I didn't make picks for the Strikeforce card because 1.) There was really on three fights to talk about (I have no interest in Herschal Walker fighting cans) and 2.) I forgot. I watched the fights though, and these are my impressions.
Roger Gracie vs Trevor Prangley - Gracie by rear-naked choke at the end of the 1st
This was a big win for Gracie. Prangley is a seasoned vet, and while certainly isn't the best fighter around, he's a good test for Roger Gracie at this point of his career. Gracie even showed some solid stand up in the fight, hitting Prangley with a few solid knees in the clinch. Gracie says he wants to fight more often, and after this fight he should take a step up in competition. Giving him a guy like Scott Smith (if he moves back from welterweight) or Matt Lindland could serve as a winnable fight while still being a step up, while Drew McFeddries or Phil Baroni could serve as a good test if Strikeforce wants to bring someone in. Frank Shamrock or Cung Le could be options if they want to put Gracie in a big money fight, but I don't think he has a enough name value to make those fights worthwhile.
Herschel Walker vs Scott Carson - Walker by TKO in the 1st
I'd like to say that I was impressed by Walker's performance, but Carson is so clearly a can brought in solely to lose that it takes away from Walker. Walker did show some slightly improved striking, though he could have finished that fight faster if he really wanted to. Strikeforce is going to have to go out and find random guy to come in and fight him next, but at a certain point, you have to realize that there isn't a point in trying to develop a guy who's on the wrong side of 40. Give him a can, or put him in there with an actual roster fighter and see how he does.
Champion Ronald "Jacare" Souza vs Robbie Lawler - Souza by rear-naked choke in the 3rd
Outside of the first round (and really only about a minute of that round), this fight was all Souza. Yes, his standup still needs work but Jacare is a beast on the ground. He was repeatdly going for submissions and strikes, even at the points where he was on the bottom. Lawler was able to escape from a few submissions before he got choked, and was able to land a few shots standing, but didn't have a whole lot to offer Souza. Souza can look towards potential title fights with Mayhem Miller and Luke Rockhold, while Lawler is going to have to go back and try to rack up another win streak. A fight against a guy like Tim Kennedy might not be such a bad idea, though a fight against Cung Le would be a great matchup.
Champ Nick Diaz vs Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos - Diaz by armbar at the end of the 2nd
This fight went pretty much as expected - Santos came out, guns a-blazing, and then gassed three minutes into the first round. Diaz looked to be in a little trouble early, taking some hard leg kicks, but ended up taking control of the stand-up, landing jab after jab directly on the face of Santos. When Santos had decided he had enough of the beating he was getting standing, he took Diaz down, and then got tapped within 30 seconds. I wonder if Cris Santos could put up a better fight than her husband. Too bad she tricked the commission into letting her fight in the woman's division, despite the fact that if anything she probably has two dicks and eight testicles. Diaz should really come to the UFC, he doesn't really have any more compelling match-ups there (His upcoming fight with Paul Daley is one of the last match-ups Strikeforce has, along with potential fights against Mayhem Miller and Bellator champ Ben Askern. As for Santos, go back to middleweight and fight Manhoef again, or someone like Phil Baroni, and see who gasses first.
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