Never the less this card was entertaining. We got to see one of the best grapplers in the world, Roger Gracie, fight in the cage against Kevin Randleman, once again not the most relevant fight but it was entertaining. The Co-Main event of the evening was an important fight as  it would decide who would be slightly relevant in the Heavyweight division in Strikeforce, as well as the overall MMA Heavyweight rankings. Andrei Arlovski didn’t look like “The Pitbull”, the man who was really beating Fedor ’til he threw the knee in their fight. I hate to say it but he kind of reminded me of Cro Cop in his fight with Junior Dos Santos back at UFC 103. He just looked tentative and not as ferocious and quick as he used to. He couldn’t seem to get through the defense of Antonio Silva. Silva was able to land some good shots on Arlovski and really out box him for the entire fight.  Silva would go on to take a Unanimous Decision with scores of 29-28 across the boards. I had the fight scored 30-27 in favor of Silva but you could argue Arlovski won the last bit of the second round.

The main event was quick, short and something the casual fan would enjoy. Alistair Overeem made his return, finally defending the belt after 2 and half years away from the Strikeforce banner, fighting in DREAM and K-1 up until last night. His opponent would be Brett Rogers, last seen losing to Fedor on Strikeforce’s CBS debut back in November. There have been arguments that Brett didn’t deserve to fight Overeem but really who were they going to give him? Bigfoot was already tapped to fight Arlovski and Werdum is already tied up with Fedor next month. The lack of depth on Strikeforce’s roster forced this fight to happen and I didn’t really mind it. Rogers was originally slated to face Overeem earlier on in his career but instead got fights with Arlovski and Fedor. Rogers did not look good last night. He looked tentative and reluctant to engage his opponent. This was not the same Rogers who came storming at Arlovski and Fedor. Overeem was able stay distant and eventually trip Rogers to the ground and from there tee off with vicious ground and pound as Rogers assumed the fetal position, allowing Overeem to claim the TKO victory in the 1^st round.

In his post fight Interview Overeem called out Fedor’s management on the reason for him not fighting Fedor. That fight is the only logical next step for Overeem and Strikeforce. Fedor is favoured to beat Werdum which would result in  two wins against Strikeforce’s best and lead to a future title shot. Now if this happens or not revolves around M-1 Global and their willingness to take a risk for probably the biggest fight Strikeforce could make since Cyborg vs. Carano.
As for Strikeforce’s commentary, well it’s time for a change….that’s all that needs to be said.

Written by FightPros.com Contributor Mike Mazzacres

They opened the show with a well done video package showing the fighters on the main card being broken up and put together like they were rock. The first fight was King Mo vs. Mousasi which was a good choice since it did seemmost likely to end quick. This did not happen. Mousasi looked like he took Mo to lightly in the end he paid for it. Mo was able to take him down seemingly at will and Mousasi couldn’t figure out what to do. In the second round he was able to win the round by being more active off his back, keeping Mo at a distance and hitting him with some short slapping hammer fist punches as well as taking Mo’s back in the final seconds of the round. After that round though both fighters seemed to have gassed. In the 4th and 5th rounds Mo was able to use his wrestling to take Gegard down and control him from the top.  This all added up to King Mo becoming the new Strikeforce Light Heavy Weight Champion. Now 7-0 the wrestling standout has a title to his name. Who is going to challenge him though? After Mousasi there isn’t really anyone else.

The second fight which started at around 10 pm in the east was Aoki vs. Melendez. This was the fight I was most looking forward to. With BJ losing to Frankie Edgar this now added more importance when it comes to the scared art of MMA rankings. Melendez came in with the right game plan to beat Aoki. He was able to take Aoki down and push him in to the cage and for the most part stay away from Aoki’s jiu jitsu abilities. Aoki just couldn’t really do anything about it, if it was down in the ground he was up against the fence getting feed some GnP and if it was standing he was easily out struck. This led to Melendez getting a decision win over Aoki and hopefully in his eyes he gets the respect he deserves now.

Shields Henderson was the fight of the night. The first round was huge with Shields getting dropped twice by Henderson’s monstrous right hand the first time though he was still lucid enough to grab a leg and try for a leg lock. In the second round Henderson looked spent and Shields was able to take him down, something many did not expect given Henderson’s wrestling credentials.  Once the fight got to the ground Shields was able to get into mount and stay in mount for the remainder of the round. He was hitting Henderson with good, short punches but they did not look like they were doing enough to win him the round handily.  The other rounds were all like round two with Shields taking Henderson down and Henderson not really having a answerer. This was a huge upset since many fans (myself included) figured that Henderson would be able to keep it standing and pick Shields apart.  Shields proved everyone wrong and showed his heart and beat Dan Henderson to retain the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.

Then during the post fight interview Jason “Mayhem” Miller randomly got in the cage. What ensued was a brawl on national television and Gus Johnson saying “Well these things happen sometimes in MMA”. Way to bury our sport even more Gus! This was not good for Strikeforce or MMA in general. Hopefully this won’t be picked up by the bigger media outlets. The odds that this Strikeforce debacle will slide by with less media coverage than expected (for the most part) is very likely considering that the NBA and NHL playoffs are getting underway at this time. Most mainstream outlets will have something covering the incident, ESPN and SI showed that they had a article up but you had to do some searching to even find it.  Sadly like UFC 112 something that happened at the end of the show is over shadowing the bigger surprises and more importantly stuff that we all should be talking about.

You can follow Mike MaZZacane on Twitter @MaZZacreMMA

Let me apologize in advance – the article, however short, will take longer to read than the duration of the Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields match this Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Its not that its a failure on the part of the match makers. No, the fight needed to happen. Shields is the reigning Strikeforce World Middleweight champ and Hendo is one of the most decorated fight veterans in the game today. After negotiations failed with the UFC it only made sense that Scott Coker put Henderson against their top middleweight. It’s a win-win for Strikeforce. If Henderson wins than Strikeforce has solidified itself as a competitor with the UFC for talent in it’s ranks. Not trying to steal anything from Fedor, but until he starts competing with top tier talent in their prime, he will go down as nothing more than a glorified “celebrity” fighter. Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Rodgers? C’mon now. Anyway if Shields wins (gulp) then Coker has proven to the world that his fighters are indeed at the level of the UFC’s finest.

The fight might go two rounds. While Hendo has all the ability in the world to take Shields down at his leisure, he will probably opt to stand and keep his right hand cocked. When the time is right Hendo will use that hand to drop Shields into a deep, deep, sleep. Not taking anything away from Shields – he will join a long yet elite list of talented fighters that go to the ER for head x-rays after fighting Dan Henderson. To even stand across from Dan you have to be an “A-List” fighter. Shields is such a fighter.

I like both of these guys . Shields is got some slick BJJ but in the end I don’t think he possesses the strength, wrestling, striking, or chin to pose a threat to Dan Henderson.

The nice part about predictions like mine – it’s great when I’m proven wrong. THAT is why we love our sport. It does tend to be unpredictable.

Scottie Farrow is a Fightpros.com contributor. Follow Scottie on Twitter @yodade37

The  3 MMA shows will air as follows

Tuff-N-Nuff will air at 7 pm Pacific – the biggest fight will see Ryan Couture (son of MMA legend Randy Couture) vs Sean Bollinger for the Vacant 155lbs title . This will also be Ryan’s last amateur fight.

KOTC: Legacy will air at 10 p.m. ET- key fights include Mike Kyle v Jon Murphy and Jaime Jara v Nick Gaston.

Strikeforce: Challangers VII will air ar 11 p.m ET – Key bouts are the return of Ron “Abongo” Humphrey  vs. George Bush III(no not our former president) in the LHW division.  In the womens 135 lbs division we’ll see Zolia Grausto vs Miesha Tate.  But wait! Let’s not forget about the return of Lavar Johnson against Lolohea Mahe in the main event in a Heavyweight bout.  One last fight that everyone should also get excited for is a Middleweight bout between Luke Stewart and Andre Galvao.

You can go to the Stream for Tuff-N-Nuff  #mce_temp_url#

You can follow Mike MaZZacane on Twitter @mikemazzacre

Showtime is offering a free preview weekend which will include Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 7 event. Challengers 7 is a five-fight main card which features a main event bout between Lavar Johnson and Lolohea Mahe. A notable fight on the preliminary card is between heavyweights Daniel Cormier and John Devine. Daniel Cormier is a former Oklahoma State Wrestler who also wrestled on the 2004 Olympic team.

Strikeforce Challengers 7 airs this Friday at 11:45pm EST.

Showtime’s free preview weekend begins Thursday, March 25th and runs through Sunday, March 28th.

MAIN CARD
• Lavar Johnson vs. Lolohea Mahe
• George Bush III vs. Ron “Abongo” Humphrey
• Andre Galvao vs. Luke Stewart
• Zoila Frausto vs. Miesha Tate
• Justin Wilcox vs. Shamar Bailey

by FightPros Writer Brandon Wofford

It is public knowledge that following the demise of EliteXC, Dana White stated he felt bad for no one but Jake Shields.  This is high praise indeed coming from one who has scrutinized every fighter to emerge in the MMA world for more than a decade.  Where skill and presence speak you find Dana White listening, yet to the world at large it appears that Shields has been doing the talking!  Are you listening Dana?

Has Shield’s skill spoken loudly enough?  has Dana been listening closely enough?  Has Dana White been too distracted by thoughts of mergers with Abu Dhabi and medical Drama with Tito Ortiz?  The world will find out shortly, in fact, after Striekforce’s April 17th bout!  Strikeforce, where the name Shileds reigns supreme, is watching as their champion is preparing to go free agent after his April 17th bout.  Some say the move to free agent for Shields is irrelevant being that Dan Henderson is the challenger Shields faces on the 17th.  many speculate a new champion for Strikeforce on the 17th, with or without Shields going free agent.

Shields told MMAjunkie, “I am happy with Strikeforce.  They’ve given me big fights like I asked for, so I’m happy with them. But also, I do want big fights, and of course the UFC has a lot of big fights as well.”

Apparently Shields has no fear of Dan Henderson, nor does Henderson have anything to do with his planned exit from Strikeforce.  However, Shields is a hungry young fighter who continually wants to face the next great challenge.  Who will be able to offer Shields not just the next big fight (Henderson), but the next (Alves), and the next (Fitch), and the next (Koschek)?  The UFC is where the dominant talent in this division resides.  The UFC appears to be the answer to the talent shortage Shields is facing.

Are you listening Mr. White?  Shields is talking!

As always, what say you?

Pastor Bob

You can follow Pastor Bob on Twitter @pastorbobmma

Shamrock Promotions – the Midwest’s premier MMA fight promotion – is co-owned by Finney MMA co-owner Jesse Finney and Rob Donaker. Rob instructs fighters at his gym in St Louis, Missouri and has been in the promotion business for the better part of twelve years. Shamrock holds events approximately every six weeks. Venues range in size from four hundred to over one thousand spectators with each one consistently selling out weeks in advance. Shamrock was also responsible for bringing Strikeforce to St Louis, co-promoting their Lawler vs. Shields event last June at the Scottrade Center. When asked about their relationship with Strikeforce, Rob says “…Strikeforce does it right. In other large MMA organizations the fighters are not allowed to fight outside the company. If you are a new or mid card fighter it can prove hard to make a living with only a couple of fights a year. Strikeforce allows it’s fighters to step out of the organization, fight for different promotions, and make enough money to support their families. Strikeforce puts on great shows and keeps the fighters’ best interest in mind”. While recently visiting Finney MMA, I asked some of the fighters where they see themselves five years from now. The answer was universal – “competing in Strikeforce”. Considering the talent pool of young fighters at Finney’s, the probability of seeing these fighters’ dreams come to fruition is very possible.

If you can still get a hold of a ticket for this event, get one!  It promises to be an unforgettable night of hard hitting action. Shamrock Promotions wants to remind you “It’s not just a fight, it’s also a party”.

For more information about Finney’s MMA in St Louis, Missouri you can go to http://finneyskickboxing.com/

For more information about upcoming Xtreme Fight Party you can go to http://extremefightparty.com/

Scottie Farrow is a writer/contributor for Fightpros.com, you can follow him on Twitter @yodade37

Further applause should be given to Herschel Walker, who at the age of 47 looks as if he could pass for 27.  The man is built!

The actual weights are as follows:

Nick Diaz (169.5) vs. Marius Zaromskis (169)
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (144.5) vs. Marloes Coenen (143.75)
Herschel Walker (214.25) vs. Greg Nagy (210.5)
Robbie Lawler (185.75) vs. Melvin Manhoef (185.75)
Bobby Lashley (252.25) vs. Wes Sims (258.25)
Pablo Alfonso (139.25) vs. Marcos da Matta (139.75)
Hayder Hassan (170.5) vs. Ryan Keenan (168)
Sabah Homasi (171.5) vs. John Kelly (170.5)
Michael Byrnes (154.5) vs. David Zitnik (154)
David Gomez (144.5) vs. Craig Oxley (144.75)
John Clarke (169.75) vs. Joe Ray (169.75)

If this fight is happening it has good name power in it which is something Strikeforce is lacking. This is more due to them being new to the business as a whole and general lack of a deep roster. This fight could mean money for them though and to give it away right now when they could tuck it away and put it as the main event of a Showtime event could work out better. If this fight happens I’ll talk more about it then but the real meat of this story is how lacking Strikeforce’s roster is.

It is no secret that the UFC has a monopoly on the Light Heavyweight division. For this reason Strikeforce is forced to make due with what they can get. Now in their Light Heavyweight division they have some good names people will recognize like Sokoudjou, Kevin Randleman, Mousasi and of course King Mo. Those are some familiar names but none of them except for the last two are really hot at the moment. They also don’t have any major prospects coming up aside from Rafael Cavalcante, who is in no way ready to challenge Mousasi for the title.

If they do plan on doing the fight wait to do it until the rumored DREAM Light Heavy Grand Prix is done. With their partnership with DREAM it would be a good way to help lock in talent and scout out new talent. Mousasi is rumored to be participating in the tournament, and if he wins it or goes far, it could leave him out of Strikeforce for the better part of 2010.  That is a down side but the upside is that he may be able to bring with him a couple of guys back to Strikeforce.  Either way the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division is not going to get insanely interesting and deep over night, but will grow in due time.

You can follow Michael Mazzacane on Twitter @mikemazzacre