SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 12, 2009) – The pre-fight banter was over, and the main event of Strikeforce featured a classic battle between two very experienced fighters who got right to it as soon as the bell rang - taking the center of the cage with no glove tap or respectful high five. While the two fighters felt each other out early, Diaz predictably began talking trash to Shamrock - and while Shamrock seemed un-phased by this - he was unsuccessful in generating offense as Diaz’s reach was already proving to be a problem for the shorter Shamrock.


Diaz easily secured a takedown and wasted no time passing Shamrock’s guard and going to work on a kimura, but Shamrock regained position and made it back to his feet. Diaz stalked Shamrock, again trash talking the whole time and pouncing on Shamrock when he slipped near the end of the first stanza. Diaz went to work immediately passing guard, getting the mount, and pounding Shamrock until the bell rang, and Shamrock was narrowly able to escape out the back door.

Right out of the gate Diaz started in with the trash talking again -no doubt reminding Shamrock of how nice he is and how they should share an Easter beer following the fight - and it was clear that Diaz was in control. The two struck back-and-forth and Diaz clearly got the better of the exchanges, keeping Shamrock at bay with his jab and superior reach despite Shamrock trying feverishly to penetrate Diaz's defenses.


The young Cesar Gracie fighter continued to taunt the former UFC champion, but backed up his trash-talk by landing a huge straight right followed by a number of kicks at which point Diaz began to dominate the bout landing unanswered shot, after unanswered shot. With Shamrock pressed against the cage, Diaz landed a textbook body punch to the left ribcage, that dropped the battered fighter to the mat and from there Diaz switched into kill mode. Standing over Shamrock, he rained down a healthy serving of right and left knuckle sandwiches before celebrity MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy stepped in to stop the the onslaught, amid Shamrock's meager attempts to defend, halting the bout at 3:57 of round 2.


Diaz looked very good in the win, showing great prowess on the ground and on the feet, dealing with Shamrock in a decisive fashion and moving one step closer to title contention in the process. Shamrock said after the fight that he would live to fight another day, and be back to his home arena to battle again, but the battered 36-year-old former champion looked rather rusty and ineffective, could the end be near for one of MMA’s oldest names?

The battle for the interim lightweight belt started quickly with Melendez catching a kick, throwing Damm to the mat, and punishing him by landing shot after shot to the mid section. Rodrigo Damm attempted submissions off his back but Melendez was just too much for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace as he pounded away in devastating fashion, landing an impressive 65% of his strikes on the ground in the first round.

The second round developed in an interesting fashion as Melendez attempted two double-leg take-downs but Damm thwarted his attempts with a couple of very quick sprawls. It then appeared as if Melendez caught a thumb in the eye and despite a lull in the action, came back swinging with Melendez landing some impressive blows and setting up a very powerful straight right, which dropped Damm for good. Melendez polished off the bout with precise blows leaving Rodrigo wondering where in Damm's name he was. 

With the win Melendez solidifies the interim lightweight title, neatly setting up a rematch with the injured lightweight titleholder and former training partner Josh Thompson who is recovering from a leg injury suffered in training. 

Both Scott Smith and Benji Radach are two fighters who - bar some kind of serious injury or maiming- will never be devoid of jobs in the MMA world. Be it Strikeforce, UFC, or Affliction, someone will always want them because they come ready to bang, and bang they did, as the middleweight clash proved to be every bit the battle it was hyped to be.


Both fighters felt each other out as the first round started with both competitors showing plenty of respect for the other fighter’s heavy hands. Scott Smith worked the kicks early on and landed successfully making it hard for Radach to time his rhythm. With two minutes remaining Smith landed a huge blow rocking Radach and following up with a great right-left combo. As he moved out from an attack, Smith was dropped by the right hand of Radach but scrambled back to his wobbly feet where Radach moved in and tried valiantly to finish Smith who survived despite accruing significant damage.


The fighters came out slowly in the second round once again cautious of the others power, but Radach drew first blood in the second hurting his opponent with a powerful right hand and pounded away on Smith who hung on by a thread. Radach moved in and locked in a powerful guillotine but again somehow Smith hung on, barely surviving by dropping to the mat and easing his way out of the submission attempt. Smith, now bleeding heavily from a cut over his left eye, held on and shot for a single leg to eek out a take down to end the second stanza.


The third round started out much like the second, and although Smith was beaten and bruised, came out surprisingly collected pressuring Radach early. Both fighters traded big shots as the battle continued before the tough as steel Smith rocked Radach, cutting him below the right eye. Miraculously at 3:24 of the third round Smith landed a disabling straight right that felled Radach and prompting referee Herb Dean to step in to stop the battle in favor of the always-entertaining comeback kid Scott Smith.


It looks like Smith’s prediction wasn’t exactly correct, but it was close. A razor can apparently cut steel, but it definitely can’t break it, at least not tonight.

A fast-paced first round saw the  seven lbs overweight “Cyborg” put an absolute clinic on Akano. Cyborg lived up to her name running through Akano in robot-like fashion throwing picture-perfect combos with lightning-quick speed and dominating Akano on the feet. Cyborg was clearly the physically bigger fighter and overpowered Akano in every department - even displaying an impressive suplex mid-round to take the fight to the mat. Cyborg continued the punishment on the mat though Akano wasn’t completely out of it as she attempted submissions coming somewhere near the ballpark of an armbar - but ultimately received more punishment than she offered in return.


Josh Barnett made a quick appearance in Akano’s corner, offering as many tips as he could in between rounds, but Akano was simply out classed in this contest. Round two played out similarly to round one with the polished Cyborg punishing Akano over and over with Akano offering precious little offense in return.


Like any Japanese fighter Akano is never fully out of the game and attempted a flying armbar which - though aesthetically impressive - only landed her in an even worse position. Cyborg continues to showcase her amazing talents finishing the round by stamping Akanos face over and over with powerful shots.

Round three starts with a well-landed body kick by Cyborg and the beating began anew. Unfortunately for Akano she was unable to offer any defense or reply. Cyborg poured it on landing punches followed by a huge knee. Akano - now rocked harder than a Def Leopard concert goer – was easy prey for Cyborg who moved in to land back-to-back combinations and followed up with one last right knocking Akano to the mat and forcing the referee to step in and save Akano’s life.

Brett Rogers overcame some early adversity to stop Abongo Humphrey via knee-punch combination at 1:38 of the second round.

All in all the Strikeforce put together a great event and with a pending fight between Cris “Cyborg” Santos, and pop culture phenom Gina Corano, and the upcoming super bout between Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, the promotion seems to have a bright future. Let’s hope they learn from the mistakes of Elite XC and continue to build on their successes to form an organization that could one day rival MMA’s super-show - the UFC.

Quick Results