Dan Henderson Vs Fedor Emelianenko: STRIKEFORCE MMA RESULTS
By Kevin Nelson
Last night a lot of questions were answered and left us pondering the matchups to be made. But first the matchups were Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Miesha Tate vs. Marloes Coenen, Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy, Scott Smith Vs. Tarec Saffiedine and Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley. We give you the results.
Tarec Saffiedine (11-3) defeated Scott Smith (17-9) 3rds welterweights (decision)
Saffiedine is coming off the loss to Woodley and is looking to remain in the mix while Smith is trying to get back in the win column as well. Saffiedine used knees, spinning heel kick, jab right hand and used angles and pretty much had his way with the limited opponent. He hurt Smith several times and attacked his front leg quite a bit. Smith was unable to check Tarec’s kicks as he would pick up a decision victory.
Tyron Woodley (9-0) defeats Paul Daley (27-11-2) 3rds welterweights ( decision)
With champion Nick Diaz leaving for the UFC the Strikeforce welterweight title is vacant and this match were told is that the winner would fight for the vacant title. Daley is coming off his loss to Diaz in a fantastic fight and Woodley is making a name for himself as the best welterweight in Strikeforce. Woodley would win the decision here as he would take Daley down repeatedly but do nothing from top position. The fight was dull as Woodley was a wet blanket every time he gained top position, and once taken down Daley did not do much with the exception of one point during the fight when he attempted a omoplata and almost got it before surrendering the hold.
For Daley he has proven he can stuff takedowns but once taken down proves to be of little threat. He has improved quite a bit but needs to work on fighting off his back. Woodley performance was not terrific but he is a favorite to take the title. My thinking is the Jordan Mein vs. Cyborg match in September and the winner of that will face Woodley for the title.
Tim Kennedy (14-3) defeats Robbie Lawler (19-7) 3rds middleweight (decision)
Kennedy and Lawler are two fighters that were fighting for a rematch against champion Jacare. Kennedy would get several takedowns and even get Lawler’s back in the fight. But Lawler showed improvement and managed to survive and stuff a lot of Kennedy’s takedown attempts. Kennedy simply outworked him in this fight as it would go to the scorecard and he now gets a shot at the middleweight title.
Miesha Tate (12-2) defeats Marloes Coenen (19-5) 5rds woman’s title (submission)
Coenen is simply one of the best female fighters in the world and is probably the best submission fighter in the sport. Tate has always been a good wrestler and is coming off a 10 month layoff. Coenen in winning the title over Kauffman was losing until getting a submission victory. Against Carmouche she lost every minute of the fight before submitting her in the 4th. Tate would get takedowns at will and do very little, while Coenen attempted several submissions and even managed to sweep Tate in the last 1o seconds of the first round. The second round she spent the entire time attempting to choke Tate as she had her wrapped in a body triangle. But Tate used good wrist control and avoided the submission. The end came in the fourth as Tate landed a takedown and Coenen attempted a choke and Tate moved to side control and secured a choke as Coenen would tap for the first time in her career.
Dan Henderson (28-8) defeats Fedor Emelianenko (31-4-1) KO 1st round
This was a matchup ten years in the making as Henderson and Fedor traded punches until Henderson had Fedor in a clinch and caught him with an uppercut and threw 3 to 4 punches before Herb Dean stopped the fight. This was a bad stoppage. Fedor was still capable of defending himself and I do acknowledge Henderson hurt him. This is now Fedor’s third loss in a row and Henderson has a ton of options as light heavyweight champ as Strikeforce has a deep division. With Mousasi, Kyle, Gracie and Mo occupied and having already beaten Babalu I think he should face Ovince St.Preux.
