Strikeforce Challengers 18 Review (spoilers)

Quote :

Derrick Mehmen surely startled more than a few people roaming the
Palms casino floor Friday night when he made his way to a press
conference after Strikeforce Challengers 18.


The white T-shirt he threw on after his light heavyweight fight
against Roy Jones had changed colors. It was dominantly red as he exited
the Pearl, stained with pints of Mehmen’s own blood.


Mehmen overcame a severe cut above his left eye after a spinning back
knee in the second round to win a unanimous decision over Jones (30-27,
30-27, 29-28).


“It definitely got a little sketchy in there,” Mehmen said.


After Jones out-struck the 26-year-old American Top Team product for
the opening two minutes of the fight, Mehmen (12-3 MMA, 1-0 SF) turned
to his wrestling to lead him to victory. Mehmen took down Jones (6-2
MMA, 0-1 SF) repeatedly in the final two rounds, unleashing
ground-and-pound and protecting his deep wound in the process.


Mehmen thrilled the crowd in the first bout on the televised main
card. The fans greeted Mehmen’s perseverance with an ovation that
wouldn’t be duplicated the rest of the night.


“The crowd helped out,” Mehmen said. “I just wanted to let everyone
know I was fighting and wanted to get the crowd behind me to keep the
fight going.”


Mehmen warmed the cage for Joe Duarte (10-2 MMA, 2-0 SF), who
prevailed in the lightweight main event against Jorge Gurgel (14-8 MMA,
2-3 SF). In the only other fight of the night that matched the intensity
of Jones vs. Mehmen, Duarte unanimously took the final two rounds en
route to a decision win over Gurgel.


Two judges scored the contest 29-28, while a third saw it as 30-27 for Duarte.


“I knew he was tough,” Duarte said. “I broke my finger in the second,
so I couldn’t really use my jab in the third, but I just tried to stay
ahead in points.”


Duarte took down Gurgel twice in the third round to seal the victory. His jab did enough damage in the opening 10 minutes.


Duarte bothered Gurgel in the opening two rounds with constant shots
to the chin that were too quick to defend against. Many mixed martial
artists are criticized for not utilizing their jab enough, but Duarte is
an exception.


“The jab is the most effective punch in fighting, in striking,”
Duarte said. “I knew if I did a good job establishing it, I could keep
my range and be able lead to with my right hand and get away from his
takedown.”


The victory marked Duarte’s fifth in a row. Since his time on the
eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Duarte has gone 6-1 and
re-established himself as a prospect in the sport.


But he was far from the most hyped up-and-comer on Friday’s card. That honor belonged to women’s 145-pound fighter Ronda Rousey.


Rousey, a bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics in judo, had her third
career MMA fight. For the third consecutive time, she submitted an
opponent with an armbar in less than a minute.


Rousey defeated Sarah D’Alelio 25 seconds into the first round. The
stoppage appeared controversial, as D’Alelio did not tap out.


But replays revealed her shrieking in pain as Rousey locked in a
tight arm bar from the bottom, which the referee interpreted as a verbal
tap out.


Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said he believed the stoppage was justified and correct.


“I’m happy with the win,” Rousey said, “but I wish it would have ended less controversially.”

Source

Coker is a fool if he thinks that stoppage was good. I don't give a damn if some one says something aloud. If that something isn't "TAP TAP" the fight shouldn't be stopped! But apparently vocalizing anything is a tap out these days..... I don't agree with that at all!

Wow that stoppage sucked huge.... Steve, man you gotta grow the mustache back that was a bad stop, a verbal tap has to be way more clear than that! And listening to the other fighter tell you she tapped? C'mon. Neither fighter liked the way that ended and the crowd fer sure didnt, and by the look of Mazagattis face he didn't like the stop much either. Its really too bad cause that was shaping up to be a good fight. Get those two on the next card somewhere quick.

I love woman's mma.

The only person I heard say "Tap" clearly was Rousey. That could have been a great fight... Rousey had great speed in that transition to the arm bar... too bad.

Side note, I forgot the only rule... "when posting about wmma you must post a picture"
Ronda Rousey

Gina who?

Sorry I forgot to add the picture.