Strikeforce MMA Comes to California Wednesday Night
By Gina L. Caliboso
Upcoming this Wednesday, Strikeforce MMA makes its way live at the Nokia Center located in Los Angeles, California. Yours truly will be sitting ringside covering both the main card and undercard matches.
In the main event of the evening, middleweight “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler, 19-5, will be fighting a catch weight contest against Bobalu Sobral, 35-8. Lawler usually weighs in at 185 with Sobral at 195 lbs. At 5’11, Lawler will take his aggressive, no-nonsense fighting style to Sobral. Sobral, referred by MMA fans as “Babalu” is known for his grappling and submissions. His MMA career spans a total of 43 fights and affiliation with Rings, UFC, and Affliction. Among his 35 victories, Sobral stands at 6’1 and has defeated top MMA fighters including Kiyoshi Tamura, Cyrille Diabate, Mauricio Rua, Jeremy Horn, Chael Sonnen, Mike Whitehead, Bobby Southworth, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. With contrasting styles of MMA fighting, Lawler will put the fight to Sobral.
The co-event of the main draw includes a battle between Marius “Whitemare” Zaromskis, 13-4 vs. Evangelista Cyborg, 17-14 fighting in the 170 lbs division. Zaromskis has a notable loss against Welterweight Champion, Nick Diaz. Zaromskis is an aggressive MMA fighter who lets loose on barrages of kicks and does not back down until his opponent surrenders. Of his 13 victories, 10 of his fights have come from KO or TKO.
Zaromskis will be facing veteran Evangelista Cyborg. The name should sound familiar since he is the husband of Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. Santos is from the aggressive yet technical Chute Boxe Academy that has produced the MMA brilliance of such notables, Mauricio and Murilo Rua, Anderson Silva, and Wanderlei Silva.
The Strikeforce card for the evening also includes two additional matches. Trevor Prangley, 21-5, 185 lbs. will go up against Tim Kennedy, 11-2, 185 lbs. In addition, KJ Noons, 7-2 will fight against Conor Huen (no fighter information available). Making his debut with Strikeforce, Noons is known as being a World Champion in two sports, boxing and MMA. Noon’s MMA career started in October 2002 and in November 2007, he defeated Nick Diaz for the Lightweight World Championship with a TKO.
I usually kickbox on Wednesday nights, but I’ve decided to attend Strikeforce. The event brings together a great card of mixed martial arts talent and should not disappoint.