Strikeforce Impressions

As predicted, Santos overwhelmed Carano and stopped her via TKO. What was somewhat interesting was that both fighters had top position, Carano even had the mount twice, and both decided to get up and stand. Perhaps lack of training? I don't buy that. You don't train for an MMA fight purely on kickboxing. I think they were both just nervous. In the end, Cyborg went on top of Gina and finished her on the ground. I think both fighters were just nervous. This was a big moment in MMA history. Perhaps this will inspire women to get into the sport. By that, I mean actually look at this as a career. The credentials for a woman to get into MMA fighting is not as steep as their male counterpart. Women don't have to be NCAA wrestling champs or K-1 professionals before entering the octagon. The talent level just isn't there yet. The women's division of MMA is still waiting for someone to come in and really evolve their division to something beyond stand up striking. Anyways, enough of that. Time to move on to the rest of the card.

Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor

This wasn't televised, and I can't find somewhere to watch it online for the life of me. So, just by going on some of the comments on forums and what not, I'm guessing it was a boring fight. Ten takedown attempts by Taylor? Only one of them was successful. Looks like I overestimated Taylor's takedowns and completely underestimated Jay's takedown defense. I was wrong on this one, but can't blame a guy for seeing the fight differently than most.

Babalu vs. Mousasi

Gegard is the next big thing in MMA. I was pretty shocked he was able to finish Sobral, and finish it early as well. Fedor's protege is looking very Fedor like in his demeanor as well. This guy is scary.

Melendez vs. Ishida

Gil looked very good in this fight. I really felt he was back looking to prove something, and he did. Ishida took the fight on short notice, and it showed. He was very sloppy out there and this time around couldn't get through the size advantage Melendez had.

Werdum vs. Kyle

Kyle had some surprising moves off his back in this fight. However, Werdum showed why he picks apart any sub par heavyweight. His jitz is top notch. It's a shame Werdum wasn't able to get over the hump in the UFC for a title shot. He should fare better in Strikeforce.

Strikeforce: August 15th San Jose

Carano(+165)vs. Cyborg(-205)

First of all, I'd like to say Bodog sucks for not allowing Canadians to make an account there. Secondly, The Greek sportsbook sucks for not having any of the lines up for betting. Okay, now let's get into it!

I already previewed this match up a little bit, and I still stand by my prediction. Interesting seeing Carano as the underdog in the betting. Most of the pros seem to be picking her, but I'm not sure how much of it is biased and how much of it is actual predicting. Carano is an accurate striker, but she's not a pin point explosive counter striker and she gets by a lot on her size and accuracy. She will be overwhelmed by Santos in my opinion. Will the judges save Gina if it comes to a decision? Probably. However, I'm no longer sure it will come to a decision. Five, five minute rounds of pure kickboxing between these two means it won't. Santos by TKO.

Jay Hieron (-190) vs. Jesse Taylor (+155)

Nice to see Jesse isn't such a big underdog here in the lines, because he has a real legit chance of winning here. Will he finish Jay? Hell no. Will he lay and pray his way to victory? Absolutely. Think about it. This is a short notice fight, and Jesse has nothing to fall back on here but his wrestling. He didn't have time to work on his stand up to match Jay, so he's going to go for the predictable takedowns and lay in his guard. Jay has decent wrestling skills as well, but eventually he will be put on his ass. Taylor is a massive welterweight. He could get submitted, or could lose a decision if Jay stuffs all of the takedowns and frustrates him. I wouldn't count on it though.

Babalu(+195) vs. Mousasi(-250)

Middleweight ace Gegard Mousasi is officially moving up to Light Heavy for good it seems. This fight should really put him on the map if he wins it. Bablu is a very good, very experienced fighter seeing a bit of a ressurgence as of late with wins over Mike Whitehead, Sokoudjou, and Bobby Southworth. However, true fight heads know Gegard is the real deal. After tearing up the middleweight tournament at the Dream promotion, Mousasi is finally in the spotlight in North America. Is Babalu going to be his stepping stone? Sure seems like it. While Babalu has a terrific ground game, he has a tendency to stand and brawl. This works in Mousasi's favor, but he is no joke on the ground either. I expect Gegard to win via decision.

Melendez (-200) vs. Ishida (+160)

I can't believe Melendez is -200. I don't see him heavily favoured to win this at all. I don't see how he can stop the endless barrage of takedowns awaiting him from Ishida. However, I believe he will. Beating a fighter of Gilbert's caliber twice is tough, and I think Gil is ready to show he's back. Ishida can easily grind out a decision though, so don't be surprised if I'm wrong.

Well, it looks like I'm predicting a somewhat boring card. Gina and Cyborg should be fun though.

Jiu-Jitsu Takedown

Some basic stuff here, nothing flashy. This guy is awesome to say the least. He's like an Italian Bass Rutten. His name is Mario Sperry and he has a whole bunch of stuff up on youtube regarding jiu jitsu techniques. Definitely check it out. In the meantime I'm going to get my lazy ass over to a free lesson at Toronto BJJ or maybe some other place.

Thales Leites cut from UFC

Well, Thales has been cut from the UFC. He wasn't that bad was he? I feel really bad for him. Sakara wasn't really trying to fight him and Thales was trying to push for an exchange. It's unfortunate. I personally thought Thales won the fight, but Sakara landing some shots near the end of the 3rd round might have given him the favor in the judges eyes. Leites is a good fighter and will end up somewhere for sure. Strikeforce or Dream are probably his best options.

Cyborg vs. Carano Preview, Arlovski to box in September

Nice little promo for the upcoming headliner on Strikeforce this Saturday. Also good to know that it'll be five, five minute rounds. I'm actually pretty scared for Gina. Cyborg is just an absolute beast, and we all know Carano has had trouble with her cardio in the past. It's going to be bloody, and I think it'll be a close win for Cyborg. She just does a better job pushing the pace of the fight, and I'm not sure how Gina is with the counter striking. One thing for sure, the women fights are always entertaining despite lacking in technical areas like the ground game.



AA says he will probably fight in September in a boxing match. He pretty much confirms it within the first 10 seconds of the video, so you don't have to look too far into this 40 minute beast of a Q and A to hear it. He also says he doesn't like Brock Lesnar, then again many probably don't because Brock certainly comes off as an asshole. I was pretty curious as to why Arlovski would be at a comic-con of all places, and turns out it was to promote his new action figure toy. At least, that's what I think makes sense. Anyways, possible opponents for Arlovski could be WBA heavyweight champ Nikolai Valuev or WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Muay Thai Tuesday: Classic Elbow

Well, I can't guarantee that I will remember to post some Muay Thai stuff on Tuesdays but that's what I will call it for now. This girl is pretty hot, so I decided to post it! Notice orthodox stance always leads with the left, and how fluidly she switches stances and puts her right foot forward when switching to a left kick. Good stuff. Video was taken at a place called Revolution MMA up in Thornhill. Of course, surprise surprise, former UFC Champ Carlos Newton is associated with this place. Man, his name is on every MMA facility north of Toronto it seems. You can see it here. Now let's actually learn something! Check out this video on the Muay Thai elbow. One thing I notice in many MMA fights is that elbows aren't thrown great in terms of technique. It's normally a high arching elbow coming diagnally downwards from the shoulder to the middle. In a real fight, I suppose it is much easier and quicker to just throw it straight from the side like a jab. Still, always nice to see when a fighter uses the classic style of muay thai elbow.

Jay Hieron to face Jesse Taylor instead of Nick Diaz

You know, if I were Jay Hieron I would be pretty pissed. I mean, the whole reason why he signed with Strikeforce over UFC was to get a title shot right away. That's not going to happen






yet. As reported from a Strikeforce presser, Nick Diaz failed to take a pre fight drug test. The two were supposed to meet for the Welterweight title on August 15th. Instead, we get to see a match up with Hieron and former Ultimate Fighter maniac Jesse Taylor. Anyways, here's hoping we still get to see Hieron/Diaz down the line. Diaz probably just had some weed or something in his system.