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Bobby Lashley (5-0-0) vs. Chad “The Grave Digger†Griggs (8-1-0)
Bobby Lashley is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, with a victory over Wes Simms at Strikeforce: Miami. Bobby Lashley also holds an MMA victory over international star Bob Sapp, which happened at the lone Fight Force International event. Bobby Lashley is a former WWE/TNA wrestler, who held both the ECW Championship and WWE United State Championship during his professional wrestling career. Early in his MMA career, Bobby Lashley defeated Jason Guida, who is the brother of UFC veteran Clay Guida. Of his five professional MMA fights, only one has gone to a decision for Bobby Lashley, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Bobby Lashley will be entering the fight riding a five fight undefeated streak, which has lasted well over a year. Bobby Lashley is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with four victories coming by knockout and submission. Chad Griggs will be making his Strikeforce debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the Rage In The Cage promotion. While in Rage In The Cage, Chad Griggs defeated the trio of Homer Moore, Johnathan Tsosie and Steve Sayegh. Chad Griggs started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that had lasted well over a year. Chad Griggs also competed in the International Fight League, defeating John Marsh and suffering a defeat to Shane Ott. It has been well over a year since Chad Griggs last competed in an MMA fight, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. Chad Griggs will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted nearly three years. Chad Griggs will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Bobby Lashley
Strikeforce Lightweight Division Fight
KJ Noons (9-2-0) vs. Jorge Gurgel (13-6-0)
KJ Noons is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated Conor Heun at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. KJ Noons is the only Elite XC Lightweight Champion, defeating Nick Diaz at Elite XC: Renegade to win the title. In his other Elite XC fights, KJ Noons defeated James Edson Berto and Yves Edwards, while suffering a lone defeat to Charles Bennett. KJ Noons recently returned from a near two year hiatus from MMA competition so he could focus on his professional boxing career. KJ Noons also competed in the Super Brawl promotion, defeating both Malik Williams and Bryson Kamaka. Of his eleven professional MMA fights, only two have gone to a decision for KJ Noons, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. KJ Noons will be entering the fight riding a five fight winning streak, which has lasted over three years. KJ Noons will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven of his victories coming by knockout. Jorge Gurgel has had an interesting run in Strikeforce, defeating Conor Heun and suffering a defeat to Billy Evangelista. Jorge Gurgel is also a veteran of the UFC, defeating Danny Abbadi, Diego Saraiva and John Halverson, while suffering defeats to Mark Hominick, Alvin Robinson, Cole Miller and Aaron Riley. Jorge Gurgel was also a cast member on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 2, which was won by both Rashad Evans and Joe Stevenson. Jorge Gurgel started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that had lasted well over a year. It has been over nine months since Jorge Gurgel last competed in an MMA fight, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. In an interesting career note for Jorge Gurgel, all of his fights have ended via submission or decision, not once by knockout. Jorge Gurgel will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: KJ Noons
Strikeforce Middleweight Title Decision Fight
Ronaldo “Jacare†Souza (12-2-0) vs. Tim Kennedy (12-2-0)
Ronaldo Souza is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, with a series of victories coming over Matt Lindland and Joey Villasenor. Ronaldo Souza has also competed in DREAM, defeating Ian Murphy, Jason Miller and Zelg Galesic, while suffering a defeat to Gegard Mousasi. Of his fourteen professional MMA fights, only one has gone to a decision for Ronaldo Souza, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Ronaldo Souza began his professional MMA career in the Jungle Fight promotion, defeating Victor Babkir, Alexander Shlemenko and Haim Gozali, while suffering a defeat to Jorge Patino. Despite competing in professional MMA for nearly nine years, Ronaldo Souza didn’t make his North American MMA debut until December 2009 at Strikeforce: Evolution. Ronaldo Souza will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, which has lasted over eight months. Ronaldo Souza will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with ten victories coming by way of submission. Tim Kennedy is also undefeated in Strikeforce competition, with victories over Nick Thompson, Zak Cummings and Trevor Prangley. Tim Kennedy also competed in the International Fight League, defeating Dante Rivera, Ryan McGivern and Elias Rivera. Tim Kennedy has also fought a host of other top MMA fighters like Jason Miller, Trevor Prangley and Scott Smith. Tim Kennedy also won a one night tournament at Extreme Challenge 50, defeating Ryan Narte, Jason Miller and Cruz Chacon. Of his fourteen professional MMA fights, only two have gone to a decision for Tim Kennedy, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Tim Kennedy will be entering the fight riding a four fight winning streak, which has lasted well over two years. Tim Kennedy will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with six victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Ronaldo Souza
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title Fight
“King†Mo Lawal (7-0-0) (Champion) vs. Rafael “Feijao†Cavalcante (9-2-0)
King Mo is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated the duo of Mike Whitehead and Gegard Mousasi. King Mo is the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, as he defeated Gegard Mousasi to win the title at Strikeforce: Nashville. King Mo is also a veteran of the Sengoku promotion, defeating Travis Wiuff, Fabio Silva, Yukiya Naito and Ryo Kawamura. King Mo also holds a victory over Mark Kerr, who is a former UFC Tournament Champion from the early days of the promotion. Of his seven professional MMA fights, only two have gone to a decision for King Mo, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. King Mo will be entering the fight riding a seven fight undefeated streak, which has lasted nearly two years. King Mo will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with five victories coming by knockout. Rafael Cavalcante has had a successful run in Strikeforce, defeating Aaron Rosa and Antwain Britt, while suffering a lone defeat to Mike Kyle. Rafael Cavalcante also competed in Elite XC, defeating the likes of John Doyle, Wayne Cole and Travis Galbraith. Rafael Cavalcante started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a four fight undefeated streak that had lasted over a year. Rafael Cavalcante also competed in the International Fight League, defeating Devin Cole and suffering a defeat to Marcio Cruz. Of his eleven professional MMA fights, none have gone to a decision for Rafael Cavalcante, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Rafael Cavalcante will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, which has lasted nearly nine months. Rafael Cavalcante will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: King Mo
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of Strikeforce: Houston on Saturday Night August 21st at 10pm EST., right here on PWInsiderXtra.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
