Strikeforce "Lawler vs. Shields" results: Jake Shields, Brett Rogers and Nick Diaz pick up wins

June 7, 12:26 AMMixed Martial Arts ExaminerEddie Graveline

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Mixed Martial Arts Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Shields jumping guard for the guillotine

Strikeforce is anything but a new face on the MMA scene, but when Scott Coker announced that his organization had purchased many of Elite XC’s athlete contracts and assets earlier this year, the MMA community couldn’t help but feel like Strikeforce had a “new” look and feel. One of the main reasons for the excitement was the new match making possibilities between existing Strikeforce talent and some of the top fighters in the Elite XC stable. Strikeforce hit the ground running with their April event, “Shamrock vs. Diaz,” then followed with one of the best MMA cards of 2009 with “Lawler vs. Shields” on Saturday night.

182-pound Catch Weight: Jake Shields vs. Robbie Lawler
In the main event, I expected the fight to go one of two ways. Either Jake Shields was going to be able to get Robbie Lawler down and submit him, or Lawler would be able to defend the takedown attempts, keep the fight standing and win with a decision or KO. As is often the case, I wasn’t exactly right. Shields wasn’t able to take Lawler down in the first round and it looked like the strength difference was going to be a big problem for him. Like all great fighters, however, Shields adapted quickly. When Lawler backed him toward the cage, Shields jumped guard, wrapping his legs around Lawler’s torso and immediately went for a guillotine choke. Lawler never saw it coming and Shields was able to get the choke in deep, forcing him to tap out. It was a stunning victory for Shields, who served notice to all Strikeforce Welterweights in the process.

Heavyweights: Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers
Arlovski came into this fight with everything in his favor. He had more victories, a more diverse skill set and a resume that included wins over some of the best Heavyweights in the world. Brett Rogers on the other hand, came in with an undefeated record and some serious power in both hands. He used both of them to get a stunning first-round knockout of a legend. After briefly feeling each other out, Rogers stepped forward and unleashed a combination that had Arlovski on his heels at first, then on the mat completely disoriented. Referee John McCarthy had no choice but to stop the fight and award Rogers the TKO.

180-pound Catch Weight: Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith
Scott Smith has legendary knockout power. Nick Diaz has proven to have knockout power as well, but has an incredible submission game to go with it. Conventional wisdom said that Diaz would take Smith down in order to avoid his power, but he seemed determined to beat Smith at his own game. He came with a balanced striking attack, landing an obscene quantity of shots (397 total strikes thrown during the fight) to both the head and body. Smith was barely able to get to his stool after the second round, but answered the bell for the third. After some more exchanges on the feet, Diaz got Smith’s back and submitted him with a rear naked choke. Even though the fight ended the way I thought it would, this was an impressive victory for Diaz, set up by his striking. 
 
Welterweights: Joe Riggs vs. Phil Baroni
This looked like a stand-up war on paper, but Riggs and Baroni spent a fair amount of the fight on the mat. I had Riggs winning each of the first two rounds, but he really teed off on Baroni in the third. Riggs was active, aggressive and in control throughout the fight and won a well-deserved unanimous decision.

Light Heavyweights: Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead
Like I said in my pre-fight predictions, Randleman’s performance in this fight was almost impossible to forecast. He had only fought twice in the previous three-and-a-half years, so even though he used to be a much higher caliber fighter than Mike Whitehead, it was hard not to think the latter would pull out a victory. Whitehead actually out-wrestled Randleman in the first two rounds and was in control of the scorecards heading into the final round. Randleman dropped him with a big punch early in the third, but Whitehead recovered, took him down and held his own for the duration. He won via unanimous decision.