Strikeforce Columbus Results: Strikeforce Fight Card Results - March 5, 2011

Strikeforce looked to continue their recent momentum as they made their first trip to Columbus, Ohio on March 5, 2011. The event was in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Classic which features a plethora of MMA-related companies and competitions. The fight card for Strikeforce: Columbus was headlined by MMA legend Dan Henderson fighting Light Heavyweight Champ Rafael Cavalcante. The final Strikeforce Columbus results are listed below and official.

Strikeforce:Feijao vs. Henderson Recap

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for this weekend’s Strikeforce event, hosted in my home away from home, Columbus, Ohio. I have been inside Columbus’ Nationwide Arena for several other events in different sports, but that didn’t prepare me for the Strikeforce experience. Rather than try to rehash my entire evening, I’m going to break it down into quick thoughts as I can remember them.

-Upon entering Nationwide Arena and getting lost on my way to the media room, I happened to run into UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. I introduced myself to Mr. Couture, and he was very personable and didn’t seem inconvenienced at all to be speaking with me (unlike some other bigger named fighters with whom I’ve crossed paths). I know that Couture will be squaring off with Lyoto Machida at the end of March, but he already looked to be pretty low in weight, in my opinion. Perhaps it isn’t as easy to cut weight in a short period of time as you age.

-The staff at Nationwide was very accommodating and helpful, not only to myself, but to others in my vicinity.

-I was shocked that the arena filled up as quickly as it did, and this could be a combination of several factors: 1) it was raining cats and dogs outside, and rather than stand in a downpour, the ticketholders decided to cut their losses and head to their seats early for the prelim fights 2)the undercard was packed with Ohio-trained fighters, creating a certain increase in interest, or 3)the fans were chomping at the bit for high-level mixed martial arts action.

-The guys that run Intimidation Clothing certainly hit the nail on the head with their t-shirt promotion, as I spotted people in Intimidation gear everywhere I looked. If you haven’t already, check out their excellent line of MMA-themed clothing at www.IntimidationClothing.com. I am especially a fan of the Mr. Tuff shirt, and apparently, I’m not the only one as I spotted that shirt several times throughout the crowd.

-The event was certainly a star-studded event, with big-name fighters filling the cage-side seats. Guys like Nick Diaz and Anderson Silva were there to support teammates (Diaz cornered Josh Thornburg, while Anderson Silva supported Black House teammate Feijao), while others were there to take in some excellent fights. Fighters I happened to spot were Strikeforce Light Heavyweight contender Mike Kyle, Heavyweight Grand Prix contestants Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Josh Barnett, former Heavyweight boxing champ (and Columbus native) Buster Douglass, Frank Trigg, Frank Shamrock, The Ultimate Fighter winner Court McGee, and a host of others. I had my eye out for Strikeforce Women’s contender Gina Carano, but alas, didn’t happen to see her.

-In addition to the nationally-known superstars mentioned above, lots of Cleveland-area fighters were in attendance, either to support teammates or just enjoy the show. I had the opportunity to speak with NAAFS Light Heavyweight contender John Hawk, and you couldn’t ask for a nicer guy, considering he elbows men in the face for a living. As a group, Strong Style was well-represented to show their support for Brian “The Predator” Rogers, who certainly must have opened some eyes for those who hadn’t seen him fight previously. Rogers faced a tough wrestler in Ian Rammel, but Rammel was unable to take Rogers down, and Rogers put on a striking demonstration for those in attendance. When I interviewed Brian before the fight, he mentioned that he only signed a 1-fight deal with Strikeforce, but hoped to impress them enough to earn a longer contract. If the powers that be happened to catch Brian’s fight, I don’t think that he has much to worry about in regards to getting another fight in the organization.

-Speaking of Rogers, he had seemingly an entire section of Nationwide Arena behind him as he took the cage. It must be motivating for Brian to fight in front of his family and friends, as he put on quite a show for the fans in Columbus.

-Ohioan Jorge Gurgel returned to his jiu-jitsu roots and submitted Columbus native Billy Vaughan, who stepped in to fight Gurgel on short notice. The fight took place at 155 lbs, and Vaughan had previously expressed an interest in dropping to 135 to take on the best in the world at that weight. I have to give Vaughan credit, not only for taking a fight on short notice against a fighter with lots more cage experience, but Vaughan fought up in weight, and didn’t back down from the chance to make a name for himself. Though he came up on the short end of the fight, expect big things for Billy Vaughan when he gets down to his desired weight.

-Roger Bowling is the real deal. He absolutely dominated a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu-trained Josh Thornburg, both on the feet and on the ground. Bowling is well-rounded, and should be in for the long haul in the Strikeforce promotion, especially if he continues to improve and impress like he did on Saturday.

- Jorge Masvidal dominated his fight with Billy Evangelista, basically by using his stiff jab. Evangelista couldn’t close the gap to do much damage as Masvidal kept him at bay with jabs and some slick footwork.

-Tim Kennedy took on a buzzsaw in Melvin Manhoef, and came out on top. Kennedy avoided the dangerous striker and took the fight to the ground with seemingly little trouble. Once Kennedy had the fight on the ground, it became evident that Manhoef was a fish out of water, and Kennedy made short work of him.

-Marloes Coenen managed to stay cool under pressure as Liz Carmouche gave her a run for her money for 3 rounds before Coenen slapped on a triangle choke to retain the belt. Carmouche was another late replacement, and fought her heart out. I’d love to see her fight again, especially when she is to a point in her career when she can train full-time. Carmouche informed those at the press conference that she has been studying for finals (she’s a kinesiology major) and didn’t have time to fully devote herself to training.

-If there was any doubt about who the Columbus crowd wanted to see win the main event, those doubts were quickly erased as the crowd chanted for Dan Henderson even before the fighters were introduced. Henderson didn’t disappoint, either. Though Feijao rocked Henderson a few times, Henderson managed to stay awake and work his gameplan to perfection. When Feijao tried to clinch with Henderson, Henderson took the upper hand and took Feijao to his back.

-Hendo’s right hand is apparently called The H-Bomb.

-Though his knockout of Michael Bisping was more explosive (and gratifying for the fans), Henderson’s knockout of Feijao was seemingly out of nowhere, proving that despite his age, Henderson is dangerous at any time.

-Much speculation has been made about Henderson fighting the winner of Gegard Mousasi and Mike Kyle, but that makes me nervous. Henderson isn’t getting any younger, and at the rate Strikeforce has been having shows, it may be late 2011 or early 2012 before Hendo steps into the cage. I’d like to see King Mo get a shot at Henderson, but he will probably be fed a lesser opponent as a tune up following knee surgery.

-There has been some buzz on the Internet regarding a Fedor-Dan Henderson matchup. I am not a fan of this type of matchup, for a variety of reasons. If Fedor Emilianenko was unable to advance past the quarterfinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, yet immediately gets a shot at the Light Heavyweight Belt, does that tell you where Strikeforce regards the Light Heavyweight division in the pecking order of their organization? Dan Henderson earned the Light Heavyweight title, and that shouldn’t be cheapened by a fight with Fedor, who has looked like a shell of his former self and has had serious problems with his commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts. I am a fan of matching the best possible matches with big name fighters in order to draw viewers, but Fedor should have been facing the top contenders in the sport for the past few years instead of guys like Brett Rogers, Andre Arlovski, and Hong Man Choi. Matching Hendo up with Fedor would be a bit of an insult to Henderson, if you ask me, and it seems like Strikeforce is trying to milk Fedor’s cash cow for all it’s worth.

By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer

Results for Strikeforce Columbus March 5 Fights:

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Showtime Televised Strikeforce Columbus Results:

• Dan Henderson defeats Rafael Cavalcante (c) by KO - Round 3 @ 0:50 - Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship fight

• Marloes Coenen (c) defeats Meisha Tate via Submission (Triangle Choke) - Round 4 @ 1:29 - Strikeforce Women's 135 lb Championship fight

• Tim Kennedy defeats Melvin Manhoef via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1 @ 3:41

• Jorge Masvidal defeats Billy Evangelista by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) - Lightweight

Preliminary Strikeforce Columbus March 5 Fight Results:

• Roger Bowling defeats Josh Thornburg by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) - Welterweight - Roger Bowling sponsored by Intimidation Clothing

• Jorge Gurgel defeats Billy Vaughan via Submission (Guillotine Choke) - Round 1 @ 0:44 - Lightweight - Billy Vaughan sponsored by Intimidation Clothing

• Brian Rogers defeats Iam Rammel by TKO - Round 1 @ 4:23 - Middleweight - Brian Rogers sponsored by Intimidation Clothing

• Jason Freeman defeats Jason Riley via Submission (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 1:52 - Heavyweight - Jason Freeman sponsored by Intimidation Clothing

• Mitch Whitesel defeats Marc Cofer via Submission (Guillotine Choke) - Round 1 @ 3:55 - Middleweight - Mitch Whitesel sponsored by Intimidation Clothing

• Jon Kuhner defeats JP Felty via Technical Submission (Triangle Choke) - Round 2 @ 4:31