Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley (4/9/11)

 4-9-11 - Strikeforce 33: Diaz vs. Daley 

Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: #3 Gilbert Melendez (18-2) vs. #8 Tatsuya Kawajiri (27-6-2)

MY PICK – Gilbert Melendez via decision
WINNER - Gilbert Melendez via TKO (1-3:14) 

Notes: Melendez has won four in a row, but has went to decisions in his last two fights. He beat Kawajiri back in PRIDE @ Shockwave 2006 in December of 2006. Five years almost later, the rematch is here. Kawajiri has won five of his last six fights and also looks solid right now. Both of them have recently fought Aoki, the difference is that Gilbert won and Kawajiri lost. Both of these men have issues with hitting the judges, and I think it will happen again here. Their last fight went to the judges and I believe this one will too. I gotta take Gilbert Melendez via decision in this one again. As you see, I have both of these fighters in my top 10 @ 155, so this should be a GREAT fight.

Post Notes: Melendez just started off on FIRE in this fight with punches, knees, and takedowns. He just bum rushed him and DESTROYED him and got the TKO with elbows! THAT WAS TOTAL DESTRUCTION! He may be the #1 LIGHTWEIGHT IN THE WORLD! WOW, he is amazing! The elbows that finished the fight were just brutal as can be. He then challenged FRANKIE EDGAR AFTER THE FIGHT and said that he wanted to unify the titles! WOW!

 

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship: #3 Nick Diaz (24-7-0-1) vs. #6 Paul Daley (27-9-2)

MY PICK – Paul Daley via KO
WINNER - Nick Diaz via KO (1-4:57) 

Notes: I obviously have both of these men in my top 10 in the welterweight division, so this also should be a war. I think that Daley has the ability to knock out Diaz with the best LEFT HOOK in the business. However, if Diaz strikes crisp as usual or gets this down to the ground, he can defend his title. Personally, I think Daley is gonna knock him out in the second round following a first round of striking and feeling out. The smart move is for Diaz to take him down, but I think his ego will prevent him from doing so. I think Diaz will win the first round with the more crisp striking which will cause him to arrogantly stick his chin out as usual in the second round. I think that opening will cause him to take a nap.  

Post Notes: Diaz started off the fight doing that hand dropping taunting stuff that he does. Daley made him pay for it as he dropped bombs on him and dropped him. Daley landed some amazing ground and pound and even kicked him in the head, which he wasn't even warned about. The two men stood back up and Diaz out boxed Daley and landed some solid shots on Daley. Diaz was out boxing Daley thoughout the entire first round with body shots. Daley landed some good muay thai knees. This was a banging War here. Daley dropped him again and then dropped on him again and is beating the hell out of Diaz but Diaz is surviving. The got up and there was a crazy exchange that dropped Daley. They STOPPED THE FIGHT!!! THAT WAS SOME BULLSHIT!!! DALEY WAS NOT OUT!! THAT WAS BULLSHIT BUT A WAR FOR SURE!! WOW! That was the best round of MMA that I have ever seen.

Lightweight Fight: #4 Shinya Aoki (26-5-0-1) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (15-1)

MY PICK – Shinya Aoki via submission 
WINNER - Shinya Aoki via submission (1-1:33) 

Notes:  Wow, this is going to be a GREAT addition to the card. Beerbohm wasted no time at all in getting back into the cage after his first ever loss to Pat Healy. I just think Aoki is too good at this point in time though and this is too big of a step up for Lyle. If Lyle can win this fight, he will more than likely shoot up into my top 10 immediately. However, Aoki just is too good. Aoki can submit just about anyone and I think Lyle is going to be too anxious coming off of his first loss. I think he is going to get caught and tap out. Aoki is my #4 lightweight for a reason and I do NOT think he is going anywhere just yet. 

Post Notes: Beerbohm immediately went to take Aoki down and got caught in a neck crank. Very quick win for Shinya Aoki, the Dream Lightweight Champion. Wow, he is amazing. Beerbohm had a HORRIBLE gameplan in this fight. This evens up my pick record to 3-3.

 

Light Heavyweight Fight: #7 Gegard Mousasi (30-3-1) vs. Keith Jardine (17-9-1)

MY PICK – Gegard Mousasi via decision 
WINNER - MAJORITY DRAW 

Notes: Wow, Jardine taking this fight at the last minute was a pleasant surprise to this already stacked card. This is Jardine's shot back into the mix and lets be honest here, he performs well against top talent. Will he win this fight? Hell no he wont, but I look forward to this battle in the striking realm. Jardine's only shot is to land a wild shot that knocks him out, which he won't.  There are a lot of people that think I got Gegard ranked too low. Maybe I do. We will find out in this fight here exactly how good he actually is. What I do know is that he can win in various ways and I personally think he will get the decision win here. I think Jardine is going to be fighting for his career here and this fight is going to the judges. That's damn near a win in itself considering Gegard has only seen the judges 4 times in 34 fights. 

Post Notes: Wow, the first round of this fight was a war as Jardine got five takedowns and busted up Gegard with a knee. Mousasi landed some solid strikes though and busted Jardine open from both eyes. Gegard lost a point for an illegal kick as well. Jardine got that round 10-8 easily. Jardine was gassed horribly early in the fight. Gegard's boxing was much better in this fight than I previously expected. Jardine is busted open bad into the second round, but still in the fight. Jardine got another takdown as Mousasi just seems to be trying to counter punch. Jardine is so tired as the fight progressed, but just kept getting takedowns. Both fighters were bloody going into the final round. After two rounds, I had Jardine ahead 20-17. In my opinion, if this goes to a decision, this is Jardine's fight. The third round started with Jardine taking a shot to his balls. Mousasi got a great takedown to start the third round. He then followed it with another takedown and some elbows. Jardine looked worn out in the third round. He mounted with 2:00 left. Jardine escaped though easily and took some solid combos. Gegard's striking just looked great in the third round as he really dominated the round. The fight basically ends with Gegard landing some serious ground and pound. I give the third round to Gegard 10-8 and the fight to Jardine 28-27. Judges scored it a MAJORITY DRAW! WOW! Ill take that.

 

Featherweight Fight: #5 Hiroyuki Takaya (15-8-1) vs. Robert Peralta (13-3)

MY PICK - Hiroyuki Takaya via KO
WINNER - Robert Peralta via split decision 

Notes: Takaya has won three fights in a row with two of them being solid knockouts. He has an amazing striking game and is probably most known for knocking out Joachim Hansen at Dream 14. Peralta, who has won six in a row, also has knockout power. This should be one hell of a battle when it comes to striking and may even steal the show. I personally think this is Peralta's biggest fight of his career and this win would be huge for him. With that being said, I think Takaya is going to get the knockout in this fight. Hell, I think that Takaya winning may even be considered an upset, which is ridiculous. Takaya is the DREAM Champion and my #5 Featherweight in the World. 

Post COMMENTS: The first round was alot of feeling out and back and forth action. Towards the end of the first round, Peralta popped Takaya and dropped him, but Takaya then got a takedown. I gotta give round one to Peralta for the knockdown. The second round was boring as hell, but Takaya got the takedown and evened up the score one round each. In the third round, there was some GREAT striking action to begin. Takaya got another takedown as the fight winds down. Peralta lands a pretty solid punch at the end of the fight. I score this fight for Takaya 29-28. However the judges scored it for Peralta. Two of the judges gave him the fight 30-27. Wow, I am shocked at that.

Heavyweight Fight: Brett Albee (3-0) vs. Virgil Zwicker (9-2)

MY PICK - Virgil Zwicker via TKO 
WINNER - Virgil Zwicker via TKO (1-1:46) 


Notes: Albee doesn't have much experience here and that could hurt him despite being undefeated. Zwicker has knockout power, but has lost two of three fights. He has a pretty solid win over Ovince St. Preaux on his record however and his experience should help him. I think these big boys are gonna throw down for real and there is going to be a TKO win. I think the win is going to mark Albee's first loss however as Virgil takes it for his 10th win.
  

Post Notes: They feel eachother out for a second and then Virgil just unloads with an explosive attack. Albee has no defense to it who crumbled from the uppercuts, knees, and huge hooks. Just a total dominating performance for Zwicker. This upped my pick record for the night to 2-2. Wow, that was some vicious stuff right there.

Lightweight Fight: Saad Awad (8-3) vs. Joe Duarte (5-2)

MY PICK - Saad Awad via decision 
WINNER - Joe Duarte via submission (2-2:45) 


Notes: Saad Awad has a solid submission game and some experience to go along with it. Awad has lost two of his last three fights however and seems to be struggling. Duarte also has a solid submission game and also has lost two of his last three. Someone is going to break out of their slump hopefully here which should make for a solid fight. I honestly do not think Duarte has quite enough experience to win here. I think Saad Awad will win a close decision. 

Post Notes: They start off throwing some solid blows and looking really good until Awad ends up on his back. Duarte actually ended up with mount in the first round, but could not finish. Awad tried to throw some killer blows to end the first round but nothing connected. Duarte ended up taking that first round in my book. Duarte starts off the second round by getting extremely rocked by Awad but somehow gets a double leg takedown and mount. Awad gave up his back and ended up in an armbar for the submission. Awad had that win, but just lacked the technique. This makes my record 1-2 on the night with my predictions. This was a solid fight.

 

Middleweight Fight: Casey Ryan (1-0) vs. Paul Song (2-0)
MY PICK - Paul Song via decision
WINNER - Casey Ryan via submission (1-1:39)

Notes:  Two fighters that are basically new to the sport here. Should be interesting to see these hungry fighters try to build their career. 

Post Notes: Basically Ryan started off by trying to get the takedown and got stuffed. Song took him down and then ended up getting subbed himself with a triangle choke. Pretty Quick fight. Starts my night off at 0-1 in the pick department.

 

Featherweight Fight: Edgar Cardenas (3-0) vs. Rolando Perez (5-4-1)

MY PICK - Rolando Perez via decision 
WINNER - Rolando Perez via decision (30-27) 


Notes: Not a whole lot of excitement for this fight to be honest. I am completely un-interested, but I hope they prove me wrong. I guess the story here is to see if Cardenas can stay undefeated or if Perez can try to keep from going .500 in his career. I personally have a problem with fighters carrying the nickname "kitty kat" though, so I am picking Perez in this fight. 

Post Notes: Perez just dominated round one with takedowns and punches and even bloodied Edgar's nose. The second round was much of the exact same, but Cardenas was able to atleast rock Perez a little in round two. Cardenas threw alot of wild punches in the third round knowing that he needed a finish. He got taken down two more times in the round and Perez got the third round to win the fight 30-27 in my book. It officially was scored 30-27. This evened up my pick record on the night to 1-1.

Welterweight Fight: Herman Terrado (5-2) vs. AJ Matthews (4-0)
MY PICK - None 
WINNER - Herman Terrado via KO (1-4:16) 


Notes: Sherdog does NOT have this on the official card, but Wikipedia does. I am not even sure if this fight is going to take place. Personally, I could care less whether it does or doesn't. For the fans attending however, I want them to get their money's worth, so I hope it happens. 

Post Notes: Matthews started off the fight with some GREAT knees and a takedown. Terrado responds with a huge right that drops Matthews down to his knee. Both fighters are winded EARLY in the fight as they throw bombs at eachother. Terrado landed a huge right that rocked Matthews right before Matthews landed some great hooks that rocked Terrado. This was amazing and then Terrado drops Matthews with a right hand that ends the fight by KO. Wow, thats an exciting fight.

PRE-EVENT COMMENTS: I have to say that the main card on this show is one of the best that I have ever seen. Hell, even the undercard looks pretty good for a Strikeforce card. The one good thing that we should see in the future resulting from the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce is that their undercard should eventually get much better. Jardine being on this card as a late replacement causes me GREAT INTEREST in the Mousasi fight. If he can pull out the win here, he is officially back. If he loses this fight, I think Keith Jardine is 100% done for good. I gotta admit one thing about Jardine. He typically only lands big fights and always fights the best of the best. We have alot of the TOP lightweights in the world in this card as well. We have THREE of my top 10 as well as Lyle Beerbohm who is 15-1 and definitely a top prospect. This is gonna be a great show to watch and I can't wait to see it.  I forgot to even mention Hiroyuki Takaya, who is my #5 Featherweight in the world fighting on the undercard. That is also a pleasant plus for this card.