Diaz KO’s Zaromskis at Strikeforce: Miami

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Nick Diaz survived a knockdown and a cut to comeback and knock DREAM Welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis out late in the first round of their scheduled five round title fight for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight belt. Diaz pinned Marius against the cage early, landing repeated knees to Zaromski’s right thigh (when I say repeated, I mean continuous for probably thirty seconds) before Diaz scored a takedown. After losing top position, Diaz seemed to be in control of the stand-up, picking Zaromskis off from range with the variety of angles he often confuses his opponents with before the Lithuanian turned it around. Midway through the round Marius rocked Diaz with a two punch combination before dropping him with a right hook that looked to have ended the fight. Diaz took some shots from guard but recovered, transitioned to his knees where he took more shots before standing up. Once up Diaz re-took control of the fight, battering Zaromskis across the cage. Once again showing that he is undoubtably the best body puncher in MMA, Diaz softened up Marius with heavy rips to the midsection before finishing him off with a barrage of shots culminating with a right hook.

The win for Diaz clearly ranks him as the top non-UFC welterweight and surely as one of the top ten welterweights in the world. Sure he lost some fights when he was in the UFC, but he was in his early 20′s. He’s shown with his last few fights that he’s one of the better boxers in MMA and with an even better ground game he is a handful for anyone in the division. Jay Hieron (who defeated Joe Riggs by decision on the undercard) is probably next but I can’t see him handling Diaz’s versatility. With Hieron’s main weapon being his wrestling, he’ll basically pick his poison against the more polished fighter. As for Zaromskis, I think this proves that he isn’t the devastating striker that everyone thought he was. The run he had to win DREAM’s Grand Prix last year wasn’t that difficult and he needs to develop a more well-rounded game if he wants to compete with the top dogs at 170lbs.

On the undercard, Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos defended her Lightweight title over Marloes Coenen via third round stoppage in a competitive fight. The difference proved to be in strength as Cyborg powered out of submission attempts while delivering heavy ground and pound and punishing Coenen standing up. The end came in the third round when a fatigued and battered Coenen was finished off with punches from on top. Robbie Lawler withstood an assault of leg kicks and body kicks from feared striker Melvin Manhoef to score a one-punch come-from-behind knockout over the K-1 contender. Manhoef was sending Lawler’s right leg airborne with the force of his kicks and just as he seemed close to finishind the former EliteXC Middleweight champion, he was clocked with a right hook and finished with an overhand left that left him unconscious for a brief period of time. Lawler limped around the cage celebrating his victory.

Other results
Bobby Lashley battered Wes Sims, scoring a first round stoppage via punches from the guard. Lashley got an easy takedown and worked his ground and pound to which Sims offered little resistance even though he wasn’t taking too many clean shots. NFL legend Herschel Walker scored a third round stoppage over Greg Nagy. Nagy was sort of in the fight in the first but Walker took over in the 2nd and closed the show in the third round with punches from the mount.

Strikeforce: Miami Preview

The first promotion by Strikeforce this year is a very solid card with two interesting title fights as well as a potential fight of the year candidate and fights by two of the biggest cross-over stars in the sport. In the main event, Middleweight giant killer Nick Diaz returns to his natural weight class of 170lbs after stopping both Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith last year to take on DREAM Welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title. The Women’s lightweight championship is up for grabs as well with defending champion Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos defending against Marloes Coenen. Probably the most eagerly awaited clash of the night is what should deliver either a fight of the year candidate or a knockout of the year candidate (or both) with big punching Robbie Lawler fighting K-1 star Melvin Manhoef.

Diaz vs Zaromskis
The title fight between Diaz and Zaromskis is going to be a good battle. Zaromskis has shown last year that he is one of the more powerful fighters in the 170lb division but there’s still a few unknowns about him. Very little is known of the Lithuanian’s ground game and it will also be interesting to see if his new found success will help him when he fights someone with decent stand-up skills. Enter Nick Diaz. Diaz is a great jiu jitsu player who prefers to use his good boxing skills to beat down his opponents often while talking trash to them. One way or another we’re going to get some answers about Marius in this fight.

Those of you who have followed MMA for a few years know about Diaz. He debuted in the UFC when he was only 20 and made a real name for himself when he knocked out Robbie Lawler in his 2nd fight for the organisation. His UFC career went up and down with his eventual mark ending at 6-4 when he was brought into PRIDE to battle their dominant lightweight Takanori Gomi in a non title affair. Diaz won the fight with the rare gogoplata submission from the guard after a stand-up war only for the decision to be overturned for marijuana use. Since then he lost to KJ Noons in EliteXC, had Noons leave MMA to avoid a rematch and then put in two memorable performances to defeat Shamrock and Smith last year.

I really think this fight is Diaz’s to lose. We know Zaromskis has power, especially with his kicks. Diaz has a habbit of standing up with guys he really should be taking to the ground, although it doesn’t hurt him very often, this time it could. His best bet lies in taking Marius to the ground and working his excellent ground game. Zaromskis has been winning most of his fights quickly lately while Diaz has proved in the past that he has good conditioning so I think Marius’ best chances lie early in the fight. Diaz also has a good chin so it’s going to take some big shots to take him out, but I think his boxing should allow him to survive Marius’ stand-up and eventually the fight will hit the ground and Diaz will end in there. Nick Diaz by 2nd round submission.

Cyborg vs Coenen
I really don’t see any fighters in this division who will be able to survive Cyborg right now. Coenen has a solid ground game, but Cyborg’s aggression and pitbull-like tenacity is equivalent to when Wanderlei Silva was destroying the poor Japanese contenders back in 2001-2002 in PRIDE. I don’t think this fight will last very long, Cyborg by first round stoppage.

Lawler vs Manhoef
The one thing Lawler has in this fight that could make it interesting is that he is a solid wrestler, having learnt his game from the famed Miletich camp who at one stage held three UFC champions out of it’s camp at one time, and now training with Matt Hughes. There’s no doubt that Manhoef is the bigger puncher and the better striker. Could you imagine Lawler being able to hang in there in a stand-up fight with Remy Bonjasky? I hope Lawler delivers and comes to strike with Manhoef because it’ll be entertaining while it lasts, but Manhoef should win. Melvin Manhoef by first round knockout.

The Rest
Lashley and Walker by rape. Riggs-Hieron is an interesting fight, but I think Hieron will win on points.

Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 1/5

With the UFC running their top 100 fights of all-time in celebration of the UFC 100 card next weekend (and doing such a shit job with some of the fights they selected), I thought I’d go to a certain amount of effort and come up with what I believe is the best 50 fights in UFC history. I’ve gone over and watched plenty of old fights in the past two weeks which is one of the reasons I’ve made few updates on the site in recent times and I hope I haven’t left anything too obvious out. I’ll be doing this over the next five days with five posts, enjoy:

50- Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson unanimous decision Dan Henderson (UFC 75)
Sure, not the most action packed fight of all-time but given it’s historical significance as well as the back and forth battle between the two I feel it deserves a place in my 50 even if it comes at 50. This was the long awaited mega fight all UFC and PRIDE fans had been waiting for between the UFC 205lb champion and the PRIDE 205lb champion, except that it got less attention because it wasn’t Liddell vs Silva. Rampage had knocked out Liddell at UFC 71 and Henderson KO’d Wanderlei at PRIDE 33 setting up what ended up being a very underrated fight. Henderson controlled early with his wrestling but after Rampage had an answer for Henderson’s takedown game the two became locked in a very even battle that Rampage came on top of due to superior conditioning.

49- Eugene Jackson knockout (2nd) Royce Alger (UFC 21)
A wild slugfest from the dark ages with Middleweight journeyman Jackson scoring a dramatic one punch knockout over a tiring Alger in the early part of the 2nd round. Alger was a well credentialed wrestler who scored numerous takedowns in the early goings of the fight, even advancing his position and doing damage which was unheard of for wrestlers of that age. Alger suffered from the typical lack of long term conditioning that top wrestlers had back then, and Jackson began escaping and landing shots. After a wild first round of takedowns, escapes and heavy punches being thrown, Jackson ended things quickly in the 2nd round.

48- Tito Ortiz split decision Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
A fight that the UFC would like it’s fans to forget is the one where Tito Ortiz, the former golden boy of the UFC who Dana White hates, edged out one of their poster boys Forrest Griffin by split decision. It was Tito’s comeback after a period off contract with the UFC and his opponent was the ever popular TUF1 champion Forrest Griffin who was 2-0 since winning the show. Ortiz quickly attempted to show Griffin he was out of his league, scoring a takedown and landing with heavy elbows for the majority of the first round that rocked and bloodied Griffin. Griffin somehow survived the onslaught and began opening up on his feet in the 2nd round, scoring with rapid punches although Ortiz was landing some solid straight shots back on Forrest. With the crowd on Forrest’s side going into the third, he again tried outworking a tiring Tito but the two traded evenly with Forrest again scoring more and Tito landing the harder shots. A late takedown from Ortiz looked like it could be enough, but Forrest escaped and the fight went to the judges where Tito scored an unpopular (I actually thought he won) split decision victory.

47- Phillip Miller submission (2nd) Mark Weir (UFC 40)
If you have never seen this fight, it’s a war that could have easily been higher if anyone, anywhere knew who either of these two were. Mark Weir was coming off the quickest KO in UFC history over Eugene Jackson while Miller was a solid wrestler who lay and prayed his way to victory on the same card. The fight was back and forth with Miller scoring repeated takedowns only for Weir to escape and rock Miller with shots. In the 2nd round, Miller seemed to be out but again scored a takedown and dramatically took Weirs back and sunk in the choke for the victory. Miller would retire not long after with a 16-0 record including a 2-0 run in the UFC.

46- Don Frye submission (2:14) Gary Goodridge (UFC 8.)
The tournament billed as ‘David vs Goliath’ pitted such a matchup in the Final with 210lb Don Frye taking on 260lb Gary Goodridge. It was the first UFC event of both men and both men had an easy run to the final, winning their two previous fights of the evening in under a minute for Frye and just over six minutes for Goodridge. The fight was quick, but violent as both men traded heavy shots with Goodridge scoring a brief takedown before they returned to the feet and traded some more. After a scramble, Frye ended up on top in a good position and began landing heavy shots on Goodridge who quickly tapped out, giving Frye the UFC 8 tournament championship.

45- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 45)
The not quite as attractive older sister of that hot girl everyone’s always talking about, but one you’d fuck nonetheless if you had the chance (although I wouldn’t fuck any girl that looked anything like Matt Hughes or Frank Trigg). The first fight was surely not as memorable as the epic rematch (although the ending was one of the most memorable), but it was still a great fight. The fight was a four minute scramble in which both men took top position on a number of occasions and although little damage was done, it was an awesme display of grappling. Hughes ended up taking Triggs back and as Trigg stood up to defend, sunk in a mid-air rear naked choke pulling Trigg on top of him as he tapped out.

44- Pedro Rizzo knockout (2nd) Josh Barnett (UFC 30)
It’s very rare you get a good heavyweight slugfest that goes for more then a few minutes, but top heavyweight contenders Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett put on a show at UFC 30. Despite Rizzo’s feared striking ability, Barnett was more then happy to stand with him and was doing well in the first round. Rizzo was having trouble timing Barnett’s odd style combined with his size advantage but midway through the first he began timing Barnett and the two started scoring heavily in the exchanges. Rizzo started scoring with leg kicks which were slowing Barnett down visibly in the 2nd round and then after stunning him with a right hand, he finished the job with a bigger right seconds later. It would be Barnett who would go on to defeat Randy Couture however as Rizzo fell short in his two attempts at the title.

43- Tyson Griffin split decision Clay Guida (UFC 72)
Two of the UFC’s most exciting current day fighters battled in Ireland at UFC 72 and as expected won fight of the night. Both guys set an electrifying pace that didn’t back off for the entire three rounds. It was a back and forth fight with Griffin doing better on the feet and Guida scoring more takedowns and getting the better positions. At one point Guida took Griffin’s back but was dropped on his face as he attempted to sink in the choke. The decision went to Griffin although many people feel Guida was robbed.

42- Forrest Griffin submission (3rd) Mauricio Shogun (UFC 76)
The 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio Shogun’s UFC debut was spoiled by Forrest Griffin in an exciting battle which mostly took place on the ground. Expected to walk through the ‘reality TV star’ Shogun seemed a step behind the entire fight and despite opening two huge gashes on Griffin’s face in the opening round, Griffin’s pace was too much for Shogun. After a close first round, Griffin upped the tempo and left Shogun tired and battered at the end of the 2nd round and basically doing all that he could to survive. After battering Shogun in the third round, Forrest finished off Shogun, who at the time was considered the top Light Heavyweight in the world, with seconds remaining in the final round.

 41- Robbie Lawler unanimous decision Chris Lytle (UFC 45)
The comeback for Robbie Lawler after his first loss was also the beginning of the long time UFC career of Chris Lytle who in losing earned another chance in the organisation. Lawler took the fight to the ground early in the first where he dealt out considerable damage while avoiding numerous submission attempts from Lytle. After a slow 2nd round, the fight exploded with one of the most memorable final rounds in UFC history with a wild stand-up exchange taking place for the majority of the round. Lawler took away any doubt in the decision by dropping Lytle (only for Lytle to applaud as he fell to his back) in what was the first of many memorable fights for Lytle in the UFC.

40-31 tomorrow…..

Shields and Diaz triumph in Strikeforce catchweight bouts

Welterweight champion of the now defunct EliteXC organisation Jake Shields today scored a first round submission victory over the Middleweight champion of the same organisation in the main event of todays Strikeforce card. Shields appeared to be struggling in the early goings as his inferior stand-up and wrestling skills left him on the end of some hard strikes and unable to get the fight to the mat where his world class submission skills could come into play. Midway through the round however he shot in for a takedown, then countered Lawler’s defence with a guillotine choke before pulling guard. Lawler stood up with Shields still wrapped around him before being brought back to the mat where he was forced to tap. The win solidifies what was already pretty solid in that Shields is one of the best 170lbers in the world even though this fight was fought at a catchweight of 182lbs. Shields however seems intent on fighting at least once more at 185 as he called out Strikeforce Middleweight champion Cung Le who hasn’t defended his title since winning it from Frank Shamrock last March.

On the undercard fellow Cesar Gracie fighter Nick Diaz scored a third round submission over Scott Smith in another catchweight bout. Diaz dominated the heavy handed Smith in the stand-up as he peppered him with repeated shots (when I say repeated, I’m talking 150-200 a round) scoring with heavy body punches and right hooks to the head. Smith had his moments in the first round but the 2nd round on was all Diaz and a flurry at the end of the round left Smith looking like a beaten fighter between rounds. Diaz didn’t let up in the third, battering Smith until he could take no more which resulted in a takedown attempt that fell short by a long way. Diaz routinely took Smiths back and showed his submission skills, tapping Smith out with a rear naked choke. Diaz looked like a seriously dangerous fighter again and it’s unfortunate that him and Shields are team mates as that would make for a terrific fight.

In a fight that shakes up the Heavyweight division big time, undefeated Brett Rogers added former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski to his resume’ with a stunning 22 second knockout in the first round of their clash. After a brief trade of feints, Rogers backed Arlovski into the fence where he unleased four heavy bombs on the Belarussian’s chin that left Arlovski out on all fours. With the win, Rogers moves to 10-0 with 9 knockouts and one submission (from strikes) with only one fight going to the 2nd round. The win sets Rogers up for a shot at Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and likely derails Arlovski’s boxing debut which was scheduled for the end of the month and also a possible rematch with WAMMA Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko would be unlikely without a decent return from Arlovski. Arlovski’s chin looks very suspect and I doubt he’d get anywhere in pro boxing where the guys he’s fighting are better trained to land punches to the face then most MMA fighters. With his athleticism I’m sure he’d score some wins and may do alright, but I’d be picking even a tough journeyman with a decent punch over him.

The other fights saw Joe Riggs score a unanimous decision over Phil Baroni and Mike Whitehead survive a third round knockdown to win a unanimous decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman. In some other news, the highly anticipated women’s mega bout between Gina Carano and ‘Cyborg’ Santos is on for August 15th. I’m hoping they can at least fight five minute rounds even if it’s only three of them and surely this would have to be for some sort of championship bout. The undercard (or main event, not sure which is which yet) sees Josh Thomson defend his Strikeforce Lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez.

Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields Predictions

 

Strikeforce has really emerged as one of the better promotions out there now. This card has some good talent and big names on it (well on the main card) and with no other MMA or any other combat sports on this weekend, it’ll make for good viewing. Headling the bout is a fight between EliteXC Welterweight and Middleweight champions Jake Shields and Robbie lawler at a catchweight of 183lbs. Why they didn’t just fight at 185 is beyond me, but the weight should make no difference as Lawler isn’t a huge 185lber having fought in the UFC at Welterweight early in his career. Also appearing on the card is former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski against undefeated prospect Brett Rogers and another catchweight bout between Scott Smith and Nick Diaz, this one at 179lbs.

Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields
Prediction- Lawler by 2nd round knockout
Not sure what to make of this fight, so I’m going with the bigger fighter with the better wrestling. Shields has among the best ground skills in MMA, but his stand-up sucks and that will be bad if he can’t get Lawler down. Lawler has serious power which makes up for a lot of his technical retardedness, but he also has solid wrestling abilities. If Shields gets Lawler on his back, I think he’ll submit him without too much of a struggle because he’s that good on top.

 Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers
Predictions- Arlovski by 1st round knockout
I doubt this will be the war everyone expects it to be because they both hit too damn hard so I expect someone’s going to sleep in the first or second round. Arlovski’s boxing is the sharper of the two and while Rogers has serious power, I think Arlovski will chop him down with leg kicks and land that big right hand over and over again until Rogers goes down. The thing I’m worried about being an Arlovski fan is that historically his losses have come in twos. He lost back-to-back to Rodriguez and Rizzo, and then again to Sylvia twice. It could be nothing, or it could be a big confidence thing that a hungry undefeated guy waiting for his chance could take advantage of.

Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith
Prediction- Diaz by 1st round submission
While Smith is an incredibly tough dude as well as the bigger guy in this fight, his ground game has always sucked. Diaz has excellent hands and I think he’ll be able to hang with Smith standing up long enough to take it to the ground where I think he’ll make quick work of Smith.

Phil Baroni vs Joe Riggs
Prediction- Riggs on points
This could be a war until Baroni gasses. Baroni hates everyone he fights and Riggs isn’t the most respectful character out there so I think these two will stand in the middle of the cage and bang with each other. Riggs though has the much better cardio as well as ground skills and maybe even stand-up, although I’d favour Baroni there because of his power. Baroni’s tough and doesn’t give up though, so I think this one will go three rounds.

Kevin Randleman vs Mike Whitehead
Prediction- Whitehead by 1st round submission
I’m looking forward to Randlemans return because I don’t like him and I think Whitehead will destroy him. Randleman has to be the most boring MMA champ ever and the shit that he talks just irritates me. Whitehead will have better wrestling, stand-up and submissions and I think he’ll get the takedown after a bit of effort, pass the non existant Randleman guard and submit him with either a kimura or a rear naked choke.

Arlovski vs Rogers completes Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields

A Heavyweight clash between top five contender Andrei Arlovski and undefeated prospect Brett Rogers will be the final fight on the main card of the June 6 Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields event. With the catchweight bout between EliteXC welterweight and middleweight champions headlining the event and the inclusion of this fight to an already decent undercard, this looks to be one of the top non UFC cards in recent memory. Also appearing on the card is Nick Diaz, fresh off his TKO victory over Frank Shamrock, facing up against the always entertaining Scott Smith. Bouts between former UFC Heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman and Mike Whitehead and former UFC contenders Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni rounds out the main card of this event.

Arlovski was set to make his professional boxing debut on the undercard of the Victor Ortiz-Marcos Maidana pay per view, but that fight looks to be on hold pending the outcome of his fight with Rogers. As much as I would like to see how Arlovski did inside the ring with 10oz gloves on, I think his home is MMA and there’s far more entertaining matchups for him in this sport. Plus the fact that two of his biggest weapons (leg kicks and takedown defence) won’t be a factor in a boxing match and it makes me think that Arlovski’s boxing career would have been short lived anyway.

Brett Rogers is highly untested, but he’s done what any top fighter would do to his competition in blowing them out. Out of his 9 professional wins, all of them have ended via strikes and only one of them has gone into the 2nd round. The biggest name on his record is a win over James Thompson, who is most famous for his fight with Kimbo Slice in the first nationally televised main event in MMA history. Arlovski stands as a huge step up in competition for the 28 year old in a fight that should prove to be an exciting stand-up battle while it lasts.