Bloody Elbow: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: World Soccer Digest for Soccer Fans!

Scheduled Event

Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel

Nov 6, 2009 8:23 PM EST
Fresno, Calif.
Billy Evangelista vs. Jorge Gurgel

Strikeforce Challengers IV Live Results and Commentary

As with every major show, BloodyElbow.com will be here to bring you live results and commentary for .  The live blog will start with the beginning of theShowtime broadcast (at 11PM ET) so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event.

As always we have our one rule: NO SPOILERS! In the interest of not ruining anything from the undercard that may make the broadcast we ask that you do not discuss the results of the undercard in the comments until either the broadcast ends or the fight makes the air.

So again, join us for the show and share your thoughts as the event unfolds.

If you're looking for undercard coverage, Rodriguez of Fightlinker (he's godzillad here on BE) is live at the event. He's on Twitter too.

135lbs Zoila Frausto vs Elisha Helsper Round 1 Superman punch from Frausto to open, misses. Checked leg kick. Helsper blocking high kicks with one arm. That might be sufficient, might not. Jab from Frausto. Leg kick. Another failed superman punch from Frausto. Not a ton of action so far. Helsper throwing some leather. Side kick lands for Frausto. Jab for Frausto. Inside leg kick. Push kick. Superman punch lands! Jab from Helsper. Finally some nice exchanges to end the round Bloody Elbow is going to have to score this 10-9 for Frausto.  Round 2 Helsper comes out aggressive. Lands a hard elbow up against the fence. Knee to the body from Frausto after closing distance off another missed superman punch. Nasty high kick stuns Helsper.  Helsper on her back eating shots. Helsper's eye is bleeding -- toenail gash? They stand again. Straight kick from Frausto. Helsper hanging tough. Charges forward behind some straight punches but Frausto clinches, gets a Thai plum and lands knees to the body. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 for Frausto. Round 3 Helsper forces Frausto against the cage with a flurry, landing body shots. Miletich says Helsper needs to be on top. Helsper gets the takedown, in 1/2 guard. Quick restart by the ref. Bad call. leg kick by Frausto. Miletich is up in arms about the standup. Helsper charges in behind some straight punches, winds up in the Thai plum, eats some knees. Helsper gets control back. Helsper with double unders. Ref separates them. Frausto lands with a punch. A combination and a kick. Helsper landing some mean punches. Frausto gets a takedown. Ends the fight raining down leather. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 Frausto,  for a final score of 30-27 Frausto. The judges agree, Frausto takes a UD.

Thomas Diagne vs Merritt Warren Round 1 They circle, leg kicks from Diagne. Warren fires back. Side kick from Diagne. Holy sanshou Batman! Diagne with another sidekick, then a huge takedown from Diagne. Diagne in side mount but Warren has his head wrapped up. Diagne frees his head but is now in 1/2 guard. Diagne rears up for some ground and pound. Pretty much stale mated on the ground. Warren gets full guard. Diagne scoring with GnP. Warren going for a leg lock. Working a heel hook! Diagne rolling, he taps! Merrit Warren by submission, inverse heel hook.

Luke Rockhold vs Jesse Taylor Jesse Taylor's with some remarkable pre-fight talk. Wow, I'm rendered speechless.   Round 1 Referee Dan "Quick Standup" Stell is the 3rd man. Taylor shoots, Rockhold stuffs it.  Working an arm-in guillotine. Taylor working for a double, then a single. Taylor gets him down. Rockhold back up. Another takedown. Rockhold gets full guard. Very high guard, has wrist control. Goes for an armbar, gives up his back to Taylor. Rockhold back to his feet. Rockhold gets on Taylor's back, too high, Taylor rolls to his back. Rockhold gets his back, has figure four leg lock on the body. Gets the RNC but Taylor's chin is under the arm. He taps. Rockhold by submission, rear naked choke.

Brandon Cash vs Shane Del Rosario Del Rosario is talking about Fedor(!). I think I hear Leland getting worked up about this one already. Round 1 Cash shoots, fails. Cash drops him with a huge hook, Del Rosario pulls guard but he's taking a beating. Cash with mount to  side mount, back to mount. Del Rosario gets back to his feet. His eye is swollen shut. Another takedown, full guard. Quatros calls it a mugging. Del Rosario working for a triangle. Cash rolls out. Cash to Del Rosario's 1/2 guard. Del Rosario gets full guard, works for an armbar, fails. Cash throwing bombs down. Omaplata by Del Rosario! Shane Del Rosario wins by submission, omaplata (!)

Billy Evangelista vs Jorge Gurgel Referee Dan "Quick Standup" Stell is the 3rd man. Round 1 Gurgel opens with kicks. Evangelista with a punch. Evangelista has a mouse under his left eye already. Leg kick from Evangelista. Left hook for Gurgel. High kick blocked by Gurgel. Teep kick from Billy. Punches are traded. Evangelista with a right hand. They trade rights. Evangelista ices the round with a takedown before the bell. BloodyElbow scores this one 10-9 for Evangelista. Round 2Gurgel pressing forward. Lands a leg kick and a body kick. They clinch, Billy with a knee. They separate. Evangelista with a high kick. They trade hard rights. Gurgel landing nice combination punches. Front kick from Billy. Spinning backfist and kick combo from Gurgel, gets taken down by Evangelista. Gurgel in guard. Butterflies in. Evangelista to 1/2 guard. Hard ground and pound! Back to full guard. Gurgel working a kimura from the bottom. Billy gets the arm free. Bullshit stand up from Stell. Gurgel drops Evangelista with a high kick! Evangelista shoots in, gets caught in a guillotine. Evangelista escapes. Very hard round to score. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 Evangelista. Round 3 Gurgel knows he needs to finish this one to leave Fresno with a win. Trading hard punches. Evangelista scores with a right hook. Trading bombs. Evangelista looking to clinch up. Evangelista scoring with punches. Gurgel with a right. Trading punches. Gurgel firing away with kicks and punches. Evangelista goes for the clinch, gets stuffed. Billy with a knee. Gurgel looking for a trip, lands a knee, they separate. Time is winding down, looks like the judges will decide. Gurgel charging in behind punches. Evangelista takes a kick, is bleeding but gets Gurgel on his back. Bloody Elbow scores this round 10-9 Gurgel, for a final score of 29-28 Evangelista. But the judges could go either way. Unanimous decision for the hometown kid, Billy Evangelista, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel

456 comments  |  0 recs |

Strikeforce Challengers IV Preview: Showcasing California's MMA Talent Pool

Starting our weekend of non-stop action, Strikeforce presents their fourth installment of the Challengers series on Showtime at 8 PM PT/11 PM EST featuring a main event showdown between two touted lightweight fighters that will surely be a war of attrition. The rest of the card is rounded out with a plethora of regional talent from the various camps such as the American Kickboxing Academy and taps into the local talent in the Fresno area as well. It should give fans a real opportunity to see some of the up-and-coming talent that will likely make an impact in the future of Strikeforce.

Jorge_gurgel_vs_billy_evangelista_medium In the evening's main event, former UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel (13-5) will battle undefeated Strikeforce prospect Billy Evangelista (9-0, 1 NC) in lightweight showdown between a rejuvenated veteran and a rising star. Gurgel enters the contest coming off an unanimous decision victory over Conor Heun at ShoMMA II back in June while Evangelista is coming off a no contest against Mike Aina at ShoMMA I in which Aina was hit with what was perceived as a knee to the head while he was down. Further review after the fight revealed that the knee never actually hit Aina's head, thus the bout was overturned to a no contest.

While Gurgel enjoyed novelty success as a fighter who left everything in the Octagon during his stint in the UFC, most fans would state that Gurgel was a victim of trying to be too fan friendly in the way he fought. Instead of trying to excite fans with an aggressive mentality and a throw-caution-into-the-wind style of fighting, he may have produced more success had he relied on his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt abilities versus his kickboxing strategies. 

After being released from the UFC following his loss to Aaron Riley at UFC 91, Gurgel moved to Strikeforce and hinted at the possibility that he would move toward a style more suited to his mastery of the ground game. Unfortunately, we didn't see that against Conor Heun. We could easily see more of the same in this match-up as both Gurgel and Evangelista have shown a desire to stand and bang, likely what Strikeforce is banking on in this battle. 

This is a fairly tough fight to call if both men are going to bang it out. Evangelista's speed could be a huge advantage, but Gurgel is definitely willing to eat a number of blows to push the pace and damage his opponent. I still think Evangelista's agile footwork could be the difference here. 

SBN coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel

Poll
Who will win? Evangelista or Gurgel?
Jorge Gurgel
309 votes
Billy Evangelista
256 votes

565 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

5 comments  |  0 recs |

Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel Weigh-in Results

Courtesy MMA Junkie:

160: Billy Evangelista (159) vs. Jorge Gurgel (159)*

HW: Brandon Cash (256) vs. Shane del Rosario (240)

MW: Luke Rockhold (185.5) vs. Jesse Taylor (186)

LW: Ousmane Thomas Diagne (155.5) vs. Merrit Warren (154)

BW: Elisha Hellspur (134.5) vs. Zoila Frausto (132.5)

LW: Johnny Goh (154) vs. Ben Holscher (155.5)

FW: Chris Culley (148.5)** vs. Casey Olson (145.5)

BW: Cole Escovedo (135.5) vs. Maurice Eazel (133)

WW: Rico Altamirano (171) vs. Alex Trevino (170.5)

* - Bout was listed as a 155-pound contest, but the CSAC later told MMAjunkie.com it was actually contracted for 160 pounds; both fighters made weight
** - Missed weight and will forfeit 20 percent of fight purse to opponent

More coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel.

-- image via MMAWeekly.com

6 comments  |  0 recs |

Strikeforce Challengers Fight Cards - Billy Evangelista vs. Jorge Gurgel and Tyron Woodley vs. Rudy Bears

Here are how the upcoming cards are looking so far:

Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel - Friday Nov 6th at 11pm
Billy Evangelista (9-0) vs. Jorge Gurgel (13-5)

Jesse Taylor (13-4) vs. Luke Rockhold (5-1)

Shane Del Rosario (8-0) vs. Brandon Cash (5-0)
Brandon Cash   
Thomas Diagne (1-0) vs. Merritt Warren (4-2)

Elisha Helsper (1-0) vs. Zoila Frausto (3-0)


Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears - Friday Nov 20th at 11pm
Tyron Woodley (5-0) vs. Rudy Bears (10-3)

Rafael Cavalcante (7-2) vs. Aaron Rosa (12-2)

Kim Couture (1-1) vs. Kerry Vera (1-0)

Sarah Kaufman (10-0) vs. Takayo Hashi (12-1)

Bobby Voelker (20-7) vs. Erik Apple (10-1) 
 

HT: Strikeforce.com  

14 comments  |  1 recs |


User Tools

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." -- H.L. Mencken
Start posting on Bloody Elbow »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

MMA Rankings

USA Today / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings