Strikeforce: Fedor v Werdum

An interesting night of fights to say the least. Not the most exciting card I’ve seen all year, but three very decisive victories on the main card, and one that’s still blowing my mind at this very moment…

Cris Cyborg v Jan Finney

Cris Cyborg is easily the best fighter in the world that isn’t a dude, at least that I’ve seen. She beat Gina Carano, which was America’s fighting sweetheart, and now she’s going to systematically beat every other female Strikeforce puts in front of her. I personally don’t see the benefit to the female side of MMA, and this fight shows a lot of why. Jan Finney was clearly outclassed, and watching her get beat down for two rounds was as uncomfortable as watching a car wreck. The fetal position isn’t something a fighter should spend the majority of a fight in, but every time Finney was knocked off her feet (and there were plenty of those), she found her self in said-position.

The female referee was no better than the female “fighter,” as she watched this slaughter from the best seat in the house, and found it somehow warranted multiple rounds. I suppose her definition of “protecting yourself intelligently,” is to just still be breathing despite the onslaught of punches to the head and body. Watching a women get battered like this cannot be good for morale, and the live crowd even began booing the nonstop flurry from Cyborg. I just don’t find myself in the audience of people who enjoy female fighting. It’s less a sport, and more just unintelligible brawling. Please Strikeforce, I know Cyborg is a world class female fighter, but if this is the best challenge there is for her, stop.

Winner: Cyborg by TKO (RD2)

Cung Le v Scott Smith

Cung Le has now one 4 out of 5 rounds against Scott Smith, and one out of two fights. Aside from a few heavy punches in their first meeting, Smith has been thoroughly handled by Cung Le, who is still one of my favorite athletes in the world. Le landed multiple spinning back kicks to the body that were set up with the same fake punches, and Smith’s body couldn’t withstand them. Le has landed the exact same move at least four times in the two fights between these men, and Smith just never saw any of them coming. You’d think after a world class striker throws a fake punch for the 4th or 5th time Smith would catch on, but he didn’t.

Smith came out like a ball of energy, but he never did anything to truly harm Le. He was able to stay close enough to Le to keep from getting into the kicking range for the majority of the first round, but by the second round it was all over for Smith. There was talk of a possible third match between these two, but it just seems as unnecessary as the Strikeforce Women’s Division.

Winner: Cung Le TKO (RD2)

Fedor Emelianenko v Fabricio Werdum

The entire card Showtime kept cutting back to Werdum in the locker room, and for a guy facing off against the #1 one heavyweight in the world, he seemed extremely loose. He was laughing it up in the locker room, and ever showed a few smiles on his way down the entrance ramp to the cage for the fight. If he was scared at all, he wasn’t showing it in any way. The match that took place was quick and shocking. Fedor landed a couple shots that included a left hook, which planted Werdum on his back. Fedor moved in for the kill, almost found himself caught in a submission, escaped for a moment, but didn’t step away, and then found himself back in the same submission, only this time there was no escape.

1:09 was the official time, as Fedor tapped to a triangle choke. That’s all it took for Werdum to shock the entire mixed martial arts world. Fedor handled his only submission gracefully, and not like Forest Griffin/Lebron James would have, as he remained in the ring for post-fight analysis. Emelianenko’s confidence seems to have gotten the best of him, as did Werdum’s power and BJJ skills.

Winner: Werdum SUB (RD1)