Scott Smith Stuns Cung Le

Cung Le vs Scott Smith

Add his “Evolution” bout against Cung Le to Scott Smith’s growing list of comeback victories. Who can forget Smith’s comeback against Pete Sell in the UFC and his victory over Benji Radach earlier this year in Strikeforce? Much like Radach did against Smith in their fight, Le controlled this fight for the first two and a half rounds, using an assortment of kicks to knock Radach down repeatedly and even unleashing a power slam midway through round three. However, like Freddie Krueger in a Friday the 13th movie, Smith kept taking the punishment and coming back. Le had a chance to finish the fight in the first round on the ground as Smith turtled up, but Le couldn’t apply the finishing touches as his opponent got back to his feet. As numerous other opponents have found out, not finishing Smith when you have the chance can come back to haunt you.

And, for Le, in this case it did. With the fight seemingly in hand with only minutes remaining, Le got rocked first by a short left hook and then by a number of lefts and rights as he finally fell face first to the canvas. Smith scored the TKO victory with the finishing blows on the ground.

While Smith’s loss to Nick Diaz earlier this year would seem to indicate that he’s not ready to fight a BJJ talent on the level of middleweight champ Jake Shields, a fight that would be appealing for him would be one against newly signed middleweight Dan Henderson.

For Le, the ending was an unfortunate way to snap his unbeaten start in MMA. But, as the San Shou specialist said in his post-fight interview, he got caught by a punch and it happens to the best. So does losing. Now, the question is, how does Le come back from his first career loss, especially when he’s got a blossoming movie career to fall back on? I have to think this loss will make the former Strikeforce champ even hungrier and there’s not doubt Le still has the skills based on his first 12-13 minutes of action Saturday night.

Melendez Reclaims Title in Slugfest

Josh Thomson vs Gilbert Melendez

In another thrilling fight, lightweight Gilbert Melendez reclaimed the title his opponent Josh Thomson took from him last year. Since the first bout, the two have been unable to consummate the rematch due to injuries to Thomson. But, when the Bay area fighters did finally meet at “Evolution”, their bout was well worth the wait.

Unlike the first encounter, in which Thomson dominated by scoring takedowns and controlling on the ground, this fight was mostly a stand-up affair. Although Thomson showed early that he had the quicker hands, Melendez proved over the course of the bout that his hands were heavier. I scored Thomson winning the first round but Melendez winning the remaining four starting with a second round in which Melendez knocked Thomson down three times.

Melendez scored another knockdown in round five and though Thomson scored his second takedown of the night in that round as well, he was unable to finish the fight on the ground. Thomson connected consistently throughout the bout but could never rock Melendez.

The crowd was on its feet in the fifth round in appreciation of the effort the two men put forth and MMA fans will certainly clamor for a rubber match between the two. Clearly, the blueprint for that fight will be for Melendez to keep the fight standing and for Thomson to re-establish the takedowns that were mostly missing in the second bout.

In the meantime, the signing of KJ Noons means the former EliteXC lightweight champ might be a good opponent for Melendez. That bout would certainly promise to be a fan-friendly slugfest between two heavy-handed strikers.

While the Strikeforce 155 pound division isn’t as deep as that of the UFC, let there be no doubt that both Melendez and Thomson would be top five fighters in the UFC and I’d love to see either one go up against BJ Penn.

Jacare Introduces Himself to Deep Division

Jacare vs Matt Lindland

While Strikeforce has strong fighters in every weight class except 170 pounds, the promotion’s middleweight division is undoubtedly its deepest. And, at “Evolution” two more credible contenders made their Strikeforce debuts as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza took on Matt Lindland. Lindland, a former Olympic wrestling silver medalist, has never been afraid to fight the best and sports losses to Rampage Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko on his resume despite the fact that he is smaller than both fighters.

However, the Portland-based fighter suffered his second first-round stoppage loss in a row Saturday night, losing this time at the hands of a very impressive Souza. “Jacare” made a name for himself in Dream in 2008 by advancing to the finals of the Middleweight Grand Prix before ultimately falling to current Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi. Before that loss, Souza had run off 10 victories in a row.

Against Lindland, Souza showed that he was the quicker fighter on his feet but when the fight went to the ground, that’s where the Brazilian showed his true class. The chiseled BJJ expert nearly won with an armbar attempt before transitioning to an omo plata. Though Lindland escaped both submission moves, Souza was relentless and finally finished him off with an arm triangle choke.

The fight represented an impressive Strikeforce debut for Souza and one can only believe that a couple of more victories will put him in contention for Jake Shields’ crown. And, wouldn’t that be quite a match-up between two superb BJJ practitioners? One can only fantasize about a Souza-Anderson Silva showdown one day.

“King Mo” Begins his Reign

Mo Lawal vs Mike Whitehead

Another highly-anticipated debut didn’t disappoint as “King Mo” Lawal defeated a much bigger Mike Whitehead via TKO in the first round of their bout. A showman in all senses of the word in and out of the cage, Lawal came in with impressive college wrestling credentials and a knack for powerful slams followed by devestating ground-and-pound.

At “Evolution”, however, Lawal didn’t need either as he rocked Whitehead with strikes standing before finishing with more punches on the ground. While the victory came at heavyweight, I have a feeling Lawal will be best suited at light heavyweight given how small he is for the 265 pound division.

Although the heavyweight class in Strikeforce could use additional depth, Strikeforce really needs to find elite fighters to take on its 205 lb. champ Gegard Mousasi. With Dan Henderson saying he will fight at 185 lb., Lawal is one of the few remaining fighters who could prove to be a legitimate challenge in that division.

Lawal has all the potential in the world given his solid wrestling base, athleticism, and quickly improving striking. I don’t necessarily want to see him fight for the 205 lb. title immediately but given the lack of depth in that class, I could see him in a title fight by the end of 2010.

More to Come

Strikeforce’s next big Showtime card comes at the end of January and looks like it will follow on the heels of “Evolution” by providing fans with more quality match-ups as well as intriguing fighters. Heavyweight Bobby Lashley and former NFL star Herschel Walker make their Strikeforce debuts on that card, while female champ Cris “Cyborg” Santos fights for the first time since defeating “the face of women’s MMA” Gina Carano this past summer.

(Photos courtesy of Esther Lin/Strikeforce.)

Mo Lawal (l) vs Mike Whitehead

Upstart MMA promotion Strikeforce provides fans with yet another solid card with its latest Showtime-televised offering, dubbed ”Evolution”, which emanates from the HP Pavilion in San Jose tonight at 10 PM EST.

While the UFC is unquestionably the sports’ unparalleled leader, San Jose-based Strikeforce – led by Scott Coker – has distinguished itself from past pretenders in the business as a legitimate alternative for hardcore and casual fans alike.

In fact, “Evolution” might not only aptly describe Strikeforce’s impressive growth as a promotion but also the apparently-changing landscape of the UFC-dominated sport.

Cung Le (l) vs Scott Smith

Tonight’s card not only gives us the eagerly-anticipated return of former middleweight champ-turned-movie-actor Cung Le (against comeback specialist Scott Smith) but also marks the promotional debuts of Japanese MMA studs “King Mo” Lawal (fighting at heavyweight tonight though probably best-suited at light heavyweight) and middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (whose only loss is his last 11 bouts is to champ Gegard Mousasi in the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix final) as well as middleweight legend-and-politician Matt Lindland.

In addition, the card features a long-awaited lightweight title bout between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, which has been delayed for awhile due to injuries.

Josh Thomson (l) vs Gilbert Melendez

The promotion recently announced the signing of former Pride two-belt champ and recent UFC fighter Dan Henderson. Hendo represents a boost for Strikeforce’s light heavyweight division, given the relative lack of depth of talent to challenge current champ Gegard Mousasi. Other recent Strikeforce signees include former EliteXC lightweight champ KJ Noons along with WWE wrestler-turned-rising heavyweight star Bobby Lashley.

In addition to the high profile signings, which give Strikeforce ever-growing matchmaking options, CBS confirmed in recent days that a Fedor-led card would be televised on the network sometime in early 2010, giving the promotion added mainstream exposure to go along with its rapidly improving roster.

Matt Lindland (l) vs Jacare Souza

With its increasing level of talent both new and old, its availability on free network TV as well as on premium cable, a steady stream of regularly-scheduled events, and a willingness to work with other entities and promotions (see Fedor), Strikeforce is a worthy competitor to the UFC. There should be no doubt that we are not witnessing the reincarnation of Bodog, IFL, or EliteXC (the previous tenants in the Showtime/CBS MMA residence.)

As long as Strikeforce continues to provide fans with high-quality, relevant match-ups and doesn’t over-extend itself financially, there’s no reason the promotion can’t continue to succeed. The promotion is also proving to be a legitimate option for fighters who don’t sign with the UFC, whatever their reason. In fact, as the UFC has suffered from an unfortunate rash of recent injuries to its top-level talent and main events that haven’t panned out for various reasons, it seems to me that Strikeforce is the promotion currently putting on cards that fans should care about.

In the final analysis, Strikeforce’s success only serves to benefit fans and fighters alike. And, that’s a good thing.

(”Evolution” weigh-in photos courtesy of Esther Lin/Strikeforce.)