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Photos: Esther
Lin/Strikeforce
09-10: Jake
Shields (left) won a battle of world-ranked fighters
when he forced Robbie Lawler to tap out from a
guillotine choke at 2:02 of the first round in the main event
Saturday on SHOWTIME from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
It was Shields' 12th victory in a row.
07-08: In a
startling display of explosiveness, unbeaten, hard-hitting
heavyweight Brett Rogers
(right) overwhelmed former UFC heavyweight champion
Andrei Arlovski, finishing him off after just 22
seconds had elapsed in the first round.
05-06: Talented,
world-class Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt Nick Diaz
(left) continued to triumph impressively, stopping game but
outgunned Scott Smith in the third round.
03-04: After two
competitive rounds,
southpaw Joe “The Diesel” Riggs (dark gloves) came
on strongly to dominate the third en route to registering a
unanimous decision over Phil Baroni in
a welterweight fight
01-02:
“Iron’’
Mike Whitehead (right) scored the biggest
victory of his career with a close, unanimous decision over
comebacking former UFC standout and
two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion
Kevin Randleman in a light heavyweight bout.
(PHOTOS AND RESULTS RELEASED ATTACHED)
SHIELDS CHOKES OUT LAWLER FOR 12TH
CONSECUTIVE VICTORY;
UNBEATEN
ROGERS KO’s FORMER UFC CHAMP ARLOVSKI IN 22 SECONDS;
NICK DIAZ, JOE RIGGS, MIKE WHITEHEAD ALSO
WIN
BIGGEST WOMEN’S FIGHT
IN MMA HISTORY:
GINA CARANO Vs. CRIS “CYBORG”
SET FOR AUG. 15
AT HP PAVILION IN SAN JOSE
ON SHOWTIME; ALSO ON CARD,
THOMSON-MELENDEZ
II FOR STRIKEFORCE TITLE, OVEREEM TO DEFEND
_
Saturday, June 6,
2009, LIVE on SHOWTIME
From Scottrade
Center, St. Louis, Missouri
ST.
LOUIS
(June 7, 2009) –
Jake Shields, a world-ranked welterweight, submitted
(guillotine choke) world-rated middleweight, “Ruthless’’
Robbie Lawler, in the STRIKEFORCE main event Saturday
on SHOWTIME® before 8,867 who turned out at the Scottrade Center for
the most significant mixed martial arts event in the history of the
Gateway City.
Shields’ 12th
consecutive victory in a match fought at a catch weight of 182
pounds capped a wild and entertaining evening of MMA highlighted by
undefeated Brett “The Grim’’ Rogers’ shocking 22-second
knockout over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “Pitbull’’
Arlovski and another impressive performance by talented,
world-class Nick Diaz, who submitted (rear naked choke)
hard-trying Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith at 1:41 of
the of the third round.
In other results on
SHOWTIME, southpaw Joe “The Diesel” Riggs registered a
unanimous decision over Phil Baroni in a
welterweight scrap and “Iron’’ Mike Whitehead
scored the biggest victory of his career with a unanimous
decision over comebacking former UFC standout and
two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion
Kevin Randleman in a light heavyweight bout.
The event, presented
by SHOWTIME and STRIKEFORCE, aired
live simultaneously on SHOWTIME and on the Web (Strikeforce: All
Access) at
http://strikeforce.sho.com.
The
SHOWTIME telecast
aired at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast); the
Strikeforce: All Access
webcast went at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and is available through
Tuesday, June 9, at the site.
It was announced
during the SHOWTIME telecast that the biggest fight in the history
of women’s MMA, the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated match between
superstars Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg’’
would take place on Saturday, Aug.
15, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on SHOWTIME.
Also
on Aug. 15, Josh Thomson will defend his Strikeforce
lightweight title against former belt-holder and interim champ
Gilbert Melendez and STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion
Alistair Overeem will defend against an
opponent to be announced.
San Francisco’s
Shields (23-4-1), the grappler moving up in weight, forced the
slugger, Lawler (16-5, 1 NC), of nearby Granite City, Ill., to tap
out at 2:02 of the opening round from a guillotine choke. The defeat
ended a six-fight unbeaten streak (5-0, 1 NC) for Lawler.
“This was a great
fight and I thank Robbie for the opportunity,’’ said Shields, who,
along with Diaz, is a Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt. “He is a great fighter but this was just my night.’’
Rogers’ victory,
while perhaps not totally unexpected, figures to have the fans
talking for a long time. After missing with his first punch, a right
hook, Rogers (10-0), of St. Paul, Minn., landed a flush left hook, a
right and another left hook that sent Arlovski (15-7), of Chicago,
crumbling to the canvas. The referee stepped in and halted the
proceedings immediately.
“I’ve always said
that I can hurt people with my power and I proved it again
tonight,’’ Rogers said. “Hopefully, this fight will get me into the
top 10. Once, I touch you it is over. I will fight anybody.’’
Diaz (20-7), of
Stockton, Calif., mostly dominated Smith (17-6, 1 NC) of Elk Grove,
Calif. Diaz, who was coming off an easy victory over Frank
Shamrock in April, seemed to do as he pleased for the most part.
He out-punched the puncher, hurting Smith on numerous occasions.
Known for miraculous comebacks, Smith had no answer on this night,
going down twice, the last time from body shots.
“I’m not sure who
I’ll fight next or if it is at 160, 170 or 180,’’ said Diaz after
the fight was stopped at 3:38 of the third. “But I am happy with
this fight.’’
Riggs (30-10), of
Phoenix, Ariz., won by the scores of 30-27 on the three judges’
scorecards. After managing to bottle up Baroni and take the first
two rounds, Riggs, despite two broken hands, dominated the third. “I
want to fight Jake Shields,’’ Riggs said afterward.
Baroni (13-11) of Las
Vegas by way of Long Island, NY, had a three fight winning streak
end.
In the telecast’s
opening bout, Whitehead (24-7), of Las Vegas, outpointed Randleman
(17-13) of Las Vegas by the scores of 29-28 three times. It was the
second straight victory for Whitehead, who is 15-1 in his last 16
fights. Randleman was fighting for first time since May 2008 and
only the second time since October 2006.
Saturday’s exciting
fights will re-air as follows:
DAY
CHANNEL
Wednesday, June 10,
at 10 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME 2®
It will be available
On Demand beginning Tuesday, April 14.
Versatile
play-by-play broadcast veteran Gus Johnson called the
action on SHOWTIME with MMA expert
Mauro Ranallo and MMA superstar Frank Shamrock
serving as expert analysts.
Saturday’s
non-televised results: Pat Benson, St. Louis,
submitted (triangle choke) Dave Cochran,
St. Louis, at 2:18 of the first round (155
pounds); Lucas Lopes, Columbia, Mo., won by
disqualification (illegal knee strike) over Scott
Ventimiglia, Wood River, Ill., at 3:26 of the first round (185
pounds); Tyron Woodley, St. Louis,
submitted (choke) Salvador Woods, Granite City, Ill.,
at 4:20 of the first round (170 pounds);
Booker DeRousse, St. Genevieve, Mo., TKO 1 (strikes,
4:20) over James Woods, St. Peters, Mo. (205 pounds);
Mike Kyle, San Jose, Calif., TKO 2 (strikes, 4:05) over
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Brazil
(205 pounds); and Jesse Finney, St. Louis, submitted (keylock)
Josh Bumgarner, Waterloo, Iowa, at 1:55 of the first
round (175 pounds).
Mixed martial arts
returns to SHOWTIME on Friday, June 19, when
“Smokin” Joey Villasenor
and Evangelista “Cyborg” clash in a middleweight showdown in
the main event on Strikeforce Challengers (11 p.m.
ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) at the ShoWare Center in Kent,
Wash.
In other televised
bouts, Cory “The One” Devela faces Luke
Rockhold (middleweights), Lyle Beerbohm meets
Duane “Bang” Ludwig (lightweights), Nick “The
Goat’’ Thompson throws down with Tim Kennedy
(middleweights), Sarah Kaufman takes on Shayna
Bazsler in a 135-pound women’s fight and Jorge Gurgel
will collide with Conor Heun in a 155-pound scrap.
Tickets for the
Strikeforce Challengers event, priced from $32, are on
sale at the ShoWare Center Box Office (253-856-6999 or
877-840-0457), online at ShoWareCenter.com, and at
www.strikeforce.com.
ShoWare Center doors
will open for the Strikeforce Challengers event at 5:30 p.m.
PT on June 19 and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.
PT.
For information on
Showtime Sports Programming, including exclusive video, photos and
news links on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and EliteXC mixed martial
arts telecasts, please go to
www.SHO.com/sports.
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