Strikeforce on Showtime Preview
Written by: Daniel Kendrick
Heartbreaker/Armbreaker
It’s ladies night! No, I don’t mean getting dolled up, meeting up with the girlfriends, & hittin’ up the clubs. I’m talking about the Showtime Strikeforce card this Saturday night where ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey puts her 135 lb. title on the line against former champion Sarah Kaufman. Rousey’s making her first defense of the title after taking it (and nearly one of her arms) from former champion & fellow cutie, Meisha Tate, who also will be appearing on the card. Get the cold ones ready & enjoy the change in scenery, fellas. Here comes the gorgeous AND tough-as-nails, Ronda Rousey!
Undercard
Women’s Bantamweight
Hiroko ‘Cat’s Eye’ Yamanaka (12-2-0) vs. ‘The Iron Lady’ Germaine De Randamie (2-2-0)
It’s all about the ladies on this night and that’s how things get started in the bantamweight division between Hiroko Yamanaka & Germaine De Randamie. Hiroka, as you may remember, was the opponent for Christiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos when she tested positive for PED use following the fight and had the decision of the fight subsequently overturned. Having the edge in experience, Yamanaka should be able to utilize this significant difference against the relative newcomer in De Randamie. However, both fighter’s forte is in the striking department and in a standing battle, things tend to be a bit more unpredictable so an upset could occur, though very doubtful.
Prediction: Yamanaka by 1st round TKO.
Middleweight
Adlan ‘Borz’ Amagov (9-2-0) vs. Keith ‘KO Kid’ Berry (12-9-0)
It’s the fellas’ turn & it’s going down in the middleweight division between former Russian combat sambo champion Adlan Amagov & Keith Berry. On paper, it’s another showdown between strikers, but as we’ve seen with former sambo practioners Fedor & Aleksander Emelianenko and Sergei Kharitonov, sambo fighters have submissions in their arsenal, particularly with heel hooks and knee bars. Their throws are reminiscent of judo practitioners so if it goes to the ground the distinct edge will be with Amagov, but if it remains standing it can go either way, especially considering both have a rather high KO ratio of their wins.
Prediction: Amagov by 2nd round submission
Lightweight
Bobby ‘King’ Green (18-5-0) vs. Matt Ricehouse (6-0-0)
Keeping up with the furious pace of the card shouldn’t be a problem in the perpetually stacked lightweight division. Bobby Green, coming off his loss to Gesias Cavalcante, is attempting to put the first blemish on Matt Ricehouse’s record and get back on the winning track. Ricehouse is taking the necessary step up in competition following his last win over Ryan Couture. Both are a jack-of-all-trades/master of none so it should make for a pretty interesting back-and-forth fight. Experience could very well be the deal breaker for Ricehouse when the final bell rings, if that’s how far this one goes.
Prediction: Green by UD
Women’s Bantamweight
Meisha ‘Takedown’ Tate (12-3-0) vs. Julie ‘Fireball’ Kedzie (16-9-0)
Pretty girls aren’t all ‘princess’ types as is evident with Meisha Tate. Along with holding a plethora of past grappling titles, she’s a former Strikeforce Women’s 135lb Tournament Champion and Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion. Julie Kedzie is one of the ladies that put women’s MMA on the fighting map. She was one of the fighters in the first ever televised women’s MMA fight back in EliteXC with her 2007 fight against Gina Carano. This upcoming fight is a classic grappler vs. striker. Tate holds a significant advantage in the grappling with her extensive pedigree and Kedzie should have the edge in striking, most especially since she’s been training in Tae Kwon Do since the age of 4. Being a member of the Jackson camp can’t hurt, either. It’s a tough one to call, but the safe bet would be on Tate being as that she’s a former champion & an in close encounter is almost certain where she can utilize her advantage in grappling and ground control en route to a possible finish by either submission or ground & pound.
Prediction: Tate by UD
Light Heavyweight
Ovince St. Preux (11-5-0) vs. T.J. Cook (15-4-0)
The big boys take over in the next insallment. What looks like another grappler vs. striker matchup, Ovince St. Preux brings an edge in high level experience, having been in with such names as Gegard Mousasi & Benji Radach, against T.J. Cook. Going the distance against the highly regarded Mousasi, although dropping the decision, is a big confidence booster for St. Preux. Cook’s KO percentage is considerably higher so that will indefinitely make him the favorite if the fight remains standing, but on the mat, St. Preux holds the edge in submission victories, so the nod should go to him as the favorite in a ground battle.
Prediction: Cook by 2nd round KO
Middleweight
Lumumba ‘Heavy Hands’ Sayers (6-2-0) vs. Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith (14-7-0)
The final fight on the undercard features some more big boys getting at it. Lumumba Sayers brings an experience edge in from his championship Pancrase days including having been in & defeated former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Scott Smith, though having fewer fights on his record. Anthony Smith has lived, eaten, & slept fighting since turning pro at age 19; this has been his only job in this life, thus far. Though both men have admirable grappling achievements, this is likely to be a fight settled in the striking realm, where both men have their fair share of stoppages as well. If it hits the ground, Sayers will undoubtebly be at an advantage being a two-time Pancrase Submission World Grappling champion. Let’s not also forget he wears the nickname ‘Heavy Hands’ for a reason.
Prediction: Sayers by 1st round KO/TKO
Main Card
Welterweight
Tarec ‘Sponge’ Saffeidine (12-3-0) vs. Roger ‘Relentless’ Bowling (11-2-0)
The first fight on the main card is likely a title eliminator for the next shot at champion, Nate Marquardt. Tarec Saffeidine has been in with the higher level of competition and also has a much deeper striking pedigree holding a black belt in Shihaishinkai Karate along with competing in numerous amateur Muay Thai tournaments. Roger Bowling actually has more recent KO’s on his record, so a stoppage one way or another is a very likely scenario. A win in impressive fashion should secure a title shot for either guy so both are probably going to look for the finish. I wouldn’t stray too far from the screen during this one.
Prediction: Bowling by 3rd round TKO
Middleweight
Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza (15-3-0) vs. Derek Brunson (9-1-0)
Another former champion looks to keep on the title track in the middleweight division. Black House Gym member and former middleweight champion, ‘Jacare’ Souza is coming off a submission victory this past March against Bristol Marunde on the Tate vs. Rousey card while Derek Brunson is coming off of his first loss of his professional career via split decision against Kendall Grove just under 2 months ago. Brunson’s wins are close to being equally split between KO’s, submissions, & decisions and although he’s a 2X NCAA division 2 all-american, there should be no secret in his gameplan. Going to the ground against ‘Jacare’ is generally the equivalent of fight suicide. Stopping it from going to the ground is a tough task in itself since not only does ‘Jacare’ train with some of the best strikers in all of MMA at Black House, but he’s also a judo black belt. Brunson is going to need to establish distance with his jab & footwork, stuff Jacare’s takedown attempts & force him to fight a standup battle, otherwise an in close battle will heavily favor Souza’s deep submission game.
Prediction: Jacare by 2nd round submission
Main Event
Women’s Bantamweight Championship
‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey (5-0-0) vs. Sarah Kaufman (15-1-0)
Beauty & brawn are generally qualities coveted by male athletes, but equally, if not more admired in female athletes as made apparent on a recent Conan O’ Brian show that featured this Saturday night’s headlining champion, Ronda Rousey. A 2008 Olympic judo bronze medalist & MMA sensation, Rousey possesses the most potent armbar in all of women’s MMA as shown in her last fight with Meisha Tate where Tate’s arm literally was bent in half against the joint before the fight was ended. Standing across from her, Sarah Kaufman brings a certain amount of extra anomosity into the fight as she felt that the title fight with Tate was rightfully hers having previously defeated Tate, but that Rousey was calling for the fight and got it largely in part because of the beauty factor since both Tate and Rousey are easy on the eyes. However, by her claim, Rousey was underserving of the shot, being a relative newcomer.
Kaufman has about an equal number of stoppages as she has decision victories in her career, despite being a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt, her KO ratio has drastically fallen off against the highest level of women’s MMA that is in Strikeforce as opposed to the lower level professional shows she was in before coming to the promotion. Her one defeat against Marlos Coenen shows that not only is she the ‘real mccoy’, but also that it takes the highest level of opponents to take her out. Thus far, Rousey appears to be just that, although her biggest name opponent has by far been Tate, she one sidedly dominated that affair and as aforementioned, she is the owner of an Olympic judo bronze medal and probably has the deepest amateur pedigree in women’s MMA with her extensive world class judo background. Her standup is still in question since literally every one of her MMA victories, both amateur and professional, have come by submission. Kaufman will need to avoid clinches and takedown attempts to avoid being another casualty on that list and bring Rousey into a battle of the standup for her best chances of walking away with the ‘W’ and recapturing the belt. On a sidenote, if Rousey handles business against Kaufman, as many are anticipating, a bigger fight looms on the horizon with former 145 lb champion, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos once her suspension for PED use has expired. Santos has stated that she’d make the drop to 135 for the fight, so if Rousey defends the title on Saturday night, it looks like a superfight with the ladies could materialize. First, Rousey will have to get past the tough task that is Kaufman, which is no guarantee.
Viewing
The Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship is being held in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center and can be viewed on Showtime with your local cable or satellite provider this upcoming Saturday night, August 18th.
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