Strikeforce made its way to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas tonight for Strikeforce: “Overeem vs Werdum.” The card was headlined by a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout between Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
In a second grand prix quarterfinal matchup, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett took on Brett “The Grim” Rogers, while “King” K.J. Noons battled Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal in a lightweight contender’s bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all fights on tonight’s card.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem vs Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum
Round 1:
Werdum opened the fight with a head kick, but Overeem blocked it and clinched. Werdum backed away and landed a one-two. He shot for a takedown, but Overeem easily stuffed it and motioned for Werdum to stand. Overeem caught a kick and tripped Werdum, then stuffed two more takedown attempts easily. Werdum landed two kicks and a right hook, but met with absolutely no success with his takedowns. Overeem landed a knee to the body, but Werdum responded with a knee to the face and a right hook. Werdum pulled guard, but Overeem stood.
Werdum landed a flurry and a solid knee, but Overeem was unfazed. Werdum tried to pull guard and Overeem had none of it. Werdum landed leg kicks and a right hook. He followed with punches and a knee, but his efforts to pull guard continued to fail. Werdum threw a head kick and a right hand. Overeem answered with a left hook and Werdum fell. He stood and Overeem slammed him to the mat. Werdum stood and landed a flurry, but Overeem countered with a hard one-two and tried to pull guard. He pulled half-guard at the bell. Strange round, but Werdum landed most of the strikes. 10-9 Werdum, despite the failed guard pulling.
Round 2:
Werdum landed four punches in the second round and Overeem answered with a one-two. Werdum took Overeem down, but Overeem stood and ate a series of knees. Werdum mixed in punches, but Overeem countered with knees and scored a takedown. He stood up to avoid a triangle choke. Werdum slowly followed and landed a jab, but Overeem cracked him with three punches to the head and body. Werdum seemed to slow down and Overeem’s strikes began to take over.
Werdum landed two quick punches, but Overeem answered with a hard knee to the body and a barrage of punches that prompted Werdum to pull guard. Werdum tried to set up a triangle choke, but Overeem stood up. Werdum got up and landed two punches, but fell after another hard knee. Overeem stood over him and punched, then motioned for Werdum to stand. He did so and ate another knee, then fell to the mat. Overeem landed sparse punches from Werdum’s guard until the bell. 10-9 Overeem.
Round 3:
Werdum was aggressive with punches and knees to open the final round, but Overeem answered with a pair of knees in return. He defended a takedown and Werdum wound up on the bottom. Overeem briefly had back control, but let it go and stood. Overeem landed a knee and Werdum pulled guard. Overeem stayed in Werdum’s guard for over 30 seconds, then stood and Werdum followed.
Werdum landed punches and a big knee that seemed to briefly stun Overeem, but Overeem answered with a knee of his own and Werdum pulled guard. Very little transpired as Overeem stayed in Werdum’s guard and landed a handful of strikes. Back on the feet, Werdum scored with punches that backed Overeem up to the cage. He rolled for a kneebar at the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Werdum, barely.
Winner: Alistair Overeem by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 35-11-0, 1 NC.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett vs Brett “The Grim” Rogers
Round 1:
Rogers landed a leg kick early on, but Barnett caught it and clinched for a takedown. He picked Rogers up and slammed him to the mat near the cage. From side control, Barnett landed a short elbow and tried to set up a submission. Rogers scrambled out, but Barnett kept him on the mat. Barnett moved to mount and landed a handful of punches and elbows.
Rogers tried to squirm out, but Barnett pinned him down and unloaded a flurry of punches. More punches followed for Barnett, but Rogers managed to push off of the cage and got back to side control. Barnett wasted little time in moving straight back to mount, where he threw more short hammerfists and elbows. 10-9 Barnett.
Round 2:
Barnett landed a lunging left hook that stunned Rogers in the second round and Rogers fired back with two looping punches. Barnett threw him to the mat and landed on top in mount. Barnett worked for an arm-triangle choke and got it. He passed to the side just as Rogers tapped out.
Winner: Josh Barnett by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:17 of round two. He improves to 30-5-0.
Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal vs “King” K.J. Noons
Round 1:
Both fighters landed punches right away and Masvidal just missed with a flying knee. He scored with a leg kick and a left hook to the body, but Noons quickly answered with a combination to the head and body. Another quick combo scored for Noons and Masvidal answered with a hard knee. A flying knee also connected for Masvidal and he took Noons down right after.
Noons tried for a Kimura on Masvidal’s right arm, but Masvidal pulled his arm out and landed a knee to the body as Noons stood. Another knee followed from Masvidal and a bad cut opened up on Noons’s upper forehead. Noons aggressively pushed forward with punches, but Masvidal scored with a nice counter right. A one-two and a vicious head kick floored Noons and Masvidal dove in with more punches. Noons stood as Masvidal unloaded with strikes and the round came to a close. 10-9 Masvidal. Possibly 10-8.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed punches and leg kicks in the second round and Noons landed a left uppercut that backed Masvidal up to the cage. Masvidal responded with a flurry and a left hook to the body. He scored an easy takedown and worked from the top in Noons’s guard. Noons’s forehead began to swell up from elbows and continued to bleed into his eyes.
Noons stopped and landed a leg kick. He ducked into a right hook and ate a left to the body, but countered Masvidal’s punches with a three-punch flurry. Masvidal tripped Noons to the mat and briefly struck from the top, but Noons stood and Masvidal lost the position. He wound up on the ground with Noons punching from the top. Masvidal stunned Noons with a big knee in the final seconds. 10-9 Masvidal.
Round 3:
Noons looked to jab in round three and he just missed with a wild haymaker left hook. A combination landed for Noons and Masvidal responded with a stiff jab. The fighters exchanged left-right combinations to the body and head. Masvidal jabbed again and Noons targeted the body. A spinning back kick to the ribs kept Noons at a distance.
Noons landed a lead left hook, but ate a hard one-two in return. Masvidal clinched and took Noons down against the cage. He struck from the top and moved to side control, then trapped Noons’s left arm. More short strikes landed for Masvidal and he prevented Noons from standing up. Noons attempted a kneebar and a Kimura before the bell, to no avail. 10-9 Masvidal.
Winner: Jorge Masvidal by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 22-6-0.
Daniel Cormier vs Jeff “The Snowman” Monson
Round 1:
The fighters traded punches early on and clinched briefly, but separated soon after. Cormier landed a nice one-two and Monson backed up. Another combination landed for Cormier and Monson, bleeding from the top of the head, clinched. Again, the fighters broke free and Cormier scored with a right hand that opened a second cut near Monson’s left eye.
Cormier connected with a lead left hook and a body kick as Monson struggled to find his range with strikes. A one-two from Cormier backed him up and Cormier remained effective with quick punches. Cormier clinched, but Monson punched free and landed an overhand right seconds later. Cormier pushed forward with a combination to the head and body late in the round. 10-9 Cormier.
Round 2:
Cormier landed punches early in the second round and Monson slipped while throwing a counter. Cormier motioned for him to stand back up and the fighters traded punches. Monson landed a right hook and clinched, but Cormier reversed against the cage. Cormier backed away and landed a combination that sent Monson off-balance. More punches landed for Cormier and Monson clinched.
Short knees were exchanged in close and Cormier backed Monson up to the cage again. The fighters battled for position in close and Cormier landed more knees and punches. Monson circled away and was tagged by a four-punch flurry. Another clinch ensued and Monson slipped to the mat. He stood and Cormier landed punches late in the round. 10-9 Cormier.
Round 3:
Cormier scored with hard punches in the final round and rocked Monson with a second flurry in close. Monson recovered, but was hurt by more punches. He landed a nice counter left hook, but Cormier threw him to the mat. Monson stood and the fighters clinched against the cage. Little transpired and the fighters separated.
Cormier hurt Monson again with big punches and Monson dove for a takedown. Cormier stepped free and a clinch ensued on the feet. Cormier landed knees to the body and tossed Monson to the mat. He backed away and allowed Monson to stand. Monson landed a right hook and ate a combination of kicks and punches in return. Cormier landed a kick to the chest before the bell. 10-9 Cormier.
Winner: Daniel Cormier by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-0-0.
Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs vs Valentijn “The Python” Overeem
Round 1:
Griggs countered a kick by clinching early on, and he took Overeem down to the mat. From the top in half-guard, Griggs teed off with punches and hammerfists. Overeem blocked most of them, but rolled to his side and turtled up. More punches followed from Griggs and Overeem offered absolutely no resistance. After a final flurry, Overeem tapped out.
Winner: Chad Griggs by Submission (Punches) at 2:08 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)
very disappointing performances by the heavyweights , they were hyping this tournament as the best heavyweights. well i think mir , carwin, schuab , dos santos , lesnar, velasquez have absolutely nothing to worry about . they are definately in a class above the fighters we saw last night