The Juggernaut MMA News Report 12.15.11: Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal Preview
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 12.15.2011
Will Gilbert Melendez prove he is one of the best fighters in the world or can Jorge Masvidal score the upset? Plus, Cyborg returns to action and more as 411's Jonathan Solomon previews the weekend's Strikeforce card!
Finally, we are mere hours away from the final Strikeforce card of the future and all the mysteries about the promotion's upcoming 2012 can be put aside for one night. Welcome to the Juggernaut MMA News Report and if you couldn't tell, I'm excited with this weekend's card. Say what you want about Strikeforce's past plans or future, they generally put on fun shows. On Saturday, we will see a pair of championship fights featuring lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez and women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Santos. Plus, Gegard Mousasi is back in America for his first fight since the disappointing draw months back against Keith Jardine. In the opener, lightweights whose 2011 did not go as planned so far will square off when K.J. Noons steps in the cage opposite Billy Evangelista.
Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal Preview
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship Champion Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal
Gilbert Melendez returns to the cage for the first time since his April defense against Tatsuya Kawajiri. He will look for his sixth consecutive win and history says that whether it's a short brawl or a five round decision, Melendez is the favorite. Is that true?
Jorge Masvidal (22-6) is the slightly bigger fighter with a two-inch reach advantage. While he's best known for being the victim to Toby Imada's inverted triangle submission in the early days of Bellator, he has achieved a lot in his long career. He has knocked out Joe Lauzon, Yves Edwards and Satoru Kitaoka. Since 2009, his only losses came against Imada, Luis Palomino and Paul Daley.
Since returning to Strikeforce in the spring, Masvidal has emerged as a top contender with wins against then-undefeated Billy Evangelista and K.J. Noons. As a matter of fact, he picked Noons apart standing through 15 minutes to the point that when it was over, Noons' face was a bloody mess. You cannot underestimate Masvidal's precision boxing because that's just asking for trouble.
The problem for the challenger comes in the fact that Melendez is a great wrestler in MMA and is as well rounded a lightweight as there is. Against Crusher Kawajiri, he battered him and won in just over 3 minutes with some of the sickest elbows you will see. A year before, he went five rounds with Shinya Aoki using his wrestling and striking to keep Aoki powerless en route to a win. Since his last loss in 2008, no one has been able to take advantage of any weaknesses on the feet or the ground and that should continue this weekend. For Masvidal to have success past a one-punch knockout, he needs to be able to score with takedowns. I cannot see him being so successful in that area here against Melendez who hasn't been put on his back in a long time.
The odds of Masvidal lasting five rounds without tiring against Melendez or submitting him are slim. If Gambred is going to score the upset, he will need to finish Melendez, most likely in a brawl. I wouldn't say Melendez can be careless if engaged in a war like that, but when the fists are flying, all it takes is one punch to land effectively.
The stories in the atmosphere around this fight is the potential move for Gilbert Melendez to the UFC pending a win. However, in recent days, UFC President Dana White has said he will not jump over. According to White, the days of Strikeforce fighters moving to the UFC are over. Whether you believe him or not, heading into the fight, it was assumed Melendez was fighting for the opportunity to challenge either UFC champion Frankie Edgar or his challenge Ben Henderson next year. Is it possible Melendez has let such talk interfere with preparations for Masvidal? Should the upset take place, you can bet that will be a talking point in the days following.
Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Championship Champion Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka
She's BACK! Cris Cyborg is back for the first time since the summer of 2010, having had contract negotiations with Strikeforce (and reportedly WWE, too) that took way too long. In any event, the best female fighter in the sport is looking for her 11th straight victory (following her debut loss in May 2005 where she was caught with a quick knee bar). As a matter of fact, she has ended each of her four Strikeforce fights by TKO or knockout including wins over Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen. However, Hitomi Akano, Coenen and Jan Finney (her most recent opponent) are all legitimate bantamweights.
Hiroko Yamanaka is a 145-pound mainstay, considered the second best in the division and she is actually taller by about 3 inches than Cyborg. She holds a 12-1 record including a win avenging a 2008 loss to Akano. With 8 consecutive wins, she has some momentum but will it help her withstand the barrage of strikes coming her way on Saturday night? Of course not.
The best bet for Yamanaka to pull off the victory is a submission hold (she has won two of her last three fights by submission). I said earlier the odds of Jorge Masvidal lasting five rounds without tiring are slim. Well, the odds of Yamanaka taking this fight to the fifth round are worse than the odds of Frank Shamrock returning to the UFC and defeating Anderson Silva.
A simple fact is unless someone comes along with a granite chin in this division and has knockout power or a combination of power and grappling ability, no one can stop Cyborg. She is too strong, too aggressive and has even been developing her own Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game.
Cyborg will bring the pain as you expect her to. Hiroko Yamanaka, despite her success, is just another name for Cyborg to fight in America. The bigger question will be after this fight, who is next in line for the champion.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux
It's been 8 months since the terrible fight between Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine ended in a draw after Mousasi lost a point for an illegal up kick. Jardine was battered but was able to score with takedown after takedown. That is the key to this fight. The takedown.
In Mousasi's American career, he is 0-1-1 in his last two fights. In 2010, he lost the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship to King Mo Lawal because he was taken down every 20 seconds (or so it seemed). Since last year, he is 3-0 in Japan with submission wins over Tatsuya Mizuno and Jake O'Brien and a TKO win over Hiroshi Izumi to become Dream champion.
Ovince St. Preux continues his Strikeforce run here, having won five fights in the promotion. Overall, he's 11-4 but has not lost since 2009. His game in Strikeforce has been built around using his striking to set up takedowns. He has been able to ride out those wins against the likes of Antwain Britt, Benji Radach and Abongo Humphrey. His problem is that for the first time, he's fighting a dangerous striker.
On paper, Mousasi should be able to pick OSP apart standing, even if he's giving up a three inch reach advantage. However, this is a sizable test for Mousasi because if he has not learned solid takedown defense, his days as among the top light heavyweight have to be considered over. You cannot be com placement to go to your back, expecting to be able to work your submission game when it just does not work.
It's funny though because Mousasi is 31-3-2 and has a series of big wins in his career over Jacare Souza, Hector Lombard, Babalu Sobral and Denis Kang. However, over the last two years, he has left a lot to be desired no matter his success in Dream. Either this weekend will be his beginning of a new run in Strikeforce or perhaps his last fight with the promotion.
For OSP, he is finally fighting a legit top 15 light heavyweight and we will find out whether his prospect status can grow into something bigger, or whether his success on smaller shows was just that, small in the big picture.
K.J. Noons vs. Billy Evangelista
Both K.J. Noons and Billy Evangelista have hit the roadblock otherwise known as Jorge Masvidal. Noons' 5-fight winning streak at lightweight ended in June when Masvidal picked him apart with strikes and some takedowns. Evangelista's undefeated record ended with a decision loss to him in March.
Noons has the striking advantages in this match-up with a better reach and his ability to use agility to open up awkward angles. Evangelista is not a total stationery striker but he is not as explosive in that area. Plus, Noons' takedown defense is underrated and as long as he's able to stay off his back, this is his fight to lose.
Noons lost to Masvidal because his movement was cut off with leg kicks and counters and he was taken down (plus, he was knocked down early) throughout the fight. It was the worst performance from the former professional boxer since his Showtime debut on the first EliteXC show in 2007 when he was knocked out by Krazy Horse Bennett.
Evangelista's best bet would be to use his striking to set-up takedowns and do his best to keep the fight on the ground. If he cannot accomplish that, it may be a short night for him as he'll be at risk of getting knocked out for the first time in his career.
JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS
- Georges St. Pierre said his knee surgery was a success this week and now he begins his rehab. He expects to be able to begin training and eventually fight between 6 and 9 months. In the meantime, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit will fight on February 4 at UFC 143 for the interim-welterweight championship.
- Fabricio Werdum will fight Roy Nelson at UFC 143 in February. This will mark Werdum's first fight back in the company in over three years since he was knocked out by Junior dos Santos at UFC 90.
- The UFC on Fox 1 fight's result between Robert Peralta and Mackens Semerzier has been changed by the California State Athletic Commission to a no contest. Peralta hit Semerzier with an accidental head butt which led to the end of the fight (Peralta won by TKO due to strikes). Referee John McCarthy did not see the foul during the fight.
- The first season of Brazil's version of The Ultimate Fighter will feature Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort as coaches and the two are expected to fight following the conclusion. Belfort is scheduled to fight Anthony Johnson next month. At the moment, there is no sense the season will air on television in the United States.
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will not undergo surgery to repair his broken arm, suffered at the hands of Frank Mir in their UFC 140 fight last weekend. Instead, Big Nog will wear a brace and undergo extensive ultrasound therapy. He is not expected back in action until the fall of 2012.
- The UFC announced the beginning of their flyweight division after months of talking about the eventual day. They will determine the inaugural champion through a four-man tournament which begins on March 4 on UFC on FX 2 in Sydney, Australia. Joseph Benavidez will fight Shooto champion Yasuhiro Urushitani while Demetrius Johnson will fight Tachi Palace Fights champion Ian McCall. The winners will meet at a later date.
- Alistair Overeem received a conditional license to fight at UFC 141 against Brock Lesnar. The Nevada State Athletic Commission contacted representatives for both fighters on November 17 to issue a random drug test. Lesnar was in a rural area of Minnesota at the time and on November 21 was able to undergo the proper urine testing. His sample came back clean. Alistair Overeem flew back to Holland on November 17 (whether he knew of the request through his management is not known, he denied he did) to see his ill mother. On November 23, Overeem went to his personal physician and underwent blood testing (not the required urine test). After sending in the results about a week later, the NSAC requested an additional test. Overeem returned to his personal physician on December 7 to undergo the proper testing and the results will not be known until this week.
The NSAC gave him the conditional license requiring him to do the following: 1) Take a urine test from a NSAC authorized facility this week {Overeem flew to the United Kingdom for this}, 2) Take a urine test when he arrives in the United States and 3) Take two random drug tests less than six months after UFC 141.
The concern is that Overeem may have purposefully avoided taking the proper tests on time so any potential pollutants would exit his system. Overeem denied all this at a Monday hearing via telephone.
- Fedor Emelianenko and Satoshi Ishii will in fact fight on December 31 in Japan. This comes a week or two after rumors spread of Ishii being frustrated with M-1 Global (Fedor's management) and turning down the fight.
Ishii won gold in Judo at the 2008 Olympic Games in China representing Japan and jumped into MMA by the following year. There were negotiations between he and the UFC but he was offered more money to return to Japan (he had been training in the United States) as a big attraction. Unfortunately, he did not live up to the unfair hype as he lost his debut to Hidehiko Yoshida at K-1 Dynamite!! on New Year's Eve in 2009. Since then, he reeled off four straight wins against low level competition. He fought for the first time at light heavyweight in September, going to a controversial three round draw with Paulo Filho in Brazil. He will fight Fedor with a 4-1-1 professional record and less than two weeks after turning 25-years old.
JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Frankie Edgar became the undisputed number one lightweight two months ago and now we get to see the best non-UFC lightweight in action this weekend. Here's a highlight reel for Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.
"The concern is that Overeem may have purposefully avoided taking the proper tests on time so any potential pollutants would exit his system. Overeem denied all this at a Monday hearing via telephone. "
Hehe, of course he would. Would anybody expect him to go and say "sorry guys, I'm gonna take the test in at least a week - or make it two - because the back of the packaging on my special medicine says it will be undetectable after about 10 days".
Posted By: Guest#6407 (Guest) on December 15, 2011 at 05:32 AM
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