Main Event – Strikeforce light-heavyweight title
Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante (10-2) vs. Dan Henderson (26-8)
The main event in Columbus, Ohio is a tantalising battle for the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title as champion Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante makes his first defence of the gold against former PRIDE and UFC stalwart Dan Henderson. Team Nogueira standout ‘Feijao’ hit a career high as the 10-2 banger won the 205lb title from Muhammad ‘King Mo’ Lawal at ‘Strikeforce – Houston’ last August. The Brazilian looked in impeccable form as he prevented each takedown attempt by the wrestling machine Lawal and totally smashed him with elbows and knees en route to a third round stoppage to become the new champion.Prior to that, the muay thai striker from Sao Paulo made a disappointing Strikeforce debut in June 2009 when he was stopped by strikes from knockout artist Mike Kyle before winning back to back fights to earn himself the title shot, the second a nice first round knockout of Antwain Britt. But the victory over ‘King Mo’ proved to be the stellar performance of ‘Feijao’s career to date and the Brazilian will not be handing over his title without a scrap this weekend.
At 40-years old, Dan Henderson must have thought his days of title-shots were coming to an end but ‘Hendo’ finds himself in his second title fight in three appearances under the Strikeforce banner. After his infamously brutal knockout of Britain’s own Michael Bisping at UFC 100, ‘Hendo’ failed to reach terms with the promotion and jumped ship in April 2010 to face Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields.
The decision backfired as Shields recovered from an early beating to win a lopsided decision and retain the gold. Henderson decided to have another shot at 205lbs and in December decimated fellow veteran Renato Sobral in less than two minutes to earn himself a shot at the light-heavyweight gold this weekend in Columbus.
Steve Davies’ Verdict: This is a tough, tough one to call. ‘Feijao’ found ‘King Mo’ a little easier to deal with than expected and considering Henderson isn’t really known for an explosive double-leg shot one would imagine that Cavalcante will enjoy a little more space and freedom to throw strikes. While ‘Hendo’s striking has never been the most refined, his sheer knockout power has not diminished one bit. The wrestler may rely heavily on the clinch to control opponents and work for takedowns but he will not fear ‘Feijao’s nasty muay thai skills due to his titanium jaw and ability to absorb a large amount of punishment. The first couple of rounds could be a cagey affair but I just do not see this fight going the distance. Can the champion knock out ‘Hendo’? Probably not. Can Henderson knock out the champion? Most definitely. We will see a new champion crowned in Ohio. Henderson, (T)KO, 3rd round.
Michael Pepper’s Verdict: Cavalcante, (T)KO, 2nd round.
Brad Wharton’s Verdict: Henderson, (T)KO, 2nd round.
Co-main event – Strikeforce women’s welterweight title
Marloes Coenen (18-4) vs. Liz Carmouche (5-0)
Female welterweight champion Marloes ‘Rumina’ Coenen makes her first title defence this coming weekend as the Dutch submissions wizard takes on Liz ‘Girl-Rilla’ Carmouche for the Strikeforce women’s welterweight title.Coenen may have lost her first title shot in Strikeforce, a third round TKO at the heavy hands of Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos, but the Golden Glory product was given another shot at gold when she faced Sarah Kaufman in October last year. ‘Rumina’ triumphed this time, adding a thirteenth submission victory to her impressive record with a third-round armbar over the champion.
A late replacement for the injured Miesha Tate, undefeated Liz Carmouche is a relative newcomer to Strikeforce but the rookie was quick to accept the hefty challenge of a title shot in what will be only her sixth professional fight. Carmouche has only had one fight go the distance, finishing her other four opponents within the three rounds.
Most recently, the San Diego based fighter took on the more experienced Jan Finney at Strikeforce Challengers 12 in November, beating Finney by TKO in the third round to gain an impressive second promotion victory after beating Colleen Schneider by decision a couple of months earlier. A strong wrestler with good ground and pound skills, Carmouche faces a big test of her skillset this weekend but ‘Girl-Rilla’ will definitely be coming to make a fight of it in Ohio.
Steve Davies’ Verdict: In a battle of experienced champion and rookie challenger, the key to victory for Coenen will depend on how well she deals with spending uncomfortable lengths of time underneath Carmouche on fight night. ‘Girl-Rilla’ will look to take down the champion and grind away with strikes from guard but Coenen’s submission skills will likely be a little too good for the up and coming Carmouche this weekend. Coenen, submission, 3rd round.
Michael Pepper’s Verdict: Coenen, (T)KO, 1st round.
Brad Wharton’s Verdict: Coenen, submission, 2nd round.
Tim Kennedy (12-3) vs. Melvin Manhoef (24-8-1)
A great middleweight addition to the main card on the weekend sees former U.S military man Tim Kennedy look to rebound from defeat when fighting for the Strikeforce middleweight title by taking out deadly Dutch striking sensation Melvin Manhoef.Kennedy was riding a four-fight win streak into his fight with ‘Jacare’ for the title in August 2010 and had beaten the likes of Nick Thompson, Zak Cummings and Trevor Prangley along the way. It was his no-nonsense choke-out of Prangley at ‘Strikeforce – Los Angeles’ last June that earned him his shot at the belt vacated by Jake Shields but Kennedy met his match and lost a unanimous decision to the grappling phenom ‘Jacare’.
‘No Mercy’ may have a reputation as being one of the nastiest wrecking machines to ever fight at 185lbs but the stocky fire-cracker from Amsterdam has been prevented from entering the top tier of the worldwide middleweight division due to his lack of any kind of ground game. Manhoef hasn’t won since 2009, when he finished Kazuo Misaki with first round punches in K-1 Dynamite!
The kickboxer with the bricks for fists has since gone 0-2, including a flash first round knockout loss to Robbie Lawler at ‘Strikeforce – Miami’ in January 2010. Manhoef was laying a brutal beating on Lawler for much of round one until a stunning right cross turned off his lights and in July Tatsuya Mizuno heaped more misery on ‘No Mercy’ by tapping him with a first round kimura. If Manhoef doesn’t want to follow in the footsteps of other unsuccessful DREAM imports such as Marius Zaromskis, he must stop the rot this weekend and take out Kennedy.
Steve Davies’ Verdict: On his day, Manhoef needs a mere split second to separate his opponent from reality but at the same time the aforementioned opponent needs just as little time to force the Dutchman to play the three-tap symphony. Kennedy is an intelligent fighter and while his striking and chin are solid, the North Carolina native will not stand toe to toe with the wrecking machine and trade slugs with him. Instead, look for another unfortunate ending for ‘No Mercy’ as the army ranger grounds him, takes his back and locks in a no-frills rear-naked choke to put a quick end to Manhoef. Kennedy, submission, 1st round.
Michael Pepper’s Verdict: Kennedy, submission, 1st round.
Brad Wharton’s Verdict: Manhoef, (T)KO, 1st round.
Billy Evangelista (11-0) vs. Jorge Masvidal (20-6)
Another very impressive fight card by Strikeforce is rounded out by a cracking lightweight bout to open the main card, as Billy Evangelista squares-off against Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal. A mainstay of Strikeforce for a couple of years now, Evangelista picked apart lower level opposition before being made one of the main faces of the Challengers series of fight cards and to date, only a No Contest against Mike Aina spoils his record.At ‘Strikeforce Challengers 4’, Evangelista laid a three-round beating on UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel to take the unanimous decision before repeating that feat in October with a comfortable decision over tough slugger Waachim Spiritwolf. The Fresno, California native is well-rounded and solid in all areas of the game but prefers to stand and bang it out with opponents. His opponent on the weekend will be more than willing to oblige……….
The latest in a growing line of promising signings for Strikeforce, Jorge Masvidal has earned a reputation for being an aggressive and exciting lightweight with brutal knockout power at his disposal. With ten TKO victories on his record, the American Top Team banger has had mixed fortunes inside the cage of late after being eliminated in the first round of the inaugural Bellator lightweight tournament and going 3-2 since.
In September last year, ‘Gamebred’ faced British knockout artist Paul Daley under the Shark Fights banner, dropping a unanimous decision against the bigger fighter. Masvidal has moved between lightweight and welterweight in his career but the native of Miami is looking to make 155lbs his permanent home and he could do a lot worse than starting with a win over the unbeaten prospect in Ohio.
Steve Davies’ Verdict: This is an excellent piece of matchmaking and in a Strikeforce lightweight division lacking in top contenders, could easily produce a future title contender. Masvidal has the edge in terms of sheer aggression and knockout power but his habit of fighting with his heart instead of his head could prove costly against a cerebral and conditioned fighter like Evangelista. ‘Gamebred’ will be one punch away from becoming a household name for Strikeforce fans but another Evangelista decision should be the outcome. Evangelista, decision.
Michael Pepper’s Verdict: Evangelista, decision.
Brad Wharton’s Verdict: Masvidal, decision.
Remember to tune into MMABay on fight night for updates on all of the fights on the card of ‘Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson’, and be sure to check out the site on Sunday for a recap of the main talking points.
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