Strikeforce Miami: The Five Bullet Point Preview

Strikeforce kicks off their 2010 schedule of events with a really well-rounded show Saturday night featuring some guys who will hopefully turn into major heavyweight prospects and a main event that is being underappreciated by the masses.

It's an important show for the company with a ton of mainstream media watching because of Herschel Walker's presence. Can the rest of the roster step up?

You've heard the audio preview here. Let's get into the Five Bullet Preview for Strikeforce Miami ....now!



Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Marius Žaromskis

• If there was a Fight Of The Night candidate on the card, it's this one. Too bad Zaromskis is not well-known or else the majority of the pre-event hype would be focused on this match instead of the debuts of Herschel Walker and Bobby Lashley.
  
• Zaromskis is a ten-year vet and sports a 13-3 record, coming into Saturday night on a five-fight win streak, the last four in DREAM.
  
• Zaromskis has three straight first-round wins by KO and LOVES the head kick to finish. This will be his first time fighting on U.S. soil.
  
• Diaz has won five straight fights and this is his first fight since submitting Scott Smith in June 2009. Despite being a BJJ ace, four of his last five wins came via TKO.
  
• Zaromskis has 11 of his 13 wins by T/KO and has just one win via submission, so he won't be looking for a tapout.
  
  

Women's Lightweight Title: Cyborg Santos (c) vs. Marloes Coenen

• Santos is simply a beast. This is her first fight since the August beatdown of Gina Carano and the first defense of her belt.
• Coenen is a submission machine, having taken 12 of her 17 wins by tapout.
• This is Coenen's second fight in Strikeforce after having submitted Roxanne Modafferi in the first round back in November.
• Santos comes in Saturday on an eight-fight win streak and six of those wins have come via TKO.
• My rule: don't bet against Cyborg unless she gives you a reason to. Seriously, would you bet against her?

Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef

• For those who assume this is going to end in 30 seconds, remember Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander, another fight that was supposed to be a quick-ending slugfest. Just saying.
• Lawler hasn't fought since June, his CBS loss to Jake Shields. He's got some swingin' to do.
• 15 of Lawler's wins have come via KO (83 percent).
• Manhoef hasn't gone past the first round since June 2007, nine straight fights. He's just 2-2 in his last four.
• Prediction: Lawler will look to extend to the second round and finish Manhoef off then. Why? Lawler hasn't finished a guy in the first round since October 2005. Manhoef hasn't been past the first round in his last nine fights. Survive the storm, wear him out, knock him out.

Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

• You just don't know what you're going to get here. It's a guy who has never fought against a dude with two career fights. Anything can happen.
• Nagy comes into Saturday with one TKO win and one decison loss. Yep, no trends here.
• While a great unknown, Walker is helping Strikeforce immensely by stepping into the cage. They learned their lesson by underpromoting Carano/Cyborg and have pushed Walker all over mainstream sports media. He brings athletic legitimacy to the sport that doesn't need it, but still seeks validation from mainstream outlets.
• In case you didn't know, Walker is 47 years old and is a sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do. He's also a former Olympian in bobsled...this coming after a successful college and pro football career. Go ahead...doubt him. See what happens.
• Prediction: this one goes the distance.

Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims

• While Lashley looks to be the overwhelming favorite, never count against the guy coming in late.
• Lashley hasn't fought since June and has been splitting time between MMA and pro wrestling. We'll see if it affects him Saturday.
• In four pro fights, Lashley has three first round wins and one decision victory.
• Sims—a TUF 10 alum—stands 6'10" and comes into Saturday having won three in a row. He's had four straight fights not go past the first round.
• If I were Sims, I would try to extend this fight into the later rounds as much as possible, unknown territory for Lashley. It's worth a shot, right?

Josh Nason has published MMA blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to FIGHT! Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on The Fight Show and Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.