Strikeforce returned to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California tonight with a pair of title fights at Strikeforce: “Diaz vs Cyborg.” The event concluded with a Strikeforce Welterweight Championship bout between reigning champion Nick Diaz and hard-hitting challenger Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
Also on the card, Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza put his Strikeforce Middleweight Championship on the line against “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler, while Herschel Walker took on Scott Carson in a heavyweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all of the fights on tonight’s Strikeforce card.
Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Nick Diaz vs Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos
Round 1:
Santos opened the fight with a head kick and a spinning back kick that missed. He landed leg kicks as Diaz taunted. More leg kicks landed for Santos and he swung wildly with three punches. Diaz closed the distance with punches of his own and clinched. Santos broke free and both fighters landed punches. Santos scored with another leg kick and a three-punch flurry. More leg kicks and punches landed for Santos. Diaz tried to counter with punches of his own, but came up short and ate a kick-punch combo.
Santos continued to find a home for inside leg kicks as Diaz stumbled. A big combination of punches to the head and body scored for Santos and Diaz answered with punches of his own. Santos recovered and the fighters exchanged strikes in close. Santos landed a right hook and a leg kick, but Diaz began to land at will with jabs and peppering punches. Diaz punched free of a Thai clinch late in the round. 10-9 Santos, barely. Diaz’s late rally may have been enough to steal back the round.
Round 2:
Santos landed more leg kicks in the second round and countered a combination from Diaz with a flurry in return. Two more leg kicks scored for Santos and he added punches to the body. Diaz jabbed and Santos picked his shots with single punches and kicks. The fighters alternated standing elbow strikes and Santos landed another leg kick. And another. And a third. Diaz fired back with punches and Santos tagged him with a right hook and an uppercut.
Diaz continued to paw out with jabs that snapped Santos’s head back, but Santos stayed busy with counterpunches and kicks. Santos threw a pair of uppercuts and a knee, but Diaz punched free. Santos scored with leg kicks and strikes to the body, but Diaz remained effective with quick punching flurries. Santos landed a spinning hook kick to the leg and took Diaz down. Diaz quickly locked up an armbar from the bottom and rolled Santos over, forcing Santos to submit. Excellent fight.
Winner: Nick Diaz by Submission (Armbar) at 4:50 of round two. He improves to 24-7-0, 1 ND and remains the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion.
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza vs “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler
Round 1:
The fighters circled cautiously early on until Lawler rushed in with a jumping knee and a right hand. Souza clinched and took him down. He moved to side-control and looked to isolate Lawler’s left arm. Souza passed to the other side and attempted a guillotine choke as Lawler scrambled back to his feet. Both fighters landed punches and Lawler rocked Souza with two knees and a hook.
Lawler threw a head kick and more punches as Souza fell to his knees and flopped to his back. Souza recovered as Lawler punched from the top in Souza’s guard. Souza grabbed the fence and was warned. Lawler landed more punches from the top until referee John McCarthy stood the fighters up for no reason. Lawler landed a hard body kick and a one-two. 10-9 Lawler.
Round 2:
The second round began slowly as Lawler flashed out a kick and Souza kept his distance. Souza shot in for a takedown and got straight to mount against the cage. Lawler regained half-guard and Souza punched from the top. Souza looked very briefly for an arm-triangle choke, but let it go and moved to North-South. He punched from the top as he moved to side-control.
More punches landed for Souza as Lawler was unable to move free. He briefly managed to regain half-guard, but Souza moved right back to side-control. Souza tried to pass to mount, but could not. He settled for more punches and looked to set up a kneebar. Souza scrambled and transitioned into an armbar. Lawler escaped. Souza attempted another one and Lawler had to quickly spin to get out. He ended the round on top. 10-9 Souza.
Round 3:
Souza opened the third round with knees to the body from a Thai clinch and Lawler countered with punches to Souza’s ribs. Souza tried for a takedown and managed to get Lawler down. He landed a knee to the body and Lawler tried to stand. Souza dragged him down and took his back. Souza secured a body triangle and a rear-naked choke, and Lawler was forced to submit. Excellent fight.
Winner: Ronaldo Souza by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:00 of round three. He improves to 14-2-0, 1 NC and remains the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.
Herschel Walker vs Scott “The Hornet” Carson
Round 1:
Carson landed a head kick early on, but Walker dropped him with a right hook. Walker dove in with more punches and Carson looked to counter with an armbar and a heel hook. Walker escaped and took Carson’s back. He landed punches as Carson turtled. Carson stood and Walker slammed him back down. He kneed Carson’s ribs as Carson held onto Walker’s left arm. Walker freed his hand and punched as Carson continued to turtle.
Carson’s mouthpiece came out as Walker punched at his face. More and more punches landed for Walker until Carson finally rolled to his back. Just as Carson stood, Walker drilled him with a left hook and Carson crumpled to the mat. Referee Dan Stell called a stop to the fight. Impressive performance from Walker, considering that this was only his second mixed martial arts fight.
Winner: Herschel Walker by TKO (Punch) at 3:13 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
Roger Gracie vs Trevor Prangley
Round 1:
Gracie threw leg kicks early on and seemed calm as Prangley fired back with a glancing right hook. Gracie looked to clinch and Prangley broke free with a left hand. The fighters remained cautious as the crowd grew restless after the action-packed undercard. A clinch followed and Gracie landed knees. Gracie took Prangley down against the cage and tried to move to mount.
Prangley rolled to his side to defend and Gracie took his back. As Prangley rolled again, Gracie took mount and transitioned to a rear-naked choke as Prangley pushed off of the cage. Prangley defended the choke and Gracie secured a body triangle. Gracie fully locked on the rear-naked choke and Prangley tapped out. Impressive win for Gracie.
Winner: Roger Gracie by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:19 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)
Great event.