Monday morning scrap: Strikeforce and Sengoku weekend in review
Posted by Jesse Holland | Under Sengoku 11, Strikeforce, Strikeforce Challenger Series Monday Nov 9, 2009
Fans of mixed martial arts were once again treated to an action-packed weekend chock full of fights thanks to Strikeforce cranking out back-to-back shows as well as World Victory Road putting forth a bevy of top stars in the heat of battle for Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle.”
Strikeforce held its first CBS prime time mixed martial arts event on Saturday night (Nov. 7) from the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and lit up the Internet message boards with its “Fedor vs. Rogers” main event.
Did we see the greatest living mixed martial artist defeat a tough-as-nails heavyweight prospect? Or a bloated relic getting spoon-fed a former tire mechanic?
In addition to their heavyweight brouhaha, Jake Shields captured the promotion’s middleweight title, Gegard Mousasi won without defending his belt, and Fabricio Werdum took one step closer to an eventual showdown with “The Last Emperor.”
And Strikeforce did it all just one day after holding their “Challengers” event in Fesno, Calif., which once again saw lightweight veteran Jorge Gurgel abandon his ground game only to be outpointed on his feet — this time by Billy Evangelista.
Those MMA fans looking for some International flavor got their fill with the HDNet broadcast of Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. While much of the talk surrounded Mamed Khalidov’s upset win over Jorge Santiago, international superstars Akihiro Gono and Kevin Randleman were also in action.
In cased you missed any or all of it — or just want to keep the discussion alive — below are links to all the major storylines coming out of all three events.
Let’s get to it.
Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers”
Nostradumbass predictions and preview
Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle”
Strikeforce Challengers: “Evangelista vs. Gurgel”
Gurgel defiant on fight strategy
Remember that Strikeforce: “Evolution” is just around the corner — along with the all new “Sengoku Raiden Championship” on New Year’s Eve for the Japanese scene. Keep it locked in right here at MMAmania.com for all the coverage you can handle.
