64/60 Sports

In the last installment of MMA Fist Fuck, we gave the results and breakdown of the UFC get together they had on PPV. This time, we are going to give a preview of the upcoming STRIKEFORCE: Houston show, which will air live on Showtime, tomorrow. Strikforce gets rediculed, mostly from people who deny that they watch MMA because they like PRO Wrestling, but that's ok, it's the same thing, whether they are intelligent enough to see it is not our responsibility.

The headline of the show will be King Mo defending his Light-Heavyweight crown against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. The hardest part has been over for MO for quite some time, and that was winning the title. The LGHTHVY division in the promotion is not a very strong one, not anemic, but not scrapping either. King Mo really has no peer in his division, and quite frankly should dominate the division for however long he is with the promotion. Cavalcante does provide some opposition for Mo however, and really, He does have enough of the grey area presentation to give Mo some fits. Cavalcante is coming off back to back TKO's. He is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, even with that background, he makes the most noise as a striker. He likes to stay on his feet, ironic for a Jiu Jitsu trained individual as it may be, all but one of his victories comes via TKO, he has only used his black belt skill to provide one submission victory. King Mo is a wrestler. There is no doubt of that. He loves to spend time on the mat, loves it...King Mo statistically spends more time on the mat than any fighter in the game. In his last 5 fights, Mo has been on the ground roughly 36 minutes compared to 19 minutes upright. And, he has a 90% success rate on takedowns, which means he is going to get you on the mat, that is a certainty. Cavalcante is jsut the opposite, and he has not been taken down at all in any of his last 3 fights. He has good muy tai when he is in a clinch, and a big knock to him is that he seems to have Punch Out playing in his head during his fights. It's as if he sees a star above a fighters head and holds down select and goes for that wild haymaker uppercut. His biggest drawback? The goofy mutha fucka likes to kick way too much. Against Mo, that is just an opening for a take down. Mo may be at a disadvantage in the striking department, but his game is firmly ground based wrestling. Cavalcante is a wierd fighter relying, and relishing, in striking and at times ignoring his Jiu Jitsu background. LIke I said, there is alot of grey area as to what can happen with the groundgame in this fight, but, ultimately I see Mo defending and retaining here. Long Live King Mo.

The matchmakers in the back pulled off a coup with this next one. At one point, SF wanted to hold a huge Middlewieght Tournament...But couldn't get it to come together...So, they did the best possible thing they could do. Right out of the gate they throw their two best out there to decide the champion. The result is going to be the best middleweight match that the promotion has ever presented. It will be the benchmark. It will also be the oppurtunity for Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to either show he is the dominat middleweight that people expect him to be, or if he is going to buckle and not live up to those lofty expectations. Jacare is an excellent grappler, and his standing in that culture is mostly responsible for his reputation and expectations. However, being a great grappler does not translate to MMA success.

His opponent is the Army Ranger Tim Kennedy. A real American Hero. I'm pretty sure he used to cruise around Fort Bragg with Ranger Ross and he was a member of Slaughter's Marauders. Hell he beat the shit out of Destro and Dr. Mindbender. Cobra retreat? Your fucking right they did... But, he got bullied by the Bully Beatdown master Jason Mayhem Miller, the same who got jumped by the Mexicano Horsemen a few months back. He has made some good improvements since then though. The man 'Rangers Up' like Hulk Hogan having enough of that vile Nicolai Volkov and introducing him to the boot. But, Souza is too good for the Ranger to be able to do this too. Souza has a way to go with his striking game, and has a chin that is very suspect. If Kennedy keeps the fight vertical, he rns a very good chance of connecting and dropping Souza.But, I dont think he has enough reach for his strikes, nor the punching power of Lil' Mac or Ronnie Garvin to make it a home run type throwdown. Souza may be too good on the ground, and just good enough on his feet for Kennedy in this one. His milliatary obligations fullfilled, maybe in another year or so, Kennedy can break into the inner circle of greatness, for now though, he is just going to remain good, real good.

Former WWE'er and TNA'er Bobby Lashley, whose mat game has no shame, says that in Houston he is going to display his stand-up game, which has been pretty much non-existent thus far, but in his defense, he really has not needed it. Lashley is going up against The Grave Digger on the card. No, it's not Undertaker's other brother, the Grave Digger is Chad Griggs, who has a record of 8-1. He only has two fights that have went past the first round, and he won both. But, seriously, Chad, Lashley is going to destroy you.

Personally, once you get past the Dylan Mckay look of KJ Noons, you find that you have no problem with the Boxing-Influenced fighter. The Biggest reason for me is the fact that he beat one of the Diaz boys, Nick back in their fight in 2007 by ref stoppage in the first round. He steps into the ring in Houston against Jorge Grugel, out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The former UFC'er is going to come into the fight against the San Diego native and I feel like he is going to dominate. This has nothing at all to do with Grugel being a former employee of Dana White's whore house, it is because he has a more complete resume than Mr. Classy Noons does. Noons is a good fighter, obviously strike heavy style, but good none the less. I just like Grugel, he hit a skid before his departure from the UFC, loosing 3 of his last 4 there, but has rebounded with a win in his first fight out of UFC, then suffered a set back with following that with a loss, both of which took place as a member of the Strikeforce locker room. Maybe I jumped the gun her, maybe I should go with Noons??? eh, I like Grugel better....I am probably gonna be wrong here, but I still like Grugel over Noons....

There are the 4 top fights to wet the pallet for you. If you plan on watching the broadcast on Showtime, you will prolly want to watch the whole show, not saying it is loaded or that their are some dark horse candidates for break out performers, but the spectacle and show it's self are outstanding. Plus, that middleweight bout is truly going to be awesome.