Cardio Freak MMA News Report 11.09.09: Live at Strikeforce on CBS

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 11.09.2009

A live blog from Strikeforce on CBS featuring thoughts on everything as it happened including stuff you won't read about anywhere else! Plus a preview of UFC 105 featuring Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera and thoughts on Nogueira vs. Velasquez, "Cro Cop" vs. Rothwell and Strikeforce's next event. It's more like Clay Guida than ever before, it's Cardio Freak on 411!



Headline News

Strikeforce on CBS was this past week and I had the pleasure of attending the show as a media member. You're about to read my live blog from the show that includes thoughts on the fights and whatever else is happening around me. Before you begin know that this is rather an unfiltered report and might not be for everyone. I try to write from the perspective of a fan with great access rather than a media member. If you don't enjoy live blog like the ones written by Bill Simmons then you probably won't enjoy this. But for those of you that like that stuff then I hope you enjoy.



I'm here on media row sitting next to Loretta Hunt and TJ De Santis from Sherdog. Loretta is very nice lady despite what Dana White has said and TJ is a cool guy as well. Loretta is telling a story about texting with Gina Carano. I envy this lady. You want to know the sad thing about the sentence before last? It took me five minutes to figure out if I spelled Carano right and I even had to google to make sure. I'm disappointed in myself. On the bright side, I feel real important sitting next to the people from Sherdog. They just opened the doors to the arena and the fans are slowly trickling in. The prelims have yet to start so I don't expect much of a crowd until just before the show starts on CBS. Jake Shields just walked by the media table. In the media room they had a M-1 Global media book sitting at all the tables and in our media packets they had the exact same book plus a photocard of Fedor that has about three M-1 Global logos. And people get on me for calling him Fedor Presented by M-1 Global.



First prelim is finally starting. Christian Uflacker vs. Jonatas Novaes is the curtain jerker this evening. The guy behind me is trying to start an "Uflacker" chant but it's not catching on with the other hundred people in arena. Speaking of the arena, it's rather small and there's not a bad seat in the house. Rather boring first round. Rather boring second round. Uflacker dominated both with his wrestling and control. Uflacker kicked in the head on the ground so the action stops. After a long break where it didn't look like the fight would continue, Uflacker decided that he wasn't going to win like this and kept fighting. The ref took two points from Novaes. Never seen that before. Rather boring third round. Uflacker should win the decision and it will be pretty lopsided with the two points taken away in the final round. Uflacker wins the decision with two judges scoring it 30-25. Wherever Kalib Starnes is, I bet he just smiled. Cecil Peoples must not be a judge tonight. Crowd didn't boo at all except after the illegal strike. Nice people here in Chicago.

Dan Henderson is sitting in front and to the left of me. A bunch of people coming up to him for autographs and pictures.

Nate Moore vs. Louis Taylor up next. These guys will have to work hard to be more boring than the last contest. The streak of boring rounds continues. People coming to Robber Lawler now as he's seated right in front of the media table. Dominating second round for Moore as he took the back, flattened him out, and forced Taylor to tap due to strikes.

John Kolosci vs. Shamar Bailey is the next fight. Kolosci has no takedown defense and a rather poor ground game. Dominating first for Bailey. We're in for a long night if this keeps up. Arena is filling up nicely and there's still three prelim fights (not including this one) left. Some guy behind us keeps yelling "HENDO!" at the top of his lungs. Henderson isn't turning around to acknowledge him. Maybe he should try to switch training times with him, that'll get his attention. CLAY GUIDA~! aka the person who this column is named after just took a seat in front of me. Another boring but dominating round by Bailey. Another round of Bailey taking down Kolosci and controlling him. Bailey should win the decision and we're three for three with boring fights. Bailey wins the decision. Very polite crowd tonight as hardly anyone booed. I guess after UFC 90, Chicago fans are just happy a fight isn't boring and then ends with an injury.

I'm going to go grab a drink for Loretta, TJ, and myself. So to keep with my live blog tradition, allow me to use the following text that only gets used in these blogs: BRB.

I'm back. There's nothing I love more than walking through big crowds to the very front, flashing my media pass, and getting right past security as people pile up behind me like a large NASCAR wreck.

Jeff Curran vs. Dustin Neace up next. Big pop for Curran. They were in a clinch, Curran hit some knees to the body, and Neace tapped out. Rather out of nowhere, quick, and anti-climatic ending.

Scott Smith now in front of me taking pictures and signing autographs. I don't know who he's with, I'm assuming it's his wife, but Scott aint doing so bad for himself. I'll hold back from making a joke about Scott and his comeback ability relating to the girl he's with. It's just too easy.

Lawler and Smith talking. Short talk. I'm going to transcribe how I think that went.

Smith: What do you think of Shields vs. Miller?

Lawler: I dunno.

For those that don't know, Lawler is a man of few words and even less personality.

Roxanne Modafferi vs. Marloes Coenen is up next. Winner of this fight will likely fight "Cyborg" Santos for the Womens Title. That was quick. Impressive performance by Coenen. She dropped Modafferi, ended up on bottom, but secured an armbar for the victory. This needs to make TV somehow.



Long break during the last prelim and the start of the main card. I chatted with Clay Guida a bit during the break. Really cool guy and got a kick out of me naming the column after him. They either moved one of the preliminary fights up to the main card or canceled it and that's the reason for the long break. Loretta says the fight might go on after Fedor vs. Rogers (but not on TV) and if that's the case then it sucks for Mark Miller and Deray Davis. Kind of sad as they had plenty of time to squeeze in the fight, even if it went to decision.

It's 9 o'clock on the east coast, which means it's showtime. Good opening video put together by Strikeforce highlighting the Fedor vs. Rogers fight.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva is the first bout on the main card. Crowd pumped for the main card. TJ is picking Werdum, I say Silva. Now they're quick to boo. Silva drops Werdum but can't finish him. Werdum survives and is back up. Werdum doing better on the feet. Good first round. Gotta give it to Silva. I'm in love with the ring girl in front of me. I don't know her name. But I'm gonna call her Rachel. Silva drops Werdum early in the second. Silva stupidly goes to the ground with Werdum, ends up on his back, but manages to get up. Pace slowing down in this round with a lot of clinch. Good exchanges on the ground as the round came to a close. Close round but I think Silva just won it. Probably more me trying to justify my picking of Silva. TJ gave it to Werdum. Werdum with a good takedown and now turtle position on Silva. Silva works his way back up though. Good exchange on the feet. Werdum dominating the later portion of the third round. Werdum easily won the third. Whoever won the second won the fight. Werdum gets the decision. Luckily I didn't bet with TJ.

Sokoudjou vs. Mousasi up next. I think everyone in the world is picking Mousasi. Big pop for Mousasi. Sokoudjou being more patient than usual. Big flurry by Mousasi but Soko gets the takedown. Good sweep by Mousasi followed by a good sweep by Soko. Soko turning in a better performance than most expected although he might have lost the round at the very end when Mousasi got the weak takedown. Close round but everyone is scoring it for Mousasi. Mousasi dominating in the clinch to start the second. Soko showing some strong hips when Mousasi goes for the takedown but then he gets swept on the ground. Mousasi pounds out Sokoudjou for the victory. No upset in this one.

The WAMMA PR guy just came by to hand everyone a press release about Fedor vs. Rogers being for the WAMMA Heavyweight title. I can hardly contain my excitement.



Jason Miller's entrance might be the most exciting thing in the fight. He knows how to win over a crowd. TJ and I agree: Jake Shields by Decision. "Big" John McCarthy got the biggest reaction of the night. Shields with a quick takedown. He gets mount but Miller does a good job escaping. Clay Guida is going around the cage taking pictures of the fight and the crowd. What a great man. Shields with another takedown but Miller does a good job getting up. Big takedown by Miller. Suplex by Miller. Good first round for Miller. Hell of a grappling battle in round two but Shields had the better positions for a longer period of time. A guy in front of us is cornering Jason Miller like Mark Coleman would; "GET UP!" "SUCKS TO BE YOU MAYHEM! DO SOMETHING!" "DON'T LEAVE IT TO THE REFEREES!" Yes, he said referees. Shields dominated most of the third round but Miller caught him with a rear naked choke at the very end that Shields wasn't getting out of if it wasn't for the bell. Very close round. TJ and I give it to Miller. Shields looking a bit gassed and fighting conservative in the fourth. Shields with a dominant fourth but never close to finishing. Depending on the scoring, it could all come down to the fifth round. Clay Guida just took a picture with Gegard Mousasi. Clay is like a fan when he goes to events, which makes him awesome and draws even more parallels to this column. Another round of Shields dominating with superior position. Unless the judging is really strange, this should be a win for Shields. Miller was the closest to finishing the fight but Shields clearly won at least three of five rounds. As expected, Shields won the fight and the Strikeforce Middleweight title. Crowd is booing. They thought "Shogun" Rua won.

Andrei Arlovski is in the buildng. I wonder who he thinks will win the main event.

Pretty long break between the Shields decision and the entrances of Rogers and Fedor. Rogers getting booed quite a bit during his entrance. Big pop for Fedor. M-1 Global presented that crowd reaction. By far the largest of the night. Clay Guida is standing on a chair taking pictures like a complete mark. I hate you if you hate this man. For the record, Clay Guida is picking Fedor to win. "The king. He's not of this planet."

Atmosphere is great for this fight. Slow start. Fedor gets a takedown but Rogers does a good job getting back up. Fedor appears to be bleeding. Big left by Fedor rocks Rogers and Fedor gets the takedown. This one is close to being over. Fedor goes for a kimura but Rogers sweeps. Heavy ground and pound by Rogers. Fedor goes for an arm and Rogers escapes. Rogers looks gassed already. Fedor back on top. Rogers survives the first round. That's got to be a morale victory. TJ thinks Rogers won the first round, Loretta scores it 10-10, I think Fedor won it. Does that make us the three stooges of MMA judging? Here we go with round two. Chants of "FEDOR" followed by "USA". Big flurry by Fedor but Rogers was covering well. BIG RIGHT HAND BY FEDOR! DOWN GOES ROGERS! FEDOR WINS! THE CROWD GOES CRAZY! Fedor defeats Rogers and the Cardio Freak Curse. Who can beat this man? *Cue a bunch of people yelling "BROCK LESNAR!" *

I don't care what anyone says, Rogers proved to be a legit Heavyweight with his performance and deserves respect. He escaped some very bad positions, landed a big flurry on Fedor, and lasted one round longer than anyone expected.



I've got time to kill before heading to the press conference so here are some final thoughts:

*Overall the event turned out to be great. It started off very slow with some rather boring preliminary fights but from the Womens fight to the end of Fedor vs. Rogers, there wasn't too many dull moments.

*I'm assuming Fedor will fight Werdum or Overeem next. Lets hope it's Overeem because Werdum presents no threat to this man.

*Clay Guida is awesome. I know I'm all over him in this column like Don Draper over the first female thing that walks but I can't help it. He's a great man and has further proved that naming this column after him was not a coincidence.

*Even though he won, why do I get the feeling that everyone is going to say, "Fedor couldn't finish Rogers in the first and needed a fluke punch to beat him just like he beat Arlovski"? Please don't say. I'll no longer be your friend.

*Everyone expected Rogers and Sokoudjou to rush their opponents. They didn't. They lost. Just saying.

*I apologize to everyone for not taking pictures to go along with the blog. If you read this whole thing though you can hopefully figure out why I didn't.

That ends the live blog folks. I hope everyone enjoyed it and now you know what's like on media row during a big time MMA event.

---

Due to the long nature of the Strikeforce live blog, I'm cutting the UFC 105 preview a bit short outside of the main event. Don't worry folks. You can still take my predictions as the gospel.



UFC PPV returns to free tv this week as UFC 105 comes to most of us on tape delay this Saturday on SpikeTV. I still like my idea of UFC charging $15 to watch the tape delay PPVs live because I have asshole friends who like to spoil the event for me. That's another topic for another time though.

UFC 105 is headlined by Randy Couture's return to the Light Heavyweight division where he takes on former Heavyweight Brandon Vera.

This fight is do or die for both men. Randy Couture is a legend in this sport but he's a guy that still feels he can be competitive and challenge for the Light Heavyweight title. If he wants to prove that, he has to beat someone like Brandon Vera, who is a good fighter but considered in the bottom half of the top Light Heavyweights. Vera needs to win to finally live up to some of the hype he had when he first entered the Octagon. If he can't beat an older and slower Randy Couture who many thought looked pretty bad in his last fight then everyone might as well abandon the Train Brandon because it's not going very far.

Vera has the advantage on the feet because he has more dimensions to his striking and he'll be quicker than Couture. Of course Vera's kicks may not be much of a factor in this fight because he'll be afraid to Couture timing him and putting him on his back. The problem with Vera's striking isn't that it's not good, it's that he seems afraid to pull the trigger when he should. I don't know why this is the case but usually it happens when a fighter fights not to lose instead of to win. Vera won't get away with that Couture because if he fights not to lose, he will lose. I won't say Couture's chin is shot because Nogueira, a fighter who has never proven to have much power in his hands, dropped him on numerous occasions but it does appear that if Couture gets hit right in the temple, he'll fall in an awkward motion. Knowing this, I expect Vera to look for the head kick in this fight because that's his best chance at catching Couture in the temple.

Randy Couture is going to fight a Randy Couture fight against Vera. He's going to bully him against the cage and dirty box him in the clinch. Vera has a background in Greco roman wrestling so he won't be as lost as most fighters but not many people can out bully Couture in the clinch. Joe Rogan likes to describe clinch fighting as, "a battle of wills." Well Couture has one of the strongest wills in the sport while Vera has been proven to be a mental flake. Couture will test the mental toughness of Vera, it's up to Vera to not break.

On the ground I expect Couture to be on top and if that's the case, he'll do his best to control Vera and pound away. Nogueira was able to sweep over Couture from guard to mount but Couture stayed tight to Nogueira in fear of the submission, which I don't expect him to do in this fight, and of course Vera is no Nogueira. The best position for Vera to be in the fight is probably on top where he can control Couture, land some ground and pound, and not fear a submission since Couture isn't slick off his back.



Dan Hardy takes on Mike Swick in a #1 contenders fight for the Welterweight title or as some may call it, "a fight to determine GSP's next victim."

This is expected to be a stand up battle given their preference to strike but anytime Swick faces another striker, his gameplan usually calls for him to takedown his opponent. If they stand and trade, they both run the risk of getting knocked out because they each have good power in their hands. I'd still give the advantage on the feet to Swick because of his reach and explosiveness but Hardy has a good chin and isn't afraid to eat some to throw some.

I still expect Swick to put Hardy on his back in this fight. Hardy has a good sprawl but Marcus Davis was able to take him down a couple of times and Swick, working at AKA with Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Cain Velasquez, is a much better wrestler than Davis. Hardy is no real threat to submit Swick off his back and given the size advantage, Swick shouldn't have much trouble controlling Hardy on the ground.

Michael Bisping returns from his coma to take on Denis Kang. After watching these two fight plenty of times, I still have no idea how good they are. I think Denis Kang is the better fighter. He's a good striker with power in his hands, he has decent wrestling, and he's good on the ground. Unfortunately he's a mental flake and at any moment he can blow a fight that he's easily winning. Michael Bisping is a decent striker with a lack of power, an improving wrestler, and good submission survival skills. His two career losses are to Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson, no slouches, but his biggest career win is against Chris Leben.

Bisping's gameplan is probably going to be his usual gameplan. He's going to jab and move away. He doesn't have much power (although Kang has a suspect chin) so he strikes to win on points. Overall I think Kang has the better striking just because he actually has power in his hands and he's a good boxer as well.

If either fighter wants to take the other to the ground, they can probably do so. They both have good wrestling but at the same time they can both be taken down. If I'm Kang then I'd let Bisping take me down because Bisping has showed that his submission defense isn't very sharp. He's known for getting caught in submissions that he should be able to avoid but for some reason he just doesn't. To his credit he survives the submissions but realistically they should never come as close as they do. Kang's best position will be on top of Bisping because he has good control from the top and Bisping isn't a threat off his back.



I'm actually looking forward to James Wilks vs. Matt Brown because Wilks was really impressive against DeMarques Johnson at The Ultimate Finale 9 and Matt Brown is usually exciting.

On the feet Matt Brown is labeled as a killer and he certainly looked like one in his last fight against Pete Sell. Wilks looked good on the feet against Johnson although I still give the edge to Brown just because his chin is good and he hits harder.

On the ground is where Wilks will want this fight. Brown has showed an improved takedown defense in his last couple of fights and I don't know how good Wilks' wrestling is. If he can get the fight to the ground though then he shouldn't have much trouble putting away Brown. Wilks is very active on the ground and Brown doesn't have much in terms of submission defense.

The other Season 9 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Ross Pearson fights on this card against Aaron Riley. The only thing I remember about Pearson is that he beat Andre Winner is a fight that was in the clinch for 14 of 15 minutes. Aaron Riley on the other hand has been around the sport for what seems like forever and is a well rounded fighter.

I honestly don't have much to say about this fight. I think Riley will win just because of the experience and I don't think Ross Pearson is all that great but it's not like Riley is an elite fighter or anything. Depending on which Aaron Riley shows up this fight could be over quick or really boring. I like to be pessimistic because then my expectations are easily surpassed so I'll say this fight will be boring.



Official Predictions:

*Brandon Vera to defeat Randy Couture by TKO in Round 2
*Mike Swick to defeat Dan Hardy by Decision
*Denis Kang to defeat Michael Bisping by Decision
*James Wilks to defeat Matt Brown by Submission in Round 1
*Aaron Riley to defeat Ross Pearson by Decision

Major UFC/WEC News



On November 4 Tatame reported that Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is being considered for UFC 108 on January 2nd.

UFC 108 went from having three potential title fights (Carwin/Lesnar, Shogun/Machida, and Silva/Belfort) to now being potentially headlined by Velasquez vs. Nogueira. Sure the buyrate will suffer but all three of those title fights will happen sooner or later and money in April is the same as money in January.

UFC wanted to hold off this fight because they wanted to give Nogueira the first crack at the Carwin vs. Lesnar winner but with that fight being pushed back, they couldn't afford to keep Nogueira sidelined for what could have been over a year. So now UFC gets a legit #1 contender for the Carwin vs. Lesnar winner and I think that's a better scenario for the company rather than giving Nogueira the shot even though he's 1-1 in his last two fights.

This fight is really win-win for the company. Velasquez wins and he gets the biggest win of his career over a MMA legend and solidifies his status as the top contender. It won't hurt Nogueira because he'll always be a legend and there's no shame in losing to a younger, faster, and stronger fighter. Nogueira wins and he gets a win over a guy with a lot of hype behind him who have been impressive in every single one of his UFC bouts and he'll solidify his status as the top contender. It won't hurt Velasquez because he's still young, he'll come back hungier, and there's no shame in losing to a legend like Nogueira.

I favor Velasquez right now just because I've been on the Cain Train from the start and I refuse to get off now. Obviously a Nogueira win should shock no one but I think Velasquez' wrestling and pace will just be too much for Nogueira.



On November 5 Sherdog reported that Mirko "Cro Cop" could return to the Octagon at UFC 110 against Ben Rothwell.

If Mirko "Cro Cop" can't beat Ben Rothwell, he should just retire once and for all and give it no second thought. No offense to Ben Rothwell but there's no way in hell that a prime "Cro Cop" would ever lose to someone like Ben Rothwell with his sloppy striking, mediocre wrestling, and lack of a ground game. Obviously Mirko isn't in his prime but if he wants to be considered a competitive fighter and not just a washed up legend, he has to beat Ben Rothwell. Really the same can be said about Rothwell. Minus the legend part. If he wants to be considered a Heavyweight threat, he has to beat a guy who everyone thinks is a washed up legend.

I favor "Cro Cop" only because I hate writing fighters off against guys they really should beat. Losing to Junior dos Santos is one thing because dos Santos truly is a younger, stronger, and faster fighter than "Cro Cop" and a tough match up given his explosive striking and highly touted ground game. Rothwell might be younger and he's obviously bigger but lets be honest, Ben Rothwell isn't really a great fighter and his slow looping punches play right into Mirko's counter left straight.

Major Strikeforce/Miscellaneous News



On November 7 Strikeforce confirmed their December 12 event titled "Evolution". The show will air on Showtime. The following fights/fighters were announced:

*Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
*Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Matt Lindland
*"King" Mo Lawal vs. TBA
*Robbie Lawler vs. TBA

The return of Cung Le seemed to shock a lot of people, except for Jake Shields who outright said that Cung Le is ducking him. "He vacates the title and then comes back a month later." Shields has a good point and it's made stronger by the fact that Strikeforce booked Cung against Scott Smith over Robbie Lalwer, "Jacare", or Lindland.

Scott Coker has done a great job protecting Cung Le. He's given him mainly striker or mediocre grapplers but Cung is going to beat most fighters standing while is ground game is completely suspect. Shields, Souza, and Lindland would all dominate Cung on the ground while Lawler hits a lot harder than Smith and is more of a threat on the feet. Scott Smith is a relatively safe fight for Cung because he's a rather one dimensional striker and really just a mid-level fighter who brings the excitement. There may not be 100% truth to Cung ducking Shields but Strikeforce and Coker are clearly continuing to protect Cung.

I don't know about any of you but I have no interest in Souza vs. Lindland. It will be interesting to see how Lindland responds after the vicious KO back in January and how Souza fairs against a grinder like Lindland but this fight just has "snooze fest" written all over it. Lindland is a rather boring fighter and Souza's ground game might be neutralized by Lindland's ability to smother him. The outcome will be interesting because it could lead to Miller vs. Souza 3, which I demand to see after all the hype and outcome of their last fight but getting to Miller vs. Souza could be like watching a Browns vs. Bills game.

Obviously I'm excited for the Strikeforce debut of one of my favorite fighters, KING MO! I briefly talked to this past weekend and when I asked if he was going to top the elaborate entrance of Jason Miller he just said, "My shit is gonna be better." So there you go.

No More News

That does it for me folks. I'll be back next week with a review of UFC 105 and a preview of WEC 44 and UFC 106. Take care everyone.

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