This is one of the very few Strikeforce cards I missed, but I’ll catch it on DVR at a later date. From all that I’ve heard, it was a really good show, with a couple of upsets.

Here are the results of the live show:

1. Pat Healy defeated Maximo Blanco in round two by submission (rear naked choke).

2. King Mo knocked out Roger Gracie late in the first round.

3. Luke Rockhold beat Jacare Souza by unanimous decision to win the middleweight championship.

4. Daniel Cormier beat Big Foot Silva via KO in the first round.

5. Josh Barnett beat Sergei Kharitonov via arm triangle in the first round.

Cormier and Barnett will meet in the finals of the tournament, which is scheduled to happen early in 2012.

It seems like this fight has been in the making forever and it’s finally here. We don’t generally see this type of weight differential unless it’s in the heavyweight division, but Fedor weighed in at 16 pounds heavier than Henderson. When they were standing next to each other, there didn’t seem to be that large of a difference, but we’ll see if it matters inside the cage. Miesha Tate also tries to take the 135 women’s title from Marloes Coenen in a five round fight with five minute periods.

1. Tarec Saffiedine vs. Scott Smith

Saffiedine wins the round simply by controlling the action. He is out-quicking Smith and beating him to everything. Smith’s trying to load up on shots, but can’t really get off. Smith is cut over his left eye. Smith isn’t moving well and is pretty hittable.

Smith is a shot fighter. Saffiedine landed some wicked combinations including a shot lead left-hook and right low kick. Smith either has the worst stand-up defense or Saffiedine has tremendously fast hand and foot speed. Smith took some harsh punishment.

Saffiedine did a great job of switching back and forth in between stances, throwing off Smith’s timing. And he was just tagging him. Smith tried to press the action late, but could never catch him.

Winner: Tarec Saffiedine by way of unanimous decision

2. Tyron Woodley vs. Paul Daley

Lots of inside fighting, but the biggest shot was probably a low blow by Daley. Daley did a good job at stuffing the takedowns, but neither guy had an advantage.

Well, this one isn’t a classic. Woodley got him down and held him there for nearly the entire round. He grabbed a single and took him down, pushed him against the cage, but Daley stayed active and didn’t get in any bad positions. Near the end of the round, it was Woodley on the bottom and Daley got a couple shots in.
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There are four heavyweight fights tonight on the second quarterfinals show in the Grand Prix. KJ Noons also faces Jorge Masvidal. The intrigue to this show is based on the main event. Alistair Overeem is the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, but we haven’t seen him fight much. He faces Fabricio Werdum who took all the steam way from Fedor when he goaded him to the ground and tapped him out in San Jose.

First fight is a heavyweight match-up.

1. Chad Griggs Vs. Valentijn Overeem

Hmmm. Griggs had Overeem up against the cage and Overeem pushed forward. Griggs drop stepped and threw him down, sort of like a hip toss. Griggs started punching on the ground, Overeem turtled, and he tapped.

Winner: Chad Griggs by way of 1st submission (via punches)

2. Jeff Monson vs. Daniel Cormier

Cormier’s boxing looked really solid in the first round. He was pretty comfortable in there and was beating Monson to the punch every time. Monson is ducking his head and turning it, which opens up the back of his head a bit to Cormier’s right hand. All boxing and most of it was Cormier.

Second round was more of the same, though both guys look to be getting a bit tired. Cormier is also using kicks to keep Monson at bay. They clinched against the cage a couple of times, which might’ve been more because of being tired than anything else.
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