"Strikeforce: Payback" Quick Results

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 9:19 AM EDT in MMA News

Duane "Bang" Ludwig def. Sammy Morgan via Submission (Strikes) at 2:01 of Round 1

Frank Trigg def. Falaniko Vitale via Decision (Unanimous)

Donnie Liles def. Pete Spratt via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:59 of Round 3

Billy Evangelista def. Luke Caudillo via Decision (Unanimous)

Carlos Zevallos def. Andre Walker via TKO (Punches) at 4:48 of Round 1

Michelle Watterson def. Tyra Parker via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:20 of Round 1

Tyler Toner def. Ricky Johnson via TKO (Punches) at 3:44 of Round 2

Notes

- Denver resident Nate Marquardt was interviewed by HDNet's Ron Kruck and hinted that he may be next in line for a shot at Anderson Silva. According to Marquardt -- who just last month roasted Martin Kampmann in 82 seconds at UFC 88 -- said he expects to return to the octagon in January but that he doesn't know who he's fighting yet because "they're kinda waiting to see what happens in October to see who my opponent is."

- Hometown hero "Bang" Ludwig made apt the evening's title by avenging his 2005 KO loss with a nasty liver punch which made the grounded Morgan tap immediately. Ludwig has now gone 8-4 since 2006, with all of his losses coming at the hands of current champions -- Takanori Gomi, Paul Daley, Josh Thomson -- plus UFC contender Tyson Griffin.

- Trigg spent three rounds picking apart the durable Niko Vitale with heaps of combinations (effective to varying degrees), jabs and standing elbows en route to a well-earned unanimous decision. The judges scored it 30-27 and, somehow, 29-28 twice.

- After taking a seven month hiatus from MMA, the Greg Jackson-trained Watterson won her third straight fight in as many months and put the considerably overmatched Tyra Parker to sleep with a deep choke after stunning her with sharp punches.

- Touted lightweight Evangelista improved to 8-0 after outstriking "Lil Hulk" Caudillo in the final two frames of their battle. Caudillo very nearly put the first smudge on Evangelista's record by dropping him with a series of vicious punches and knees from the clinch early in the first round.

Undercard (Amateur) results from MMAWeekly:

Drew Dober def. Lumumba Sawyers by KO (Punch) at 0:16, R1
Alan Gomez def. Jordan Goodwin by Unanimous Decision, R3
Eric Galvan def. Jeremy Malaterre by Split Decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29), R3
Turrell Galloway def. Brett Tillis by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:21, R1
Aaron Trujillo def. Haven Torres by TKO (Strikes) at 2:59, R1

(Photos courtesy of April Pishna and Strikeforce)

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Comments

Drew Dober! I’ve been watching that kid in local amateur fights for some time now — he’s got a shot at becoming somebody. He’s got some strong wrestling and get striking. I heard he’s turning pro by the end of the year .. hope he gets a shot somewhere soon.

by Kierkegaard on Oct 3, 2008 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

Good showing by Evangelista.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 3, 2008 11:26 PM EDT reply actions

damnit Spratt…. not another loss by RNC.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 3, 2008 11:53 PM EDT reply actions

That was tough to watch. You gotta feel for Spratt, he looked truly distraught afterwards. He just never pounced when he had Liles stunned.

Speaking of losing by RNC, here comes Trigg…

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Spratt was loading up too much on those punches. He should have used his kick more to set up the punches. Tough Loss.

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:04 AM EDT reply actions

Damn

A whole lot of standing elbows from Trigg

by Tonley on Oct 4, 2008 12:08 AM EDT reply actions

San Jose. Shamrock and Cung Le.

by Tim Burke on Oct 4, 2008 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions

This was meant to respond to the post below. Old Milwaukee screwed up my aim, dammit.

by Tim Burke on Oct 4, 2008 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Please tell me again how Strikeforce is profitable?

by KneesnBows on Oct 4, 2008 12:24 AM EDT reply actions

No way Trigg loses this.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 4, 2008 12:25 AM EDT reply actions

Decent win for Trigg but how can he seriously think he would have any chance against Anderson Silva

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:26 AM EDT reply actions

lol I was just thinking that.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 4, 2008 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Um...

What round did Niko win?

by Tonley on Oct 4, 2008 12:27 AM EDT reply actions

Did both of those Judges give Vitale the 3rd round?

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:27 AM EDT reply actions

Nasty body shots.

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:39 AM EDT reply actions

That ref didn’t even notice Morgan tapping a bunch of times.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 4, 2008 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

lol. who was that chick?

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:41 AM EDT reply actions

lol

post-fight interviews can be so awkward

by Tonley on Oct 4, 2008 12:42 AM EDT reply actions

+100 awesome points for threatening Ron Kruck

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions

“You wanna be victim #2?” =)

by Nick Thomas on Oct 4, 2008 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions

haha what did he say? sounded like, “You’ll be the second victim”?

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:43 AM EDT reply actions

Good night of fights. Michelle Watterson impressed me, her shorts looked fantastic on her.

by asmiley420 on Oct 4, 2008 12:47 AM EDT reply actions

Creepy win when they replayed it in slo-mo. Her opponent went to take her mouthguard out so she could breathe and just went to sleep instead.

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Decent card.

props to Tyler Toner and Bang for representing Easton BJJ!

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'"

by BJJDenver on Oct 4, 2008 12:47 AM EDT reply actions

Nathan Marquardt

I think the inference that Marquardt is next in line for a title shot is a little off. There happens to be another big time UFC midle weight fight in October – Bisping v. Leben. At this point I think it makes a lot more sense to put Marquardt against the winner of that fight in a #1 contender bout. We’ve all heard the rumors the Anderson Silva may go back up to 205 for a big fight in his next outing and in the mean time Marquardt can face off with Bisping or Leben.

by dropkick101 on Oct 4, 2008 12:09 PM EDT reply actions

Definitely a possibility. Another rumor is that Bisping will be the UK coach for the “UK vs. USA” season of TUF, which I believe is casting right now, so I wonder if he would fight again before that should he beat Leben. It would make more sense with a Leben win (though even if he could beat Marquardt, I dunno if anyone would really care to see Anderson vs. Leben II).

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions

How about Bisping and Marquardt as the coaches?

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'"

by BJJDenver on Oct 4, 2008 2:25 PM EDT reply actions

I’d watch.

by Chris Nelson on Oct 4, 2008 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you’re missing the most likely answer for Nate Marquardt’s next opponent. Almeida just pulled out, but they were probably anticipating a rematch if Almeida beat Horwich.

by Michaelthebox on Oct 4, 2008 4:41 PM EDT reply actions