Dan Henderson Ground and Pounds Renato Babalu Sobral in Strikeforce Thriller
By Kevin Nelson
(Managing Editor’s Note: Kevin Nelson is our newest Feature Writer for RSR, covering Boxing, MMA, and Pro Wrestling. I, along with the rest of the team, welcome him aboard!)
Last night in ST Louis, Missouri, Strikeforce kicked off one of the most memorable cards of the year.
The main event saw Dan Henderson, 26-8, defeat Renato Babalu Sobral, 36-9, in spectacular ground and pound stoppage, taking the victory in the very first round. Henderson was coming off the loss to Jake Shields but he rebounded in a big way.
Paul Daley, making his Strikeforce debut, knocked out the comeback kid Scott smith with a left hook in the first round, while Ruthless Robbie Lawlor knocked out Matt Lindland with an overhand right. Lindland was out cold.
Ovince St. Preux, coming off the victory over Antwainn Britt just a few weeks ago, took the decision over Benji Radach in a light heavyweight bout. Radach was fighting at light heavyweight for the first time.
Mike Kyle, fighting on short notice, came close to stopping Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the first, but Silva rebounded and secured a mount what followed was a barrage of punches that forced a stoppage. Silva picked up the win.
Strikeforce Aftermath:
All in all, it was a successful event to cap off the year for Strikeforce.
In the ever growing debate of Strikeforce or UFC, Strikeforce dealt a blow to the UFC by having devastating knockouts. While the TUF finale ended with controversial decision wins for Leonard Garcia and boring lay-n-pray fights.
What Strikeforce lacks in pay per view appeal, they make up for by having sizzle with fighters like Robbie Lawler who seemingly only wins by KO or having UFC castoff Paul Daley deliver a devastating knockout, which begs the question “has MMA evolved to the point of matching a fighter with a specialty (wrestling) against another specialty (striking) and expecting an MMA fight?
The answer is no!
Unless you are GSP (who only learned to wrestle as a MMA fighter) and mastered all elements of boxing, wrestling and jiujitsu then you take the Strikeforce approach and match a striker against another striker or wrestler against wrestler and sit back get your popcorn ready and watch the fireworks!
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