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FEIJAO SHOCKS
KING MO TO CAPTURE
STRIKEFORCE
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE;
SOUZA WINS
DECISION AGAINST KENNEDY
AT
STRIKEFORCE: HOUSTON
Don’t Miss
The Explosive Replay On Monday At 9:30 p.m. ET/PT On SHO 2
 HOUSTON
(Aug.
21, 2010) – Hard-hitting striker Rafael Feijao shocked
STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) Champion “King
Mo” Lawal with a devastating third round knockout in Saturday’s
SHOWTIME® televised main event at STRIKEFORCE: Houston
at Toyota Center.
In a tactical
co-feature, world-class
submission specialist
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
captured the vacant STRIKEFORCE
World
Middleweight (185 pounds) Championship with a unanimous decision
over American military hero Tim Kennedy.
In an all-action
fight, Mo (7-1) was the aggressor in the first, scoring a body slam
in the opening minute of the round. But, Feijao (10-2) was unfazed
by the take down and got to his feet without suffering any
significant damage.
After trading
punches in the second, Feijao came out swinging in the third. He
landed a few strong combinations and caught Mo with a powerful
knee. Clearly wounded, Mo tried to take his opponent to the ground
to minimize the damage but, while locked up standing, Feijao
battered Mo with a series of brutal slashing elbows to Mo’s head,
knocking him out at 1:14.
“I hit him hard
with the right hand and the knee,” Feijao said. “I saw he was hurt,
but I was just going to continue to hit him. I felt his grip
loosening and knew that he was done.
“I have a new
coach in boxing and Muay Thai that made the difference. “I just
made my dream. I saw in his last fight he wanted to get inside. My
strategy worked perfectly.”
A wounded Mo was
disappointed but not dejected in his performance.
“I just got to
make a few adjustments,” Mo said. “He fought a hell of a fight, but
I’m not worried. I’ll come back stronger.”
Jacare (13-2-1)
wasn’t able to get Kennedy to the ground, but his effective and
relentless counterpunching was the difference maker in the fight.
A deep gash
opened up over Kennedy’s left eye early in the third round. Kennedy
(12-3) tried taking the fight to the mat, but it was ineffective
against Jacare, who was the superior striker landing the harder,
crisper punches.
Kennedy
continued to attack Jacare throughout the fight, never giving up,
but was unable to land anything that hurt his opponent.
“I felt through
the fight that he felt my hand,” Jacare said. “I was landing some
big punches and I thought I was winning the fight. I was ready to
fight everywhere in the cage, but I was surprised how strong he
was. He was strong, but I was the one connecting and landing the
damaging punches.”
Kennedy, who
landed more punches with a higher percentage, was a bit surprised in
the unanimous decision loss.
“I was really
frustrated with the end result,” Kennedy said. “Jacare is an
amazing contender and now a champion. I was humbled that I was able
to go five rounds with him, but I think it goes without saying that
I’d like another five rounds with that guy. It’s going to be
different.
“We’re talking
about the most decorated grappler in the planet. I expected him to
want to grapple. He countered with me the whole time and I was
surprised. I should have put more pressure on him. The only time
anyone got dropped in the fight was when I dropped him, but he’s got
the belt.”
In a featured
lightweight (155 pounds) bout, KJ Noons scored a second
round KO (:19) over fearless brawler and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black
belt Jorge Gurgel in a short, but spectacular match.
The two
exchanged powerful punches in the first, but a powerful and
controversial blow from Noons a split second after the sound of the
closing bell for the first round proved to be the difference.
Noons (10-2) came out swinging in the second, landing an overhand
right followed by a left hook that sent Gurgel (13-7) flying to the
canvas. He followed it up with punches on the ground, but the fight
was clearly over as Gurgel could not recover.
“By any means am
I a dirty fighter, no,” Noons said. “I was just going in there to
try to engage and get the round. I was in the heat of the moment and
I couldn’t stop my hands as they were going. It wasn’t cheap and
I’m not trying to be dirty - I’m just trying to finish the fight. I
didn’t’ intentionally do it, it’s just the rush.
“I thought it
was a great fight. He had a really good game plan. He was moving
around the ring and was trying to get me to engage more. I just
knew I had to not over commit on my punches and my kicks and I’d be
able to keep standing. I’m not surprised he didn’t take me down.”
Gurgel didn’t
make any excuses or complaints in losing.
“I apparently
got hit a couple of times when the round was up, but it’s not KJ’s
fault,” Gurgel said. The referee is responsible for separating the
fighters. I’m not taking anything away from (KJ) He landed a good
right hand and a left hook.
“I have no
excuses whatsoever. I came up short in my performance and I’m really
upset. I thought I had his number. I’ve never been rocked before.
I’ve had 20 professional fights and I’ve never felt that. KJ is a
world class fighter.”
In the opening
fight of the SHOWTIME telecast,
Chad Griggs
won an upset, TKO victory over previously unbeaten Bobby Lashley
at the end of the second round.
An experienced
and talented wrestler, Lashley immediately took the fight to the
ground in the first round. He expended a lot of energy trying to hit
Griggs (9-1) while on the ground, but Griggs was able to counter and
opened up a gushing cut over Lashley’s left eye.
Once again,
Lashley (5-1) took the fight to the ground in the second, but his
punches didn’t do enough damage to the more experienced Griggs. The
cut worsened with Lashley apparently gassed in the closing moments
of the second round and the referee called the bout immediately
following the conclusion of the round.
“This is a dream
come true fighting for STRIKEFORCE. I got offered a big fight right
off the bat and I’m super pumped I got the win,” Griggs said. “I
know he was bleeding all over me. I think he was tired and he was
hurt already. I think it was a good call to end it.
“I felt him
starting to fade a little bit at the end of the first round. I could
hear him breathing really hard and could feel him using a lot of
muscle to land punches. I was comfortable because he wasn’t really
catching me and he was using a lot of energy. I don’t think that
he’s really been hit before or been tested. I could see it in his
eyes that the fight was changing. He was still hustling, but I
think he was losing some heart in there.”
The event will
replay on Monday, Aug. 23 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHO 2 and will be
available On Demand from Tuesday, Aug. 24 until Monday, Sept. 6.
Complete
STRIKEFORCE: Houston Results:
STRIKEFORCE
World Light Heavyweight Championship
Rafael Feijao
def. “King Mo” Lawal – KO (elbows) – Round 3 (1:14)
STRIKEFORCE
World Middleweight Championship
Jacare Souza
def. Tim Kennedy – Unanimous Decision – 49-46, 48-47 twice.
KJ Noons def.
Jorge Gurgel – KO (strikes)– Round 2 (:19)
Chad Griggs def.
Bobby Lashley - TKO - End of Round 2
NON-TELEVISED
UNDERCARD
Daniel Cormier
def. Jason Riley – Submission (strikes) – Round 1 (1:02)
Andre Galvao –
def. Jorge "Macaco" Patino – TKO (strikes) – Round 3 (2:45)
Vinicius
"Draculino" Magalhaes – def. Rocky Long – Unanimous Decision –
29-28, 30-27, 30-27.
Adam Schindler
def. Kier Gooch – Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Reynaldo "The
Truth" Trujillo def. Jose Santibanez – TKO (Strikes)
Chad
"Robo" Robichaux def. Humberto DeLeon – Split Decision - 29-28
(Robichaux), 29-28 (DeLeon), 29-28 (Robichaux)
Artenas Young
def. Chad Cook, - Unanimous decision - 30-27, 298-28, 30-27
About
STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com)
is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on
Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie"
event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in
California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which
pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a
sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE,
sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts
programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading,
world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its
mixed martial arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May
2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE,
partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an
entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of
the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009,
STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage
live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion
has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS
Television Network.
About Showtime
Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks
Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and
operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE
CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™,
SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME
NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE
CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE
MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™
and FLIX ON DEMAND®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Channel™, a joint
venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds
provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and
distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to
subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
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