Strikeforce Diaz vs Daley Recap

Added on Apr 10, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

A new era started off in Mixed Martial Arts last night as Strikeforce held its first official event under the Zuffa banner. The evening turned out to be a complete success with two outstanding championship fights that both ended in the first frame. Perhaps the strangest thing we saw last night wasn’t inside the cage, but next to it, as UFC President Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta were cage seid. A sight many thought they would never see. This is how the evening played out.

Nick Diav Vs Paul Daley

The main event of the night was full of fireworks, and if you like stand up brawls that go back and forth you witnessed the fight of the year. Everyone thought Nick Diaz was going to go into the fight and exploit the weak ground game that Daley has shown in the past. However, Nick had no problem with trading strikes with the British power puncher. Well, Thats not entirely true, as at one point Paul Daley dropped him, but was unable to finish. When Nick was able to get back to his feet he didn’t stop coming forward until referee Big John McCarthy pulled him off of him. It was a fantastic fight by both fighters, but Nick was clearly the better fighter. To me it really looked like he was going to brawl the boxer, and either go out on his shield or remain the welterweight champion.

Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

In a rematch from a 2006 fight, it was clear who had improved more over the last four years. Melendez has never looked so vicious in a fight, and aft about 90 seconds it didn’t look like Kawajiri had anything for him. Kawajiri did manage to land a head kick that seemed to rattle Melendez a little bit, but Gilbert shook it off and recovered quickly. It was a smothering performance by Melendez, and from the word go Melendez was looking to finish. After unleashing some incredible uppercuts on Kawajiri, he crumbled and Melendez finished him from the top to retain the lightweight title.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine

If you had to pick a fight that may have been controversial it would be this one. Jardine came into this fight on a weeks notice when Mike Kyle was injured, but put on a good showing for someone who didn’t have a camp. Many thought that Jardine was going to be a sacrificial lamb to Gregard, but it turned out to be a tough fight for both men. Jardine seemed to be able to take Mousasi down almost when ever he wanted, but when the fight was standing Jardine didn’t have many answers. In the first round Mousasi was penalized a point for an illegal up kick on Jardine while he was also on the ground, and thats what changed the outcome of this fight. Under Japanese scoring, this was a clear win for Mousasi, but this isn’t Japan. I thought Mousasi took the last two round, but gave the first one to Keith. The judges saw the fight the same way, as they declared the fight a Majority Draw.

Shinya Aoki vs. Lyle Beerbohm

This fight was over as quick as it started. Lyle went after a takedown, and at a knee on the way in. When he went to create a scramble Aoki quickly moved to back mount, and it was a matter of time before he had sunk in the rear naked choke. There is also a chance he didn’t tap to the choke, but in fact submitted to the neck crank. Either way, Aoki was elated with the win, and with the turmoil going on in Japan it was an emotional moment for him.