Strikeforce Sticks to Its Roots for Showtime Debut
by Michael Rome on Apr 6, 2009 1:37 PM EDT
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You might have thought for its debut on Showtime, Strikeforce would bust open the piggy-bank and bring in some big name stars to draw a rating. However, a closer look at the card reveals a card on par with or weaker than other Strikeforce San Jose cards of the past.
The main event is an excellent clash of personalities, but the lack of television to properly hype it has tempered excitement. The obvious appeal of Shamrock v. Diaz in Northern California doesn't automatically translate to the rest of the country, and the lack of a countdown show makes it hard to promote it well.
Gilbert Melendez's original fight with Josh Thomson was a great fight for the hardcores, but nobody could confuse it with a big name fight. Melendez will probably end up with an easy opponent. Cyborg is on the card against Hitomi Akano, who is good enough on the ground to possibly create problems, but will probably just get steamrolled. The Radach-Smith and Rogers-Humphries fights will probably be very one-sided affairs as well.
Outside of the main event, this is not a competitive card. With Thomson off, four out of five fights are designed with a clear winner in mind, and it would be a shock for one of them to lose. They want Cyborg to win to build a Gina fight, Melendez to win to build an eventual Thomson fight, Smith to win to get him back into the pack of middleweight contenders, and Rogers to win to build a potential Kimbo fight. And they probably want Frank to win so they can do a Cung Le rematch or a Tito Ortiz fight on CBS.
The bright side of this kind of matchmaking is that the card won't be filled with dull decisions. It's hard to see any of these going the distance in boring fashion. The downside is the outcomes don't really tell us anything meaningful.
Scott Coker is a unique promoter, he looks to put on entertaining cards that set up the next card. He's not trying to hit a homerun his first time out, but maybe that is what will separate him from promotions like Affliction and EliteXC. The card suggests to me he is in it for the long haul, and feels no pressure to deliver a huge number the first time out.
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I personally think the card has alot more potential then you give it credit for.
P.S. I think Radach has the superior striking and will come away with a TKO
I like Radach in the fight as well...
I don’t really buy Smith being a huge favorite.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 6, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions
I have to say i think Radach has a pretty decent shot, not that id bet on him though.
off subject, but did anyone else see Frank Shamrock at Wrestlemania last night??
Yup, I commented on it earlier. I thought he might join Mickey in the ring last night. lmao!
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Apr 6, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you're off about Radach
he can beat Smith — or could lose. That’s a seriously good matchup and a Radach win sets him up for a title shot against Lawler which I doubt they’re dying to give to Smith.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
same as everyone
I’m taking Benji in this fight too ( at anything over +120). I hope Scott Smith feels like he is being set up to win and it’s going to be a one sided affair. I think you’re just depressed about Thomson pulling out. I think it sets up as a good card for us gamblers. I suspect it will be all one sided affairs EXCEPT Radach v. Smith. Shamrock getting the W of course.
Shamrock vs. Diaz is competitive and Smith-Radach isn’t? Wuh?
“Gilbert Melendez’s original fight with Josh Thomson was a great fight for the hardcores, but nobody could confuse it with a big name fight.”
Yeah, its no Browning vs. Miller. But perhaps the idea is to put high level fighters near the top of the card in compelling fights so that they can BECOME names?
I can't speak for Rome
But my problem with that fight wasn’t that they’re not high level fighters (which they are) or that it was illegitimate to try to build their names (they could pull good numbers for Strikeforce down the road). My problem was that Melendez got dominated in his very last fight by none other than Thompson. It wasn’t especially competitive and left little doubt in the eyes in audience who won the fight. Sure that fight was last June, but without Melendez getting another fight in between and showing that he’s improved, I have no reason to suspect that this fight would play out any differently.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 6, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I can agree with that, but I understand that they were trying to make different fights happen, specifically Thomson vs. Gurgel or Ishida
Yeah, it’s more an unfortunate circumstance than a damnable intentional offense. However, I think that the injury is almost fortuitous in that it may end up giving them enough time to make a different fight. A Melendez/Thompson rematch could be amazing if they build it up properly and they should keep it in their back pocket until the time is right.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
You're kinda right since...
…. It COULD be Worse… This could be like a random Dream/WVR card pitting their best fighters against below .500 Niche Fighters/ Pro Wrestlers etc. For all your pot-shots about the UFC, you would most likely support those same fighters if they were in another org.
Sorry Michael, BAD Analysis
This is EXACTLY an EliteXC card (add Gil Melendez) that could have been put on showtime in the past, and it is hard for to compare it to previous San Jose cards since some of those were co-promotions with EliteXC in the first place.
Also, Diaz vs Shamrock and Smith vs Radach are pretty even matchups, where either fighter could win here. You could EASILY make very good cases for Radach and Diaz to be the favorites here.
Rogers (undefeated) vs Humphries (undefeated) is a matchup of undefeated HW prospects that could be very interesting to watch. Rogers may be considered the favorite here, but he is not yet proven and this could be the first step in that direction. It could also be a huge step into the spotlight for Humphries here.
Cyborg vs Akano should be another good fight that could send Cyborg straight into the Gina fight, or set her back and put Akano in the spotlight. Akano is a veteran with a good ground game that should really test Cyborg. Cyborg was taken down by Baszler and had a tough time finishing Takahashi. If Akano could be as tough as Takahashi and take Cyborg down, like Baszler, it could be very interesting.
i agree. also, i am bummed that strikeforce is still not doing any sort of countdown show or any real prefight hype… if the UFC is good at anything, they are GREAT at hyping fights with countdown shows. . that to me is how to get the casual UFC fan to give two shits about your card.
"I’m not going to stop yelling because that would mean, I lost the fight!"-Kenny Powers
by ekc on Apr 6, 2009 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m pretty much with you Rome, outside of the Radach/Smith fight. I don’t know enough about either to speak on that one.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
Im excited for Diaz – Shamrock. I know this fight has no title implications, but Diaz is one of my favorite fighters. All of his fights are exciting. Neither Diaz nor Shamrock will be hesitant to stand in there and drop bombs. I know, no long term implications, but it should be a blood & guts war.
I was getting ready to jump in with a "Radach fight = competitive" comment
Buuuut I think the BE community has this one covered already :)
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