Thomson Wins, Calls Out Melendez and Judges
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson won a hard-fought battle against Gesias Cavalcante, then offered up a challenge to current champion Gilbert Melendez and those who judge this sport as an encore.
Thomson and Melendez have met twice before, splitting the two title contests. A trilogy bout was put on the back burner after Melendez unified the fragmented lightweight title last year, but with a pair of scrappy wins over quality opponents, Thomson is ready to settling things once and for all.
In addition to lobbying for a third bout with Melendez, Thomson called for improvements in judging. Usually something we hear from fighters who came out on the wrong side of the cards, Thomson earned the victory from all three judges, but still questioned what fight they were watching.
Not only does Thomson have a valid point – we all knew this already – but this is also a welcomed departure from the “it could have gone either way, it was a really close fight” we hear all too often from fighters.
Woodley Makes a Statement
After a dicey decision win over Nathan Coy last time out, Tyron Woodley needed an impressive performance to remind everyone that he is someone to watch in the welterweight division. Matched up with fellow prospect Andre Galvao in the opener, Woodley left no doubt that he is someone to watch.
Each time Galvao shot in for a takedown, Woodley stuffed the attempt and pounded on the seven-time Pan-Am Games gold medalist. The first two tries left Galvao woozy, the third brought the referee to his defense, handing Woodley an impressive first round finish.
The victory solidifies Woodley’s standing as one of the few home-grown talents emerging on the Strikeforce roster, and puts him in line for a more high-profile pairing in early 2011.
Another Grappling Star in Need of More Training
A lot was expected of Andre Galvao when he began competing in mixed martial arts. When you have you have 14 combined gold medals from Mundials and Pan-Am Games, you garner some attention entering the cage.
Thus far, it has been a disappointing experience for Galvao, who drops to 5-2 in his career. As we’ve seen too many times before, Galvao is another example of a world-class grappler who has little else to offer when Plan A goes out the window.
The days of one-dimensional fighters finding success at the higher levels are long gone. Strikers need to develop better grappling, and grapplers need to develop better striking. Add Andre Galvao’s name to the list of examples of the latter.
Strikeforce in a Strange Position
The organization has said that they don’t view themselves as being in competition with the UFC, but regardless of what the company says, onlookers are always going to compare the San Jose-based outfit to the biggest brand in the business.
Unfortunately for Strikeforce, the comparison is far from favorable.
Veteran wrestling announcer and MMA fan Jim Ross nailed things, offering on Twitter that the “UFC’s production blows Showtime out of the water,” and that Strikeforce is stuck in a bad deal with the premium cable provider. They may not want the comparisons, but they’re coming anyway, and Strikeforce needs to do something about it.
On a Positive Note…
The announcing trio that manned the table Saturday night was the best combination put forth by Strikeforce to date, as the team of Mauro Ranallo, Frank Shamrock and Pat Miletich excelled.
Miletich might be the best color man in the business right now, a grizzled veteran of the sport who has seen and done it all, and offers his insights without a filter. He calls the action as he sees it and doesn’t dumb it down. While Shamrock can be insufferable at times, his very basic breakdowns are balanced out opposite Miletich and are less frequent with the absence of CBS play-by-play man Gus Johnson.
Ranallo showed his true strength calling the action, as well. Improperly cast as an analyst on misaligned CBS broadcasts, the Canadian announcer is best when describing the action and leaving the insights to his accomplices.
Imagine how great it would be if they bounced Shamrock in favor of “The Fight Professor” Stephan Quadros?