Strikeforce Results: Scott Smith KOs Cung Le, Melendez Outlasts Thomson

Scott Smith once again came from the clenched jaws of defeat to knock out Cung Le and Gilbert Melendez became the undisputed Lightweight Champion with a Fight of the Year candidate against Josh Thomson as Strikeforce ended 2009 with a bang Saturday night in San Jose, CA.

Going into the 3rd round, Smith was badly down on the cards and needed a miracle knockout of Le to win. Somewhat but not really surprisingly, he got it by landing a left hand that dropped Le, followed by 6-8 unanswered punches that ended the fight. The comeback kid did it again by stunning everyone and cemented himself as the organization's iron-clad fan favorite.


Meanwhile, Melendez and Thomson waged a 25-minute stand up war that defined the term 'championship fight'. The California kids swung, swung and swung some more in the long-awaited sequel to their first meeting, leading many to think that a 3rd bout is likely in our future. If that turns out anything like this, fans already have something to look forward to in 2010.

For more analysis on Smith/Le, Melendez/Thomson and the rest of the results from an electric night of Strikeforce, read on!


Scott Smith def. Cung Le via 3rd round KO (3:25)

Is there anything more than can be said about Smith? Behind badly on the scorecards after a crippling 10-8 first round that almost saw him out of the fight, Smith hung around and went into his classic wounded animal mode in the 3rd. Le opened up the round with an array of kicks that had "finish" all over them, but Smith was undaunted and then, it happened for him...again.

Smith faked with a right hand and landed a solid left, stunning Le who never recovered. Smith went into attack mode and connected with 6-8 unanswered hard punches that prompted John McCarthy to stop the fight. It was an unreal display considered Le had essentially dominated the first two rounds by unloading every single kick in his arsenal.

An indication of how badly Le outclassed Smith early on? Out of 31 first round punch attempts, Smith landed just four. Le unloaded on spinning back kicks, spin kicks and straight kicks, dropping Smith after hitting a spinning kick to his left shoulder. Le then went into ground and pound mode, landing an array of unanswered hammer fists. Some were clean, but apparently not enough for McCarthy to stop the fight. Just as you got the feeling he was about to call the fight, Smith sprang up and starting swinging for the fences to end the round. 

Smith began to show some fire in the 2nd round and as Le began to tire, more of Smith's punches started to land, giving Le's cheek some color at the round's close. While still firmly in control, there was no reason to think that Le couldn't close up this fight.

But then again, this is Smith who has made a career out of coming back. Le opened up the 3rd aggressively with more kicks but started to tire out and then, well, you get the rest. Le's nose is probably broken as he was bleeding pretty heavy after the fight was done.

Next for Smith? He intimated that he probably wasn't up for a title shot and that's true with Dan Henderson in line for a shot at Middleweight Champion Jake Shields in April. But damn it, he definitely deserves something for putting on a show time after time. How about Jason Miller? Le can be forgiven considering he's been off for what feels like a decade, but he's got to come strong in his next outing to redeem himself. He had this thing won in the first round but instead, goes home a painful loser.

Strikeforce Undisputed Lightweight Championship Gilbert Melendez def. Josh Thomson by unanimous decision

A no-doubt Fight of the Year candidate, both guys just unloaded on each other for 25 minutes, one in a more calculated approach while the other in a frenzied energetic burst approach. After a quiet first round, Melendez started pouring it on in Rounds 2-4 to take over the fight, winning a unanimous decision to become the undisputed Lightweight champ.

Melendez threw an amazing 467 punches in retaining his now-full portion of the gold. One judge had it 49-47, while the other two had it 49-46. I also had it 49-47, scoring the final round 10-10.

There was only a smattering of takedown attempts as the majority of the fight was spent standing with several awesome exchanges of punches that Melendez got the better of. Thomson was aggressive early and full of energy, while Melendez was content to wait and strike when the opportunity presented itself. Round 1 was the only one Thomson won.

Melendez began to open up in the 2nd and was more comfortable in exchanging with Thomson, dropping "The Punk" with a right hand and exchanging in a lively display near the end of the round with two hard shots that momentarily stopped Thomson. In the 3rd and then the 4th, Melendez started throwing jab/leg kick combos in picking Thomson apart. Thomson was still content to exchange punches but Melendez kept getting the better of him.

Both men emptied their tanks in the 5th but Thomson was winded enough to drop his hands, leading to a Melendez straight right that floored Thomson and allowed him to get ground control. It took 23 minutes, but finally both guys started showing exhaustion - unbelievable considering the fast pace. Thomson did score a takedown and got Melendez' back, but couldn't do anything with it. Another exchange ended the fight, which was simply stellar.

By the announcing crew's comments, you get the feeling we could be seeing Melendez/Thomson III sooner than later. Think they could be ready by April's CBS show?


Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza def. Matt Lindland via 1st round submission (4:18)


Jake Shields and Dan Henderson should take notice as Souza was fantastic in this fun fight. Early on, Souza was aggressive with punches and was very active and fluid. Lindland attempted to take him down early, but Souza blocked with relative ease. Lindland eventually got a takedown and Souza rolled through, leading to an awesome exchange of armbars and other submission attempts by both men. People were definitely into these tit-for-tat exchanges, proving that you don't have to exchange fists to get fans into a fight.

Souza kept it on the ground and eventually locked in an arm triangle that made Lindland tap. He's a jacked 185 and the overhead shot of him finishing Lindland showed off his massive back in squeezing the life out of him. Souza now has 10 of his 11 wins in the first round and should get the winner of the CBS spring battle between Henderson and Shields. Great win by Souza, who's a future money draw.

As for Lindland, he's now fully entrenched in the role of gatekeeper and has suffered a bad '09 with the Vitor Belfort KO and now this. It's getting time to hang 'em up.



"King" Mo Lawal def. Mike Whitehead via 1st round TKO (3:08)

Mo was connecting with hard shots early and kept dropping his hands low trying to get Whitehead to engage him. He bloodied Whitehead's nose and was clearly faster than Whitehead who was carrying a near 50-pound weight advantage into the bout.

The end came when Whitehead dropped his left hand and Lawal made him pay, driving a right hand flush to his chin, dropping Whitehead. Lawal pounced and connected with a few glancing shots before landing one that made Whitehead go flat for the TKO. It felt like the crowd wanted to boo Lawal but couldn't after that performance. Post-fight, Lawal was chided continually by some man in a suit after giving the Steve Austin treatment to some energy drinks.

Whitehead hasn't impressed me in his last two Strikeforce fights. The still-undefeated Lawal was clearly faster and took full advantage. He'll have his opportunities to advance in Strikeforce as their 205 and 265 pound divisions still have work to do with depth.



Show Notes

- Show opened with a Cung Le/Scott Smith video package and normal Strikeforce package. Surprisingly, they haven't put any images of Fedor Emelianenko in the open. Huh?

- No Gus Johnson, but Mauro Ranallo leading commentary with Frank "Braces" Shamrock and Stephen Quadros.

- Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, KJ Noons, Cyborg Santos (with belt!), Herschel Walker, Bobby Lashley and Dan Henderson all at rinsgisde. Henderson and Lashley were interviewed later with Henderson saying he's going to stay at 185 and Lashley basically attempting to distance himself from pro wrestling.

- The Melendez/Thompson hype began at 10:40 as the first two fights flew by. I initially thought not airing an undercard fight was a mistake, but with the title fight going the distance, the whole show wrapped up in a tight two hours.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio and Mauro Ranallo's Fight Show. Follow him on Twitter.