# Strikeforce: Evolution



## N1™ (Apr 8, 2007)

December 19, 2009
HP Pavilion at San Jose
San Jose, CA



*Main Card*


*Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
Lightweight Championship bout: Josh Thomson (c) vs. Gilbert Melendez (ic)
Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Matt Lindland
Middleweight bout: Robbie Lawler vs. TBA
Light Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead*


*Other Announced Matchups*

_These matches have been reported as finalized by sources, but have not yet been added to the card on Strikeforce.com_

*Welterweight bout: Evangelista Santos vs. TBA
Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Britt*​


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## kieranm (Oct 28, 2009)

looks pretty solid to me how will this stack up ratings wise against the fedor card?
send some rep


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

The only fight im really excited about is Thomson/Melendez, but the rest of the card is decent. I cant believe they are putting Lindland/Jacare on there main card, that has the potential to be one of the least exciting fights ever. Im curious to see who Robbie Lawler gets matched up with.


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## ZENKI1 (Apr 19, 2009)

Here they go making the same mistake as elite.. They need to make there belts worth a damn and there not doing it bynot having it as a main event..


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## kieranm (Oct 28, 2009)

well said


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

Mike Whitehead is about to get thrashed.


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## UFC on VHS (Dec 16, 2008)

Scott Smith is always fun to watch.

TBH though I have only heard of Cung Lee and never hae actually seen him fight live. Maybe ill check out some of his fights.


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## N1™ (Apr 8, 2007)

UFCFAN18 said:


> Scott Smith is always fun to watch.
> 
> TBH though I have only heard of Cung Lee and never hae actually seen him fight live. Maybe ill check out some of his fights.


do that. they are very awsome , look at youtube and mma-core


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Card*

This should be an interesting card!


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

*...Strikeforce's best card of the year...*

...This fight card is smokin'. I'm really anticipating Cung Le vs. Scott Smith. Smitty's chin & power. Le's fight-ending, vicious kicks. Curious to see how King Mo does. See if he lives up to the hype. Whitehead only has experience on Mo and you never know- if he avoids getting caught, ties Mo up and takes him down, Whitehead could win this... 
Whitehead would be very wise not to try and box with Mo. He'll get put on queer st. fast. Thompson & Melendez will be a barn burner. The pace will be blistering. Seeing Lawler & Lindland in action is exciting as well. 2010 is only going to get better for Strikeforce with the new additions Hendo & Lashley. I know I'll be home on the 19th...:thumbsup:


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## dudeabides (Sep 30, 2008)

I like it too, does this card come on at the same time as WEC Saturday?


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## K R Y (Nov 19, 2007)

dudeabides said:


> I like it too, does this card come on at the same time as WEC Saturday?


I was wondering this also. Will have to download Strikeforce if they're on at different times. Much rather watch WEC.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Rather watch the WEC?*

I would rather watch the Strikeforce card, though I don't know how to watch it other than online.


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## ufcrules (Jan 11, 2007)

Looks like a fun card. Although I can't see myself paying $16/month to subscribe to superchannel here in Canada just to see a couple of fights and some halfass movies. Anyone got any ideas how/where I can see it?


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## GriffinFanKY (Oct 22, 2007)

Thomson vs Melendez and Smith vs Le both excite me plus I get Showtime but no Versus so looks like it will be Strikeforce for me


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## dudeabides (Sep 30, 2008)

KryOnicle said:


> I was wondering this also. Will have to download Strikeforce if they're on at different times. Much rather watch WEC.


The listings say that both events start at the same time (10 pm eastern), if you're watching live. But Versus is showing WEC again, on delay, the same night it airs, 3 hours later. That's how I'm gonna watch both unless somebody gives me an extra television by the weekend.


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

kantowrestler said:


> I would rather watch the Strikeforce card, though I don't know how to watch it other than online.


...Hello! No kidding man. Rather watch WEC?!?! That was a deer in the headlights statement...lol


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Showtime*

Maybe I should go across the street and watch it at my neighbors house.


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## The Legacy (Aug 14, 2008)

*Cung Le* vs. Scott Smith
Josh Thomson (c) vs. *Gilbert Melendez*
*Ronaldo Souza* vs. Matt Lindland
*Muhammed Lawal* vs. Mike Whitehead

I've bolded who I think will win. Although they could all go either way, except King Mo, who will get an early KO win over Whitehead.


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## box (Oct 15, 2006)

So is Robbie off this card?


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## Chileandude (Jan 17, 2008)

Does this event go head to head with WEC 45?


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

Chileandude said:


> Does this event go head to head with WEC 45?


Yes it does.

And what channel is Strikeforce Evolution on?


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## UrbanBounca (Sep 13, 2009)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Yes it does.
> 
> And what channel is Strikeforce Evolution on?


It's on Showtime, which the majority of us don't have. On a side note, if anyone has a stream, send 'er.

_*Edit:* King Mo won by TKO. Souza won by arm triangle.

Wow! Melendez and Thompson are putting on the fight of the year! They are swinging for the fence!_


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## The Horticulturist (Feb 16, 2009)

This Melendez/Thompson fight (Now midway through round 2) is really entertaining me. 

WOW ok. now at the end of round 2, HOLY F***

Thompson was just KO'd, and he came back! awesome! I had seen him killing guys before, but for this, He just made a liftime fan


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

Great fight so far. Thompson has to stop chasing so much, he's gonna get KO'd. 3-1 Melendez my score right now.


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## UrbanBounca (Sep 13, 2009)

Melendez earned that fight, period.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

Quadros reminds me of G-Man (from half life). Despite the fight professor's creepy look and jobber entrance tracks, solid night of fights


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## UFC on VHS (Dec 16, 2008)

No matter how this main event turns out this was a great card for Strikeforce.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

It's time for Scott Smith to use his underrated ground game!!!!!! Poor scott, he has to be the first dude to be hit with 5 spinning back kicks in a round


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## UrbanBounca (Sep 13, 2009)

Who would've thought that Cung Le wouldn't know how to finish the fight on the ground?


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

Cung is using, what I call, the Coleman position (guard passing is for gheys). There is one judo throw in mma: uchimata. 

Smith wore him out, while getting the shit kicked out of him, but nonetheless


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## UrbanBounca (Sep 13, 2009)

Cung Le is winded, and I expect Smith to capitalize on this third round.


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

Is Smith retarded? How can you get hit by spinning back kicks that many times and not be ready to shoot in?


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

Lololololololololololololololololololololol

Smith must have been playing possum getting hit by those 40 spin kicks. 

[Dana White]Look this ******* guy is a b movie actor. They don't have money, Scott Smith couldn't make it in the ufc[/Dana White]


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## DragonStriker (Feb 11, 2009)

Wow Cung Lee just ruined his own fight wow. He should have won he got gassed like heck.


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## box (Oct 15, 2006)

Damn scott smith is THEE late fight killer.


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## MagiK11 (Dec 31, 2006)

OMFG I never thought that would happen again for Smith!


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## UrbanBounca (Sep 13, 2009)

Cung "Paper Champion" Le has been shut the **** down. I can't stand him.


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## The Horticulturist (Feb 16, 2009)

haaaahahaha, and derailed is the train! oh how I've waited for this day!

The Thompson Melendez fight was ridiculous. Melendez looked awesome.

Thank you Smith for getting me up over 400,000!


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

Props to Scott Smith, tough sumbitch. Leaving your hands down and loosing steam, bad break for Cung.


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## Shoegazer (Jun 23, 2007)

Only in the movies...

isn't that right, Cung?


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

That should mostly end the absurd over rating of Le. Even if if you want to argue he should have won that fight it has to be obvious how badly he would lose to anyone with any kind of ground game.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

Kind of cheap shitting on Cung and calling him overrated now after he absolutely clowned smith for 2 and a half rounds.


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## Shoegazer (Jun 23, 2007)

Drogo said:


> That should mostly end the absurd over rating of Le. Even if if you want to argue he should have won that fight it has to be obvious how badly he would lose to anyone with any kind of ground game.


I have to think that at 37, that's the last time we see Cung fight. But yeah, Strikeforce has to be cursing their fate, they lost a major meal ticket there.

But on the other hand, Cung's style: Should the kicks he uses be completely dismissed? Should some people pay more attention to those sorts of strikes and consider adding to their arsenal?


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

No, his kicking game is awesome. He lost a load of gas midway through the second and left his hands down the whole fight, boxing is extremely important for fighting. Lack of ground control hurt too

It's easy to say you can out hustle Cung on the mat, but getting him there is not


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

Terry77 said:


> Kind of cheap shitting on Cung and calling him overrated now after he absolutely clowned smith for 2 and a half rounds.


I said he was over rated before and I bet on Smith. Yeah, he out struck a C level fighter like Smith and couldn't finish him. Over rated was a reasonable label for him before this fight and it is even more so now.


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## Shoegazer (Jun 23, 2007)

Terry77 said:


> Kind of cheap shitting on Cung and calling him overrated now after he absolutely clowned smith for 2 and a half rounds.


The fight lasts 3 rounds, not two and a half. He got clowned the worst in the end.

Just to be clear, I'm not shitting on him, just sorta enjoying this unfortunate turn of events for Strikeforce. I actually like Cung, but figured he'd get exposed. Check my bet.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

Hitting Scott Smith in the liver was definitely a good strategy, Nick Diaz floored him good with punches to the midsection. I was also wondering why Smith didn't bullrush Le and brawl the crap out of him since his kicks don't work at short range. Smith's got a good chin so it's not like he's going to get knocked out, get in close, make it dirty and do a Tank Abbott on him. But he didn't, he just stayed in perfect range to get nailed with kicks all night. And somehow he pulls a rabbit out of his ass. Again.


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## MagiK11 (Dec 31, 2006)

Terry77 said:


> Kind of cheap shitting on Cung and calling him overrated now after he absolutely clowned smith for 2 and a half rounds.


I was going to say the same thing. You guys saying Cung is overrated and sucks aren't being fair. He beat Smith for two rounds and was even winning the last round until he got caught.

It's like saying back in the day that Serra was garbage because Shonnie Carter caught him with a backfist the last 10 seconds of the fight.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

OHHHHHHHH, so instead of saying Scott Smith toughed it out and caught a tired Cung with his hands down (which he had the whole fight) "CUNG IS OVERRATED. STRIKEFORCE SUCKS"

How the hell did he get exposed? He's had 8 fights or something


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## Shoegazer (Jun 23, 2007)

Terry77 said:


> OHHHHHHHH, so instead of saying Scott Smith toughed it out and caught a tired Cung with his hands down (which he had the whole fight) "CUNG IS OVERRATED. STRIKEFORCE SUCKS"
> 
> How the hell did he get exposed? He's had 8 fights or something


Wow, take it easy man. Strikeforce got caught using a gimmick, just like Elite did. It's nothing personal against Cung. :confused02:

Cung got exposed with poor cardio, a failure to finish, no ground game, and having poor defense in the end against a dangerous striker, etc. Yeah, he only had 8 fights, but don't forget, Strikeforce was marketing him as their main event and he was their ex-champ. It is what it is.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

I couldn't care, just saying he's exposed and that strikeforce uses him to sell tickets doesn't add anything to any discussion worthwhile


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## DragonStriker (Feb 11, 2009)

Terry77 said:


> I couldn't care, just saying he's exposed and that strikeforce uses him to sell tickets doesn't add anything to any discussion worthwhile


Yeah Strikeforce uses all there big names to sell tickets everyone does it.


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## Terry77 (Jan 5, 2007)

DragonStriker said:


> Yeah Strikeforce uses all there big names to sell tickets everyone does it.


Exactly. So because a show with Brock Lesnar will sell more than Rashad/Thiago means he's a gimmick and overrated. Who like Cung, is a champion of their promotion. These guys don't get 20 fights like most pro boxers to fine tune their game against sub par competition. 

Cung did some good things, but did some bad things. He had trouble putting away a very tough Scott Smith and did some fundamental erros like keeping his hands low. Just blowing steam on flashy moves wasn't wise, but shit it was working


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## MagiK11 (Dec 31, 2006)

Don't you guys see what Terry77's trying to say. He's saying Cung isn't as overrated as you're all claiming he is...if he was overrated he would have been KO'ed in the first round. He wouldn't have won the first two and a half rounds and got caught at the very end. How hard is that for you guys to understand?

Did he lose, YES. 
Was his cardio a bit off, YES.
But it still doesn't change the fact that he isn't as overrated as you're saying. If I didn't see the fight and went by what you guys were saying I would have thought he got destroyed by Smith.


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

...Jam-up. Smitty is unreal. He was already half-dead & getting dropped with Le's spinning back-kicks. Scott absorbed some brutal punishment. Sure enough BAM! Smith landed that left hook on the button dropping Le. The beginning of the end. Man- Smitty's got some power. Le ate a couple more directly on the chops...Amazing fight!
...Nice right hand by King Mo. Whitehead wanted to bang and he came out on the short end. I thought the fight of the night would have been Le & Smith. Not the case. Thomson & Melendez stole the show. That was one of the best fights that I've seen in a while. 

* HENDO VS. FEDOR?? WTF??*


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

MagiK11 said:


> Don't you guys see what Terry77's trying to say. He's saying Cung isn't as overrated as you're all claiming he is...if he was overrated he would have been KO'ed in the first round. He wouldn't have won the first two and a half rounds and got caught at the very end. How hard is that for you guys to understand?


I think he is even more over rated than I thought and I thought he was hella over rated before the fight. A guy with 6 fights against a C level fighter like Smith is a main event? lol. That is over rated. Ranollo gobbling Le's balls the entire fight to an insane degree. That is over rated. 

Nice ground game from Le. Smith was curled up in the fetal position waiting to be finished and Le couldn't finish it. Smith, who has no ground game to speak of himself, just got back up when Le took him down a couple times. What would happen if Le fought someone, ANYONE, with any kind of ground game? He'd get murdered. 

Nobody is going to be dumb enough to stand there at distance and absorb spinning back kicks (Except Smith, and he STILL managed to beat Le). Anyone else will just close the distance or take him down or both.

Strikeforce has to be careful they don't turn into EliteXC. You can't prosper long term by over hyping guys because eventually those guys lose and people realize you are full of shit and quit watching. 

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see Le lose to a stiff like Smith. Maybe that will teach SF not to make a clown show the main event.


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## The Horticulturist (Feb 16, 2009)

Loved seeing Cung's wife in tears. I can't explain why.


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## Freelancer (Jul 5, 2007)

If there was EVER a fight that has FLUKE written all over it, that's Le vs Smith. I never thought I'd say this for some fighter again, but Smith was LUCKY.


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## BrutalKO (Oct 5, 2006)

Freelancer said:


> If there was EVER a fight that has FLUKE written all over it, that's Le vs Smith. I never thought I'd say this for some fighter again, but Smith was LUCKY.


...Was Smith lucky against Radach? That was a serious fight. Radach was hurting him bad & knocked him down as well. Smith was still standing and finished Benji with a nice KO. Le landed a flush headkick and Smitty shrugged it off. Le's kicks were devasting but did it finish him? No. Scott Smith is one of the hardest guys to KO or finish. His heart is not questioned either. Smitty is dangerous up to the last second of a fight. He's proven it more than once so it's obviously not luck...


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## Chileandude (Jan 17, 2008)

"The Comeback Kid" Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith.

Very True, but i thought the ref might've stopped it in the first with the Ground and Pound by Le. It wasn't that bad, but Scott wasn't really defending and eating a lot of shots.


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## Freelancer (Jul 5, 2007)

BrutalKO said:


> ...Was Smith lucky against Radach? That was a serious fight. Radach was hurting him bad & knocked him down as well. Smith was still standing and finished Benji with a nice KO. Le landed a flush headkick and Smitty shrugged it off. Le's kicks were devasting but did it finish him? No. Scott Smith is one of the hardest guys to KO or finish. His heart is not questioned either. Smitty is dangerous up to the last second of a fight. He's proven it more than once so it's obviously not luck...


I didn't see the Radach fight. But he didn't deserve to win this fight. He was TOOLED the entire time!!! Hell, tooled is an understatement for what he has gone through all 3 rounds. I am so disappointed and this doesn't make me appreciate Smith not one bit. The better fighter lost this time.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Surprise*

Yeah it was an upset but you have to remember that in MMA, anything can happen!


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## osmium (Mar 6, 2007)

Smith is garbage if he had any skill and was making great comebacks I could get behind him but he doesnt he is awful. He just gets his ass beat for the entire fight and prays for a KO. He is tank abbott minus the beer gut and personality.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Tank Abbott*

Yeah but Abbott didn't have anything other than a brawler background besides wrestling!


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

Shoegazer said:


> Wow, take it easy man. Strikeforce got caught using a gimmick, just like Elite did. It's nothing personal against Cung. :confused02:
> 
> Cung got exposed with poor cardio, a failure to finish, no ground game, and having poor defense in the end against a dangerous striker, etc. Yeah, he only had 8 fights, but don't forget, Strikeforce was marketing him as their main event and he was their ex-champ. It is what it is.


Strikeforce didn't market him as their man. He got put on a card as a main event because it was his return to MMA after a lay off. And because he never lost that title in a fight. 

As far as his cardio and defense is concerned you need to take ring rust under consideration. He was out for a long time. He tooled Smith the entire fight and he got caught slippin similar to GSP and Matt Serra.

I'm not even a Le fan but calling him overrated like alot of these fans are doing is ridiculous since he hasn't even shown up on world rankings in over 8 months.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Rankings*

Was he ever on the rankings?


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

*Yes*

At one point in time he was being listed as a top MW.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*On the Rankings*

What was the highest he was ranked?


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## SigFig (Sep 22, 2009)

Finally got around to finishing my Tivo of this...

Jacare looked great. If he continues to develop his striking, better watch out.

The Thomson v Melendez fight was hella good. I wouldn't rate it as FOY, but a great fight nonetheless. Really hope to see Melendez v Aoki.

And I absolutely loved seeing Cung get smashed. He's got to be one of the most overrated mma fighters evvvvvver. I don't see how he is any less one dimensional than Smith quite frankly... all he does is throw those cute kicks. They spoon fed him a stand-up opponent and he was still exposed.

Good show. Looking forward to see what they present through 2010. Just wish they'd announce their card matchups more than a few weeks before the show...


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

*Annoucement Time*

I think they do that so that the UFC can't counter program since Dana is out to get them like he was out to get EliteXC and Affliction! Not that counterprograming the ShoMMA cards really matters cause those are more Fight Night or lower caliber fights anyways!


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