Strikeforce returned to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California tonight with a stacked card at Strikeforce: “Diaz vs Noons 2.” The event was headlined by a long-awaited rematch between champion Nick Diaz and challenger “King” KJ Noons for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.
Also on the card, the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship was on the line when champion Sarah Kaufman defended her title against Dutch submission specialist Marloes “Rumina” Coenen. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all fights on the televised main card.
Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Nick Diaz vs “King” KJ Noons
Round 1:
Noons missed with a lunging left hook early on, but fought off a clinch. Diaz, using an orthodox stance, landed leg kicks and a stiff jab. Noons countered with jabs of his own and Diaz landed more. Noons targeted the body with a one-two and drilled Diaz with a right hand and an uppercut. Diaz stunned Noons with a counter right cross and took him down. He landed in side-control and looked to set up a submission.
Noons scrambled and managed to get to his feet. Diaz taunted and landed a right hook. He landed two more quick punches and ducked under a right from Noons. Diaz jabbed and ducked under another right hand. He put together a combination, bit ate a jab from Noons, who began to target the body again. Diaz landed a nice combination to the head and Noons countered with one of his own. Noons scored with two left hooks before the bell. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 2:
Diaz cautiously threw head kicks to begin round two and Noons cut him with a combination to the body and right eye. Noons began to taunt and landed another combination and a left hook. He followed with a flurry to the body in close, then stuffed a takedown. Noons landed a glancing uppercut and a left hook as Diaz began to bleed more heavily from near his right eye. Noons scored at will with punches to the body and head. Diaz, now bleeding badly, landed a leg kick and Noons fired back with punches.
Leg kicks were exchanged and Noons narrowly missed with a right hook. He landed a jumping knee to the body and both fighters scored with punches to the liver. Noons missed with wild punches and Diaz jabbed. A hard right hand and a short left landed for Noons and he followed with another hook-hook-uppercut combo. Noons backed Diaz up with jabs and another jumping knee. Noons ducked under punches from Diaz and landed counter hooks and an uppercut. Diaz landed a right and Noons connected with a grazing head kick at the bell. 10-9 Noons.
Round 3:
Noons avoided a takedown to begin the third round and both fighters landed stiff jabs. Diaz jabbed and Noons threw left hooks to the body. A hard left landed for Noons and Diaz fired back with a right. More punches landed for both in an exchange as the pace remained quite high. Diaz threw a right hook as Noons landed an uppercut. Noons jabbed and ate a lead right hook. The fighters exchanged leg kicks and Diaz taunted.
Noons landed a right hook that set off an exchange of punches. Diaz stuck to jabs and Noons mixed it up with hooks to the head and body. More jabs and a body kick landed for Diaz and he followed with a knee and a leg kick. Two lefts landed for Noons and Diaz immediately answered with a pair of rights. The fighters traded punches to the body and Diaz threw kicks to the head and body. Close round. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 4:
Diaz missed with a spinning back kick and more unorthodox kicks to open round four, but he landed a body kick soon after. Noons countered with an uppercut and the fighters exchanged punches. Noons scored with an overhand right, but Diaz was unfazed. Both fighters jabbed and Noons threw rapid-fire punches to the body in close. Diaz switched to southpaw and scored with a succession of left hands, but Noons drilled him with two right hooks.
A right cross and a lead left hook scored for Noons, but Diaz snapped his head back with a series of jabs. Big punches were exchanged, with Diaz targeting the head and Noons aiming for the body. Diaz landed a knee from a Thai clinch and sidestepped punches from Noons. A hard flurry landed for Noons, but Diaz stunned him with a knee and a right hand. Diaz threw more wild kicks and taunted, then landed a body shot. Diaz jabbed and Noons punched to the body. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 5:
Leg kicks were exchanged to begin the final round and Noons stepped out of a Diaz takedown attempt. Diaz cracked him with a solid left hook and followed with a head kick. Diaz landed quick punches and Noons missed with counters. The fighters both clinched with one hand and threw short punches in close. Noons landed jabs, but missed with an uppercut and Diaz clinched. He landed a knee to the body, but Noons avoided a takedown.
Diaz began to bleed from his right eye again and Noons landed a left hook. A one-two missed for Noons and Diaz briefly clinched. Noons walked him down and drilled him with a big right cross. Diaz threw a spinning back kick that missed and was hit with another hard right. Both fighters landed jabs and once again punched with their free hands in close. Noons landed a right hook and missed with an uppercut. Both landed hooks and Noons missed with a lunging right at the bell. 10-9 Noons, barely.
Winner: Nick Diaz by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 23-7-0, 1 ND and remains the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion.
Josh “The Punk” Thomson vs Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante
Round 1:
Cavalcante threw a right hand and looked to clinch early on, but Thomson shrugged him off and landed a leg kick. Cavalcante answered with a flurry and a leg kick, then backed Thomson up to the cage. He nearly took Thomson down and landed knees in close, then backed away. Thomson landed a front kick to the body and Cavalcante just missed with a lunging left hook. Cavalcante landed a right hand behind the ear that dropped Thomson to his knees briefly.
Thomson dove for a takedown and Cavalcante locked on a guillotine choke. Thomson weathered the storm and eventually escaped the choke. He postured up and landed punches and hammerfists, as well as elbows to the body. Cavalcante used rubber guard to posture for a triangle choke, but Thomson escaped. He secured a tight arm-triangle choke and passed Cavalcante’s guard, but Cavalcante hung on until the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Thomson due to the late rally, just barely.
Round 2:
Thomson kept his distance in the second round, but Cavalcante punched his way into a clinch. The fighters battled for position in the clinch for well over a minute, with both landing knees to the legs and short punches. More punches and knees were exchanged until Thomson dragged Cavalcante to the mat. He took Cavalcante’s back and tried to set up a rear-naked choke.
Thomson looked for an arm-triangle choke from the side in addition to the rear-naked choke attempts, then switched to hammerfists from back control. Thomson locked on the arm-triangle and wound up on top in Cavalcante’s half-guard after a scramble. Once more, Thomson worked to set up an arm-triangle, but Cavalcante avoided danger and Thomson punched from the top until the bell. 10-9 Thomson.
Round 3:
Thomson flashed out a head kick in the final round, but missed. Cavalcante landed a knee to the body and clinched, but Thomson reversed. He nearly tripped Cavalcante to the mat, but Cavalcante got Thomson down. He landed in a partial mount, then moved to to full mount. Thomson held on and prevented Cavalcante from posturing up. He tried to scramble out, but Cavalcante stayed on top in half-guard. Thomson used rubber guard to hold Cavalcante in place and smiled at the camera.
Thomson tried for a triangle choke from his back and Cavalcante escaped. The fight soon returned to the feet and Cavalcante landed a right uppercut to an off-balance Thomson, who fell to his back. Cavalcante punched from the top and held Thomson down. Thomson looked for a guillotine choke from his back, but met with no success. Cavalcante landed more short punches and Thomson once again attempted a guillotine. Cavalcante postured up and landed punches, but ate a pair of upkicks from Thomson after standing up. Great fight. 10-9 Cavalcante.
After the judges’ scores were read, Thomson called out the judge who ridiculously scored the fight 30-27 in his favour, which earned cheers from the crowd.
Winner: Josh Thomson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-3-0, 1 NC.
Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship
Marloes “Rumina” Coenen vs Sarah Kaufman
Round 1:
Coenen just missed with short right hands early in the fight and the fighters traded quick flurries. Coenen landed a hard leg kick and she continued to throw lightning-fast right hands. Coenen countered punches from Kaufman with inside leg kicks that kept her at a distance. Another leg kick and a lead left hook landed for Coenen. Kaufman answered with a combination, but Coenen clinched. The fighters battled for position against the cage and Coenen just missed with a standing elbow.
Kaufman reversed and threw knees to the thigh. Referee Dan Stell almost immediately separated the fighters and Coenen landed a big right hand. She clinched again and Kaufman backed her up to the cage. Coenen briefly secured a Thai clinch and landed two knees as the battle for position continued. Both landed knees in close until the referee separated them again. Coenen scored with a body kick and just missed with a right cross. Hard punches landed for both in the final seconds. 10-9 Coenen.
Round 2:
Kaufman opened the second round with a left hook and Coenen quickly replied with a right and a leg kick. Coenen threw a flurry and the fighters clinched. Both landed knees and Kaufman defended a hip toss. She pressed Coenen against the cage and short knees were exchanged. The fighters were separated and Kaufman landed a three-punch combination. A vicious body kick landed for Coenen, but Kaufman caught her leg and backed her up to the cage again.
Kaufman threw more short knees and kept Coenen in place. Coenen threw a knee that grazed Kaufman’s jaw and followed with another high knee soon after. The fighters were separated and Kaufman missed with a flurry. She landed a right hand as Coenen threw a leg kick. Coenen threw Kaufman to the mat, but Kaufman immediately reversed and punched from a standing position. Coenen locked up an armbar and Kaufman slammed out at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Coenen, barely.
Round 3:
Coenen clinched early in the third round and tripped Kaufman to the mat, but Kaufman quickly reversed and wound up in Coenen’s guard. Coenen postured for a triangle choke and Kaufman battled out. She pressed Coenen up against the cage on the ground and threw punches from the top. Some nice punches and hammerfists landed for Kaufman as Coenen defended.
Coenen locked on an armbar and Kaufman tapped out repeatedly. Referee Dan Stell was way out of position and didn’t see the tap for two to three seconds, which appeared to result in an injury to Kaufman’s right arm. Huge win for Coenen, who becomes the new champion.
Winner: Marloes Coenen by Submission (Armbar) at 1:59 of round three. She improves to 18-4-0 and becomes the new Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion.
Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley vs Andre “The Young Giant” Galvao
Round 1:
Galvao opened the fight with a stiff jab and was met with two solid right hands. Woodley stuffed a takedown and punished Galvao with a series of punches before he could get up. Woodley defended another takedown with a left hook and Galvao got back to his feet again. Galvao shot in for another weak takedown and Galvao blasted him with a pair of uppercuts. Galvao stood, but staggered badly. He dove for Woodley’s legs and Woodley landed two more punches before referee Josh Rosenthal rescued a badly dazed Galvao.
Winner: Tyron Woodley by TKO (Punches) at 1:48 of round one. He improves to 9-0-0.
James Terry defeated David Marshall by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-2-0 with the win.
Josh McDonald defeated Ron Keslar by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 8-4-0, 1 NC with the win.
Jess Bouscal defeated Luis Mendoza by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:00 of round two. He improves to 3-2-0 with the win.
Amateur Fights:
Justin Willis defeated Steve Dickey by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-29, 29-28).
Robert Johnson defeated Justin Bronson by TKO (Punches) at 1:20 of round three.
Jonathan Chaplin defeated Ben Ernest by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Jared Hess defeated Eric Faria by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:13 of round two.
Alan Francis Perez defeated Johnathan Del Rosario by KO (Punch) at 0:48 of round three.
David Blanco defeated Christian Buron by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Capped off by an entertaining main event, Strikeforce: “Diaz vs Noons 2” was a solid card that saw Nick Diaz retain the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship while avenging a loss to “King” KJ Noons. The Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship changed hands when Marloes “Rumina” Coenen handed Sarah Kaufman her first loss with a third-round armbar and both Josh “The Punk” Thomson and Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley made cases for future title bouts at 155 and 170.
(Photo Credit: Strikeforce)