THREE TITLES AT STAKE ON FREE CBS TV
Las Vegas, NV-– Saturday evening Strikeforce will host a stacked card with three title belts on the line. The show will air live and free onCBS and looks like it will deliver the goods. One of the three belts up for grabs is the middleweight (185 lbs) title held by Jake Shields, 185, San Francisco, CA. Facing him and making his Strikeforce debut will be the former Pride and UFC star Dan Henderson. Shields (24-4-1, 3 KOs, 10 SUBs) may be the one on a 13 fight win streak dating back to 2004, but it is the challenger in Dan Henderson (25-7, 11 KOs, 1 SUB) who is the overwhelming favorite.
HENDERSON BETTER AT 185 THAN 205 LBS
Henderson will look to make his debut to Strikeforce a memorable one by snatching the middleweight title from Shields. Look for Henderson to try to unload with his sneaky right hand and cash in on his title shot. Shields will be looking to do what he always does-try to obtain a submission by any means necessary. Unfortunately for Shields, Henderson is very hard to submit and his wrestling ability makes him hard to take down. I see Henderson finding a home for his fists and scoring an eventual TKO to become the new Strikeforce middleweight champion.
CHAMP AT 205 CAN FIGHT!
In the light heavyweight (205) division, the highly skilled champion Gegard Mousasi, 205, Leiden, Armenia will look to defend his belt against the power punching wrestler Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. This should be a very entertaining fight as both men possess skills that can end things quickly and violently. Mousasi (28-2-1, 17 KOs, 9 SUBs) hasn’t tasted defeat in his last 15 fights and has never been knocked out-a stat that Lawal (6-0, 5 KOs) plans on changing come Saturday night. Although Lawal is an outstanding wrestler with a decorated credentials list, he prefers to pummel his opponent with his explosive power. He may be in his home state of Tennessee, but I don’t think his fans can save him from Mousasi; who will be too skilled for the fan favorite Lawal. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lawal catch Mousasi cold and score the kayo, the more likely scenario will play out in Mousasi’s favor as he wears down King Mo and scores a mid to late round stoppage.
LIGHTWEIGHT IN MMA WORLD IS 155 LBS
Down at lightweight (155) Gilbert Melendez, 155, Santa Ana, CA will defend his lightweight strap against newly signed Japanese star Shinya Aoki, 155, Shizuoka, Japan. Not only will this be Aoki’s (23-4, 1 KO, 14 SUBs) Strikeforce debut, but it will also be his U.S. debut. Melendez (17-2, 10 KOs, 1 SUB) will have to be on his A game if he wants to keep his belt against the Japanese submission specialist. As good as Aoki is, Melendez has never been submitted and has power in both hands. That being said, three of Aoki’s four losses have come by knockout. I think Melendez gives Aoki a rude welcoming to the states by knocking him out for a fourth time.
Matthew “All Meat” Grizzle