From here on out, we can call it “The UFC Effect,” where the prolific output of the biggest organization in the business makes it seem like an eternity has gone by since other companies cared enough to give us something else to watch.
For the record, this is the inverse of the “Lady Gaga Effect,” where radio stations play so much of the meat dress-wearing weirdo that you crave something – anything – else, even the rest of the auto-tuned, tone-deaf divas who are currently dominating the charts.
While this year certainly hasn’t gone according to Hoyle for the San Jose-based outfit, their final show on the 2010 calendar is actually as impressive a five-fight collection as we’ve seen from the big boys as of late. Too bad a lot of people are going to skip this event in favour of a less compelling collection of fights on Spike TV instead.
Normally, this would be the point where I begin the breakdown of the fights to come with the opening contest of the evening. Unfortunately, the preliminary portion of the program leaves a lot to be desired, as has been the pattern with most Strikeforce events. So instead of talking up fighters you don’t know, let’s just move to the main card and get this edition of the Punch Drunk Preview started.
Benji Radach (21-5-0) vs. Ovince St. Preux (8-4-0)
It has been a long time since we saw heavy-hitting Benji Radach inside the cage; just a couple days shy of twenty months if you’re keeping track. That last outing was a third round, knockout loss to Scott Smith in one of the more entertaining fights to fly under the radar in 2009. Since then, Radach has been on the sidelines dealing with various injuries and illnesses, and enters this bout on short notice following the collapse of the Herschel Walker/Scott Carson fight.
Radach was originally expected to face a fighter from the undercard in St. Louis, but instead, the former IFL competitor will take on Ovince St. Preux, an emerging and intriguing addition to the light heavyweight ranks coming in off the biggest win of his career.
The Haitian-born St. Preux entered 2010 with a losing record and riding a two-fight losing streak, but he’s subsequently earned five-straight victories to propel himself into the discussion in the 205-pound division. After winning a preliminary card meeting with Chris Hawk in his Strikeforce debut, St. Preux knocked out former UFC competitor Jason Day in eight seconds in July before earning a unanimous decision victory over Antwain Britt just two weeks ago.
It was only this past summer that Britt battled current light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in a #1 contender bout, so the convincing win collected by St. Preux at the last Strikeforce Challengers series event should put the now 8-4 Knoxville-based fighter into the title mix for 2011. A win over a respected veteran like Radach will only make his case even stronger.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (14-2-0) vs. Mike Kyle (18-7-1)
I never thought I would welcome a last-minute injury replacement, but the injury suffered by Valentijn Overeem has produced an addition-by-subtraction situation as Mike Kyle steps in in his place for a more meaningful and entertaining encounter with Antonio Silva.
Honestly – how did Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou figure that Valentijn Overeem was a suitable opponent for one of the lone heavyweight contenders on the roster? Simply being the champion’s big brother shouldn’t get you a main card contest with anyone, especially when you’re 5-7 over the last six years. Sorry about the elbow injury, but Strikeforce (and the fans) dodged a bullet on that one.
Silva is just 1-1 since returning to North America following a steroid-related suspension, but he’s impressed in each of his appearances under the Strikeforce banner. He dropped a close decision to Fabricio Werdum last November, but rebounded by out-striking Andrei Arlovski the last time the organization touched down in “The Show Me State.”
The big Brazilian is able to beat you standing and on the ground, though his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt hasn’t been on display since signing with Strikeforce. Expect that to change in this meeting with Kyle, as Silva will have a serious edge on the ground.
Bringing Kyle in as a replacement for Overeem was a pleasant surprise. Though he has always alternated between competing in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, his last four fights have come in the lower weight class and they have all been victories. Additionally, Kyle holds a TKO victory over current champ Cavalcante, and his recent run of success looked like a good way to build into a potential rematch.
That being said, I’m much happier to see Kyle competing with Silva than Overeem, and will be interested to see if the top-end ‘tweener will be able to hang in with “Bigfoot,” especially on short notice. He’s got big knockout power and a strong all-around stand-up attack, but whether it will be enough to contend with Silva’s size and power is a question that can only be answered once the cage door closes.
Though I gave Rich Chou a hard time in the last match-up, I’d like to give him a virtual high five here for making this explosive encounter a reality.
Daley makes his second Strikeforce debut seven months after being exiled from the UFC for his sucker-punch of Josh Koscheck; “Semtex” fought for the organization twice before between 2007 and 2008. As much as I am excited to see him back on the bigger stage, Daley is one of those fighters you can never be completely sold on.
He missed weight for his fight with Jorge Masvidal in September, a problem that has plagued the Brit from time-to-time in the past, and while he has dangerous knockout power, the book on Daley was written a long time ago; take him down and you should be able to get a win.
For this fight, there will be no going to the ground.
There are no takedowns in Scott Smith’s arsenal; he’ll be swinging with malicious intent from the opening bell, and as we’ve seen in the past, he can pull a victory from the jaws of defeat with just one punch. Ask Cung Le.
This bout marks Smith’s first fight in the welterweight division after a nine-year career spent between light heavyweight and middleweight. Provided the cut to the 170-pound limit doesn’t take too much out of Smith, this could be a very smart decision for “Hands of Steel” moving forward.
While Daley has earned more of the attention heading into this contest, the pairing with “Semtex” is an ideal match-up for Smith and could produce an upset. As much as the Briton is a heavy-hitter, Smith is pretty hard to put away, and is capable of ending your night with a single punch as well, which makes for a potential fireworks display in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Robbie Lawler (19-6-1) vs. Matt Lindland (22-7-0)
It’s not very often that we get a fight between two guys with ties to a pair of the iconic gyms in the history of North American mixed martial arts. Lawler is a Miletich Fighting Systems product who left the Bettendorf, Iowa outfit with Matt Hughes a number of years ago, while Lindland is one of the founding members of Team Quest, remaining at the reins of the Portland branch to this day.
Here’s the thing with this fight: more than any fight in recent memory, who controls the pace and positioning of this contest will dictate how entertaining the bout will be.
We all know that Lawler is a big fan of standing up and swinging for the fences, a formula that usually results in entertaining bouts if Lawler is the one dictating the terms. That being said, Lindland is the antithesis of excitement, an Olympic silver medal winner in Greco-Roman wrestling who grinds out decisions on the ground with the best of them.
The middleweight division is the deepest in the organization, and both men are currently at the bottom end of the contenders list, behind guys like Jason Miller, Tim Kennedy and Luke Rockhold. They’ve each also been around the sport for an extended period of time, so their window of opportunity is nowhere near as wide as it used to be, making a fight like this all the more important.
Only one of these fighters will be able to inject themselves into the title picture in 2011, and getting a win to close out the year is a good way to get started.
All long time ago, but not in a galaxy far, far away, these two veterans met during the RINGS King of Kings Tournament final, a bout that is getting some burn heading into this encounter. Henderson handed Sobral the first loss of his career in earning the tournament title, and Strikeforce is somewhat playing this as a chance for Sobral to earn a measure of revenge.
While I know every fighter likes to avenge their losses, this is an intriguing fight without trying to sell a rematch that comes more than a decade after the initial encounter. The winner will be the next to face “Feijao” for the light heavyweight strap, and the two combatants match-up pretty well in all aspects, so the extra hype is not necessary.
Henderson failed miserably in his debut with the organization, a middleweight title contest that saw him win the opening round against Jake Shields before being dominated for the final four frames. This is an opportunity for the former Pride two-division champion to redeem himself and earn a shot at another title, but nothing is assured against Sobral. A second-straight loss would be devastating, not only for Henderson, but for the company as a whole, as the long-time veteran was brought in as a marquee attraction.
With that in mind, Sobral should be coming into this fight free of pressure. The former light heavyweight champ earned a strong decision win over Robbie Lawler in a catchweight contest last time out, and his loss to Gegard Mousasi stands as the only defeat he’s suffered since being released by the UFC three-plus years ago.
“Babalu” has improved his striking over the years and remains a threat on the ground. While his power isn’t at the same level as Henderson, he has a much more offensive and dangerous grappling game than the former Olympic wrestler; where Henderson is more of a grind-it-out grappler at this stage, Sobral is still capable of catching just about anyone with a myriad of submission moves from his Brazilian jiu jitsu bag of tricks.