Henderson against Fedor / Photos: Esther Lin
On Saturday Chicago was treated to an installment of Strikeforce providing more than its fair share of excitement, even with Dan Henderson’s quick dispatch of Fedor Emelianenko in the main event.
The heavily anticipated showdown between light heavyweight champion Henderson and Fedor didn’t last very long. The two veterans and legends of now-defunct Pride FC went toe to toe on their feet, where the Russian connected with a glancing upper cut that dropped the American to the canvas. On the ground, Fedor grinded away with ground and pound but didn’t have the time to finish the business before Hendo floundered out and to the Russian’s back – proof his Jiu-Jitsu training with Ricardo Pantcho is paying off.
In the superior position, Hendo landed two punches that sent the once seemingly invincible heavyweight down. Seeing the sambo stylist turtling vulnerably on the ground, referee Herb Dean called an end to the bout at 4:12 minutes of the first round, as Fedor seemed to be awaking from the knockout.
“I don’t want to complain, but I think the fight was stopped a little early,” Fedor protested while still in the cage, after his third poor result in a row.
The female welterweight title fight saw challenger Miesha Tate submit Marloes Coenen with fourth-round arm-and-neck choke, capturing the belt.
In other highly touted fights, Tim Kennedy defeated Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley overcame Paul Daley, both by unanimous decision.
The Brazilian ambassadors on the night had a 50% success rate, with Gesias Cavalcante eking out a split decision against Bobby Green after coaxing a tapout in the second round that the referee failed to see, and Eduardo Pamplona was swiftly knocked out by Tyler Stinson.
(With the collaboration of Junior Samurai)
Check out the results:
Strikeforce
Illinois, United States
July 30, 2011
Dan Henderson knocked out Fedor Emelianenko in R1
Miesha Tate submitted Marloes Coenen via arm-and-beck choke in R4
Tim Kennedy defeated Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision
Tyron Woodley defeated Paul Daley via unanimous decision
Tarec Saffiedine defeated Scott Smith via unanimous decision
Gesias Cavalcante defeated Bobby Green via split decision
Tyler Stinson knocked out Eduardo Pamplona in R1
Alexis Davis defeated Julie Kedzie via unanimous decision
Derek Brunson submitted Lumumba Sayers via rear-naked choke in R1
Gabriel Salinas-Jones finalizou Bryan Humes com um triângulo de mão no 3R