Tag: Luke Rockhold

‘Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine’ — Live Results + Commentary


(Worst. Charity bachelor auction. Ever. / Photo via Strikeforce)

Okay, let’s go through this one more time: Luke Rockhold is Strikeforce’s middleweight champion. Keith Jardine is the former UFC light-heavyweight contender who Rousey’d his way into a title shot at 185. They’ll be fighting in the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce card on Showtime. Also, King Mo returns against Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin, Robbie Lawler faces off against Russkie McFancykicks, and Jordan Mein will try to snap Tyron Woodley’s undefeated record with those bionic elbows of his.

I fully expect tonight’s liveblog turnout to be more of an “intimate” affair, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do our best to give you a good show. Round-by-round results from the “Rockhold vs. Jardine” main card broadcast will be piling up after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET, courtesy of CagePotato liveblog up-and-comer Steve Silverman. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for coming, guys.


(Worst. Charity bachelor auction. Ever. / Photo via Strikeforce)

Okay, let’s go through this one more time: Luke Rockhold is Strikeforce’s middleweight champion. Keith Jardine is the former UFC light-heavyweight contender who Rousey’d his way into a title shot at 185. They’ll be fighting in the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce card on Showtime. Also, King Mo returns against Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin, Robbie Lawler faces off against Russkie McFancykicks, and Jordan Mein will try to snap Tyron Woodley’s undefeated record with those bionic elbows of his.

I fully expect tonight’s liveblog turnout to be more of an “intimate” affair, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do our best to give you a good show. Round-by-round results from the “Rockhold vs. Jardine” main card broadcast will be piling up after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET, courtesy of CagePotato liveblog up-and-comer Steve Silverman. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for coming, guys.

Our main event tonight is Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine for the middleweight championship. We’ll start our coverage with Tyler Stinson vs. Tarec Saffiedine coming up right around the top of the hour.

Stinson has a 23-7 record while Saffiedine is 11-3 as these two welterweights hope to move up the ladder tonight. Let’s hope these guys go after it and don’t dance for three rounds. Good action and aggressiveness is a must. Round 1 upcoming.

Is there anyone who’s more of a jive-ass than Showtime announcer Mauro Ranallo? What a mope….

Stinson vs. Saffiedine

Round 1: Stinson with the hippy samurai hair do…Looks like he’d rather be in the club. Saffiedine is much more conventional looking and is a solid wrestler. ….  Stinson with a straight left early. Stinson more aggressive early, Saffiedine wants to counter…Saffiedine pretty quick with his kicks. Good combination by Saffiedine. Good right roundhouse by Saffiedine followed by a straight right kick. Stinson connects with an elbow and almost puts Saffiedine down. Saffiedine cut around the right eye and it looks serious. Good left by Stinson and he’s looking for the nockout. Stinson is n charge. He’s getting hit hard. Stinson takes charge with a big finish.

Round 2: Stinson looking for power shots at the start of the round. He sees the blood and he wants to finish the round. Saffiedine is very defensive and looks to protect himself. Right kick by Stinson. Good 1-2 by Saffiedine and he registers a takedown with a solid shoulder drive to the midsection. Saffiedine trying to ground and pound and he is delivering shots — mostly to the ribs. Saffiedine is not doing a lot of damage but he has changed the momentum right now. Saffiedine trying to dig elbows to Stinson’s face and Stinson is bleeding. Big round for Saffiedine.

Round 3: Stinson hit below the belt to start off the round and is given time to recover. It was a right foot to the nuts. …

Saffiedine with another takedown. Very aggressive and wants to take control. More rib shots by Saffiedine. Maintains control and he is putting the pressure on Stinson. Elbows from Saffiedine are causing problems. Stinson can’t get up at this point. Stinson just ducks a big shot to the head. Blood all over Stinson’s body, some of it is from Saffiedine’s head cuts. Fighters standup in the final minute and it’s a bloodbath. Knee by Saffiedine hurts Stinson. Stinson coming on with combinations. Saffiedine out of gas at the horn. It looks like Saffiediene will hold on.

The decision goes to: Saffiedine…it’s a 2-1 split decision….

Next bout Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein…another 3-rounder….

Woodley brings a 9-0 overall record into this bout, while Mein is 23-7.

Round 1: Woodley opens with a left roundhouse kick. Mein trying to measure Woodley against the cage. Woodley grabs hold and trying to get the takedown. Mein is avoiding the takedwon by using his length to gain leverage. Referee breaks them up and back to striking. Mein with and uppercut and Woodley takes him down. Woodley delivering punches. Mein tries to scramble away but Woodley is too quick and balanced to let him get away. Woodley looks comfortable on top but he has to start striking. Big elbow by Woodley but no follow up. Mein gets up. Knee from Woodley in final seconds. Not a lot of action, but it is Woodley’s round.

Round 2: Woodley is stronger and more powerful and he is looking confident at the start of the round. He gets in a solid right hand punch. Woodley takes down Mein once again.  Solid right elbow by Woodley. Mein looks frustrated because he really can’t attack. Mein tries to throw elbows and they are landing to top of Woodley’s head.  Mein trying to throw elbows and he is starting to be more effective. Woodley in control but he is not doing much damage. Woodley tapping Mein’s ribs. Mein tries guillotine but Woodley gets out of it. Even round even though Woodley was on top.

Round 3: Woodley ducks under a knee and registers another takedown. Mein uses the cage and pushes the match into the center of the cage. Left hook from the bottom by Mein and more left hand punches and elbows. Woodly finally throws a right hand and then a right elbow. Mein is resting even though his corner is imploring him to stay busy with two minutes to go. The fans want actin and they are booing. While Woodley is not throwing a lot, he doe maintain control. Ref stand them up and they start grappling. Woodley has his arms locked around the midsection. Not enough action. Woodley is the stronger man. He is in control as the fight ends. Poor fight but you have to give it to Woodley.

Decision: Woodley wins split decision. It should have been unanimous.

Next fight: King Mo Lawal (8-1) vs. Lorenz Larkin (12-0)

Larkin is a big striker but he will have his hands filled with the superior wrestling of King Mo…

Round 1: King Mo grabs Larkin’s leg and throws him down. King Mo trying to ground and pound. Very powerful and balanced. Larkin tries to scramble out but King Mo maintains control. Big right hands and elbows by King Mo. Larkin trying to sit out and he does deliver a right elbow. King Mo with some lefts in addition to the rights. Square shot to Larkin’s nose. Rib shots delivered by King Mo. He is punishing Larkin. Referee stands them up for no reason since King Mo was in control. Larking misses with wild left. Neither fighter does much in last 30 seconds. Give the round to King Mo.

Round 2: King Mo starts with an overhand right and grabs right leg. He takes Larkin down. King Mo delivering rights to body and head. He has power and is punishing Larkin. Larkin in huge trouble. He finishes King Mo with a sensational series of rights and Larkin is left defenseless.

King Mo wins big.

His hard right-hand punches were making a loud thump everytime he made contact with Larkin’s head. It could have been stopped 10 seconds earlier. Larkin could have been hurt badly.

TKO winner: King Mo Lawal

Next bout: Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov

Lawler is 18-8 while Amagov brings a 9-1-1 record into this fight.

Lawler is a big-time striker and he wants to reverse trend that has seen him lose 3 of 4. Amagov is a rough customer, a strong wrestler and a big hitter.

Round 1: Lawler charge but Amagov goes for the takedown. Amagov going for the guillotine and then delivers an illegal knee since Lawler was grounded. Lawler is getting a chance to recover. Amagov will lose a point for that illegal blow. Lawler finds his opening, delivers a knee and unloads on Amagov and stops him. The fight is over.

Lawler wins big!!!

Lawler needed just one flying knee to stun his opponent and then deliver hard punches. Great killer instinct. Referee had no choice but to stop fight because Amagov went limp.

The fight is stopped at 1:48 of the first round and goes into the books as a TKO for Lawler.

The feature bout between middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and challenger Keith Jardine is next. This is a 5-round bout. Jardine wants to turn this into a brawl, while Rockhold wants to use all his skills to defend his title.

Rockhold is 28 and brings an 8-1 record into the fight, while the veteran Jardine is 37 and has a 17-9-2 record.

Jardine does not respect Rockhold, calling him a “pretty fighter.” Rockhold has a lot of skills and seems quite confident.

Round 1: Rockhold with a solid left r0undhous kick to start. Jardine cut 19 pounds prior to the start of the fight to make weight. They are wrestling at the side of the cage and Rockhold delivering a few kicks. Right elbow from Rockhold. Jardine hit with a spinning back kick. Rockhold with a combination, Jardine with a left hand. Jardine looks slow and ponderous with roundhouse punches. Right hand by Rockhold drops Jardine, but he gets up right away. Another right by Rochkhold and Jardine goes down. He then launches a series of punches and Jardine can’t defend himself. Rockhold wins big.

Jardine could not compete. He was not quick enough with his hands and he could not defend himself. Rockhold showed he can be a devastating finisher.

Jardine looked tired and slow throughout. He was out of his element tonight.

The official time is 4:21 and Rockhold retains his middleweight title.

Rockhold was very confident going in and he used his speed and skills to get an edge. He overpowered his opponent tonight and he appears to be getting better every time he fights.

That will do it. See you next time.

 

 


Luke Rockhold Knocks Out Keith Jardine, Keeps Strikeforce Middleweight Belt

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsLuke Rockhold knocked out Keith Jardine in a brutal beating in the main event of Saturday night’s Strikeforce show, retaining the Strikeforce middleweight title.

Although Jardine was a game opponent, the heavily favored R…

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Luke Rockhold dominates Keith Jardine in the main event of Rockhold vs. Jardine.Luke Rockhold knocked out Keith Jardine in a brutal beating in the main event of Saturday night’s Strikeforce show, retaining the Strikeforce middleweight title.

Although Jardine was a game opponent, the heavily favored Rockhold had little trouble, winning the fight just 4 minutes, 26 seconds into the first round.

The victory improves Rockhold’s professional MMA record to 9-1.

“It means a lot,” Rockhold said afterward. “Fighting a guy like Keith Jardine, he’s a proven opponent, he’s tough and he came to fight.”

Rockhold looked good in the early going, landing a hard right hand to Jardine’s head and then a switch kick to Jardine’s body. The round turned into a bit of a brawl from there, with both men swinging wildly and not always landing. But as the round wore on, Rockhold was landing the harder punches, staggering Jardine.

And then came the ending: Rockhold knocked Jardine down with a right hand to the chin, battered him on the ground and appeared to have him finished before Jardine got back to his feet for an instant — just long enough for Rockhold to knock him down again and land even more punches on the ground, with referee Herb Dean seeming a bit late stepping in to stop the fight. There was no question that Jardine was out.

The loss was disappointing but not surprising for Jardine, a UFC veteran who is a few years past his prime. For Rockhold, the win was impressive, but it raises questions about what’s left for him in the Strikeforce middleweight division. Rockhold said afterward that he wants Zuffa to bring over a UFC fighter for him to fight. That’s a good idea — and it needs to be someone better than Jardine.

 

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Strikeforce Live Blog: Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine Updates

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This is the Strikeforce live blog for Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine, the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Rockhold (8-1) is putting his Strikeforce middleweight belt on the line for the first time after beating Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza last September by way of unanimous decision. Jardine (17-9-2) made his Strikeforce debut last April, battling Gegard Mousasi to a majority draw. Jardine will be making his middleweight debut.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: Jardine is very active, alternating between inside and outside leg kicks. Rockhold comes over the top with an overhand right. Jardine clinches with Rockhold and looks for a single-leg takedown. Rockhold turns Jardine around and scores with knees. Rockhold breaks out of clinch with an elbow. Rockhold lands a nice spinning back kick to the body. Rockhold lands a right hook. Rockhold hits the mark with a left hand. Rockhold connects with a kick to the body. Jardine’s most effective strikes have been leg kicks. Rockhold drops Jardine to his knees with a right hand but Jardine quickly recovers. Rockhold hurts Jardine with a right that backs Jardine. Rockhold throws a flurry of punches and Jardine is trying to recover. Rockhold drops Jardine with right hook. More punches and finally referee Herb Dean stops the fight when Jardine goes limp.

The finish was quite the beating. Rockhold retains his Strikeforce middleweight strap.

Luke Rockhold wins via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:26

In his post-fight interview, Rockhold brushed aside a question about contender Tim Kennedy to instead call for UFC fighters to come over to Strikeforce because he wants to fight the best. Time and time again, you really get a sense that the top Strikeforce guys would rather be in the UFC.

 

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Filed under:

This is the Strikeforce live blog for Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine, the main event of tonight’s Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Rockhold (8-1) is putting his Strikeforce middleweight belt on the line for the first time after beating Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza last September by way of unanimous decision. Jardine (17-9-2) made his Strikeforce debut last April, battling Gegard Mousasi to a majority draw. Jardine will be making his middleweight debut.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: Jardine is very active, alternating between inside and outside leg kicks. Rockhold comes over the top with an overhand right. Jardine clinches with Rockhold and looks for a single-leg takedown. Rockhold turns Jardine around and scores with knees. Rockhold breaks out of clinch with an elbow. Rockhold lands a nice spinning back kick to the body. Rockhold lands a right hook. Rockhold hits the mark with a left hand. Rockhold connects with a kick to the body. Jardine’s most effective strikes have been leg kicks. Rockhold drops Jardine to his knees with a right hand but Jardine quickly recovers. Rockhold hurts Jardine with a right that backs Jardine. Rockhold throws a flurry of punches and Jardine is trying to recover. Rockhold drops Jardine with right hook. More punches and finally referee Herb Dean stops the fight when Jardine goes limp.

The finish was quite the beating. Rockhold retains his Strikeforce middleweight strap.

Luke Rockhold wins via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:26

In his post-fight interview, Rockhold brushed aside a question about contender Tim Kennedy to instead call for UFC fighters to come over to Strikeforce because he wants to fight the best. Time and time again, you really get a sense that the top Strikeforce guys would rather be in the UFC.

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“Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine” Weigh-In Results & Video

I’m sorry, is that Mauro Renallo or J.T.??? (Video: Youtube/AllElbows)

If you’ve been sleeping on tonight’s Strikeforce event, we’re not going to throw stones. When even the defending Middleweight Champion has trouble getting excited for his bout, how can you be expected to? And though the MMA world may be talking ‘Strikeforce’ this morning, it has very little to do with what’s going down at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this evening.

But the truth is that Showtime subscribers (and you filthy, rotten streamers) can rightfully expect a night of action packed fights. This card has a great mix of seasoned veterans and wildly unorthodox strikers, and last night they all hit the scales. We won’t dangle any false promises of funny weigh-in costumes or pushing-and-shoving; there was little in the form of excitement at these proceedings. On the bright side, everyone (eventually) hit their mark.

Weigh-In results after the jump. Make sure you come back tonight—we’ll be liveblogging this card like nobody’s business.

I’m sorry, is that Mauro Renallo or J.T.???  (Video: Youtube/AllElbows)

If you’ve been sleeping on tonight’s Strikeforce event, we’re not going to throw stones. When even the defending Middleweight Champion has trouble getting excited for his bout, how can you be expected to? And though the MMA world may be talking ‘Strikeforce’ this morning, it has very little to do with what’s going down at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this evening.

But the truth is that Showtime subscribers (and you filthy, rotten streamers) can rightfully expect a night of action packed fights. This card has a great mix of seasoned veterans and wildly unorthodox strikers, and last night they all hit the scales. We won’t dangle any false promises of funny weigh-in costumes or pushing-and-shoving; there was little in the form of excitement at these proceedings. On the bright side, everyone (eventually) hit their mark.

Weigh-In results after the jump. Make sure you come back tonight—we’ll be liveblogging this card like nobody’s business.

Full Results (via Strikeforce.com):

Strikeforce middleweight championship
Luke Rockhold (185) vs. Keith Jardine (185)

Main Card
Robbie Lawler (186) vs. Adlan Amagov (186)
Mo Lawal (205) vs. Lorenz Larkin (206)
Tyron Woodley (171) vs. Jordan Mein (169)
Tyler Stinson (170) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (170)

Prelims
Nah-Shon Burrell (171*) vs. James Terry (171)
Gian Villante (206) vs. Trevor Smith (205)
Ricky Legere (171) vs. Chris Spang (171)
Estevan Payan (160) vs. Alonzo Martinez (160.5)

*Burrell initially weighed in at 172 lbs, but was given an hour to lose the extra pound.

Cutting 32 Pounds Off Keith Jardine Was an ‘Easy Process,’ Says Mike Dolce

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsWhen former UFC light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine first started telling people that he wanted to drop to middleweight, the response was, shall we say, not terribly enthusiastic. He got polite nods from reporters an…

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Keith JardineWhen former UFC light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine first started telling people that he wanted to drop to middleweight, the response was, shall we say, not terribly enthusiastic. He got polite nods from reporters and raised eyebrows from fans and fellow fighters. One prominent trainer who had worked with him in the past even asked me privately, “How? Is he going to cut off a leg?”

And yet, at Friday’s Strikeforce weigh-ins he stepped on the scale weighing 185 pounds on the dot for his title fight against Luke Rockhold on Saturday night. Like many fighters these days, he has nutritionist Mike Dolce to thank for it.

Dolce first met Jardine in 2009 when he was helping Quinton “Rampage” Jackson prepare to fight him at UFC 96. Though they were in opposing corners then, Dolce said, “I was impressed with his professionalism leading up to the fight and the way he conducted himself as a person.” So when Dolce saw that Jardine had quietly purchased his first “Dolce Diet” book — Three Weeks to Shredded — online, he reached out to the fighter to find out what he was hoping to accomplish.

“We spoke briefly that day and he mentioned a possible drop to middleweight at some point in his career,” Dolce said. “A few weeks later he called me after hearing a radio interview I had done and said he went and did his research on me and was very impressed with my lifestyle approach to health, as well as the success of my athletes. We spoke for a few hours that night and here we are today.”

When they first began the cut, Dolce said, the 36-year-old Jardine was 217 pounds “but made the statement the he was very lean and lethargic.” With 32 pounds still standing between him and the middleweight limit, that wasn’t a good sign, according to Dolce.

“You look at a weight cut that’s 30 pounds or more and yes, that’s drastic, but Keith was doing what a lot of athletes are doing: taking supplements and eating like a bodybuilder. No disrespect to those industries, but that’s not what I do.”

Instead, Dolce said, he got Jardine on a diet of “earth-grown nutrients” to maximize lean muscle and drop body fat. For most of his training camp for the Rockhold fight, Dolce said, Jardine was “walking around at 211 [pounds]…and in single-digit body fat levels.”

After that, he said, making the weight was only a matter of “temporarily drying out those muscles” before the weigh-in, thus allowing Jardine to step into the cage on fight night back at what Dolce refers to as “the sweet weight” — roughly the same weight he was maintaining three weeks before the fight. Thanks to his knowledge and Jardine’s discipline and training, Dolce said, “the weight-cut was an easy process for us.”

Doing all that with a fighter in his mid-30s who, by his own admission, hasn’t been down to this weight “since my freshman year of high school” might seem risky, but Dolce insisted that it’s a focus on health first that makes it possible.

“I know 25-year-old athletes who have the bodies of 45-year-olds,” Dolce said. “I make sure my athletes work closely with their doctors, get regular bloodwork, and are 100 percent healthy every second of every day. Like I said, I’m a longevity advocate. My goal is for my clients to live well past 100 years old. It’s nice if they make a few million dollars between their 20s and 30s, but my true objective is for them to show their great-great-grandkids pictures of their world title belts, rather than doing whatever is perceived necessary to win one.”

Jardine will get his chance to take home a strap on Saturday night. By clocking in at 185 pounds he’s already accomplished one feat that few people thought he was capable of. Now comes the other, slightly harder part.

 

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Seven Ways of Looking at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine

Filed under: StrikeforceStrikeforce returns on Showtime tonight, and thanks to the free preview weekend it’s available even for you non-subscribers out there. So what are you going to be looking at when you accidentally stumble onto the channel that yo…

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Keith JardineStrikeforce returns on Showtime tonight, and thanks to the free preview weekend it’s available even for you non-subscribers out there. So what are you going to be looking at when you accidentally stumble onto the channel that you usually breeze right past on your way to Nat Geo Wild? Here are just a few of the major storylines and pressing concerns heading into Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine.

I. For the sake of argument, let’s try and justify the decision to give Keith Jardine a middleweight title shot:

a) For starters, there’s Scott Coker’s ‘anything can happen’ defense, which suggests that because it’s not impossible for Jardine to win, it must therefore be reasonable for him to get the chance. That has a certain simplistic beauty to it, but if you accept that you must also accept that any fight would, by that logic, be acceptable. Rockhold vs. a bloated Tyron Woodley? Yep, that works. Rockhold vs. a dangerously emaciated Bobby Lashley? That too. As long as we’re at it, I could make 185 pounds no problem. So why didn’t my phone ring with an offer, forcing me to immediately fake a staph infection? You get the point.

b) Then there’s what I like to call the ‘cumulative effect’ defense. This argues that when you look at Jardine’s entire history as a fighter — from his 2006 TKO of Forrest Griffin to his 2007 split decision over Chuck Liddell to his recent draw with Gegard Mousasi — it’s not too shabby. And that’s true. Taken as a whole, Jardine’s career is pretty solid. It’s just the last few years — including the 2-5-1 record his last eight bouts — that have been pretty dismal. But hey, if we’re giving out title shots as lifetime achievement awards now, I assume Wanderlei Silva’s shot at Anderson Silva must be coming up any day now.

c) Finally, the old ‘he was the best we could find on short notice’ defense. What it lacks in poetic flourish, it makes up for with cold, hard pragmatism. Tim Kennedy was hurt, according to Coker. Robbie Lawler was coming off two straight losses. ‘Mayhem’ Miller, Jake Shields, and Dan Henderson had all fled the organization, and ‘Jacare’ Souza just fought Rockhold back in September. Who else is left to take this fight? The answer, apparently, is Jardine. And so here we are.


II. But no matter what you think of the matchmaking, don’t blame Jardine. He’s been saying he wants to drop down to middleweight for a while now, and from his perspective, why not say yes to a title shot in his first fight there? He’s got nothing to lose. If he wins, he’s the Strikeforce champ and his career is revitalized. Even if he loses he can still earn some brownie points for making a fight out of it. Really, the only way he comes off looking bad is if he gets knocked out or submitted in the first two minutes. That’s always a possibility — the old ‘anything can happen’ saw cuts both ways — but let’s just say the bar is set very low for him here. He made the weight, which is a good start. Now it’s up to him to see if he can’t justify this bizarre matchmaking and get his name back in the news for the right reasons.

III. Luke Rockhold summed up his reaction to the Jardine fight in one word: “dumbfounded.” At least he’s honest. It’s the kind of fight a rising young champ absolutely cannot lose. It’s also the kind where he can’t afford to be anything but totally and completely dominant. Basically, it’s a bad fight for Rockhold, and he knows it. But hey, what could he do besides sign on the dotted line and make the best of it? As his management no doubt told him, now is not the time to be making waves in Strikeforce. Now is the time to keep your head down and win.

IV. Number that will continue to blow my mind every time I’m given a reason to look it up: 29. That’s how old Robbie Lawler is heading into his 28th professional bout. How is that even possible? The guy’s been a pro fighter since 2001. He debuted in the UFC in 2002. He’s been doing this since back when Dana White had hair, and you’re telling me he’s not even 30 years old yet? If he were a Cuban Little League pitcher, no one would believe it. Lawler seems like he was born with a thousand-yard stare and a laconic nonchalance about his own ability to knock people stiff with one punch, and not much has changed over the years. He’s still more or less the same fighter he’s always been. His game plan for his 28th fight will probably be roughly the same as it was for his tenth. He still makes interviews more difficult than they have to be, and still has the same general disdain for all the non-fighting aspects of the fight game. At least Adlan Amagov knows what he’s up against. But then, so have a lot of people who ended up flat on their backs at the end of the night.

V. Only one person can beat Mo Lawal on Saturday night, and it’s Mo Lawal. I know, I know — anything can happen — but let’s stick to what’s likely to happen. He’s a good enough striker that he doesn’t have to dive in for a takedown right away, and yet his takedowns are such a constant threat that Lorenz Larkin will have to worry about them every time he opens up with an attack. Lawal’s best chance to lose this fight is to decide to keep it standing for too long in some misguided attempt to prove a point. That would be dumb, but it also might be the kind of thing a guy with an oversized ego would do. From the outside Lawal might seem like a Ric Flair-esque narcissist, but he’s actually a pretty savvy student of the game. At least, most of the time. Like most pro fighters, no matter how sober his analysis is when he’s watching others, his vision gets a little hazy when he turns his focus upon himself. The only way he doesn’t win this fight is if he gets to thinking too highly of his own striking skills and not highly enough of Larkin’s. Even the best wrestler is going to have trouble scoring takedowns if he only shoots after he’s been stung on the feet.

VI. Fun fact about Jordan Mein: seven fights into his pro career, he had a losing record. He began his pro career with a loss, in fact, to Rory MacDonald. That one must have started to look better as time went by, but Mein also dropped fights to several guys who didn’t go on to become UFC standouts. After back-to-back losses at the end of 2006 and beginning of 2007, he was a very mediocre 3-4 as a pro. A lot of guys might have quit then, maybe decided to take their family’s advice and finally entered that management trainee program at the rental car place. Mein kept at it, and just a few years later he’s poised to take the leap from Strikeforce prelim fighter to solid undercard performer. It’s almost fitting that he should take on Tyron Woodley, the former Mizzou wrestler who seemed destined for big things in MMA right off the bat, and has been groomed as such in his time with Strikeforce. You never know from its beginning what a guy’s career will look like by the end. Sometimes those early struggles prove helpful later on.

VII. Know where to find Showtime Extreme in the premium cable labyrinth? If so, then you can watch the prelim bouts before the main card gets underway. While the old Strikeforce used to treat those fights as if they weren’t even worth turning the cameras on for, the new Strikeforce seems to realize that you might as well do something with them, even if probably not a whole lot of people will be ignoring the Lions-Saints NFL playoff game to watch Trevor Smith and Gian Villante go at it. Still, it’s a step in the right direction, as is the decision to time this event to coincide with a Showtime free preview weekend. If Showtime wants to be in the MMA business, it needs to get all the way in. Just like I first made the decision to pony up for HBO so I could watch the last season of The Wire in real time, I’ll admit that I never felt the urge to get Showtime until they had Strikeforce. I can’t be the only MMA fan who feels that way, so why not get behind it and push it as the asset that it is? Besides, with the avalanche of commercials that accompany any NFL playoff game, we’ll have plenty of chances to switch back and forth and check on how Villante is doing.

 

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