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Strikeforce Recap: Henderson hands Fedor another loss

July 31, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Another big Strikeforce event is in the books and the storied career of Fedor Emelianenko continues to have a somber ending.

“The Last Emperor” suffered a first round TKO loss to Dan Henderson in a heavyweight clash that saw Emelianenko basically taking on a light heavyweight.

The action was fast and furious in the bout, with Fedor coming out swinging early. After surviving a few big punches early, Henderson answered with some of his own and then controlled most of the round in the clinch.

The end came after Fedor landed a big uppercut that sent Henderson to the ground. As Fedor looked for the finish, Henderson managed to reverse the position and land a big right during a scramble that put Fedor down. A few punches later, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight just 4:12 into the contest.

Fedor has now lost three straight fights, all by stoppage. His future is in doubt while Henderson is on a nice roll and just secured one of the biggest wins in his legendary career.

In the co-main event, Miesha Tate pulled off a surprising arm triangle submission on submission specialist Marloes Coenen to win the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship.

The fight was close from the start, with Tate surviving a second round that saw Coenen on her back for nearly the full five minutes. Still, in the fourth round Tate managed to score a takedown and catch Coenen off guard with a quick transition to an arm triangle that force the champion to tap at 3:03.

For full main card results from Saturday’s fights, check out the jump.

Events, Fighters, News, Results, Strikeforce

Dan Henderson Fedor Emelianenko Marlos Coenen Miesha Tate

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Picks & Predictions

July 30, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson takes place Saturday night and here are my picks for each of the five main card bouts.

Heavyweight Bout – Fedor Emelianenko (31-3-1) vs. Dan Henderson (27-8) – This is a tough fight to call, but I like Fedor to bounce back and get over his losing streak. I think his size will be too much for Henderson, as he has similar wrestling skills but improved submissions. Both pack a good punch, but Fedor looks like he is in good shape for this fight and will be able to push a faster pace. Give me Fedor to win in the third by submission.

Women’s Welterweight Championship – Marloes Coenen (19-4) vs. Miesha Tate (11-2) – I like Coenen to win this fight by submission in the later rounds. I don’t expect either to land a big strike and expect the fight to be primarily on the ground. There, I look for Coenen to neutralize Tate’s wrestling ability before finding a way to sneak in a submission.

Middleweight Bout – Robbie Lawler (19-7-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (13-3) – Lawler has a pretty obvious weakness against ground fighters, so I think Kennedy should win this one with some ease. Lawler will swing big early, but that will open him up to a takedown, and eventually a submission. I will take Kennedy in the second by choke.

Welterweight Bout – Paul Daley (27-10-2) vs. Tyron Woodley (7-0) – Like Lawler, Daley is somewhat one dimensional, which should allow Woodley to get the win. This will be a big test for Woodley, but I like him to win by TKO with ground and pound as Daley will struggle to hit his big punch.

Welterweight Bout – Scott Smith (17-7-1) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (10-2) – Smith is a dangerous striker and an exciting fighter, but he lacks the all-around skills to compete at the highest level. I look for Saffiedine to control the fight on the ground and get a decision win over Smith.

Events, Fighters, Predictions, Strikeforce

Dan Henderson Fedor Emelianenko Marlos Coenen Miesha Tate Paul Daley Robbie Lawler Scott Smith Tarec Saffiedine Tim Kennedy Tyron Woodley

Shinya Aoki: Bad Scheduling or Bad Fighter?

July 30, 2011 / Drew Ellis

For quite a while we have heard about the great Shinya Aoki and his legendary submission skills.

Even I have been caught up in his hype, as I have him listed as one of my top 5 lightweights in the world.

However, I am growing tired of reports like this, where it says Aoki will take on Rob McCullough at Dream 17 in September. (MMAJunkie.com)

That will make Aoki’s last two opponents Rich Clementi and Rob McCullough.

McCullough used to be a champion in the WEC, but he still lost his way out of the company and was knocked out by Patricky Freire in his only Bellator appearance. He doesn’t strike me as a real tough lightweight opponent.

Clementi has been out of the UFC for a couple of years and has now lost three of his last four.

While I am impressed with Aoki’s submission ability, I haven’t forgotten that his last great test was against Gilbert Melendez last year in Strikeforce, and he failed miserably.

He put up little fight and was dominated by a legit lightweight contender for 25 minutes.

I like what Aoki can do, but I would like to see him fight in the states and consistently compete against the best in the world. Anyone can look like a beast against cupcake opponents, it is another thing to do it against the best.

Dream, Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Gilbert Melendez Rich Clementi Rob McCullough Shinya Aoki

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Weigh-In Results

July 29, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null The weigh-ins for Saturday’s Strikeforce card took place on Friday night and all main card fighters were cleared to compete.

In the main event, both Fedor Emelianenko (223 lbs.) and Dan Henderson (207) came in rather light for a heavyweight contest but Henderson has never fought above light heavyweight and Fedor is working his way down to that weight class.

This fight is being billed as one of the biggest in Strikeforce history, as it pits two PRIDE legends against one another. It should be an explosive matchup.

In the co-main event, Marloes Coenen defends her Women’s Welterweight Championship against Miesha Tate. Both combatants weighed in at 135 pounds, the exact mark they needed for the contest.

Coenen and Tate are both strong on the ground with Coenen being superior in jiu-jitsu while Tate is a wrestling-based fighter.

For all of the weigh-in results, courtesy of Sherdog.com, check out the jump.

Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Dan Henderson Fedor Emelianenko Marloes Coenen Miesha Tate

Strikeforce releases Alistair Overeem

July 29, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The interesting career of Alistair Overeem has taken another turn.

On Friday night, MMAFighting.com reported that the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion was released from his contract by the promotion.

The organization has released its heavyweight champion, MMA Fighting confirmed with multiple sources close to the fighter, including his trainer Martijn de Jong. HDNet first reported the news on its Inside MMA program Friday night.
Overeem had one fight left on his current contract. He was not immediately available for comment. When contacted by MMA Fighting, Strikeforce officials would not confirm or deny Overeem’s departure from the organization.
The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Overeem was removed from the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix last week after he told Zuffa he wouldn’t be ready to fight Antonio Silva in the semi-finals on Sept. 10 due to scheduling and multiple injuries.

You can look at this one of two ways: 1. Zuffa wants nothing to do with Overeem or 2. Zuffa wants to sign Overeem into the UFC.

Hopefully option two is the case because he is too talented a striker to not be prominent in American MMA.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Alistair Overeem Antonio Silva Fabricio Werdum