My Take On MMA 10.07.08: Final Strikeforce - Payback (10.03.08) Thoughts

Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.07.2008

It’s payback for Duane Ludwig, the Karate Hottie destroys Tyra Parker, and unfortunately for Falaniko Vitale all he ended up with was a lesson in basic Trigganomics…



WELCOME~!:
What's up kiddies? I am back once again and we had a full weekend on MMA with both Strikeforce and EliteXC presenting shows for us. October is a pretty stacked month as we have these two shows, two UFC PPV's late in the month as well as another SHOWXC event on the 10th. It's a blast having all of this MMA on TV and PPV. Today I will be covering the Strikeforce event match by match and discussing the show as a whole. Make sure to come back tomorrow as I will discuss the Elite show from CBS. Thanks for joining me today for the column.



Final Strikeforce - Payback (10.03.08) Thoughts

The Fight: 145lb. Bout - Tyler Toner (2-1) vs. Ricky Johnson (0-1)
The Result: Tyler Toner via RD2 (3:44) TKO
Final Thoughts: The opening bout of the evening was Tyler Toner (2-1) vs. Ricky Johnson (0-1). You know, I just want to throw this out there; guys that do NOT have a single win on their record should NOT have nicknames. Seriously, that's like being the guy that just randomly gives himself a nickname around his friends to try and be cool. Stop it. Round one was a fine little round, not boring but also nothing that you'll remember a few days after the show. Toner controlled the round with better quality strikes, did more damage and kept the pace where he wanted it. Toner had round one, and round two did not go well for young Mr. Johnson either. Toner picked him apart, cut him badly and basically owned him. Toner looked as if he was going to finish with the choke, but ended up with mount and that was all for Johnson. Johnson now falls to 0-2, and he'll need a better counter game as well as much better cardio to be successful. Toner looked good, but I won't say that I was blown away by his performance. I would call this a solid, if unspectacular opening to the show.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.0

---

The Fight: 112lb. Bout - Michelle Watterson (4-3) vs. Tyra Parker (0-1)
The Result: Michelle Watterson via RD1 (1:20) Submission
Final Thoughts: The ladies were on display as we saw Michelle Watterson (4-3) vs. Tyra Parker (0-1). Watterson known as the "KARATE HOTTIE" is a former Hooters girl. She's hot and has found some success in the world of MMA. Tyra Parker lost her debut, which was August 16th but jumped right back into the saddle here. Unfortunately she forgot to make weight. Seriously, what the hell? Once again, you are a fighter. Your job is to train, be prepared, piss clean and MAKE WEIGHT! Anyway, the fight was short and sweet, but a ton of fun. Watterson got rocked early, but came back with a leg kick, took Parker to the cage and then down to the ground. Almost instantly Watterson got the rear naked choke, and the official stopped the bout as Parker was going out and didn't tap. It was a good stoppage because she was about to go out. Michelle Watterson is now 5-3 and shows some real talent, but is still inconsistent. She has the looks to get her noticed and appears to have a solid skill set, and I wouldn't mind seeing her fight again and soon.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

---

The Fight: 205lb. Bout - Andrew Walker (1-3) vs. Carlos Zevallos (0-0)
The Result: Carlos Zevallos via RD1 (4:38) TKO
Final Thoughts: What a barnburner we have here, Andrew Walker (1-3) vs. Carlos Zevallos (0-0). I don't know about you, but when putting on a major live TV event, I wouldn't be stacking the card with 1-3 and 0-0 guys. Of course that's all they cold likely find, but still. Anyway, Walker was struggling at 1-3 heading into the fight, but looked like a badass fighter. So he had the going for him. Carlos Zevallos was making his MMA debut, but he was far from inexperienced as far as the fighting arts. Zevallos won back-to-back New York State Metropolitan Championships in 2005 and 2006 and has been a student of Muay Thai since the age of 16. I have determined that Walker is basically the Strikeforce version of Houston Alexander. He came out like a house of fire, beat the piss out of Zevallos but just couldn't finish him. Zevallos came back with good knees and sloppy rights as Walker was already dead tired. Zevallos got a very slow motion style takedown, got mount but had NO POWER behind the shots he was throwing. Even though there was no power behind his punches, he threw enough of them to get the stoppage. Zevallos gets his first victory, and looked…fine. He has skills, he seems to have the mind for the fight game but obviously needs more conditioning. I would say that he got a bit lucky here, he was nearly beaten early and would have been if he faced a more seasoned fighter. Also, the stoppage you can argue was premature, only God knows what would have happened if it went to round two. This was a solid, but unspectacular debut for Zevallos.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.5

---

The Fight: 155lb. Bout - Luke Caudillo (14-10) vs. Billy Evangelista (7-0)
The Result: Billy Evangelista via Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Final Thoughts: This was a pretty awesome little fight, especially the first round which may now be my favorite round of the year now. Luke Caudillo (14-10) vs. Billy Evangelista (7-0) was the fight, and while Caudillo had the experience edge, most felt as if Evangelista would destroy him. Caudillo would have NONE of this and came out early and almost destroyed Evangelista! It was very close to a stoppage as Caudillo got two clean knockdowns, three possibly and Evangelista looked as if he would be ended. Evangelista would slowly get rid of the cobwebs, start to connect and get things back together and then at the end of the round Evangelista knocked down Caudillo, got the back and landed a ton of shots on Caudillo. The round ended with Evangelista just beating down Caudillo. Round one was a hard round to score. Both men were in a dominant position and both had a chance to end the fight. I gave it to Evangelista for the comeback and strong ending. Evangelista would control round two, pacing and strike wise. Caudillo was much like Vitale would be later in the show, just waiting for Evangelista to do something but taking the damage. Round three saw Evangelista get a takedown and good riding time, and outside of the opening flurry in round one, Caudillo had nothing to offer but some decent survival skills. Evangelista moves to 8-0 and this was a fight he needed, he needed to be tested and needed to see if he could come back. He did so and that's a very good thing for him. I would love to see Evangelista move on and possibly come to the UFC. I haven't seen much of him but he is exciting, has experience in both Strikeforce and WEC (6 of 8 fights) and I think would be a great addition. Plus I really want to see him against better competition. This was a damn fine fight right here.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0

---

The Fight: 170lb. Bout - Pete Spratt (18-14) vs. Donnie Liles (11-5)
The Result: Donnie Liles via RD3 (1:59) Submission
Final Thoughts: Pete Spratt was in action here and in the beginning he came out like a house of fire and was working over Liles. Good strikes, good control but a low blow slowed things down. Spratt was tentative after that, and even though he took the first round, I feel that the accidental low blow he threw in round one was in his head the rest of the time. As round two began it was obvious that Spratt was tired already. He got sloppy as he tried to just load up for the big punch, he was now flatfooted, and Liles took advantage of this. He got the takedown and nearly had it finished at the end of round two, but the bell saved Spratt. It was only a matter of time before Liles won the match, and I knew that if this went to the ground that Pete Spratt was done, they did and he was. This is now the third straight time he lost via rear naked choke. Spratt is nothing but a name people know from the UFC and is a fine guy to have on your card if you want to give a submission guy a victory and gain a bit of interest. I almost feel bad for Spratt, almost.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

---

The Fight: 185lb. Bout - Frank Trigg (17-6) vs. Falaniko Vitale (26-8)
The Result: Frank Trigg via Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Final Thoughts: I think that many people predicted that Trigg would dominate the fight, but I think that he did it in a different way. Trigg kept the action on the feet for the majority of the three rounds. Trigg dominated with the striking game in the opening round. Vitale just sat back and was looking for Trigg to mess up or to do something he liked. He waited and then ate punches for it. Vitale started to figure out some things in the second round, but again Trigg dominated with the strikes and maintained his control. With Vitale tired, Trigg worked takedowns late in the fight to secure what I felt was a sure victory. Two of the judges felt that Vitale took a round, I just don't see that at all. Some felt that Trigg would be out matches here, especially fighting on 40-days notice. Trigg was a true gentleman here, admitting that he still punches like shit and that fighting on short notice and with the newborn at home was the toughest opponent. This was a good fight, I enjoyed it even if it did have some dead time here and there. Plus, anytime I get to use the term TRIGGANOMICS I am a happy man.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

---

The Fight: 165lb. Bout - Duane Ludwig (16-8) vs. Sam Morgan (19-11)
The Result: Duane Ludwig via RD1 (2:17) Tap Due to Strikes
Final Thoughts: So we come to our main event of the evening, Duane Ludwig (16-8) vs. Sam Morgan (19-11). Ludwig was looking for "Payback" so to speak for a loss he suffered a loss to Morgan back in 2005. Morgan came into the fight with three straight losses (Fabricio Camoes, Paul Daley and Cung Le) and was looking to get back on track at the expense of Ludwig once again. Ludwig was 1-2 in his last three, also with a loss to Daley and essentially this was a must win fight for both men. Actually it was a "must get paid" fight for Sam Morgan, who resembled Bo Cantrell in this fight. Ok that was harsh, Morgan began the fight like he wanted to battle, but as soon as Ludwig nailed him with the body shot, "TOO DA LIVER~!" it was all over. Ludwig started to land punches on the ground and Morgan actually tapped due to the strikes, seriously, he just bailed on this bitch. Ludwig looked as if he wanted to be in there and beat a man down, Morgan didn't. Morgan has now lost his last four fights, and since beating Ludwig the first time is only 4-6 in his last 10. Morgan keeps getting work because he had some UFC exposure, but his days a credible contender are gone without a doubt. The main event I actually liked, it was quick, one man humbled another and it played will off of the PAYBACK theme. Nothing great, but this was a solid main event (even if it was the definition of NO BUYS).
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5

---

The Overall:
Best Fight(s): 155lb. Bout - Luke Caudillo (14-10) vs. Billy Evangelista (7-0) 8.0
Worst Fight: 205lb. Bout - Andrew Walker (1-3) vs. Carlos Zevallos (0-0) 5.5
Final Thoughts: In the end this event was ok. A few good fights, some bland stuff but overall it wasn't a waste of time. There were a couple fights that if they ended a bit earlier could have really helped the card out, unfortunately for Strikeforce some of these guys had good chins. A complaint I have about the show is production. I hated the majority of the camera work, too many wide shots and when they went wide some of these shots were just bad. There was one point when to fighters went to the corner, I think the Trigg fight, and they switched to the camera in the corner and we got like, 15-second's of Vitale's back. Seriously. I think that Strikeforce delivered a solid show that they can be pleased with, but again it was not a show that I will go back and watch.

Show Score: 6.75