Strikeforce – Challengers 18
August 12, 2011
Palms Casino Resort,
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card (Aired on Showtime)

Lightweight (155 lbs)

Joe Duarte (10 – 2 – 0) defeated Jorge Gurgel (14 – 9 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Duarte, who is on a 5 fight win streak (4 by stoppage), surges 121 spots up the ranks from [#308] to [#187].  Duarte should face either [#108] Caros Fodor or [#103] Milton Vieira next.  Gurgel, who is 2-3 since washing out of the UFC in 2008, plunges 81 spots down the ranks from [#208] to [#289].  Gurgel could face [#218] James Terry in his next outing.

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Nate James (13 – 7 – 1) defeated Danillo Villefort (13 – 4 – 0) by unanimous decision.  James, who is on a 5 fight win streak (4 by stoppage), moves from [#91LHW] into the middleweight “Top 350” at [#27].  He should look for a bout against [#23] Anthony Smith next.  Villefort, who was on a 4 fight winning streak prior to this loss, moves 8 spots down the ranks from [#22] to [#30].  Perhaps Villefort vs. [#19] Robbie Lawler could work, since both are coming off of losses (2 losses in Lawler’s case).

Lightweight (155 lbs)

Pat Healy (25 – 16 – 0) defeated Eric Wisely  (18 – 6 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Healy, who has back to back wins after this bout (5-1 in his last 6),  jumps 16 spots up the ranks from [#42] to [#26].  Healy vs. [#30] Justin Wilcox would be an informative fight in relation to where each man belongs atop the Strikeforce lightweight division.  Wisely, who was on a 4 fight win streak prior to this loss, falls 28 spots down the ranks from [#49] to [#77].  Wisely is undersized for the division, and should look to face [#9FW] Robert Peralta at featherweight.  If he decides to stay at 155, he could face [#96] Magno Almeida.

Women’s Featherweight (145 lbs)

Ronda Rousey  (3 – 0 – 0) defeated Sarah D’Alelio (4 – 2 – 0) by technical submission due to an armbar at 0:25 of the 1st round.  Rousey, who has rattled off 3 consecutive armbar victories (all under 50 seconds), enters the women’s featherweight “Top 15” at [#8].  She should look to face another up and comer in [#9] Julia Budd next.  If she wins that, Rousey may be ready for a title shot.  D’Alelio, who is on a 2 fight losing streak, remains unranked.  D’Alelio may want to think about fighting her next bout at women’s bantamweight (135 lbs).

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Derrick Mehmen (12 – 3 – 0) defeated Roy Jones (6 – 2 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Mehmen, who has back to back wins after this bout (4-1 in his last 5),  moves from [#85HW] into the light heavyweight “Top 250” at [#80].  He should face [#100] Trevor Smith for his next opponent.  Jones, who is 1-2 in his last 3 (prior to which he won 5 first round stoppages in a row), remains unranked.  Despite his loss, Jones looked impressive on the feet in the 1st round, and should be given another opportunity inside the Strikeforce cage, perhaps against [#166] Ron “Abongo” Humphrey in what would be a guaranteed slugfest.
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Strikeforce/M-1 Global – Fedor vs. Henderson
July 30, 2011
Sears Centre,
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States

Main Card (Aired on Showtime)

Heavyweight (265 lbs)

Dan Henderson (28 – 8 – 0) defeated Fedor Emelianenko (31 – 4 – 0) by TKO due to punches at 4:12 of round 1.  Henderson, who is on a 3 fight win streak (all by (T)KO), holds his rank at [#6LHW].  Henderson should face either [#8] Gegard Mousasi or perhaps face the UFC Light Heavyweight champ in a title unification bout.  Emelianenko, whose unprecedented 28 fight unbeaten streak travels farther into the rear view mirror with this-his 3rd stoppage loss in a row, moves 1 spot down the ranks from [#9] to [#10].  Where he goes and what he does now is unknown, but if he decides to continue fighting, he should fight the loser of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi Final bout between [#9] Josh Barnett and [#14] Sergei Kharitonov.

Strikeforce Women’s “Welterweight” Championship

Women’s Bantamweight (135 lbs) (Same as Strikeforce’s Women’s “Welterweight”)

Miesha Tate (12 – 2 – 0) defeated Marloes Coenen (19 – 5 – 0) by submission due to an arm triangle at 3:03 of round 4 to win the Strikeforce Women’s “Welterweight” Title.  Tate, who is on a 6 fight win streak (4 by stoppage-3 by submission), moves 2 spots up the ranks from [#3] to [#1] and enters into the Division Dominance rankings at [#4].  Tate will face number 1 contender [#2][#7DD] Sarah Kaufman next.  Coenen, who is 3-3 in her last 6, moves 2 spots down the ranks from [#1] to [#3] and 7 spots down the Division Dominance rankings from [#1] to [#8].  Inexplicably, Coenen was released from her Strikeforce following this loss.

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Tim Kennedy (14 – 3 – 0) defeated Robbie Lawler (18 – 8 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Kennedy, who has back to back wins (6-1 in his last 7), moves 6 spots up the ranks from [#15] to [#9].  Kennedy has positioned himself as the number 1 contender for the middleweight title, and should face the winner of the [#4] Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. [*] Luke Rockhold championship bout.  Lawler, who has back to back losses (2-4 in his last 6), moves 1 spot down the ranks from [#19] to [#20].  If [#34] Cung Le decides to come back and fight in Strikeforce, he should face Lawler in a return bout.

Welterweight (170 lbs)

Tyron Woodley  (9 – 0 – 0) defeated Paul Daley (27 – 11 – 2) by unanimous decision.  Woodley, who has fought all but his first 2 fights in Strikeforce, jumps 20 spots up the ranks from [#37] to [#17].  Now is the time to pull the trigger on a Woodley vs. [#46] Tarec Saffiedine bout for the vacant welterweight title.  Daley, who has back to back losses (preceded by a 4 fight win streak), moves 8 spots down the ranks from [#13] to [#21].  He could face [#32] Jason High for his next bout.

Welterweight (170 lbs)

Tarec Saffiedine (11– 3 – 0) defeated Scott Smith (17 – 9 – 1) by unanimous decision.  Saffiedine, who is 4-1 in his last 5, jumps 29 spots up the ranks from [#75] to [#46].  He should face [#17] Tyron Woodley for the vacant welterweight title.  Smith, who is on a 3 fight losing streak (1-4 in his last 5), falls 21 spots down the ranks from [#56] to [#77].  Perhaps a scrap with [#186] Roger Bowling would be appropriate, given they are both coming off of losses only a week apart.
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