Strikeforce Shamrock vs Diaz Results & Recap

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Saturday night April 11, 2009 featured a great first event for MMA promotion on the cable television network Showtime. The event was well organized, had solid commentary and not to mention, excellent fights. Frank Shamrock, the face of the Strikeforce promotion, gave way to a younger and more dominant Nick Diaz. Diaz earned a hard fought 2nd round TKO victory over “The Legend.”

In the night’s only title fight, Strikeforce mainstay, Gilbert Melendez looked solid in dismissing an overmatched Rodrigo Damm via 2nd round KO. Melendez, now the interim Lightweight champion, has looked to have earned another shot at Strikeforce Lightweight champion and his original opponent, Josh Thompson.

Other winners on the nights’ main card included: Scott Smith, Cris “Cyborg” Santos, and Heavyweight workhorse Brett “Grim” Rogers. All of the nights’ main card fights were ended in TKO or KO. Overall it was a great night of fights and a good rookie event for the new Showtime audience.

Ron “Abongo” Humphrey vs Brett “Grim” Rogers

The only Heavyweight bout on the evening showcased two undefeated and dangerous strikers with similar fight styles. Abongo Humphrey showed his resilience and toughness but could not match the power of the larger Rogers. “The Grim” punished the former BET Iron Ring champ, Humphrey, for part of 2 rounds to earn the TKO (1:38) victory and improve his record to 9-0 overall.

The first round began in typical Heavyweight fashion with both fighters attempting powerful bombs. Humphrey was trying to keep his distance from the dangerous Rogers and only close the gap between the two, when needed. The strategy didn’t work for “Abongo” as Rogers continually had his smaller opponent in the clinch delivering blows with elbows, punches and knees. The only problem that Rogers did seem to have during the first round was losing a point for grabbing the hair of Abongo Humphrey three separate times.

The second round began in the clinch, initiated by Brett Rogers. Rogers also was able to shake off a single leg takedown from his opponent early on. He also continued with his flurry of strikes winning basically every exchange. Abongo was still standing after receiving a large amount of strikes in the first round but was unable to withstand the combinations from Rogers in the second. Rogers dropped Abongo with two knees to the body followed by two right hooks. Referee Herb Dean had seen enough at 1:38 of the 2nd round giving Rogers the TKO victory.

> Brett Rogers vs Ron Humphrey video

Cris “Cyborg” Santos vs Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano

After the controversy that surrounded the pre-fight weigh-ins, the much hyped “Cyborg” Santos vs. Akano fight almost seemed unfair, due to the weight advantage that Santos held. Santos finally weighed in for the fight at 150 lbs. compared to 143 for Akano but probably weighed between 160-165 lbs. on Saturday night. It was fairly obvious as Cyborg predictably dominated the fight by pushing her opponent around the ring before finally finishing her off 35 seconds into the 3rd round via TKO.

The first round began with some crowd-pleasing punches delivered by Cyborg. Akano, a Judo specialist, attempted to bring the Brazilian close by clinching with her. The clinching did very little to help as Cyborg slammed the Japanese fighter to the floor, violently, soon after the two engaged. On the ground is where Akano wanted to be as she immediately pulled guard. “Cyborg” used heavy hands to ground and pound her opponent when on the mat.

The second round was similar to the first as Cyborg delivered heavy strikes to Akano. Akano quickly pulled guard and tried an armbar attempt. Santos proved to be too powerful and brushed off the attempt. Eventually, both fighters stood back up and again Akano wanted nothing to do with it. Akano found a way to withstand the pounding and hung on by holding Santos until the end of the second round.

The third and final three minute round didn’t last long. It began with Cyborg throwing muay-thai kicks as well as a big right hand and finally knees. The final combination made her opponent turn her back and run for the fence. Cyborg caught up and dropped her once again with some straight right hands followed by right hooks.

The fight was stopped and Santos improved to 7-1 with her 5 th KO win. The loss gives Akano a 14-6 record and snaps her 3 fight win streak. The win also sets up a possible fight with the popular female fighter Gina Carano, who was shown on the broadcast numerous times throughout the fight.

Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith vs Benji “Razor” Radach

This Middleweight bout proved to be all that it was expected to be. Scott Smith lived up to his reputation by entertaining the fans once again. Benji Radach seemed to be cruising to a decision victory late in the 3 rd round when he was surprised with a perfectly timed right hand from Scott Smith thus putting and end to the fight at 3:24.

The first round began with both fighters willing to exchange punches. At times the fight looked more like a boxing match than an MMA bout. Radach looked impressive as he connected with combinations that cut Smith mid-way through the round. The first round continued to please fans with the highlight being; when a visibly dazed Benji Radach, who was backpedaling, threw a desperation left hook as he was falling away catching Smith and dropping him. Radach was unable to finish the rocked Smith but did earn more momentum by getting another impressive takedown with less than 30 seconds remaining in the round.

The second round continued on their feet with Radach winning most of the exchanges. Radach again delivered a hard right hand to the temple of Scott Smith but couldn’t finish the California native. Smith recovered once again and found himself in a standing guillotine choke that transitioned to the ground. While on the ground Smith found a way to escape and get some much needed rest. The round ended on their feet with Radach punishing “Hands of Steel.” Smith was cut, bleeding and very tired as the round ended moving into the 3rd.

The third round of this classic Middleweight bout featured Smith attempting a half hearted standing guillotine choke that did very little damage. Radach was able to reverse into a better position and slammed Smith to the floor with yet another takedown. Due to the lack of activity when on the ground, the two fighters were stood back up. It was soon after they were stood up that the turning point of the fight happened. Radach, who punished Smith for almost the entire fight, just missed with a huge looping right hook; in turn Smith threw a straight right hand at the same time that landed.

The KO punch dropped “Razor” and ended the fight at 3:24 of the 3rd round. This fight proved to be a great Middleweight bout in which Scott Smith was dominated in every offensive category possible. He was able to outlast Radach and earn his second consecutive KO win. His win improves his record to 15-5, and the loss drops Radachs’ record to 19-5 and makes him a loser in 2 of his last 3 fights.

Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez vs Rodrigo Damm

This co-main event fight was for the Strikeforce interim Lightweight championship. Melendez’ original opponent Josh Thompson is the current champion but is in the process of recovering from surgery on a broken leg. Thompson took the title from Melendez at a June 2008 Strikeforce event. Rodrigo Damm, an accomplished Brazilian wrestler, couldn’t defend the strikes from Melendez nor could he mount much of an offense himself. Melendez was dominant in a 2 nd round (2:02) KO victory.

The former Lightweight champion came into the fight as the much larger fighter. He obviously held the advantage in nearly every category coming into the fight. Damm, who is a BoDog and Sengoku veteran, was at a huge disadvantage taking this fight on only 1 week notice.

The first round began with fireworks as Melendez caught a weak kick from Damm and dropped the Brazilian with a hard right hand. Damm immediately went for the triangle choke but Melendez easily escaped and delivered steady ground and pound strikes. Melendez continued to attempt to pass Damm’s guard and pound him from any position in the process. It was an extremely dominating first round for “El Nino” in which Damm did very little.

The second round saw both fighters not engaging for nearly a full minute. It was later found out that Melendez was previously poked in the eye causing him to be cautious for the first minute of the 2 nd round. Eventually, Melendez took Damm to the ground transitioning to take his back for a short time. Nothing materialized with the dominant position and the two Lightweights found themselves back on their feet. Melendez recognized that Damms’ hands were low and he threw a devastating left followed by a hard right that knocks him off his feet to the canvas. The early 2nd round win gave Melendez his interim Lightweight title status.

“El Nino” improves his overall record to 15-2 with his 9 th KO win. He now looks to be in line to face the champion, Thompson, when healthy for the unified title. The second consecutive loss for Damm drops his record to 8-3 and marks the first time he has lost a fight due to a KO.

Frank “The Legend” Shamrock vs Nick Diaz

The main event featured two fighters that are very good at all that they do. It started with promoting the fight as main event fighters. Both fighters built this mainly meaningless fight up to have championship-like implications. The fight was fought at a 179 pound catch-weight class which is a division up in class for Diaz and slightly lower for Shamrock.

Nick Diaz was able to pick apart “The Legend” as the two stars engaged for almost 2 full rounds before Diaz pulled off the surprisingly easy KO win. Diaz, who was thought to be the smaller fighter coming into the fight, showed that wasn’t the case. He began the initial round with his trademark unorthodox style by taunting and baiting Shamrock. Diaz also showed his strength by catching an early kick from Shamrock and dropping him to the ground. While on the ground, Diaz took his time trying to pass the guard of Shamrock. The fight eventually ended up with the fighters back on their feet. Diaz continued to win the striking battle by beating Shamrock to the punch almost every time.

The second round had Shamrock connecting on punches that didn’t seem to have much power behind them. Diaz also connected on many sharp, crisp short punches. Trying to throw his opponent off Shamrock attempted to change levels and go to the body of Diaz. It did little damage to Diaz as he continued to time his strikes perfectly. He took advantage of a obviously rattled Shamrock and dropped him with a heavy body shot to the right side of his ribcage. “Big” John McCarthy allowed Diaz to pound on Shamrock for an additional 20 seconds before he saw enough and called the fight at 3:57 of the 2nd round giving Diaz a TKO win.

The success over Shamrock gives Diaz his 4 th win in a row dating back to his November 2007 loss to KJ Noons. The 25 year old Stockton, California native improves to 19-7 while Shamrock falls to 23-10-2 and loses his 2nd in a row for the first time since 1996-97. Shamrock looked physically fatigued, only lasting 1 full round but insists that he will be back in the cage in the near future.

Here is a look at the full results from Saturday’s Strikeforce event:

Main Strikeforce Bouts:

• Nick Diaz defeats Frank Shamrock by TKO (Strikes) - Round 2 @ 3:57
• Gilbert Melendez defeats Rodrigo Damm by TKO - Round 2 @ 2:02 - Claims Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Title
• Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith defeats Benji "Razor" Radach by KO - Round 3 @ 2:24
• Chris "Cyborg" Santos defeats Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano by TKO - 3rd Round @ 0:35
• Brett "The Grim" Rogers defeats Abongo Humphrey by TKO - 2nd Round @ 1:38

Preliminary Strikeforce Bouts:

• Luke Rockhold defeats Buck Meredith via Submission (Head & Arm Choke) - Round 1 @ 4:07
• Eric Lawson defeats Waylon Kennell by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 4:54
• Raul Castillo defeats Brandon Michaels via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1 @ 1:45
• James Terry defeats Zak Bucia by Unanimous Decision
• Shingo Kohara defeats Jeremy Tavares by KO (Knee) - Round 2 @ 0:04

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer