411's Strikeforce on NBC Report 05.03.08

Posted by Randy Harrison on 05.19.2008

Better late than never, Strikeforce on NBC returns to the 411mania.com pages, and it's time to take a look at "The Punk"...



411's Strikeforce on NBC Report

A bit of a delay since my NBC affiliate doesn't actually carry the shows on the Saturday morning timeslot, so I have to kind of improvise whenever the HD channel gets around to showing them. I'm all caught up now though, so let's get to the first of three straight Strikeforce on NBC episodes. The intro talks about Josh Thomson, hyping that we're going to get to see him fight tonight! SWANK-ASS NBC INTRO!!


Segment One

We move right into a video package for Josh "The Punk" Thomson and he says that he's loved fighting since he was a kid and that he feels like it's what he was meant to do. His training partners talk about how he brings attitude to everything he does. His trainer says that Josh has a heart of gold, but underneath it all he's still a punk. Josh says that fighting was something he did beforehand and now that it's a sport, he can channel his energy into it to do something positive. He feels like he's a mixed-martial-artist and takes pride in that fact, rather than being just a boxer, or just a wrestler. There's talk about how in shape Thomson is and how he's always willing to push the pace. Thomson says that he NEVER wants to feel like he's come into a fight unprepared and that he gets scared when he considers that there could be a chance that he is, which is why he pushes so hard in training.


Match One: Lightweights
Nam Phan (12-2) vs. Josh Thomson (10-2-1)

Lon McEachern and Ken Shamrock are on the call as always and they touch gloves to start the fight before Thomson grabs a Thai clinch and works a couple knees to the body. Short punches from Phan and they clinch up against the fence with Phan trying for a trip takedown. They hold each other against the cage and Thomson does a little kicking to Phan's legs before they trade knees to the body. Thomson tries for a throw but Phan keeps his balance well and they just keep trading knees before they push away. Some striking and things get right back to the clinch against the cage with Phan dragging Thomson down to the mat. Thomson in the full closed guard and Phan does a little striking on top with short punches. Thomson scrambles to his feet and throws a Superman punch with three HARD knees to the body that follow that up. He grinds Phan against the fence with a big right hand to the body and throws Phan down to the mat. Phan closes his guard and takes some shots to the body and head, with Thomson actually being able to posture up and land good shots. A couple of DIGGING body punches land from the top for Thomson and he lands a good right cross to the face as well. Phan tries to scramble up for a takedown but Thomson does well to spin out of it and roll back to his feet. Thomson with a single-leg attempt but he can't get Phan down to the mat and they end the first round clinched against the cage.

Round Analysis: Good first round with Thomson coming out just a little bit ahead because he landed those nasty knees to the body, as well as the takedown that he scored. He did more with his takedown and top position so he wins the round 10-9 on my scorecard, but still a fairly even round.


Segment Two


Round Two

We're back from the commercial and right into round two, with another glove touch, and a SOLID combination from Phan with a leg kick followed by a couple of punches. Thomson takes them well and responds with a combination of his own that puts Phan down onto his ass. Thomson grabs Phan's head and falls back into a guillotine attempt but there's nothing there and Phan tries one of his own. Thomson pulls his head out and postures up for some punches to the head and body before Phan can close off the guard and avoid some shots. Thomson stands out of Phan's guard and they end up scrambling back to their feet before Thomson slips throwing a knee. Phan tries to capitalize but Thomson gets right back to his feet, though Phan has his back. Phan drags him down but can't do anything on the mat and Thomson just stands up and pushes Phan away. Thomson throws a combination and Phan responds with one of his own before they clinch up against the fence. Inside knees to the body from Thomson and he pushes away, finding his range with right hands, landing plenty of them and stunning Phan a little against the fence. Another Superman punch attempt from Thomson misses and Phan is looking a little tired now. They separate to the center and trade punches before Thomson attempts a takedown, with Phan avoiding it and blocking a high kick. Thomson just misses a big overhand right and they go back to clinching against the fence before they separate with Phan landing a good right hook out of a combination. Thomson with a Thai clinch and knees to the body before they're right back to the clinch again. Thomson chases after Phan and throws some punches that land before they push apart and the round ends.

Round Analysis: Thomson wins this round based on the knockdown but again, a REALLY close round that could have gone either way if there wasn't a knockdown. Thomson is winning this fight and wearing Phan out, but full credit to Phan for hanging with Thomson and going punch for punch and clinch for clinch so far.


Segment Three


Round Three

Third and final round coming up and both guys look like they're starting to lose some gas. We come back with the round alraedy a minute old, to them trading punches in the middle of the cage and they both land well with Thomson landing to the head and Phan punishing the body. They continue to trade combinations lke that before clinching against the fence with Phan trying for a takedown. Phan is doing well with his striking and Thomson throws a couple of front kicks to keep Phan at a distance. They go back to a standing clinch against the fence before separating and trading leg kicks. Combinations from both men and a HARD body kick from Thomson lands along with some inside knees to the body. Phan tries a takedown attempt but gets stuffed and Thomson fires a BEAUTIFUL spinning back kick to the body that nearly knocks Phan down. Thomson rushes him and misses a flying knee before dropping down into a guillotine attempt. Thomson is in the full mount but there's no pressure on the guillotine and he's just holding onto Phan's head essentially. He lets the choke go and postures up for a FLURRY of rights and lefts, landing a ton of shots with Phan's head pressed against the fence. Phan scrambles out but ends up getting abused with another few combinations to the head and body as Thomson lands a big right hand at the horn.


Segment Four


We come back from commerical to hear the judge's decision and they show the replay of the CRAZY spinning back kick to the body from Thomson, with Shamrock saying that he feels like the tide of the fight turned towards Thomson and that he won the fight with that and his flurry at the end.

Winner: Josh Thomson, Unanimous Decision

Fight Analysis: Thomson squeaked out the first two rounds, but just wore Phan out and decisively won the third. That kick to the body took any starch that Phan had left and Thomson used his cardio to just outwork Phan until he could land something to take control. Great fight from Thomson, though I'm sure he wishes that he could have finished it a little earlier.



The Final Strike

I'm glad to see that Josh Thomson got a little love, since he's a great lightweight prospect and would be the best 155-pound fighter that Strikeforce has if it wasn't for Gilbert Melendez being with the promotion as well. You can see that they're trying to establish with the fans who the stars are with these early shows, and that once the shows move forward a little more, they will probably start using them to try to hype up upcoming PPV or arena shows. I'm not a very big fan of the one fight show though because the whole thing felt really spaced out and that there was way too many commercials. I'm also a little frustrated that with only one fifteen-minute fight they still had to cut almost a minute off the third round. A solid show, but not quite on the level of their previous efforts.