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Cory “The One†Devela (9-2-0) vs. Luke Rockhold (4-1-0)
Cory Devela has already fought twice before in Strikeforce competition, defeating Joe Riggs and suffering a loss to Terry Martin. Prior to coming to Strikeforce, Cory Devela fought two alumni of the UFC Ultimate Fighter reality show in Lodune Sincaid and Ed Herman. Before suffering the loss to Terry Martin in September 2008, Cory Devela was on a seven fight winning streak that lasted over two years. Cory Devela will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with six victories coming by way of submission. Luke Rockhold has fought the majority of his career in the Strikeforce promotion, holding victories over Josh Neal, Nik Theotikos and Buck Meredith. Luke Rockhold has also fought twice in the Melee On The Mountain promotion, defeating Mike Martinez and losing to Tony Rubalvava. Of his five professional fights, none of them have gone past the opening round, which speaks to Luke Rockhold’s finishing abilities. Luke Rockhold will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with all of his career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Luke Rockhold
Strikeforce Women’s 140lb. Division Fight
Sarah Kaufman (9-0-0) vs. Shayna “The Queen Of Spades†Baszler (9-5-0)
Sarah Kaufman is an undefeated fighter who made her Strikeforce debut at the first Strikeforce Challengers Series event, defeating Meisha Tate by unanimous decision. Before coming to the Strikeforce promotion, Sarah Kaufman fought in other groups like King Of The Cage, Hardcore Championship Fighting and Palace Fighting Championships. Sarah Kaufman will be looking to use her striking skills to win the fight, with eight of her nine victories coming by knockout. Shayna Baszler has fought a group of top notch women fighters like Kelly Kobold, Julie Kedzie, Tara LaRosa, Jennifer Tate and Cristiane Santos in her career. It has been nearly a year since Shayna Baszler last fought, so conditioning could play a factor in this fight. The loss to Cristiane Santos in July of 2008 snapped a four fight winning streak for Shayna Baszler, the streak lasted over a year. Shayna Baszler will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with all nine of her career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Sarah Kaufman
Strikeforce Lightweight Division Fight
Jorge Gurgel (12-5-0) vs. Conor “Hurricane†Heun (8-2-0)
Jorge Gurgel is a longtime veteran of UFC competition, defeating Danny Abbadi, Diego Saraiva and John Halverson, while suffering losses to Mark Hominick, Alvin Robinson, Cole Miller and Aaron Riley. This fight against Conor Heun in the Strikeforce promotion will mark the first time Jorge Gurgel has fought outside of the UFC in over four years. Jorge Gurgel has also fought briefly in the Extreme Challenge promotion, where he defeated Gin Minajev and Joe Jordan. Jorge Gurgel will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with nine career victories coming by way of submission. Conor Heun will be making his Strikeforce debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the International Fight League, Total Fighting Alliance and Elite XC. While in the International Fight League, Conor Heun defeated Clint Coronel and Tristan Wit, while suffering a lone loss to LC Davis. Conor Heun will be entering this fight on a three fight winning streak, with victories over Noah Shinable, Marlon Matias and James Edson Berto. Conor Heun will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Jorge Gurgel
Strikeforce Welterweight Division Fight
Nick “The Goat†Thompson (38-10-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (9-2-0)
Nick Thompson is a longtime veteran of MMA and has fought top MMA fighters like Brian Gassaway, Yushin Okami, Ed Herman, Josh Neer, Karo Parisyan, Chris Wilson, Eddie Alvarez, Mark Weir, Jake Shields and Paul Daley. In mid-2008, Nick Thompson fought and lost to Jake Shields in a fight to crown the first ever Elite XC Welterweight Champion. The loss to the aforementioned Jake Shields snapped a twelve fight winning streak for Nick Thompson, which lasted over two years. Nick Thompson will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with twenty two victories coming by way of submission. Tim Kennedy is a longtime veteran of the International Fight League, Extreme Challenge and World Extreme Cagefighting promotions. Tim Kennedy went undefeated in the International Fight League and Extreme Challenge promotions, defeating Ryan Narte, Jason Miller, Cruz Chacon, Dante Rivera, Ryan McGivern and Elias Rivera. Tim Kennedy will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with five prior wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Nick Thompson
Strikeforce Middleweight Division Fight
“Smokin†Joey Villasenor (26-6-0) vs. Evangelista “Cyborg†Santos (16-12-0)
Joey Villasenor is a veteran of the Elite XC promotion, where he defeated David Loiseau, Ryan Jensen, Riki Fukuda and Phil Baroni, suffer a lone loss to Murilo Rua in the promotion. Joey Villasenor is a longtime veteran of the King Of The Cage promotion, where more than half of his career fights occurred in, he also defeated UFC veterans Tim Credeur and Jorge Santiago. This fight will mark the first time Joey Villasenor has fought in over a year, so his conditioning could become a factor. Joey Villasenor is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twenty two victories coming by knockout and submission. Evangelista Santos will be making his North American MMA debut in this fight, he is also the husband of top female fighter Cristiane Santos. Evangelista Santos has fought top notch MMA fighters like Mauricio Rua, Yuki Kondo, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Gegard Mousassi. Evangelista Santos has also fought in the PRIDE promotion, where he defeated Yosuke Nishijima and lost to Kazuhiro Nakamura. Evangelista Santos will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with nine victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Joey Villasenor
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of Strikeforce Challengers Series: Villasenor vs. Santos right here on PWInsiderXtra.com this Friday June 19th at 11pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
