Nick Diaz Vs Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos: The Bottom Line
By Ben Bieker
Main Event:
Nick Diaz, 23-7-0-1, #9 Welterweight vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, 18-13
Sometimes fights make sense and sometimes fights don’t. To be honest Cyborg should not be in the ring with Diaz, and that is not to say because he does not have a chance to beat him. It is more on a mindset that he does not deserve to be in the ring with him. Cyborg is only on a two fight winning streak, is only 2-2 in his last four fights, and has only had one fight at170 lbs. These are not the makings of a championship fighter. Unfortunately, this is also one of the things that make Strikeforce the number two show in the world, and while they may boast one of the better heavyweight roster in the MMA business they do lack the competition for some of their other champions.
Plus, with Diaz’s lack to go up to fight at another weight he has made statements that he may fight in another sport like boxing to pass the time and pick up another paycheck. I don’t understand why someone like Tyron Woodley who is 6-0 in the organization is not in a title fight, while Strikeforce relies on outside talent like Paul Daley to make intriguing fights.
Nonetheless the fight has been set and the two competitors are going to go at it. In this fight Diaz has a lot to lose because a loss to Cyborg could prove a lot of his detractors wrong, and with Cyborg being dangerous it is a big possibility he could lose. Cyborg is in essence is a brawler and with the power to back it up he is dangerous. He has the ability to knockout someone when he puts his hands on them, and with Diaz becoming more confident in his standup every fight, and relying less on his ground game he could potentially make a fatal error on his feet.
The bad thing is that is the only spot that Cyborg could win in, while Diaz holds his fate in every other aspect. If the fight hits the ground that is where Diaz is very dangerous, and he has submitted a lot better ground fighters than Cyborg is. It is also not to say that he could not put Cyborg out on his feet because Cyborg has been stopped before and Diaz could add to his list of knockouts. It only took Nick a few more minutes to stop Marius Zaromskis than it did Cyborg. So, in the end this fight won’t prove much, but it could disprove a lot in the world of how good Nick Diaz is.
The Bottom Line: In the end, Diaz does not make a lot of mistakes, and for him to make one here would be fatal. He won’t though, and will end this in the second with a submission after testing it out on the feet in the first.
Co-Main Event:
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, 13-2-0-1, #7 Middleweight vs. Robbie “Ruthless” Lawler, 20-6-0-1, #8 Middleweight
To say that the first fight was one-sided could also say that this fight is one sided too. The problem is, that it could be one sided for both fighter depending where the fight takes place. If it takes place on the feet then Robbie Lawler will win, but if it goes to the ground than Ronaldo Souze will win. In essence that is how the fight will play out one way or another, but it will be a fun fight to watch as both fighters try to implement their style.
Lawler obviously has a penchant for the stand up game. When someone has 17 knockouts in 20 wins that is someone you do not want to stand with. It is also more than having precise or technical striking because even if Lawler didn’t have that he could still put people out. He has that innate ability to land one punch and change the course of the whole fight, and he has proved it time and time again. Look at his hit list of people in Melvin Manhoef, Matt Lindland, Frank Trigg, Murilo Rua, and Scott Smith. These are all very good fighter and Robbie has not only beat them, he has put most of them out cold. His knockout of Lindland was almost as bad as Vitor Belfort’s and that is saying a lot considering Belfort has knocked out heavyweights. So, while Ronaldo may be willing to stand with fighters like Tim Kennedy he better not make that mistake with Robbie or it will be game over for him.
Obviously for Ronaldo he will want to get this fight to the ground. In the past five years he has went 7-3 with two of those losses coming by way of submission. He had a loss to Jason Mayhem Miller who is someone Ronaldo controlled on the ground. So, his biggest chance to win in this fight comes if he finishes the fight on the ground, but the question remains whether he can get it there or not. Since the Mayhem fight Lawler’s takedown defense has gotten better, but yet Jake Shields was still able to submit him. I do not think that Ronaldo’s takedowns are as good as Shields, but maybe they are since the two fighters never crossed paths in Strikeforce. If Ronaldo can’t get it to the ground though he will need to either pull guard, or maybe feign being hurt so that he can pull Robbie into a trap.
The Bottom Line: Every fight starts on the feet and I think that is all the time Robbie will need to win. I think that come the third round Ronaldo will stand up a little to long and then will get caught and finished.
Herschel Walker, 1-0 vs. Scott Carson, 4-1
Herschel Walker has been making some interesting comments leading up to this fight. He has even stated that he may want to try out for football again to prove to everyone what is possible. If he is in this sport just to prove that he can he is in it for the wrong reasons. The problem is that Herschel is a good athlete and the person he is fighting is not. He is fighting Scott Carson, and while Scott has a 4-1 record all of his wins came a little more than 9 years ago.
He only just returned to the sport and got stopped in less than three minutes. This does not sit well for him if he wants to be impressive here against Herschel. Even though that loss came to someone who is most likely faster and stronger than Scott the truth is that Herschel himself will most likely be faster and stronger regardless of his age.
It is true that Herschel is new to the sport and it shows in his abilities. He has stiffness in his standup, he lacks the finesse in his takedowns, and he is prone to rookie mistakes, but I doubt that Scott can expose those flaws. For Herschel to lose to Scott would not be best for Strikeforce. It is best if he continues his little foray into MMA because even if he does not draw rating he does draw media, and any publicity is good publicity.
The Bottom Line: Herschel shows a repeat performance of his last fight finishing this fight in the third, but utterly dominating up until then.
Roger Gracie, 3-0 vs. Trevor Prangley, 23-6-1
This fight holds a lot more importance than people think. Even though one fighter has a 3-0 record he is a Gracie and that means more than any record. Beyond his name Roger is actually a really good fighter, and a little more well rounded than most other Gracie’s of this era. He took two fights in 2008 and then didn’t fight until last year. He returned and submitted Kevin Randleman which isn’t the best feat, but something that is good for a fighter in his third fight.
Trevor Prangley comes back to Strikeforce after one fight outside the organization, in a win over Keith Jardine, after an unfortunate 0-1-1 record in his first stint. He returns at Light-heavyweight division which is honestly a better weight class for him since he has obtained most of his losses at Middleweight, and I do not think the weight cut really helps him in his fights. He has only been submitted once, but who is to say it will happen again. The loss to Tim Kennedy, by submission, was more from being overpowered than a miscalculation.
When these two enter the ring it will be interesting to see how they match up. Trevor is has a good wrestling background, and it may play a factor here because if the fight doesn’t hit the mat it will be Trevor’s to lose. In the standup Trevor should be able control this fight and win it, but if the fight does hit the mat even if he does not get submitted he will still most likely get handled by Roger’s superior BJJ.
The Bottom Line: Trevor will win this fight, but it will not be easy as he has to out hustle and outwork Roger onto a unanimous decision win.