vs Brett “The Grim” Rogers
Round 1:
The fighters cautiously kept their distance early on until Overeem punched his way into a clinch. Rogers circled out and ate a combination and a leg kick. Overeem threw Rogers to the mat like a ragdoll and threw big right hands from the top. He moved to side-control and elbowed the body, then added knees. Rogers tried to scramble to his feet and had to fight off a guillotine choke.
Overeem kept the pressure on and returned to side-control. He isolated Rogers’s left arm and threw short punches. More knees to the body scored for Overeem and he teed off with punches as Rogers turtled. Overeem continued punching until referee John McCarthy mercifully called a stop to the fight. Very impressive win for Overeem.
Winner: Alistair Overeem by TKO (Punches) at 3:40 of round one. He improves to 33-11-0, 1 NC and remains the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva vs Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski
Round 1:
The fighters exchanged leg kicks to begin the fight and Arlovski threw a combination to the body. Silva answered with a one-two and another leg kick. A kick-punch combo landed for Silva and Arlovski countered with jabs and a hard leg kick. Silva drilled him with a left hook and another right hand soon after. A huge right hand staggered Arlovski and Silva punished him with more punches.
Arlovski stayed on his feet and recovered as Silva clinched against the cage. Arlovski bled from the nose and Silva landed an elbow over the top. He followed with more punches and clinched again. Silva scored an extremely weak takedown, then stood over Arlovski. He entered Arlovski’s guard and held him down as Arlovski tried to get back to his feet. Arlovski stood just before the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Round 2:
The fighters exchanged punches in the second round and Arlovski landed a stiff jab. Silva countered with a one-two and rocked Arlovski with a right hand. Arlovski, bleeding from the face again, recovered as Silva clinched and pressed him against the cage. Silva landed a knee to the body and an uppercut before referee John McCarthy separated the fighters. Silva tried for a takedown and Arlovski stuffed it.
Silva landed another knee to the body in a clinch and targeted Arlovski’s right leg. The fighters were separated again and Silva switched to a southpaw stance. He threw a body kick and Arlovski answered with a one-two. Arlovski missed with a haymaker and Silva backed him up to the cage. Arlovski reversed and Silva scored with more punches. Arlovski landed a leg kick before the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of strikes and Silva landed a right hand over the top. He clinched and pushed Arlovski up against the cage. Both fighters landed knees until they were separated. Silva flurried with punches and scored with a hard right hand. The fighters clinched and Arlovski took control. Silva defended with knees to the body and reversed against the cage.
Again, the fighters were separated and Silva landed a body kick. Arlovski replied with kicks of his own and the fight returned to a clinch. Silva tried to take Arlovski down and managed to do so. He passed to half-guard and tried to move to mount as Arlovski held on. Arlovski managed to get back to his feet and the fighters were separated with 15 seconds left. Silva danced and dodged a punch before the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Winner: Antonio Silva by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-2-0.
Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza vs “Smokin'” Joe Villasenor
Round 1:
Villasenor defended an early takedown attempt with a short right hook and Souza clinched. He managed to get Villasenor down and landed punches from Villasenor’s half-guard. Souza moved to mount and continued to throw punches as Villasenor rolled to try to escape. More punches landed for Souza, but Villasenor kicked off of the cage and escaped to his feet.
Souza clinched against the cage again and the fighters exchanged knees to the body. Souza tripped Villasenor to the mat and landed big punches from the top. Villasenor held on and weathered the storm as Souza drilled him with punches as the fighters stood. Souza kept the pressure on and took Villasenor down again. He tried for a straight armbar on Villasenor’s right arm, but Villasenor escaped. 10-9 Souza.
Round 2:
Souza countered an uppercut with a right hook in the second round and slammed Villasenor to the mat. Souza looked to set up a submission from the top, but Villasenor worked back to his feet. Souza clinched and took him down again. He passed to half-guard and looked to set up a Kimura.
Villasenor battled back to a standing position again and threw a combination. Souza backed away and seemed content to circle to the side. He landed a short left hook and took Villasenor down. Villasenor defended from his back as Souza stayed in his guard and mounted little offence. Villasenor kicked him off and stood up. He stuffed a takedown from Souza before the bell. 10-9 Souza.
Round 3:
Villasenor landed a hard overhand right in the final round, but Souza was unfazed and threw a nice right hand of his own. Souza ducked under a jab and tried for a takedown, but Villasenor stayed on his feet. Souza remained on the defensive as Villasenor backed him around the cage and scored with a right hook. Villasenor defended another takedown, but ate a right hand to the temple.
Souza took Villasenor down and both fighters threw strikes on the ground. Souza moved to half-guard and tried to set up an arm-triangle choke, but Villasenor defended. Souza stayed on top and threw short punches with his left hand until the referee stood the fighters up. Villasenor turned up the pace and rushed in with a flying knee, but Souza caught it and took Villasenor down. He threw punches until the bell. 10-9 Souza.
Winner: Ronaldo Souza by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0, 1 NC.
Roger Gracie vs Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
Round 1:
Randleman threw inside leg kicks early in the fight and Gracie replied with weak left hands. He tried to clinch, but Randleman shrugged him off. A big knee landed for Gracie in close, but Randleman held strong and stepped away. Gracie attempted another knee, but Randleman caught his leg. Gracie tried to punch his way into a clinch, but Randleman blocked the punches.
Gracie landed a knee and clinched. He locked on a standing guillotine choke, but Randleman easily fought it off. Gracie switched his grip and used a second guillotine to drag Randleman to the mat, but Randleman scrambled to his feet. Gracie continued to jab and Randleman countered with a flurry before the uneventful round came to a close. 10-10.
Round 2:
Gracie landed quick jabs and a right hand in the second round and Randleman missed with a wild haymaker. The fighters clinched against the cage and Randleman tried to take Gracie down. Gracie landed two knees to the body and floored Randleman with a big knee to the face. Gracie pounced and struck from the top, then moved to North-South position.
Gracie passed to mount and attempted an arm-triangle choke. Randleman battled out, but Gracie took his back and secured a body triangle. He worked for a rear-naked choke and Randleman defended. Gracie finally secured the choke and Randleman tapped out just as he lost consciousness. Good win for Gracie in his Strikeforce debut.
Winner: Roger Gracie by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:10 of round two. He improves to 3-0-0.
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs Antwain “The Juggernaut” Britt
Round 1:
The fighters circled early on and Britt connected with a lunging left hook. A quick combination followed and Britt clinched. Cavalcante threw two knees in a Thai clinch, but fell and Britt backed away. Four punches landed for Britt and he kept the pressure on with two more flurries. The fight returned to a clinch against the cage and neither fighter held an advantage.
Big right hands staggered Cavalcante and he backed away, but recovered and scored with knees as Britt pushed forward. Britt landed short punches to the body until the referee separated the fighters. Cavalcante rocked Britt with a big right hand that forced him to retreat to the cage. More huge punches landed for Cavalcante and Britt crumpled to the mat. Huge win for Cavalcante.
Winner: Rafael Cavalcante by KO (Punches) at 3:45 of round one. He improves to 9-2-0.
Undercard Fights:
Jesse Finney defeated Justin DeMoney by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:22 of round one. He improves to 5-0-0 with the win.
Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm defeated Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro by Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 14-0-0 with the win. Many observers felt that Ribeiro had won the fight.
Darryl Cobb defeated Booker DeRousse by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 4-1-0 with the win.
Michael Chandler defeated Sal Woods by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:59 of round one. He improves to 3-0-0 with the win.
Francisco “Kiko” France defeated Lee “The Manimal” Brousseau by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:27 of round one. He improves to 5-1-0 with the win.
Thomas Aaron defeated Eric Steenberg by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:56 of round one. He improves to 2-2-0 with the win.
Matt Ricehouse defeated Gregory Wilson by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:45 of round three. He improves to 2-0-0 with the win.
Capped off by a dominant and impressive title defence by Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem, Strikeforce: “Heavy Artillery” was a solid event. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva picked up a big victory over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, while Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza positioned himself for a future shot at the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.
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