Written by Jim Murphy
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Saturday, November 22 2008
Renato 'Babalu' Sobral is the new Strikeforce light heavyweight champion after Bobby Southworth suffered a severe cut above his right eye forcing a stoppage (Photo: Affliction)
Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral defeated Bobby Southworth by TKO to become Strikeforce light heavyweight champion in the co-main event of the promotion’s “Destruction” card on Friday night. Despite leaving with the belt around his waist, it won’t be the centerpiece of ‘Babalu’s’ highlight reel with the way it transpired.
A -350 wagering favorite despite his challenger status, Sobral was expected to use his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and vast experience against superior competition to dominate the tough but limited Southworth. It didn’t happen that way, as Southworth easily got the better of things in the first round. Southworth’s style isn’t exactly one that provides Wanderlei Silva type excitement—he looks to use his strength and conditioning to control his opponent en route to a decision victory. While the result makes him something of a MMA equivalent to boxing’s John Ruiz, it does afford him the best chance of victory.
The first round displayed Southworth’s style in microcosm, with much of the frame spent pushing ‘Babalu’ up against the cage or on the ground inside his guard not really doing much. Sobral had one effective strike the entire round—and it would decide the fight. During a clinch against the cage wall the challenger rocked Southworth with a hard elbow strike that not only busted his nose but opened a huge cut over his right eye.
Upon seeing the gusher of blood Referee John McCarthy brought the ringside physician over to take a look. The doctor took some time to examine the cut, but eventually the round resumed following the consultation with only a few seconds remaining. As Southworth’s corner futilely worked on the gaping wound during the break the doctor once again took a look and better realizing the severity and placement of the cut recommended to McCarthy that the fight be stopped. The veteran official complied, awarding Sobral the TKO victory and the championship belt.
The other half of the co-main event was decided in much more decisive fashion as Scott Smith knocked out well traveled veteran Terry Martin in a mere :24 seconds. The “rap” against Martin has always been that he’s a “slow starter”, but he had the right gameplan in theory as he pushed Smith to the cage wall right after the opening bell. Unfortunately, Martin didn’t adequately close the distance against a fighter dubbed “Hands of Steel” and was caught with a perfectly placed punch that knocked him out cold.
In the semifinal event, Duane “Bang” Ludwig defeated Yves Edwards by unanimous decision in a very closely contested bout. Edwards was originally slated to face lightweight champion Josh Thomson until a toe injury necessitated his withdrawal. Ludwig took the fight on two weeks’ notice, and after a takedown clinic by Edwards in the first began to control the fight with his superior standup skills. Edwards’ superiority on the ground in the first two frames wasn’t enough to sway the judges who obviously favored Ludwig’s more effective striking. All three judges scored the contest 29-28 Ludwig, and he may have earned himself a championship match as a result.
Earlier in the evening, Kim Couture made short work of overmatched Lina Kvokov as she TKO’d her foe in 1:44 of the first round. Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture, gained even more notoriety for the courage she displayed in her professional debut last June. After having her jaw broken early in the first round, she refused to ‘throw in the towel’ and went the distance despite a horrific injury. She had a much easier time here—despite the fact that both fighters entered with 0-1 records Couture was significantly more polished as she put Kvokov on the defensive from the outset with her sharp punching combinations. Kvokov kept displaying the “rookie mistake” of trying to turn away from Couture’s blows which prompted commentator Bas Rutten to question if she wanted to continue the fight. She recovered momentarily and survived the initial onslaught. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as Couture launched another barrage of punches prompting the referee to step in and wave off the non-competitive affair.
Couture may have leveraged her husband’s fame to get these high profile opportunities so quickly, but she’s clearly taken her development as a fighter very seriously. Her striking is particularly impressive for a fighter with such limited experience. While she didn’t have the opportunity to display her ground game against Kvokov, based on the reputation of her training home at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas one would expect that to be solid as well.
Though Strikeforce inexplicably didn’t air the match on the live portion of the card, SAVAGE SCIENCE favorite Darren Uyenoyama won a unanimous decision victory (30-27 on all three cards) over a game but overmatched Brad Royster. Uyenoyama was last in action this past June at DREAM 4 against Hideo Tokoro in an epic battle that will figure into most MMA pundits “match of the year” balloting. Despite losing to Tokoro by unanimous decision, Uyenoyama impressed the discerning Japanese fight fans and FEG brass to the extent that he’s been invited to participate in the DREAM featherweight GP tournament beginning in March 2009.
Two quick matches were at the top of the live broadcast—UFC veteran Joe Riggs struggled with Luke Stewart’s BJJ skills in the first round before taking over the fight with his fast hands and solid combinations in the second. Riggs pummeled Stewart until referee John McCarthy stopped the contest at 2:05 of the second round. This bout, incidentally, marked McCarthy’s return to officiating and he received a nice ovation from the live crowd at the HP Pavilion.
In the “curtain jerker”, Luke Rockhold weathered an opening minute guillotine choke attempt by Nik Theotikos before demonstrating some impressive ground fighting skills as he perfectly set up and executed a rear naked choke. Theotikos had no option but to tap, giving Rockhold an impressive victory at 3:05 of the first round.
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