And here we go folks!!! We have a brand new strike force show, and I’m going to break it down, hardcore gangsta style, in honor of Nick Diaz. Da “209″ representing!! So lets get to it ladies, So to date, my record for picking fights across the board has been 11 winners - 4 losers, however the last strikeforce event, i went 5 for 5, and i know i will do it again here. before I cream in my pants and ruin another pair of clothes lets get this started.
-Robbie Lawler (16-4; #2 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Jake Shields (22-4-1; #4 Welterweight in the World)* in a 182-pound bout
This is a very interesting fight; you have 2 of the best guys in each of their weight classes, clashing in a main event fight. Lawler, who’s a very good middleweight fighter, is coming off a win against Scott Smith, a little under a year ago. Lawler, who was the middleweight champion of the now defunct EliteXC MMA company, is a solid fighter with a great background. As of late Lawler has hit his stride, he’s beaten, in just his last few fights Frank Trigg, and Murilo Rua, both guys are top 10 fighters. Of his 16 wins, 13 are by KO, with just 1 win coming by submission, however, of his 4 losses, 3 are by submission, which brings us to his opponent. Jake Shields, Shields is a manimal, part snake part human. He is destructive on the ground, pulling off some of the most absurd submissions in the game right now. Shields trains with Nick&Nate Diaz, so you know he’s got some solid training partners. 9 of his 22 wins are from submission; he’s beaten his last 11 guys, and hasn’t lost since 2004. With all that being said, this is still a tough fight, Shields is coming in as a lighter fighter moving up, it shouldn’t play to big of a part, but still something to be considered. I’m a little bummed that this fight won’t be for a title, however since it’s not both guys should stay pretty fresh for the 3 rounds, I think Lawler has an advantage if he can keep it standing, but i doubt he will. Should be a great fight as the main event.
Winner: Jake Shields by 2nd round submission
-Nick Diaz (19-7) vs. Scott Smith (15-5)
Here it is Stockton natives, the fighter you look forward to. Nick Diaz is coming off a very, very impressive win over MMA legend Frank Shamrock. Diaz who’s always a colorful fighter is riding a 4 fight win streak right now, all by way of TKO. He’s making a very quick turn around, fighting just 2 months ago. Diaz has shown some mental improvement over the past year or so, and it seems like he’s on the right track to take fighting seriously, but this should be a great test of that. Smith, who is a good fighter, but never known as a great, is coming into this fight to make a name for himself. If he can beatDiaz, he will be well on his way to fighting for the title again. Smith, known as “hands of steel” has 13 KO’s to his 15 win record, so he will be trying to knock Diaz clean out. Smith is training with a GREAT group of guys up in Sacramento so he will be well prepared for what Diaz has to show. Personally I think Smith CAN pull off the upset in this fight; he will have to keep it standing. If Smith can “bait” Diaz into playing his game, which shouldn’t be hard because Diaz is known to be very stubborn, he has a shot here. All things considered, I think Diaz will take this fight, Smith is coming off 2 months rest as well, but his fight was a war, and I think he will be much more worn down than Diaz will.
Winner: Nick Diaz by 3rd round TKO
-Andrei Arlovski (15-6) vs. Brett Rogers (9-0)
Oohhhhh boy, this fight has got fireworks all over it. Andrei is coming off a devastating KO loss to the best fighter in MMA, Fedor. He is rebounding with this fight on very short notice, Andrei is taking this fight with only 1 month to train, bad sign. Arlovski is a former UFC champion, and has been around the block. 11 of his wins are by KO, and believe you me, he can stand and bang. Arlovski is actually being trained by the same guy who trains Manny Pacquio. Arlovski throws retardedly good combinations, and has KO power in his fists and Knee’s. Rogers is an interesting fighter, He’s a young guy with great upside. So far all we have seen of Rogers is his stand-up, and it’s been great. All of his 9 wins are by punches. We don’t know what his ground game looks like, but I would imagine its leaves something to be desired. Rogers is a guy who’s trying to break into the top 10 of Heavy Weights, and this is his big shot. With Arlovski coming off a heartbreaking loss, his mind may not be in the right place for this fight, he’s also been known to have a suspect chin. Rogers is so inexperienced that Arlovski should have his way with him in all aspects of this fight. However, If Rogers can land 1-2 solid shots on Arlovski, he could knock him out. This fight is about Skill VS heavy fists. I think skill wins it this time, but if the odds are right, take Rogers, he could pull an upset.
Winner: Andrei Arlovski by 2nd round KO.
-Joe Riggs (29-10) vs. Phil Baroni (13-10) 
This fight is the Underperformer VS the underachiever. Joe Riggs, is a solid MMA fighter, he’s been bounced around and pawned off on us fans as a great fighter. The only thing really great about Joe Riggs is that he used to fight Heavy Weight, and looked like a school bus, then lost the weight and moved to fight at the lower classes. He is an evenly talented fighter, with 14 wins by KO and 13 by submission. Riggs has never put together a streak worth mentioning in his career, and has lost to the better fighters he’s faced. Baroni was the talk of MMA just a few short years ago; he was being talked about as a solid up a coming MMA fighter. However he ran into the brick wall of life. After losing 4 in a row the UFC cut him. Baroni then headed overseas to fight, beating a couple named opponents. Baroni has never lived up to the hype that surrounded him, however his past 3 fights have given the impression he may have finally turned the corner. I think this fight will be Baroni trying to knock out Riggs, while Riggs trades blows and attempts takedowns. Riggs is the more rounded fighter as well as the younger fighter, but Baroni has that KO power. This fight could be over quick, or go the distance, either way I think Riggs takes this fight.
Winner: Joe Riggs by KO in the 2nd.
-Kevin Randleman (17-12) vs. Mike Whitehead (23-6)
Randleman is well past his fighting prime. The man is coming up on 40 years old. He’s an old school wrestler who grinds out decision wins. He is a veteran of both the UFC and of over sea’s Pride Fighting Championship. Randleman has amazing amounts of experience, fighting the best in the sport, including, Fedor, Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, Rampage Jackson, & Mirko Cro Cop, funny thing, is he lost to ALL of those guys. However, it goes to show that he doesn’t duck fighters. Mike Whitehead is a young fighter with a good record against a lot of subpar opponents. Whitehead has beaten up on the lesser guys for a while now; he’s a submission wiz, with 13 of his 23 wins coming that way. Whitehead is a mid tier fighter who hasn’t had to fight any top 10 level opponent yet. With all that being said, he is a much younger fighter than Randleman, and probably a stronger, more well rounded fighter as well.
Winner: Mike Whitehead by unanimous decision.
