Strikeforce Challengers - Kaufman v. Hashi

Strikeforce Challengers will be airing live tonight from San Jose, California on Showtime. Sarah Kaufman (10-0, 2-0 SF) will fight Takayo Hashi (12-1) for the first ever Strikeforce Women's 135 pound title.

In other action, South African UFC veteran Trevor Prangley (22-5, 3-1 SF) will fight the dangerous Karl "Pycho" Amoussou (11-2). In a battle of elite grapplers, Paul Bradley (12-1, 1-0 SF) will take on Luke Rockhold (6-1, 5-0 SF).

MAIN CARD

Takayo Hashi vs. Sarah Kaufman
Karl Amoussou vs. Trevor Prangley
Paul Bradley vs. Luke Rockhold
Tarec Saffiedine vs. James Terry
Raul Castillo vs. Yancy Medeiros

(Sarah Kaufman pictured)

UN-AIRED CARD

Eric Lawson vs. Wayne Philliips
Samuel Bracamnonte vs. Chris Stewart (a)
Tristan Arenal vs. George Miller (a)
Phil Balducci vs. Jesse Tobar (a)
Renee Robinson vs. Lilia Salas (a)
Steve Dickie vs. Alan Lummel (a)
Ronald Carillo vs. Anthony De Los Santos (a)

(a)= amateur bout

MFC 21 - Hard Knocks Results

MFC put together a pretty slick show on HDNet. The card featured a hand full of UFC veterans and up and coming fighters, John McCarthy as the ref, and Bas Rutten on the mic. UFC cast-off Jason MacDonald was cornering some fighters and has apparently signed a contract to fight in the MFC.

Marvin Eastman def Aron Lofton via TKO (Elbows) R2, :049- After absorbing a big knee directly to the groin, Eastman went to work. After a big slam takedown to close out the first round, Eastman took the fight to the ground again in the second. He then unleased a series of elbows to win the fight.

Ryan Jimmo def Mychal Clark via Dec (Unanimous)- Jimmo won the fight with takedowns and ground and pound. Antonio McKee, in the corner of Clark, yelled instructions throughout the bout, but Clark couldn't follow through. Clark did have one of the better breakdancing routines in his walk out.

John Alessio def Andrew Buckland via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R1, 2:53- Alessio was in a clinch before he worked his way out and unleashed a punch to Buckland's face. With his stunned, Alessio got Buckland's back and latched in the choke. He won the submission of the night bonus for his efforts.

Travis Galbraith def David Heath via Dec (Split)- These two basically stood and traded for three rounds. I thought Heath landed more power shots, and may have won 29-28. It was close, Heath may have wanted to get the fight to the ground at some point.

Bobby Lashley def Mike Cook via Sub (Guillotine Choke) R1, 0:24- Lashley came out and dominated the out-gunned Mike Cook. Lashley used his strength power as he got a front headlock and sprawled on Cook. Utilizing all his weight and strength, he choked Cook unconscious. Pretty crazy.

Trevor Prangley def Emanuel Newton via Dec (Unanimous)- The fight was for the MFC 205 pound championship, and was and entertaining battle. The action was pretty close, but I would score it for Prangley due winning the ground battle in round one and a big time high kick to the face right at the buzzer. Unfortunately, the kick landed more with the foot rather than shin, but still landed clean and knocked Newton to the floor. Prangley laid on the canvas as well, with his foot turning red when he got to his feet.

Prangley admitted in the post fight interview that he hurt his foot in the second round. He hated to take Newton's belt with a close decision and said he would welcome a rematch. I had it 48-46 for Prangley, would have been 48-47 if not for the Newton point deduction for a low blow.

George Belanger def Nolan Clark via TKO (Punches) R1, 3:40
Dwayne Lewis def Jay Whitford via TKO (Punches) R1, 0:29
Jason Heit def Jeremy Combrink via Sub (Punches) R1, 4:17
William Richey def Ryan Fortin via Dec(Split)

Strikeforce Recap - Le Kicks It, Santiago Opts For Knees

Recap by the MMA Blaster

1 Dennis Hallman defeats Jeremiah Metcalf Submission (Heelhook) 1 1:39
2 Chris Drumm defeats Evan Esguerra No Contest (Punch to back of Drumm's head) 2 2:35
3 Alex Crispin defeatsClint Coronel Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
4 Anthony Figueroa defeats Pete Sabala Decision (split) 3 5:00
5 Eric Lawson defeats Josh Neal Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 2 0:20
6 Jorge Santiago defeats Sean Salmon KO (Jumping Knee) 1 0:24
7 Trevor Prangley defeats Falaniko Vitale Decision (Referee Decision) 2 2:12
8 Luke Stewart defeats Bryson Kamaka KO (Knee) 1 0:19
9 Anthony Ruiz defeats Bobby Southworth TKO (Cut) 2 0:52
10 Lemont Davis defeats Brian Schwartz Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
11 Alistair Overeem defeats Paul Buentello Submission (Knees to the body) 2 3:42
12 Jorge Santiago defeats Trevor Prangley TKO (Knee to the body) 1 2:31
13 Cung Le defeats Sam Morgan TKO (Liver kick) 3 1:58

Well, it least I called Cung Le's fight correctly. It was a great fight, with Cung Le landing kicks and impressive takedowns. Cung ultimately made Sam Morgan keel over in pain with a kick to the midsection, they are calling it the liver. I hope he is doing ok, apparently he was having health issues after the fight. Listen for the Cung Le chant.

Jorge Santiago definately landed the performance of the night, brutally knocking out Sean Salmon with a flying/jumping knee to the neck. Santiago continued his ways by TKO'ing Trevor Prangly with another knee, this time to the body.

Alistair Overeem dominated Paul Buentello taking him down, pounding him, and then repeating the sequence before unleashing some Muay Thai style knees.

Brian Swartz gets disappointment of the night. He looked like he had no idea what to do defending the takedown, sprawling, clinching on his feet and the ground, and didn't have knockout power.

**Poll results, we all guessed wrong with the tournament picks, 9 wrong answers.

Cung Le takedown from Sherdog


Get more pictures like this from SHERDOG.COM

Strikeforce Tournament Series Picks

Strikeforce Tournament Series Review by the MMA Blaster

You have to give it to Strikeforce for deciding to hold a legit tournament on Friday night, 11-16-07. The United States hasn't had a big tournament in some time due to the UFC's stance that they won't hold tournaments anymore. (Don't tell them that TUF is a tournament). I like the idea of the lottery that Strikeforce is implementing.

They basically will have four balls numbered one to four that will be drawn by the fighters. The fighters will then seed themselves in the bracket. You definately want the first fight so you have extra time to recover, but you probably want to fight someone that you are comfortable with first. Those taking part in the tourney are Yuki Sasaki, Trevor Prangley, Jorge Santiago and Falaniko Vitale. The alternate bout is between Sean Salmon and Dennis Hallman.

This card is also stacked with Cung Le (see previous story) v. TUF alum Sammy Morgan, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-9) and Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (25-11). World Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Brian “The Mad Stork” Schwartz will make his MMA debut against Lemont Davis (8-4 according to Strikeforce, 0-0 according to Sherdog) in a 175 lb. catch weight.

Picks

Tournament Victor-- Trevor Prangley. He is riding a five fight win streak which includes wins over vet Yuki Kondo, Andrei Semenov (26-9), and Anthony Ruiz (17-10). I think he will use his wrestling skills to grind out the victory.

Buentello v. Overeem- Buentello. The Head Hunter is bigger than Overeem (who has fought mainly at 205) and I see him using it to his advantage to get the win. This fight will be a stand-up war and could very well be the fight of the night.

Le v. Morgan--I have the Cung Le legend continuing with a brutal KO by high kick in the second. Hey, we can all dream, can't we?

Alt. Bout- Salmon v. Hallman- I really want Salmon to get the victory here. It would give him the momentum running into his fight with Mayhem Miller. I think the younger Salmon will relax and avoid the submissions that will be coming at him.