April 9th marked the first Strikeforce event under the new Zuffa banner. Scott Coker and Dana White have both stated things would remain business as usual for Strikeforce, last night this held true. Diaz vs. Daley ran just like any other Strikeforce event with the exception of seeing Dana White in the Audience with a Strikeforce tee shirt on. Also there was much talk of the UFC and possible super fights between the UFC and Strikeforce. It was a quick, but great night of fights, with KO’s subs and epic mustaches.
The night started with Aoki/Beerbohm, which was a fight that Aoki was given to win. Beerbohm was just no match for Aoki, with a wrestling base he was sure to end up on the ground in Aoki’s world. Aoki quickly got top control and took Beerbohm’s back quickly looking for a choke, he settled for a neck crank which ended the fight at 1:33 of the opening round.
The next fight on the main card was Mousasi/Jardine. This fight was reffed by a man with one of the most epic moustaches known to man, however the moustache did not help with making good calls. Jardine took this fight on less than 2 weeks notice and with his very questionable chin this fight wasn’t expected to go long according to many. Mousasi vowed to be more aggressive which I did not see happen. It also amazed me to see how little Mousasi has worked on his take down defense since losing the belt to King Mo; who essentially took him down and controlled top position for 5 rounds. The first round was a close one where Jardine was able to secure a few take downs, but they did not lead to any ground and pound. Mousasi was back on his feet within seconds. Mousasi won the stand up exchanges stalking Jardine down, Jardine looked rocked and winded towards the end of the round. The first was however tainted by a point deduction with no warning from a very insignificant strike. Mousasi threw an up kick that landed as Jardine was taking a knee. The 2nd and 3rd round looked virtually identical, Mousasi stalking Jardine down and picking him apart, at the start of the 2nd Jardine was already bloodied up above both eyes. Jardine was able to secure the occasional take down but every takedown lead to nothing. No ground and pound and no advancement of position with Mousasi back on his feet within seconds. The ref made another questionable call stopping the fight in the middle of a Mousasi flurry to replace a fallen mouthpiece, giving Jardine more time to recover. The judges ruled the bout a majority draw which again showcases the flaw in North American judging, takedowns that lead to nothing were enough to keep Jardine in the fight even though he was being picked apart standing, bloodied and rocked on numerous occasions! Even with the point deduction Mousasi won the fight.
Melendez/Kawajiri entered the cage for the first Title fight of the night, in a rematch from a meeting in Pride back in 2006, where Melendez won a Decision. Melendez came out super aggressive standing, not wanting to leave this fight to the judges! Melendez was throwing huge punches, he connected early with a right that dropped Kawajiri, he kept this momentum going throwing bomb after bomb. They eventually ended up against the cage where Melendez continued to throw huge shots. Once the fight hit the mat Melendez put himself in top position and utilized Strikeforce’s new unified rules allowing elbows and threw a Hellbow that stopped the fight!! Melendez wins and retains his belt by TKO at 3:14 of the first round.
Now it was time for the Main Event Diaz/Daley. This was a fight no one wanted to blink during. The bout was fast passed and momentum shifted several times. Diaz started with his patent hands down trash talking style, luring Daley in. Daley was caught off guard when Diaz came forward in exchanges aggressively throwing strikes. Diaz seemed to catch Daley early a few times wobbling his feet and backing him up. Momentum shifted when Daley was able to land his highly feared left hook, which dropped Diaz hard. He followed Diaz to the ground looking to finish but Diaz was able to recover and work back to his feet. From here Diaz started landing often, working the body as well as the head. With just seconds remaining in the opening round Diaz dropped Daley and followed him to the ground finishing him with strikes from top position for a TKO victory at 4:57. Daley was badly wobbled and needed assistance getting to a stool. Diaz keeps his title and shows yet again why he is a top welterweight, beating Daley at his own game, not looking for the easy victory by taking the fight to the ground.
With only 4 fights on the main card this was going to be a short event, but with 3 of those 4 bouts ending in the first round the event only lasted for just over 90 minutes. It was very disappointing that Strikeforce didn’t take advantage of this free time to air some of the preliminary fights. They had the opportunity to show 2 or 3 more fights as 3 of the prelims ended in the first round, and wouldn’t have taken much time to air with skipped entrances. Overall the night was a great night of fights, Strikeforce has its holes, mainly the commentary staff but it is nice to see some variety from the UFC events. Things like keys to victory, compustrike and even the video game pre fight clips are a great addition to the show. It’s hard to complain about a free MMA show with 2 Title fights on the card, Strikeforce did not disappoint and has many exciting fights on upcoming events.
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