Last night Showtime aired "Strikeforce Houston", complete with two title bouts featuring Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Tim Kennedy, and Champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The fights actually turned out better than I thought. With former champion, Jake Shields, gone after signing with UFC, the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title was up for grabs, and Cavalcante snatched it up using both hands!
I knew KJ Noons could box, but wow...he really showed off his skills last night! I have no idea why Jorge Gurgel decided to stand and bang with a fighter who's trained in boxing and Muay Thai, but he'll probably never do it again.
After being clobbered by Noons, it was painful to watch him stumbling all over the ring. To make matters worse, KJ was a very bad boy, delivering an illegal knee to a grounded Gurgel after the ref ran in to stop the fight. It doesn't matter that the knee was delivered after the ref started rushing in - knees are illegal to a grounded opponent, and Gurgel was grounded. I think he was so caught up in the heat of the moment, he was throwing everything he had at Gurgel at that point, but still, Noons is supposedly a professional and has trained knowing such knees are illegal.
But if you look at it, Noons was winning the fight. Gurgel was down for the count and almost incoherent at that point. So kicking/kneeing Gurgel at that point was unnecessary. Similar to when Dan Henderson kept going and pounded out Michael Bisping, the last punch he threw was already clocked and ready to be delivered. I'm sure he got caught up in the heat of the moment, so I gave him that for the end-of-the-round punch he delivered at the first round.
And yes - I know all about how a fighter doesn't stop until the bell rings or the ref steps in, which is why Noons kept going - which even the announcers were quick to point out. BUT, once again, Gurgel was grounded. The knee was illegal.
In my opinion, that should have been a DQ decision, especially in light of the "accidental" fist to Gurgel's head by Noons, after the bell sounded in round one. I imagine Gurgel's still wondering what happened and why he's still hearing some ringing in his ears, and he probably spent the better part of last night in the ER at the local hospital.
Since the athletic commission didn't step in and rule it a DQ, hopefully Scott Coker and Strikeforce will send a message to Noons, and other fighters who watched him walk away with the "W" after pulling that nonsense, by fining him a good chunk of his winning purse.
Here's a quick peak at the winners and losers at last night's event:
* Rafaela Calvante def. Muhammed Lawal via TKO at 1:14 in round three.
* Ronaldo Souza def. Tim Kennedy via decision.
* KJ Noons def. Jorge Gurgel via TKO at 0:19 in round two.
* Chad Griggs def. Bobby Lashley via TKO (retirement) in round two.
* Daniel Cormier def. Jason Riley via submission at 1:02 in round one.
* Andre Glavano def. Jorge Patino via TKO at 2:45 in round three.
* Vinicius Magalhaes def. Rocky Long via unanimous decision.
* Adam Schindler def. Kier Gooch via submission (rear-naked choke) in round one.
* Reynaldo Trujillo def. Jose Santibanez via TKO in round one.
* Chad Robichaux def. Humbert DeLeon via split decision.
* Arteneus Young def. Chad Cook via unanimous decision.
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