Larkin remains unbeaten at Strikeforce Challengers

Cageside by Anthony Springer, Jr. & Andreas Hale
Photos by Chris Cozzone

He ducked, dodged and displayed excellent head movement. He threw fanciful single strikes and appeared too comfortable at times.

Lorenz Larkin was all finesse in his unanimous decision win over last minute replacement Nick Rossborough in the evenings’ main event. Rossborough gave as good as he got, throwing a greater volume of punches. The swift defense of Larkin often found his opponent swinging at the air.

“He was great, I think he came to fight and he was hungry,” a happy, but tired Larkin said after the bout.

“I love how he pushed me and how he hit me. I love it all. This is where fighter’s show their heart.”

Larkin found himself bullied against the cage at several points during the bout, but maintained composure and could be seen looking at his corner for direction when things got hectic.

A close fight going into the final frame, Larkin turned up the controlled destruction. Rossborough was floored with a stiff knee to the body that he never seemed to fully recover from. Larkin continued the assault bloodying Rossborough’s face with a series of elbows. Larkin finished the fight strong with a barrage of elbows and punches to the body.

When asked if he was ready for the next level of Strikeforce competition, the rising star was humble in victory. “I take it one fight at a time,” he said before adding, “as long as my new opponent is better than my last opponent, that’s all I can ask for.”

Larkin is now 12-0. The judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27. –Anthony Springer Jr.

Jordan outmuscles hard charging Johnson

As devastating of a power puncher as Lavar Johnson is, Shawn Jordan had no problems walking into the eye of the storm as he earned a second round submission victory in the co-featured heavyweight attraction. Jordan – a product Greg Jackson’s gym and a former fullback at LSU – appeared to enjoy being in the cage with the knockout machine as he grinned and waded in with power shots which likely caught the heavy hitting Johnson off guard. The first round found Johnson with a nasty mouse under his right eye courtesy of a Jordan left hook that sapped some of the fight from the towering knockout artist. But rather than stand and trade, Jordan fought intelligently and opted to take the fight to the mat where he was in full control. He was unable to finish in the first but his strategy was in full effect. In the second round things heated up as the two large fighters exchanged punches before Jordan scored a high impact slam. After moving to mount, Jordan slapped on an Americana and earned the tapout at 3:08. “The Savage” improves to 12-3 in the cage. –Andreas Hale

Couture grinds out Watson

With his father, legendary fighter Randy Couture in his corner, Ryan Couture showed flashes of greatness in a grinding decision win over Maka Watson.

The younger Couture looked to end the fight early with a rear naked choke attempt in the opening moments. Watson was able to gain a dominant position late in the first and cut Couture with a big punch as time ticked away.

The second round was all déjà vu, with Couture controlling the bout on the ground and threatening with submissions. But like the first, Watson reversed-this time with 90 seconds left—and delivered some big punches from the top.

The two men switched places in the final frame. Watson came out and scored a quick takedown and looked to take the bout on points. An always scrappy grappler, Couture battled back to regain dominant position, nearly finishing the bout with strikes from the mount.

With the crowd clearly on his side, Couture pounded away at Watson until the final bell sounded. The judges scored the bout a puzzling 28-28, and 29-28 for Couture. –Anthony Springer Jr.

High controls Moore in one sided route

Jason High won his sixth fight in a row as he utilized his wrestling to control Todd Moore for three rounds and earn a relatively easy unanimous decision victory. Although it wasn’t exciting, High did what he had to do as he scored takedowns early in each of the rounds and maintained top position and rode out the victory.

All three judges saw it 30-27. –Andreas Hale

Melancon outgrapples Portela

The night’s first main card bout saw welterweights Brian Melancon and Felipe Portela slug it out for three hard fought rounds. Despite the back and forth action Melancon used effective striking to earn a unanimous decision. From the outset, Melancon was head hunting, tagging the face of Portela with stiff lefts and rights. When Portela got comfortable on the feet, Melancon switched up his tactics, scoring at will with takedowns. Round three was punctuated by two Melancon takedowns and more effective striking. With things even on two of the three cards going into the final frame, the grappling sealed the deal.

The judges scored the bout, 29-28 (twice) and 30-27. –Anthony Springer Jr.

Green, Terry dazzle in undercard victories

In an evenly contested battle of welterweights, Chris Spang squeaked by Joe Ray to earn a split decision victory. Spang was the quicker and more active of the two fighters but Ray neutralized Spang’s assault with well timed counters and precision striking. A late takedown and a guillotine attempt in the 3rd round likely sealed the deal with Spang earning scores of 29-28 across the board. – Andreas Hale

Former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green obliterated Charon Spain. For two rounds, Green beat on the outclassed Spain in every way imaginable. Round one was highlighted by an early knee from the clinch that sent Spain to the floor. What little offense he was able to muster was far from enough. Green reversed a takedown in the second stanza and battered Spain on the canvas. After a hail storm of punches from the top, Spain was mounted and subbed via arm triangle. Time of stoppage was 2:54. –Anthony Springer Jr.

Strikeforce veteran James Terry lowered the boom on Magno Almeida with an emphatic first round knockout victory. Almeida looked to establish the jab early and was successful at keeping Terry at bay. However, Terry saw an opening and launched a bevy of strikes into Almeida’s grill that pushed him into the cage. Already dazed, Almeida never saw the left hooked that rocked him followed by the right hand that put him to sleep. Time of stoppage was 3:27. –Andreas Hale

Quinn Mulhern defeated Danny Davis with an arm triangle choke at 4:08 in the final round in a 176-pound catch weight bout. With the match virtually evevn going into the last frame, Mulhern took control early, scoring an early takedown. From the dominant position, the New Mexico fighter reigned down elbows and punches before sinking in the fight finishing submission. –Anthony Springer Jr.

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