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Josh “The Punk†Thomson (16-3-0) vs. Pat “Bam Bam†Healy (23-15-0)
Josh Thomson has had a successful run in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Harris Sarmiento, Duane Ludwig, Nam Phan, Nick Gonzales, Adam Lynn, Gilbert Melendez and Ashe Bowman, while suffering defeats to Clay Guida and Gilbert Melendez. Josh Thomson is a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, defeating Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson to win the title. Josh Thomson also had a brief run in the UFC, defeating Gerald Strebendt and Hermes Franca, while suffering a defeat to Yves Edwards. Josh Thomson once took a year long break while Strikeforce Lightweight Champion to heal from a serious leg injury. Josh Thomson once competed in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Daisuke Sugie by way of submission. Prior to competing in Strikeforce and the UFC, Josh Thomson had defeated UFC/WEC veterans Doug Evans and Rob McCullough. Josh Thomson started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a seven fight undefeated streak that lasted over three years. Josh Thomson will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission. Pat Healy is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, defeating Bryan Travers at Strikeforce Challengers 8. Pat Healy is also a veteran of the International Fight League, defeating Ray Steinbeiss and Michael Guymon, while suffering defeats to Rory Markham and Jake Ellenberger. Pat Healy has fought top MMA fighters throughout his career like Brad Blackburn, Denis Kang, Dan Hardy, Chris Lytle, Paul Daley, Jay Hieron, Tiki Ghosn and Carlos Condit. Pat Healy will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted over eight months. Pat Healy also fought once in the UFC, suffering a defeat to Anthony Torres at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5. Pat Healy has also seen action in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Tiki Ghosn and suffering a defeat to Chris Lytle. It has been just over a month since Pat Healy last competed in an MMA fight, so conditioning could be a factor in the fight. Pat Healy will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with thirteen victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Josh Thomson
Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Title Fight
Cristiane “Cyborg†Santos (9-1-0) (Champion) vs. Jan “Cuddles†Finney (8-7-0)
Cristiane Santos is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated Hitomi Akano, Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen. Cristiane Santos is the current Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion, having defeated Gina Carano at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg to win the title. Cristiane Santos also went undefeated in the Elite XC promotion, defeating Shayna Baszler and Yoko Takahashi. Of her ten professional MMA fights, only two have gone to a decision for Cristiane Santos, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Cristiane Santos also fought in the Storm Samurai promotion, defeating Vanessa Porto, Chris Schroeder, Elaine Santiago and Marise Vitoria. The lone loss in the MMA career of Cristiane Santos came to Erica Paes, which happened at a Showfight event in May 2005. Cristiane Santos will be entering the fight riding a nine fight winning streak, which has lasted over four years. Cristiane Santos is the wife of Strikeforce fighter Evangelista Santos, who recently defeated Marius Zaromskis at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. Cristiane Santos will be looking to use her striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Jan Finney will be making her Strikeforce debut in this fight, but she is a veteran of the Hook N’ Shoot promotion. While in Hook N’ Shoot, Jan Finney defeated Rikki Burnett, Mystee Blackwood and Ginele Marquez, while suffering defeats to Julie Kedzie and Miesha Tate. Jan Finney recently fought in the Freestyle Cage Fighting promotion, defeating both Lizbeth Carreiro and Adrienna Jenkins. Jan Finney will be entering the fight riding a four fight winning streak, which has lasted over eight months. Jan Finney once had a three fight series with Julie Kedzie, in which she suffered defeats in all three of those fights. Jan Finney also competed once in the Elite XC promotion, suffering a defeat to Shayna Baszler by submission. Jan Finney will be looking to use her striking skills to win the fight, with four victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Cristiane Santos
Strikeforce Middleweight Division Fight
Scott “Hands Of Steel†Smith (17-6-0) vs. Cung Le (6-1-0)
Scott Smith has had a successful run in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Terry Martin, Benji Radach and Cung Le, while suffering a defeat to Nick Diaz. Scott Smith already holds a victory over Cung Le, who he defeated at Strikeforce: Evolution in December 2009. Scott Smith is a veteran of UFC competition, defeating Pete Sell, while suffering defeats to David Terrell, Patrick Cote and Ed Herman. Of his twenty three professional MMA fights, only one has gone to a decision for Scott Smith, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Scott Smith also went undefeated in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Tim McKenzie, Tait Fletcher and Justin Levens. Scott Smith started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that had lasted over two years. Scott Smith also competed in the Gladiator Challenge promotion, defeating Levi Thornbrue, Jaime Jara, John Seilhan and Jeff Morris, while suffering a lone defeat to James Irvin. This fight will mark the second time in two years Scott Smith has had an immediate rematch with an opponent he fought, as he fought Robbie Lawler in a two fight series for Elite XC. Scott Smith will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with fourteen victories coming by knockout. Cung Le has had a successful run in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Mike Altman, Brian Warren, Jason Von Flue, Tony Fryklund, Sam Morgan and Frank Shamrock, while suffering a lone defeat to Scott Smith. Cung Le is a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, defeating Frank Shamrock at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le to win the title. Cung Le is one of a very small list of fighters who has fought every professional MMA fight in his career in the Strikeforce promotion. Cung Le started off his professional MMA career in impressive fashion, with a six fight undefeated streak that had lasted over three years. Of his seven professional MMA fights, none have gone to a decision for Cung Le, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Cung Le will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with all of his victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Scott Smith
Strikeforce Heavyweight Division Fight
Fedor “The Last Emperor†Emelianenko (31-1-0) vs. Fabricio “Vai Cavalo†Werdum (13-4-1)
Fedor Emelianenko is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, defeating Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. Fedor Emelianenko had a long run in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Semmy Schilt, Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kazuyuki Fujita, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Naoya Ogawa, Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Mirko Cro Cop, Wagner Da Conceicao Martins and Mark Hunt. The lone loss in the MMA career of Fedor Emelianenko came to Tsuyoshi Kosaka at a Rings event in December 2000. Fedor Emelianenko also competed in both Affliction MMA events, defeating Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Despite competing in professional MMA for over ten years, Fedor Emelianenko didn’t have an MMA fight in North America until October 2006, when he defeated Mark Coleman at PRIDE 32. Fedor Emelianenko will be entering the fight riding a twenty seven fight winning streak, which has lasted over nine years. Fedor Emelianenko will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with sixteen victories coming by way of submission. Fabricio Werdum is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, with victories over Antonio Silva and Mike Kyle. Fabricio Werdum had also competed in the UFC, defeating Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, while suffering defeats to Andrei Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos. Fabricio Werdum started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a six fight undefeated streak that had lasted over three years. Fabricio Werdum also competed in PRIDE, defeating Tom Erikson, Roman Zentsov, Jon Olav Einemo and Alistair Overeem, while suffering defeats to Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Fabricio Werdum also holds a victory over Aleksander Emelianenko, who is the brother of Fedor Emelianenko. Fabricio Werdum also went undefeated in the Jungle Fight promotion, defeating Gabriel Gonzaga and Ebenezer Fontes Braga. Fabricio Werdum will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, which has lasted nearly a full year. The last time that Fabricio Werdum had an MMA fight was at the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers event, which featured the Strikeforce debut of Fedor Emelianenko. Fabricio Werdum will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Fedor Emelianenko
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
