Strikeforce Columbus Results: Henderson, Feijao and the Real Winners and Losers

Strikeforce had another successful fight card on Saturday night as they invaded Columbus, OH for their event headlined by Dan Henderson and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

Though the televised event only featured four fights, it was an important event for the promotion as they hope to make a run at UFC in 2011. The UFC did not counter the event tonight though Bellator did have a card of their own, their first of the season.

Henderson defeated Feijao in the main event, but he was not the only big “winner” on this card. These were the real winners and losers from Saturday night’s Strikeforce Columbus event.

Winner: Jorge Gurgel

Going into Saturday’s event, Jorge Gurgel had been on the worst losing streak of his career, losing four of his previous five fights.

A former UFC veteran, Gurgel has always been known for going into the cage and having exciting fights, often leaving himself exposed. Gurgel is a big-time submission expert but often stands up with opponents in an effort to entertain the fans in attendance.

He did need this win, though, as he was 1-2 in Strikeforce coming into the fight, and he may have been near Strikeforce’s cut list with another loss.

Gurgel submitted Billy Vaughan just 44 seconds into the first round—his first submission victory since Feb. 2005 despite him being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Loser: Billy Vaughan

Billy Vaughan was making his television debut but may have fell to pressure as he was submitted just 44 seconds into his first fight.

Vaughan stepped in on short notice for Tyler Combs who had to pull out of the fight just five days before it happened. As an Ohio-based fighter, though, Vaughan bailed Strikeforce out of a potentially tough predicament.

Vaughan could be argued as somewhat of a winner because he got to make his debut on the big stage, but he fell so quickly and so convincingly that it’s going to be really tough for Strikeforce to justify bringing him back as anything more than a, “thank you,” for him stepping in on short notice.

Winner: Jorge Masvidal

With two losses in his previous three fights, Jorge Masvidal was in need of a big win to get him back on track. One of the two losses came to Paul Daley who is one of the best welterweights in the world, but it’s never good to lose three out of four fights, which is what Masvidal was facing in this bout.

Though he had fought in some of the bigger American promotions such as Bodog, Sengoku and Bellator, it had been over three years since Masvidal had stepped in the Strikeforce cage.

Masvidal surprised some onlookers as he surprised Billy Evangelista with superior striking, making use of his reach to pick his opponent apart with his jab. He landed 59 percent of his strikes.

Though Masvidal will take some heat for not really pushing to finish the fight, it was an important win for Masvidal as he is now 3-0 in Strikeforce.

Loser: Billy Evangelista

Though he was a slight underdog for the fight, there was a fairly high percentage of fans who thought that the undefeated Billy Evangelista would get the win on Saturday night. Instead, Evangelista looked uncomfortable and somewhat unprepared for Jorge Masvidal’s boxing technique.

Evangelista did try to bring the fight to the ground on numerous occasions, but Masvidal was able to easily keep the fight standing, where he had a somewhat surprising advantage.

A unanimous, 30-27 decision was given to Jorge Masvidal as he handed Billy Evangelista the first loss of his career.

Winner: Tim Kennedy

As a full-time member of the U.S. Army, Tim Kennedy continues to impress everyone by also staying on top of his MMA training.

After failing to win the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship in his last fight against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Kennedy faced veteran MMA and kickboxing specialist, Melvin Manhoef.

Everyone knew that Kennedy would be trying to take this fight to the ground against one of the middleweight division’s most dangerous strikers, but Kennedy was still able to secure a first-round submission.

The win pushes Kennedy one step closer to a potential rematch with Souza for the title.

Loser: Melvin Manhoef

No one will deny that Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef is one of the scariest strikers in the world, but his overall game continues to be in question.

Manhoef did seem to improve on his takedown defense as he was able to stop a few takedowns from Tim Kennedy early in the fight, but he eventually lost his balance and was taken to the ground. At that point, Manhoef looked about as inexperienced as ever.

It was no surprise that Kennedy was going to try to take the fight to the ground so it’s somewhat disappointing to see how easily he seemed to allow Kennedy to take mount and then his back before slapping on a rear-naked choke. One would think that Manhoef would be spending more time in the gym preparing for the ground game.

Winner: Liz Carmouche

In a fight in which she took on just two weeks notice, Liz Carmouche may have very well presented herself as one of the top female fighters in the world today.

She was eventually submitted by the champion, Marloes Coenen, but Liz Carmouche was unquestionably winning the fight before that point.

The first round was very close as both women played it somewhat safe, and there wasn’t a lot of damage done. Carmouche slightly out struck Coenen in the first, but it probably could have been scored either way.

But the second and third rounds were absolutely dominated by Carmouche as she seemed to shock Coenen with her strength. Liz took mount on two occasions but was unable to finish the fight as Coenen was saved by the bell in both the second and third rounds.

In the fourth round, Carmouche was back to taking it to the champion but eventually got caught in a triangle and was forced to tap.

The whole fight was very reminiscent of the Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen fight with Sonnen shocking everyone by dominating the majority of the fight, but eventually, he was submitted as well.

Though she lost the fight, Liz Carmouche was a big winner in this fight as she will certainly have her name thrown in the discussion as one of the top fighters with her solid performance on short notice.

Winner: Marloes Coenen

After losing her fight for the Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Championship against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, Marloes Coenen was able to drop down to win the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship in her next fight.

Her first title defense came on Saturday night as she faced Liz Carmouche who was taking the fight by replacing Miesha Tate who had to pull out only a couple weeks prior.

Coenen was a huge favorite going into the fight and appeared to be ready to dominate early as she landed her jab and kept the lesser-experienced Carmouche at bay.

But in the second and third rounds, Coenen was completely dominated as she was repeatedly taken to the ground by her surprisingly powerful challenger. Coenen had to cover up in the final minutes of both rounds as Carmouche rained down punches from the mount.

The champion showed her heart and desire in the fourth round when she was taken to the ground yet again. As many of us looked on, expecting another round dominated by Carmouche, Coenen surprised all of us by catching her in a triangle and earning the submission about a minute and a half into the round.

The win pushed Marloes Coenen to a 19-4 career record and showed that she is able to keep her cool even in very tough situations.

Loser: Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante

The Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title curse struck again on Saturday night as Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante lost his first title defense to Dan Henderson.

The man holding that title has now failed to defend the title in four straight fights, starting with Renato “Babalu” Sobral back in Nov. 2008 when he lost the belt to Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi then lost the title to “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal who went on to lose it to Cavalcante at Strikeforce: Houston last summer.

Feijao actually may have been winning the fight on the judges’ scorecards and actually knocked Henderson down with a punch in the first round.

It was the trademark right hand from Henderson that was the difference maker, though, as he clobbered Feijao in the third round and quickly finished the fight with a couple more strikes on the ground.

Feijao is definitely still one of the better 205-pound fighters in MMA, but the loss has to be a tough one to swallow as he trains with some of the highest-ranked fighters in the world, many of whom own titles in Strikeforce and UFC; three of whom have submitted Henderson in the past.

Winner: Dan Henderson

The legendary career of Dan Henderson just grew bigger on Saturday night as he won the third major MMA title of his career. Henderson had previously simultaneously held the PRIDE World Middleweight and Welterweight Championships until the company collapsed.

At that point, his place in history was already secured—but Henderson wasn’t satisfied.

He made his move to the UFC where he proceeded to lose consecutive title fights to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva. The losses were disappointing, but few doubted Henderson’s ability, even as he neared his 40s. He was able to bounce back in three straight victories over Rousimar Palhares, Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin in the UFC.

Henderson then moved to Strikeforce where he lost a unanimous decision to Jake Shields for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. The loss marked Hendo’s third straight title fight disappointment, but he jumped right back in the cage last December when he knocked out Renato “Babalu” Sobral at 205 pounds.

The win earned Henderson this big title fight with Black House’s Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, a man who was making the first title defense of his career. Henderson had a bad history against Black House team members, having been submitted by both Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva in the past.

But Henderson was able to extract a bit of revenge while adding to his amazing resume with the third round knockout victory.

He probably didn’t need it but the title helps solidify Dan Henderson as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. At 40, Hendo is still an elite-level fighter who could compete against just about anyone at either 205 or 185 pounds.

Strikeforce Feijao vs. Henderson: Results, News and More