Strikeforce Nashville Predictions: Gobots and Spider Monkeys (Humor)

Strikeforce blesses us with another nationally televised event this upcoming Saturday, and we have not one, not two, certainly not four, but three, count ‘em, three belts on the line.

If all that bling isn’t enough, each fight has an intriguing back story behind it. 

Now remember we are watching Strikeforce here, not the UFC. They are the Gobots to the UFC’s Transformers. Thundarr to He-Man. I can’t remember the name of the Voltron ripoff, so those are the only two references you get.

The point is, you need to take the card for what’s it worth. On paper it looks competitive, but don’t get your hopes up for a mind-blowing experience.

Jake Shields Vs. Dan Henderson

Henderson is one of the most widely known fighters in the world, and there isn’t any way you’ll be forgetting that after tonight—probably because people tend to remember champions. Oops, I just gave away my prediction. Well, it’s not like it was going to be a big surprise. 

Hendo is very talented in both striking and wrestling. Shields doesn’t have much in the name of standup, so...well, wrestling won’t work...so, I don’t know what he should do to win. Maybe, like, try crane kicks and stuff?

Anyway, the end result will be Henderson cornering Shields and Jake cowering up against the cage until the ref has to stop the fight. From there, Henderson will reveal himself to be the Thing from the Fantastic 4, forfeit the belt, and go fight crime for a living, giving Shields a shot at becoming champion again at a later date.

Prediction: Henderson, Round Three—TKO (GNP)

Gegard Mousasi Vs. King Mo Lawal

Here is the closest of the three championship fights on the card. You have King Mo, Strikeforce’s top prospect, taking on the best light heavyweight not in the UFC. King Mo has the physical talent, Mousasi the skills.

Now usually when those two qualities meet, the experienced fighter wins, BUT—just kidding, there’s no reason for that to change here. Mousasi is very well-rounded and has great striking. Because he’s only had three fights in the US, people don’t how qualified he actually is.

King Mo has his wrestling, his strength, and is built like a cinder block from head to toe. The problem is he usually fights big doofy guys who don’t offer up much in the skills department. There will be a moment in this fight where Lawal goes “Damn, this isn’t Mark Kerr.”

So Mousasi should win this fight. He been around for awhile, has faced respectable opponents, and I like saying his name out loud. It should be a doozy though.
 
Is King Mo ready to be king, or is he still going to be a loyal subject to the reigning king?

Prediction: Mousasi, Unanimous Decision

Gilbert Melendez Vs. Shinya Aoki

This is the match I am looking forward to the most. Aoki comes to the states for the first time and brings his noodle-scratching style (and hopefully wardrobe) with him. Noodle-scratching for opponents that is. It’s a ground-only hybrid style that mostly resembles the movements of a spider monkey.

He is the most exciting fighter in the world when it comes to submissions. To put it plainly, he makes submissions look cool. 

Now if you are Gilbert Melendez, how do you combat Aoki’s explosive submission game? That’s right—you don’t go to the ground.

If Melendez wants to win, he needs to stay on his toes and not fall victim to any baiting Aoki does to lure him in. No takedowns, no clinches, maybe hold off on elbows too just to be sure. Punch and kick only. Stay away. Just think to yourself that Aoki has a nasty case of cooties and you can retain the belt, Gilbert.

Prediction: Aoki, Round Five—Submission (something we’ve never seen before)