Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine Main Card Live Blog

HeavyMMA.com will have live coverage of Saturday’s Strikeforce card, which takes place at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The main card of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine airs on Showtime as part of the premium cable channel’s free preview weekend, which puts the fights in approximately 70 million homes in the United States.

Hit up HeavyMMA at 8 p.m. Eastern for live coverage of the prelims. Then come back right here for live coverage of the main card at 10 p.m., which features a main event middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and former UFC light heavyweight Keith Jardine. Plus, former middleweight title challenger Robbie Lawler looks to snap a two-fight winning streak against Adlan Amagov, and former light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal takes on unbeaten Lorenz Larkin.

Tyler Stinson vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Round 1: Saffiedine ducks away from some early offense from Stinson. Then Stinson lands another couple combos that back Saffiedine up. The two then slow down and circle, measuring each other. Stinson kicks, and Saffiedine answers with one. Inside leg kick from Saffiedine, then a high kick that Stinson blocks. Stinson comes forward hard again with a left, but Saffiedine survives it. Body shot from Saffiedine, but Stinson follows with a teep and a knee. Saffiedine fires off a three-punch combo, and he circles to the outside. Right hand from Saffiedine is followed by a nice right kick to the head, and after a moment Saffiedine lands a front kick to Stinson’s face. Stinson goes for the tie-up, and he lands a big left elbow that has Saffiedine backing up on his horse. The fight goes to the ground, and Stinson goes for an armbar that Saffiedine survives. He gets back to his feet, and Stinson lands another elbow. Saffiedine is bleeding around his right eye. Stinson throws a left, again going after that eye. More big shots from Stinson, who thrwos a knee, then punches that have Saffiedine all kinds of wobbly and backing up. Saffiedine will survive the round, but he loses the round. It’s a 10-9 round for Stinson, a heavy underdog, on the HeavyMMA card. 

Round 2: Slower pace to open the second, but a minute in Stinson lands a nice right kick to the head that has Saffiedine backing up. Saffiedine looks a bit out of sorts and unsure of how to defend against Stinson. Inside leg kick from Saffiedine is followed by a shot, and he drives until he gets Stinson on his back against the fence. Saffiedine works ground-and-pound out of Stinson’s guard along the cage. Saffiedine’s ground-and-pound is relentless, and he’s got Stinson bloodied. He does enough work to not have to face a standup. Saffiedine gets a 10-9 round on the Heavy card, and this should be all even going to the third. 

Round 3: Saffiedine kicks, and Stinson eats it low and gets a break. Saffiedine gets a takedown after the restart and looks for ground-and-pound along the fence. It’s a bad spot for Stinson, and he’ll need to get this back to the feet because that’s where he was winning the fight after first round. Saffiedine lands some elbows from tight quarters, and halfway through the round he’s dominating on the ground. Stinson is unable to get to his feet, and Saffiedine is doing enough to avoid the standup from Steve Mazzagatti. But finally, at 1:10, Steve stands them up. Both fighters are pretty bloody around the face. Big knee from Saffiedine catches Stinson on the chin. Saffiedine is backing up, playing safe. Stinson lands some good shots, then a knee. But it’s going to be too little, too late. 10-9 round for Saffiedine on our card, and 29-28 in the fight. Could be interesting, though.

Result: Tarec Saffiedine def. Tyler Stinson, split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein
Round 1: Mein takes the center of the cage and shows the left jab right away. Left kick to the body from Woodley. Mein staying patient with Woodley’s back to the cage. Woodley works for a takedown, but Mein defends against the fence. Mein’s height helping him keep leverage. They get a break from the ref, and eventually Woodley does finally get a takedown. He works for an arm triangle, but it’s not there. Half guard for Mein, and he eats some decent ground-and-pound before finally getting back to his feet with 40 seconds left in the round. They tie up and Woodley throws a knee late. Mein throws a nice front kick to close, but it’s not enough. Woodley gets a 10-9 round on the HeavyMMA card.

Round 2: Mein throws a leg kick, and it’s caught by Woodley. They tie up, and Woodley is able to eventually force the takedown. Woodley pushes Mein to the cage and looks for some short elbows. Very little action all round – Woodley just using his superior wrestling to keep Mein pinned to the mat. Mein is looking land some shots of his own, but they’re not doing much. And neither are Woodley’s. Mein looks for a guillotine at 20 seconds, but no dice. Easy 10-9 round for Woodley thanks to the ground control.

Round 3: Mein throws a knee, and it lands. But Woodley just pushes in for another takedown. And we’re right back to the same. Three minutes in, the crowd starts to boo. And it’s a miracle it took them this long. They were probably all out on a bathroom break or beer run. It’s been pretty uneventful, with Woodley just laying. But as Mein works or a keylock, the referee … stands them up. Both fighters look at the ref like, “Are you serious?” But it’s a standup nonetheless, and maybe that will be better for Mein who can at least try for a home run ball knockout. They tie up, standing, though, and that’s how the fight will end. It’s a 10-9 round for Woodley, and Heavy has it for him 30-27 in the fight – though he didn’t show much to us other than takedowns and riding it out.

Result: Tyron Woodley def. Jordan Mein, split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Muhammed Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin
Round 1: Lawal shoots, works for it and gets the single. Larkin on his back just 25 seconds in. Big right from Lawal. Then starts peppering the body from the top. Lawal keeps the with the ground-and-pound, and really having no problems. Larkin moves to get to his feet, but Lawal easily puts him back on his back. With about a minute left, Kim Winslow stands them up. The round ends on the feet, and Larkin hits a couple shots to close. But not enough. Lawal wins the round 10-9 on the HeavyMMA card.

Round 2: Thirty seconds in, Lawal looks for the single again and finally gets it after a little bit of a struggle. He looks for some right hands to the body from on top. And he’s landing some bigger ones to the head. And then bigger. And bigger. Larkin is almost out, and finally Winslow gets in to shut it down. It’s the first loss of Larkin’s career, and he took a beating.

Result: Muhammed Lawal def. Lorenz Larkin, TKO, 1:32 Round 2

Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov
Round 1: Lawler comes forward quickly, but Amagov gets a takedown, then quickly passes to half guard. But Lawler gets up. Amagov puts him back down, though, and Amagov looks to work out of half guard. Amagov looking for a guillotine, but then throws a knee to Lawler’s head while he’s on the ground. It lands pretty flush, and Lawler looks to Steve Mazzagatti for some relief. Mazzagatti will take a point away from Amagov, and Lawler gets the standup. Amagov shakes Lawler’s hands on the restart and apologizes for the illegal knee. On the restart, they wait to feel each other out. And then Lawler goes absolutely airborne with a flying knee. It clips Amagov as Lawler goes flying over the top of him. Lawler spins around immediately after landing and pounces on Amagov and lands shots on the ground until Mazzagatti shuts it down. Lawler’s two-fight skid is over.

Result: Robbie Lawler def. Adlan Amagov, TKO, 1:48 Round 1

Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine
Round 1: Jardine comes out fast. Fires some jabs, then a pair of kicks. it’s Jardine’s first fight at middleweight, and he eats a body kick. Big right from each guy. They clinch up and Rockhold pushes Jardine to the fence. Jardine had to lose 19 pounds in 24 hours to make the 185-pound limit – it’ll be interesting how much it has taken out of him. His hands are down at his sides just two minutes in. He ducks out of the way of a high kick, then eats a beautiful spinning back kick from Rockhold right to the stomach. Then another one. Rockhold lands a shot that seems to knock Jardine a little off balance, but he recovers. Spinning back kick again from Rockhold. Then a kick to the body, which seems to be a part of his game plan. Jardine misses a big roundhouse right, then changes stances. Rockhold lands a right behind the left ear of Jardine and sends him to the canvas, but Jardine recovers and they go back to trading with Rockhold inside. Rockhold lands a giant right that sends Jardine down. Jardine’s on his knees, and rockhold just tees off on him over and over again. Jardine starts to get back to his feet, but it’s only for a moment before Rockhold sends him back down. Soon, Herb Dean has waved it off. Rockhold retains his middleweight title with ease.

Result: Luke Rockhold def. Keith Jardine, TKO, 4:26 Round 1

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