Strikeforce Predictions: Strikeforce Carano vs Cyborg Predictions - August 15, 2009

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By far, the most highly anticipated card in the history of the Strikeforce promotion will go down Saturday August 15th from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Serving as the home of the California based promotion, the “Shark Tank” also served as the scene of some of the most exciting events in the past couple of years. The card will feature three championship bouts, as the lightweight, light heavyweight and women’s 145 pound belts will be up for grabs.

The main event will feature Gina “Conviction” Carano in her Strikeforce debut, against Brazilian Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the Strikeforce Women’s 145 pound Championship. Josh Thomson will defend his lightweight belt against the man that he took it from, Gilbert Melendez. Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Renato Sobral will defend his belt for the first time against Gegard Mousasi, a former DREAM middleweight that is making his United States debut. This bout was originally scheduled for the recently cancelled Affliction: Trilogy event.

Nick Diaz was to fight for the welterweight title against Joe Riggs; however that bout was cancelled due to Riggs being hospitalized. It has since been officially announced that Xtreme Couture’s Jay Hieron will take his place. The two welterweights were to meet last year; however the bout was never put together. Hieron provides a legitimate threat for Diaz, who many believed had the advantage versus Riggs. Fabricio Werdum will also be in action, not fighting Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight title, but taking on replacement Mike Pyle instead.

The event can be seen on the Showtime network.

We take a look at each announced bout for Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg below.

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Poppies Martinez vs. Isaiah Hill

This preliminary card matchup pits the “Tachi Kid,” Poppies Martinez (16-5), against Isaiah Hill (4-6-1) in the 155 pound division. Martinez, a six year veteran, is on the upswing in his career, winning his two most recent bouts. Isaiah Hill hasn’t had much success as of late, going 0-4-1 over his last five fights.

The “Tachi Kid” is a Capital City Fighting Alliance fighter along with reputable veterans Urijah Faber, James Irvin, and Scott Smith. The majority of his fighting experience has come in the WEC and Palace Fighting Championships. After a unanimous decision victory over Sergio Cortez in September at PFC 10, Martinez submitted Tony Llamas two months later with a 1 st round armbar at PFC 11.

Isaiah Hill, a Cung Le’s Universal Strength Headquarters fighter, has fought for eight different promotions in eleven professional bouts. He began his career in April 2006 and easily won his first three fights. Since that time he has only won one time in nine fights, a Warrior Cup 2 win over Casey Olson in April of 2007. In his last bout in late June, he earned a technical draw at an Extreme Challenge event.

Prediction – Martinez over Hill via 1st round submission

Ricardo Barros vs. Scott Lighty

Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Ricardo Barros (2-2) will try and upset his opponent, undefeated former kick boxer Scott Lighty (4-0), in a heavyweight bout featured on the preliminary section of the fight card. Barros lost via 1st round TKO at WEC 37 in December 2008 to current UFC light heavyweight Mark Munoz his last time out. Lighty was very impressive last September, stopping Jamiah Williamson with a 1st round TKO at the ShoXC event in Santa Ynez, California.

Barros earned in black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Ralph Gracie early in his career and began fighting MMA in November 2000, losing to Hawaiian Falianko Vitale by 1st round TKO. He did follow that loss five months later with a submission victory but abruptly left competition for almost seven full years. Upon his return, Barros has compiled a 1-1 stint, submitting Eric Pribble at Palace FC 6 then losing to Munoz in December. He also owns and operates a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Brentwood, California.

Scott Lighty, 30, is a former K-1 kick boxer who produced a 29-11 record over the course of his first career. Finding it hard to stay busy in K-1, Lighty moved over to MMA a little over one year ago. Training at The Pit in San Luis Obispo, CA with legendary striker, Chuck Liddell and trainer John Hackleman, Lighty fought and won four times in 2008. He has finished three of his four opponents.

Prediction – Lighty over Barros via 1st round KO

Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Kyle

Nearly a month ago, Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) was supposed to face Alistair Overeem for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. Fast forward to present day and Werdum will remain on the card, his original opponent will not, instead fighting journeyman Mike Kyle (12-6-1) for nothing more than some experience. Werdum is itching to get some much-needed action, having not fought in ten months when he lost in brutal fashion via TKO by Junior dos Santos at UFC 90. Kyle fought less than two months ago, upsetting former Elite XC light heavyweight, Rafael Cavalcante with a 2nd round TKO on the Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields card.

Werdum began his professional career seven years ago, fighting on the English based Millennium Brawl card where he caught Brit, Tenzig Tedoradze with a well executed triangle choke. He followed his rookie victory up with five more victories and a draw, going into his PRIDE 30 bout with Sergei Kharitonov undefeated. Werdum fought the hard-hitting veteran, coming up a little short, losing by a tight split decision. After his first career loss, Werdum continued fighting top fighters, defeating Alistair Overeem and Aleksander Emielianenko and losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira over the next year. “Vai Cavalo” joined the UFC ranks in April 2007 at UFC 70, taking on former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski simply got the better of Werdum on his feet and didn’t allow Werdum to utilize his ground game and ultimately earned the unanimous decision victory. Werdum rebounded by stopping Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera in consecutive fights before losing to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 last October. His loss to dos Santos proved to be deflating in more ways than one, losing by stoppage for the very first time and failing to keep his prestigious job with the UFC.

Mike Kyle is a journeyman fighter who fought in ten different organizations over his eight plus year career. He began his career with two easy stoppages but ran into trouble against two heavy handed fighters in Dan Bobish and Paul Buentello, both on King of the Cage cards. Immediately following the losses, four straight victories with solid organizations earned Kyle a trip into the UFC. A tough KO loss to Justin Eilers sandwiched in between stoppage victories over Wes Sims and James Irvin brought Kyle some much-earned respect. Kyle and the UFC parted ways after his February 2005 UFC 51 victory against James Irvin, hitting several mid level promotions over the next year to try and get back to the top organizations. His next five fights were anything but strong, compiling a 1-3-1 record, all three losses by stoppage. Kyle finally did find his way, beginning in April of last year while fighting on an IFC card. He won via technical knockout against Rudy Martin then followed that win up with two more, the latest for Strikeforce in an upset of former number one Elite XC light heavyweight contender, Rafael Cavalcante.

Prediction – Werdum over Kyle via unanimous decision

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron

Nick Diaz (20-7) now faces Jay Hieron (17-4), who steps in for an injured Joe Riggs, for the inaugural Strikeforce welterweight title. Diaz has fought and won twice for Strikeforce, the most recent being a rear naked choke victory over Scott Smith in June. His opponent was the last welterweight champion for the now defunct, International Fight League. Hieron fought last in January, knocking out Jason High with a 1st round KO at Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning.

Jay “Thoroughbred” Hieron is a six year veteran of MMA, fighting for the UFC, WEC, IFL and in August signed a three fight deal with Affliction. The Xtreme Couture fighter is a wrestling specialist that has used his strengths to capture the IFL welterweight title. He has eleven stoppages out of seventeen career wins to go along with six decision victories.

“Thoroughbred” had a short stint with the UFC from June 2004 to October 2005 that saw him post a 0-2 record, losing fights to George St. Pierre at UFC 48 and Jonathan Goulet at Ultimate Fight Night 2. He gained significant notoriety when joining the ranks of the IFL. His IFL career reached its pinnacle in December 2007 at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals when he collected the welterweight belt. He had only one chance to defend the title, an April 2008 TKO over Mark Miller.

Since the demise of the popular team fighting league, many of the fighters have had trouble staying busy. Hieron was no different, fighting only two times in the last year. In October of last year Hieron fought on a Superfights MMA card that featured several Xtreme Couture fighters at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. He took a unanimous decision over tough as nails, Chris Kennedy, after three hard fought rounds. He followed that victory win up with a devastating KO win over DREAM welterweight grand prix semifinalist Jason High at the Affliction's 2nd event.

Nick Diaz began his career fighting for Warriors Challenge, Ultimate Athlete, Shooto and the WEC. He earned wins early in his career over the likes of Chris Lytle and Jeremy Jackson. He signed with the UFC in 2003, compiling a 5-4 record in three plus years with wins over Robbie Lawler, Gleison Tibau and Josh Neer.

Since leaving the UFC, he has bounced around many of the world’s top promotions including PRIDE, Elite XC, DREAM and Strikeforce. His 6-1, 1 NC record has made him one of the most exciting fighters to watch. He stopped Takanori Gomi with a submission, only to get the decision overturned due to failing a drug screening. His only loss was to rival KJ Noons at Elite XC in November, losing after receiving a cut too large to continue. The BJJ black belt rattled off five straight win since that loss, defeating Katsuya Inoue, Mushin Corberrey, Thomas Denny, Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith in succession.

Prediction – Diaz over Hieron via 2nd round TKO

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Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato Sobral

Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1) makes his Strikeforce debut against another debuting European, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (35-8). Mousasi, a winner of 12 consecutive fights, was seen in May at the DREAM Open weight tournament where he submitted Mark Hunt in only 1:19. “Babalu” hasn’t fought in six months when he methodically broke down Sokoudjou and submitted him mid way through the 2nd round of the Affliction: Day of Reckoning bout.

Mousasi, 23, has been fighting for six years, beginning as a seventeen year old with small Dutch promotions such as 2H2H, International Mix Fight Gala, and Together Promotions. Training in the Netherlands at Red Devil International, “The Dreamcatcher” has since moved up to the majors like DREAM, and Affliction.

Beginning in April 2008, Mousasi submitted current UFC middleweight, Denis Kang at DREAM 2, earned a unanimous decision over Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 6, and finished the tournament with two stoppages against Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo Souza to become the first DREAM middleweight champion. It was soon after being crowned the champion that Mousasi had announced his plans to move up to light heavyweight and eventually the heavyweight division. His only bout since that announcement was an easy 1st round straight armbar victory over Mark Hunt two months ago.

Babalu, 34, is a twelve year veteran of the sport, mostly fighting with the Rings and UFC promotions. He makes Gracie Barra Combat Team and Erik Paulson’s CSW his home when training for his upcoming bouts. He earned his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr.

The former number one LHW contender in the UFC and current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion has won five straight bouts. His streak started at UFC 74 in August 2007 with the now infamous choke on David Heath that earned his ticket out of the organization. Four months after being released, Sobral dished out another submission, this time against little known Rodney Glunder at Plainum Fighting Productions in the Philippines. A lopsided decision over Mike Whitehead at Affliction: Banned and a doctor stoppage TKO over Bobby Southworth, for the Strikeforce LHW strap, brought his streak to four. His most recent victory was at the second Affliction event in January, submitting Sokoudjou in the 2nd round.

Prediction – Sobral is a tough out no matter who he is fighting, but Mousasi is a different type of fighter. Not having lost a fight since the summer of 2006, Mousasi doesn’t give much hope for Babalu to complete the upset. The only glimmer of hope is the fact that his two career losses have been via submission, an area that Sobral is very skilled at.

Mousasi over Sobral via 2nd round TKO

Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

Gilbert Melendez (15-2) was once pumped up to try and capture the Strikeforce lightweight title belt away from champion Josh Thompson, but instead will fight replacement Mitsuhiro Ishida (18-5-1), who already has one up on Melendez. The two met on a 2007 New Years Eve contest, with Ishida implementing a defensive strategy on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Melendez last action was four months ago, stopping Rodrigo Damm with a 2nd round KO at the Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz card. Ishida lost to Mizuto Hirota via 1st round TKO at a Shooto event in May in his most recent bout.

Mitsuhiro Ishida, 30, is an eight year MMA vet that has been on several top promotional events. He has experience with organizations such as Shooto, Cage Force, PRIDE, DREAM and Strikeforce. He owns victories against UFC vets, Marcus Aurelio and David Bielkheden throughout his career. He is known mostly for his wrestling base as well as superior endurance. Out of his 18 career victories, 13 have been via decision.

Since defeating Melendez at Yarennoka in 2007, he has won 3 of 5 bouts. He first participated in the DREAM lightweight Grand Prix, defeating Korean Bu Kyung Jung before falling by rear naked choke to Caol Uno in the quarterfinals. Appearing next in his one and only Strikeforce bout, he easily submitted Justin Wilcox early in the 1st round. He then made it two in a row, winning a lopsided decision over fellow countryman Daisuke Nakamura for DREAM then returning to Shooto only to lose to Hirota three months ago.

Santa Ana native, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez made his professional debut in October 2002 for the WEC. He won his first thirteen bouts, fighting for the WEC, Rumble on the Rock, Shooto, Strikeforce, PRIDE and the one and done Yarennoka promotions. During that streak, Melendez became the first WEC lightweight champion and captured the Strikeforce lightweight championship, for the first time, when he won a hard fought split decision over Clay Guida.

Since compiling his thirteen fight win streak, the twenty seven year old, who trains out of Fairtex Gym in San Francisco, has recorded a 2-2 record. He defended his Strikeforce title with a March 2008 TKO win over Gabe Lemley only to lose it in his next fight, a unanimous decision loss to current champ, Josh Thomson last June. And when Thomson was unable to defend the title due to injuries, Strikeforce officials organized an Interim Championship bout, one that “El Nino” captured via 2nd round KO over Damm.

Prediction – The opponent change will make a difference for Melendez. Ishida already owns a victory against “El Nino,” holding the advantage mentally. Melendez is in for a battle, but should hold on in the end.

Melendez over Ishida – split decision

Strikeforce Women’s Championship: Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos

This 145 pound championship bout was years in the making until Strikeforce finally put it together as a main event. Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0), the face of women’s MMA, will put her undefeated record and reputation on the line in what will be her toughest challenge to date. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (7-1) poses a significant threat for Carano, defeating her last seven opponents; including an April TKO win against Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz.

Carano made her MMA debut after she completed her successful muay thai career with a record of 12-1-1. She began fighting for the Las Vegas based World Extreme Fighting and World Pro FC organizations, knocking out both Leticia Pestova and Rosi Sexton. She quickly moved up to the Strikeforce promotion then onto Elite XC, where she won all four matches she participated in.

The Texas born fighter has set her base camp in Las Vegas since the end of her high school years. Now training with Randy Couture at his Xtreme Couture gym she hopes to improve on the only obvious weakness in her game, her conditioning. After struggling to make weight in her last bout, Carano dealt with adversity as she was taken to the ground early in the 1st round. Carano dealt with the position, eventually getting back to her feet and began handing out punishment. She was awarded a 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 unanimous decision, her third decision victory of her three year career.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has been in professional MMA since her May 2005 debut in Brazil. She was submitted by Erica Paes with a 1st round leglock in that fight, but hasn’t looked back since, winning the next seven bouts in dominating fashion. She won her next four fights in the Brazilian based Storm Samurai organization before making her American debut for Elite XC last summer.

The Team Chute Boxe fighter, used punches to record a 2nd round TKO against Shayna Baszler in July, then followed that win up three months later by winning a unanimous decision over Yoko Takahashi at Elite XC: Heat. The twenty four year old missed weight by 5½ pounds in her most recent bout in April on the Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz card. The fight went on and Santos used her extra weight and strength to overpower a talented Hitomi Akano on her way to a 3rd round TKO victory.

Prediction – Both fighters are at the top of the women’s division and pound for pound listings. Carano should be much improved after working one on one with Randy Couture the past couple of months. If she can keep her stamina throughout the 5 X 5:00 rounds, she can use her well rounded defense to frustrate Cyborg. Cyborg shouldn’t be able to push Carano all over the cage, as she likes to do to her opponents. In order for her to be successful, she will probably want to play it safe until late in the fight and hope she can convert on a takedown or a possible submission.

Carano over Cyborg via unanimous decision

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Strikeforce fighter pictures used with permission from Strikeforce