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.