Strikeforce Houston Preview: KJ Noons, Jorge Gurgel Prepare for Potentially Explosive Fisticuffs

In lightweight action, Strikeforce has put together quite the crowd pleaser as former EliteXC Lightweight champion KJ Noons (9-2, 1-0 SF) will battle UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel (13-6, 1-1 SF) in a battle of brawling pugilists. Noons, a former professional boxer, will make his third appearance since his return to the sport back in March. Both Andre "Dida" Amade and Conor Heun served as respectable tests to Noons to help him shake out the rust of the layoff, but he's now aiming to become relevant once again with a victory on Saturday night.

UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel certainly won't make it an easy task. Dubbed by some fans as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu talents in the lightweight division in the early days of his career, Gurgel made a complete 180° turn in his style once he arrived in the UFC back in June of 2006. With his gameplan always flying out the window once the first punch landed, Gurgel aimed to please crowds with his fearless punching and constant aggression, earning him two 'Fight of the Night' honors over the course of his seven-fight UFC stint.

The enigma of Gurgel's style of fighting has the potential to create exciting, fan-friendly battles, but it has served as a disadvantage for Gurgel before the fight even begins. Not only are promoters pitting him against punch-happy brawlers, but almost none of his opponents expect the ground to be a factor. Gurgel doesn't help matters much by doing exactly what his opponents expect, and it could prove to be his demise in this match-up as well.

This wouldn't be a Gurgel fight without the mandatory speech about how he's changing. MMAFighting.com has the quote:

"People haven't seen a healthy Jorge Gurgel lately. Knee injuries have limited me a lot. It kept me from doing much wrestling or BJJ in my last five fights. People don't know about that, but I was very limited. I had no choice but to stick to striking. I'm healthy and ready to stick to my game plan this time. I'm ready to finally start listening to my corner."

I suppose injuries are something that probably limited Gurgel's abilities on the ground, and he's certainly never been the type of guy to back away from an opportunity to punch someone out. Will Jorge Gurgel finally stick to his gameplan in this fight? Don't hold your breath.

Noons is going to be the better puncher in this fight, but Gurgel has the kicking prowess to be what Conor Heun wasn't... effective in keeping Noons off balance consistently over the course of the fight. Heun used kicks early to stop Noons from rattling off combination after combination, and it was effective for the first five minutes. Unfortunately, Heun's rigid stance and movement made it quite easy for Noons to see a pattern. Gurgel is a bit more fluid in his movement, and he's much quicker than Heun. That should make a stand-up war in this bout more interesting.

Maybe I'm feeling a little crazy, perhaps I've had too much caffeine today... but I'm going to believe Jorge Gurgel. I know, I know... its like believing anyone here actually cares about Justin Bieber. I think he'll actually try to get this fight to the floor, but I also think Noons has an underestimated defensive game. While Heun isn't a top notch NCAA champion wrestler, he is a fairly large, bulky lightweight who can power through opponents. Noons was able to scramble rather effectively and sprawl on many occasions to stop him. Gurgel, in my opinion, has a weaker base for takedowns, and I think he'll find it difficult to implement the gameplan he wants.

In the end, I think Gurgel will need to resort to his old ways and punch with Noons, and unfortunately -- that's not going to get him a victory on Saturday night. Noons' speedy jab absolutely devastated Heun over three rounds, and unless Gurgel can kick effectively to take the wind out of Noons' sails -- Noons should take this via decision.