DAN HENDERSON BELONGS IN THE UFC
It’s not like Henderson’s departure last year had anything to do with his skills in the cage; it was a financial decision on both sides.
Since leaving the UFC, Henderson has not only banked some serious cash, but he’s also figured out that he’s much more suited to life as a light heavyweight. Now that his Strikeforce contract has expired and the organization is in decline, a move back to the UFC makes sense.
Being Strikeforce champion shouldn’t earn Henderson an immediate title shot if a trip back to the Octagon does occur; there are too many fighters who have paid their dues against better competition to move “Hendo” to the head of the class.
Henderson would be a quality match-up for Lyoto Machida, a rematch of his UFC 75 battle with Quinton Jackson could be entertaining, and a meeting with Tito Ortiz would be capable of carrying a pay-per-view with the right supporting cast.
There isn’t much left for him in Strikeforce other than a meaningless belt and extra spending money. Here’s hoping those don’t become the determining factors in Henderson’s next decision.
END OF AN ERA
Saturday night’s defeat should bring the Fedor Emelianenko Era in Strikeforce to a close. After entering the organization without a legitimate loss in his career, Emelianenko has lost each of his last three contests, leaving his record at 1-3 with the company and 31-4 overall.
Each of his previous two defeats could be explained away — he made a careless mistake against Fabricio Werdum, was physically outmatched by the much larger Antonio Silva — but his loss to Henderson had none of those elements. Fedor was beaten. It was a give-and-take of good shots with the light heavyweight champion, and in the end, Fedor couldn’t take the best Henderson had to offer.
Whether Emelianenko continues fighting outside of the organization is undetermined. As always, the Russian heavyweight will leave his fate in God’s hands. A return to Japan and more favorable fight bookings is a possibility, and working exclusively for the company he is a stakeholder in — M-1 Global — might make sense as well.
Either way, his days as a featured attraction on North American soil are over.
DEBATING THE STOPPAGE
Some people think it was too soon. They look at Fedor turning over after Herb Dean was in the process of waving off the bout and believe “The Last Emperor” wasn’t given enough time to adequately show whether he was capable of continuing or not.
Some see a pair of Henderson strikes to the back of the head and cry foul, believing the inadvertent illegal blows were the cause of the finish.
Others believe Dean did a good job and made the right call. I count myself among the numbers in this last group, and here’s why:
When Henderson connected with his under-the-armpit uppercut, Fedor went from being on all fours to being landing face-first on the canvas. His arms went limp. He offered no immediate defense. That’s the sign of a fighter who is knocked out.
It’s not that I excuse the blows to the back of the head; they clearly landed and undoubtedly did some damage, but much like Melvin Guillard’s final knee to Evan Dunham, they came after the fight was decided. They might have even been the shots that brought Fedor back to his senses.
Past history doesn’t matter either. Citing Fedor’s survival against Kazuyuki Fujita or Henderson’s inability to finish Jake Shields are pointless; you don’t base your decisions on past events. Only the ones that take place in the cage in front of you count.
CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY SHOWS TATE’S MOXIE
I didn’t think Miesha Tate was going to beat Marloes Coenen. I thought the Coenen’s experience and composure would serve her well, especially as the fight wore on.
After battling through a second round that saw her back-mounted for three-quarters of the frame, Tate looked tired to open the third. I expected Coenen to find a submission or win the stand-up battle, but instead, Tate secured another takedown and narrowly won the round.
She looked spent to start the fourth as well, but just like in the third, she brought the fight to her comfort zone, controlling Coenen on the mat. Then she did something that had never been done before — she submitted Coenen. It was a slick finish from a smooth set-up and transition, floating across Coenen’s prone body to cinch the arm triangle choke in deeper.
That kind of resolve cannot be taught. It is learned over time, through repetition and sweat in practice.
REMATCH WITH KAUFMAN ON THE HORIZON
Tate’s first title defense will come against a familiar foe.
Former champ Sarah Kaufman is assured the initial opportunity to face the new champ. Coming off a solid win against Liz Carmouche a week earlier, Kaufman will be facing Tate for the second time.
The first fight was contested as three three-minute rounds, so the extra time will play a factor in the fight. But truthfully, that bout can be thrown out the window. Both fighters have progressed a great deal since the first fight. Kaufman has even better boxing and takedown defense, while Tate has shown improved conditioning and control on the ground.
The only take away from the bout may be psychological. Tate will have to get over the fact that she was beaten by Kaufman in the past, and Kaufman cannot draw too much confidence from the win.
While it feels like we’re saying this with increased frequency, this fight now becomes the most important fight on the schedule for women’s MMA. Tate is the kind of marketable star the sport has been missing since the departure of Gina Carano. Kaufman was given the first chance to put the women’s 135 pound ranks on the Strikeforce map, and came up short, underwhelming in all but one of her fights.
It should be very interesting to see how this one plays out.
Tim Kennedy
KENNEDY MAKES A CASE FOR ANOTHER TITLE SHOT
Tim Kennedy has done all he can do to convince the Strikeforce brass that he’s deserving of another title shot.
He scored a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler with a solid all-around performance. He dominated the opening two rounds. While he slowed in the third, Lawler spent the majority of the fight playing defense, and there was no need for Kennedy to rush in wildly simply to try and finish the fight.
Though he was frustrated with himself after the fight for letting it go to the judges, Kennedy did everything he could short of being careless.
It was Kennedy’s second consecutive win since losing a close decision to current champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza last August; he submitted Melvin Manhoef in March as well. With no other options in sight, a meeting with the winner of September’s fight between Souza and Luke Rockhold seems to make sense.
WOODLEY NOT READY FOR WELTERWEIGHT ELITE
The fact that Tyron Woodley is the top welterweight in Strikeforce should tell you all you need to know about Strikeforce.
That’s not to take anything away from Woodley; he executed a solid game plan in beating Paul Daley on Saturday night. It’s the biggest win of his young career.
But it doesn’t mean he’s ready to take the next step.
While his takedown defense and abilities off his back have improved, Daley is still a striker. Woodley was expected to control this fight with his wrestling and did so. It’s harder to execute a game plan when your opponent is working to stop you from doing so, but Woodley didn’t show enough to make me think he’s ready for prime time.
He’s had just nine professional fights. Saturday’s win over Daley was a good feather in his cap, but also a bout that fit his style to a tee. People are going to mistakenly rush Woodley up the rankings after this win, just as they’ve done with fellow Missouri teammate Ben Askren. Both are quality prospects, but they’re not ready to face the best.
He needs seasoning and time to keep improving and developing as a fighter.
TITLE CHASES SHOW CRACKS IN STRIKEFORCE FOUNDATION
As much as Kennedy has earned another shot at the middleweight title, how many people are that interested in seeing a rematch between he and Souza this quickly? Rockhold is an even less appealing option.
The presumed pairing of Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine for the vacant welterweight strap is even worse. They may be the best Strikeforce has to offer, but that’s because it’s Strikeforce.
No one knows what is going to become of the heavyweight title now that Alistair Overeem has been stripped of the belt and released. The smart money is on Strikeforce sticking it on the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Even the company’s most deserving and talented champion, Gilbert Melendez, doesn’t have much on the horizon. A meeting with Jorge Masvidal is all that awaits him in the Strikeforce cage. Masvidal is good, but he’s no Melendez.
Something needs to be done. The Strikeforce titles are becoming even less meaningful than they already were. The company seems to be cruising along aimlessly, waiting for the other shoe to drop as soon as the Showtime contracts expire.
That’s not a good way to run a business.
THE ANNOUNCERS COMMENT
Fedor is not the Michael Jordan of MMA. Dana White is right — that is a stupid comment, but it wasn’t the worst one of the night.
That honor belonged to Frank Shamrock, who answered, “I don’t know” when asked what Henderson’s motivation would be for taking this fight against Fedor. You’re being paid to give your expert analysis, Frank — how about you take a guess?
Having Gus Johnson conduct the post-fight interviews in the cage is ridiculous. For starters, he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about and he seems to just make up his questions on the fly; that’s never a good look, especially for live TV.
Secondly, how about you don’t ask the iconic Russian who was just beaten for the third straight time to walk us through the finish? Are you kidding me? He just finished telling you that he thought the fight was stopped early, and now you want his play-by-play on him eating a stiff uppercut?
THESE INTRODUCTIONS SUCK
Strikeforce fights make me miss Bruce Buffer.
The nasally voice of Jimmy Lennon Jr. and his compulsion with using 19 words when 9 would suffice makes me want to jam pencils deep into my ears. Every fighter has a handful of completely bogus introductory anecdotes attached to them. Tarec Saffiedine was called a “world class welterweight” on Saturday night. Need I say more?
While the introductions in the UFC build off my enjoyment of the walkout songs and get me on the edge of my seat for the fight that’s about to start, they feel anticlimactic in Strikeforce.
The flow feels backwards. I would even rather they revert back to the double introductions they did in the past; at least that way I was reminded of each fighter’s record right before the fight started.
Now, both fighters get inside the cage, Lennon nasals out who the referee is and we’re underway, pausing briefly for the confused cornermen to finally take down their fighter’s banner that no one even got to see in the first place. It feels rushed, even though all the elements have been covered.
From here on out, give me Buffer or I’m hitting the mute button.