Strikeforce Fedor vs. Hendo thoughts

The event sort of dragged but the main event was classic. I'll rate it 7.

Amazing finish for Hendo. As for the stoppage, sometimes what looks like an early stoppage is simply the ref making the call that while Fedor is still awake, he's about 2or 3 punches away from not being awake, and he's in no position to defend 2 or 3 more punches. Herb Dean did Fedor and fans a favor...because that was a second or two away from Fedor's body stiffening up and being out cold. I know i didnt want to see that, Herb Dean made the right call..Fedor was finished. I really wish Gus Johnson didnt put Fedor in the position to give his opinion on whether the stoppage was early or legit. With the emotions high and Dan Henderson being a respected legend as well..it's a loaded question. It's not like asking Amir Sudollah if he could have kept going vs. Hendricks...Fedor is a quitter if he thought it was legit or he's not giving Hendo his due if it was not..thats why the question and the answer was booed.

It's irrelevant but i don't think it would have played out like this in 2006 but in 2011 Dan Henderson is a better fighter than Fedor. Fedor is simply too sloppy now. Fedor used to pick his spots and use a full game but when he started gaining the rep as a knockout artist from the Affliction fights he has simply become too wild and it cost him against Werdum and it cost him again tonight. Henderson did that same hook after Feijao knocked him down in his last fight. In 2006 Fedor controlled guys...his top position has looked lousy in all 4 of his Strikeforce fights...even against Rogers. Fedor is way past his prime, and it's possible that he has been past his prime through his more recent success as well. I still say Sylvia and Arlovski were really good wins for where those guys were at the time, especially Arlovski but those fights didnt display Fedor in the form that made him so dominant against top fighters in the past. I won't complain if he fights again, but he's a rich man..his record is still gawdy despite 3 straight losses, and they can't take away from what he did in his prime no matter how much they try..i just think it's time for Fedor to retire. His game has changed dramatically, it's not the losses that make Fedor unrecognizable to what he was it's his approach to fighting.

What can i say about Dan Henderson? If there is one guy that deserves to be the one to flatten Fedor...it's Dan Henderson. Pure legend and as i said in GDP's thread. Hendo has got a few more years in the tank at a high level if he stays in shape. Pretty much a bizzare, probably would not happen again loss to Jake Shields..this guy is one a very nice streak against excellent fighters from MW, LHW, and now HW.

PREDICTION: In the coming weeks we'll hear an announcement for Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson in UFC

I'm glad Miesha finished the fight...because i was concerned with how the fight was going because of the judges...i didnt think there was any way Miesha should be ahead on any scorecards up to the finish yet i had a feeling she was. Marlos dominated round 2, and had the advantage from her guard through round 3. Tate did well and is a good fighter but i think she's going to get beat up by Kaufman..Marloes would have in a rematch as well. Kaufman is too strong and too skilled..and i see Sarah as a fighter who won't make the same mistakes twice. Tate has a very slim chance vs. a stronger Kaufman over 5/5 rounds. This was a good fight. I like Marloes...she is weaker than the other girls but makes it up with pure skill. I think she can beat Tate on any given night, but she just got caught in a bad spot tonight. Positive steps for womens MMA...Another womens championship fight on the big card that felt like it belonged there. Congrats to both Tate and Coenen.

Also, since Gus Johnson is the king of the loaded post fight question...how come he does not ask these 135 pounds girls like Tate and Kaufman if they would be willing to fight Cyborg? After all, Marloes did it, no fear, no questions asked.

The better fighter won Kennedy-Lawler. Kennedy usually does not gas, so that was kind of weird..he might of been hurt but he caught a second win for the last takedown and flurry and his energetic post fight interview. Lawler's 3rd round perfomance was bizzare. He didnt look tired and he was moving around a lot...but refused to engage and then got taken down too easily at the end and was not really defending himself. I see Lawler being released and he'll resurface in Bellator. Kennedy is much better than he displayed tonight. The MW division in SF is depleted and they got Jacare booked against a guy who has never beat anybody...maybe we'll see Kennedy in UFC.

By the second round of the second fight...i found myself rooting for Paul Daley. Was not feeling Tyron Woodley's classic lay n pray..and i think Big John let the stalemates at the fence go on for too long. If anything impressed me about T-Wood tonight it was his striking...but that was due to Paul obviously centering his approach around stopping the takedown(kind of like Florian-Maynard) to where he was too timid which is NOT Paul Daley's game. If he was more agressive, Woodley might have got the takedown's much easier but i thought Semtex did a good job.

IMO, Diaz win is much more impressive than what Koscheck or Woodley was able to do to Daley. Diaz went in there and challenged Daley at Daley's game and knocked him out. This is why Diaz gets huge kudos from his win over Daley and Woodley was just kind of whatever. Woodley won't do well against fellow wrestlers(which was kind of already proven vs. Nathan Coy)

Not much to talk about with Smith-Tarec. Smith has declined big time. He was always an easy target to hit, but his offensive game is pretty much non-existant as well. He's pretty much a punching bag and Coker needs to make good on what he says everytime Smith loses and just let the guy go. You can't just keep sending him in there against these guys. The guy has had about 10 combined seconds of offense in the last 3 years..which is a combination of his finishes against Radach and Cung in fights he was dominated in.

Did not see any prelims, but good to see "Hood Style" was not too much for JZ..atleast not when i look at it on paper. Split decision vs. Bobby Green is not what i wanted to see. I might be later to this party than others but i'm beginning to think JZ is going to always be a middle of the pack LW and not the top 10 caliber LW we all thought he was going to be a few years ago.

"What can i say about Dan Henderson? If there is one guy that deserves to be the one to flatten Fedor...it's Dan Henderson."

well put.

Do not agree with u on the Gus loaded question. That is exactly the sort of question that needs to be asked.

The better criticism of Gus's interview style(my buddy pointed this out to me) is just how monotone he is in his delivery. Way too restrained, which is totally against the typical gus critique, which is his overblowing a situation.

As far as the card goes.

Def would have like to have seen more finishes early.

Gotta question Tarec's power, I know Smith is tough as nails, and Tarec may have been playing it safe so as to avoid the big Smith counter, but that was straight target practice. Rewatched it on the west coast feed, and there is a stretch that covers the entirity of the 2nd half of the middle rnd, where Tarec is landing shot after shot after shot after shot. And Smith ate it all well.

Real nice skills for the sponge, though I'd like to see him sacrifice a bit of the precision and put a little more weight into those shots.

Should Smith retire? Im not going there quite yet. Though it might be a good time for SF to cut ties, and let him do some work on some smaller shows.


Woodley is def a bore. He is strictly a control fighter, his GnP lacks any sort of teeth. He has good striking skills, but almost never uses them, instead he prefers to pin u against the fence.


I'd like to see Daley vs strikers, but in order for him to evolve, he prob needs to keep fighting wrestlers, and hopefully at some point, he can get to the point where a wrestler can't just hold Daley for 3 rnds. Still plenty young.

Lawler played the role of a strict counter puncher, and when he got behind he was not able to mount an offensive, instead sticking to the counter punching role vs a guy who saw no need to put himself in danger.

I was not as impressed with Kennedy's ferocious ground attack as I had been in some previous fights. Lawler nullified him pretty good.

he can get to the point where a wrestler can't just hold Daley for 3 rnds[b]










true but at the same time woodley didnt just hold him down. heck he even tried trading with him yet daley couldnt capitalize. if anything daley becomes one of the most boring fighters when he fights wrestlers for all he does is hold on instead of looking for a limp or sweep.perfect example is his fight with kos. dude wouldnt let go of kos everytime kos took him down. thats why guys like lytle are always fun to watch. everytime kos took him down lytle never stopped moving, was looking for scrambles and was even punching from the bottom making the fight entertainin. daley on the other hand just wants to hold on to dear life

good point,(don't agree so much on the exchanges with Woodley, there were not many) he needs to be more proactive from his back, instead of implementing stall techniques, and hopefully that is something he works on.

And no doubt his fights with wrestlers are boring, from a spectators viewpoint, i'd much prefer daley vs other strikers, but from his perspective, if he wants to be seen as anything more then a one dimensional striker, he eventually needs to start beating some wrestlers. He shows signs imo, of being able to do that.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/24655/strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson-ratings-rank-fourth-all-time-with-571000-viewers.mma
The five top-rated Strikeforce-Showtime shows, as compiled by MMAjunkie.com, include:

1. "Strikeforce: Silva vs. Fedor" (February 2011): 741,000 viewers
   
2. "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" (June 2011): 624,000
   
3. "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg" (August 2009): 576,000
   
4. "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson" (July 2011): 571,000
   
5. "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg" (January 2011): 561,000
   

OU wrote:

http://mmajunkie.com/news/24655/strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson-ratings-rank-fourth-all-time-with-571000-viewers.mma
The five top-rated Strikeforce-Showtime shows, as compiled by MMAjunkie.com, include:

1. "Strikeforce: Silva vs. Fedor" (February 2011): 741,000 viewers
   
2. "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" (June 2011): 624,000
   
3. "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg" (August 2009): 576,000
   
4. "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson" (July 2011): 571,000
   
5. "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg" (January 2011): 561,000
   

I always wonder why they exclusively talk about Showtime for Strikeforce.

11/7/09 Strikeforce Fedor v. Rogers CBS 2.5 rating 4.04M viewers
4/17/2010 Strikeforce: Nashville Shields vs. Henderson CBS 1 rating 2.63M viewers

well they will only compare apples to apples.

If SF ever gets back on CBS Im sure they'd compare those ratings to previous CBS ratings.

o wow, i totally forgot that SF used to be on CBS... that seems so long ago

i wonder how many buys it would of gotten had they gone with plan a / ppv

im still looking for a miesha tate camel toe gif....

awesome

Marloes having a looksy as well

I didn't like Robbie's gameplan vs Kennedy. Even after he almost punched Kennedy's nose off he still hug back and stayed on the defense. I mean he put ALL his eggs in the I'll just land a KO countering a takedown basket with no other means to win. Props to Kennedy gotta respect his love for our country and his fellow troops but I wish he'd stop acting like the judges screwed him on the Jacare fight

I think Marlos just thought Tate would hold position and try to GNP her, I think she was just as surprised as anyone that Tate went for the arm triangle. Nice sub to give Tate the comeback win as imo Marlos was winning the fight. I don't know what the future holds for womens mma with Zuffa now owning SF but I think some of these chicks are more fun to watch then some of these dudes I hope it doesn't go away

I was sad when Fedor went down but as it's been said if it had to be anyone I'm cool with it being Hendo that TKOed Fedor into retirement. Which is what I think will happen. And the stoppage was good