Nick Diaz retained the Strikeforce welterweight title with a second-round submission of Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in the main event Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg” event in San Jose, California.
Cyborg started strong with a string of hard leg kicks, but tired as the round wore on and Diaz took advantage, rocking the challenger with his patented punches to close out the opening round.
In the second, both fighters were content to stand and trade and each had their moments, but a late Cyborg takedown allowed Diaz to lock in an armbar and force the submission with just 10 seconds left in the round.
Diaz improves to 24-7 with the victory and has now won nine-straight, while Santos falls to 18-14 following back-to-back wins.
Also on the Showtime-televised main card, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza retained his middleweight title with a third-round submission of Robbie Lawler, Herschel Walker dominated Scott Carson for a first-round TKO, and Roger Gracie submitted Trevor Prangley in the opening round.
The official “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg” results were:
- Champ Nick Diaz def. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:50
Strikeforce Welterweight Championship - Champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Robbie Lawler via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 3, 2:00
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship - Herschel Walker def. Scott Carson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
- Roger Gracie def. Travor Prangley via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 4:19
For the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce results stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
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was starting to wonder where the results were. thx
Now hopefully the naysayers will shut up about Walker being a joke.. the guy is for real
agree
@glassman Yes. Having him fight an experienced fighter who may not have the drive to compete but still has the skill set to beat most middle range fighters like Herring is still FAR more credible than fighting a full-time day trader.
@jchol yeah I can see NCAA wrestling viewed in a stronger light than his Tae Kwon Do, and he isn’t fighting for money, but more for the love of it, but if the commission won’t let him fight anyone right now at the age of 48, his chances to fight the guys he may want to in the future will dwindle greatly. It’s really hard to picture Walker training this hard, taking the fight this serious and putting this much into it and be content to keep fighting no names.
On the same topic of Walker, does anyone know WHY he competes at HW? I mean he is around 220 and LHW seems completely attainable for his body size?
@Muaythai4life it’s been well documented that older athletes do not recover as well from cutting weight. Plus, the guy does not exactly have much in the way of body fat to begin with.
I would like to see someone with a name for his next fight. Maybe like Jeff Monson or Cabage.
Doesn’t it seem a little “overmatching” to sign Walker to fight either Monson or Correira in just his THIRD pro MMA fight?
I would also like to see him fight somebody we have at least heard of. Lesnar fought and lost to a former UFC champion in his second fight then came back to fight and demolish a former UFC and Pride veteran in Herring, so having an athletic and powerful guy like Walker fight a name such as Bret Rogers or in that category.
That said Diaz looked good (which pains me greatly to say). He did have good head movement and avoided to more powerful shots with ease. His leg will hurt tomorrow but it’s good to hurt and have a belt rather than not.
@muaythai4life
I see where you are coming from, but consider that Brock Lesnar was considerably younger than Walker is, and his amateur wrestling background translated a LOT better in MMA than Walker’s Tae Kwon Do skillset.
Also Lesnar’s “Neanderthal-ism” gave him certain advantages over his early competition that the 220 lb Walker just doesn’t have, no disrespect intended…
Herschel has had trouble finding fights as the commission shoots his fights down since he’s inexperienced. Brock got a pass because of his NCAA wrestling background. Walker will get the fights if he wants them, he’s not fighting for money so we’ll see how it works out.
@muay
so your saying that walker should fight someone who doesnt even want to fight anymore. and then not finish him.
That first round of diaz vs santos wAS fukn insane
Was Diaz being a D-Bag to Mrs. Cyborg? As there was something going on………..
I was wondering the same. Classy dude.
yeah he threw his mouthpiece @ someone & a drink came flying back into the ring. then he mouthed the words ‘f*** you b****’ to someone. i assumed it was to her also. maybe it was koscheck, he was sitting octagon-side
I know they are in 2 different organization but Kos can’t hang out with Diaz in the octagon. This guy is a bada$$ fighter but a classless personality if he really staged that drama to Mrs Cyborgh. I was so impressed on his fighting and heart but I got that much disappointed when I saw that crap at the end.
Diaz hasn’t defeated a strong wrestler since… ever… So I wouldn’t be too quick to write off Kos in that hypothetical match-up.
My money would be on Koscheck, but fight will never happen since Diaz prefers to be the big fish in a little pond. Now Diaz gets a fighter of comparable character in Daley. Battle of the classless.
Nick Diaz displayed well rounded MMA skill..Overall he was better standing than the brawler & the minute it went to the ground he was able to finish
Although Nick has not fought quite the level of competition that GSP has, the guy has evolved considerably & has not lost for a very long time..Nick Diaz is right up there with GSP IMO..hopefully within the next 2 years the fight will happen..somehow, some way, someone…please make it happen!!
Strikeforce really needs a segment of the fanbase to buy into Nick Diaz as a rival of sorts to GSP’s 170 MMA supremacy.
Sf has very few creditable 170 challangers right now, so its best from a promotional standpoint to shift the conversation towards a fight that Diaz will never sign unless he’s in the UFC, and probably couldn’t earn a title shot for if he was.
And I know Diaz has some fan love out there, but asking us to think he could beat someone like Jon Fitch and earn a shot at GSP is a bit much…
@Jcohl
A strong UFC battle tested wrestler/grappler would likely be favored over Nick Diaz but Nick does have the skill set to challenge ANYONE at 170
To clarify..in no way am I saying that Nick Diaz is better than GSP..I am just saying that Nick has evolved to a VERY HIGH level..I hope the fight happens within the next few years..I do think it is possible (optimistic POV)
truthfully i dont know whos better shields or diaz. but i think that shields, fitch, and gsp would win more then half the time if they fought diaz.
but i dont think that anyone else in the ufc ww div would stand a chance. i dont think people know that diaz is a boxer. a real boxer. he knows how to get the most out of his punches, and uses very little energy.
the thing is imo, there really is a few fighters in every ufc div except lhw, that are way above skill level of the other fighters in the div.and thats the thing people like to say “he would get crushed in the ufc”. but the truth is if you took most ufc they would lose to diaz, jacre,gilbert. its like we saw duffee getting crushed by the reem. so would russow, hague, mitrione, beltran, hunt, even somebody like barry who could stand with reem would get crushed with a sub. but yes if anyone does fight in the ufc they are going to have a harder time winning and it would eventually mean more losses on your record.
I was also wondering if Diaz’s post-fight “fu<k you, b!tch" was for Koscheck or Cris Cyborg…
I am guessing it was for KOS. Because I didn’t see any negative response from Santos as he is her husband…….u know what I am saying.
Plus even though Frank Shamrock was publicly humiliating himself by broadcast-fellating Nick Diaz, I can’t imagine that dissing a guy’s wife sitting cageside would have gone down uncommented-upon…
Yeah I’m also thinking the comments were directed towards Kos.. I don’t think either one of the cyborgs would have stood for that kind of disrespect
I wouldn’t mind seeing Kos beat the lisp out of Diaz
kos is the biggest joke ever. he is the most overrated guy in the ufc other then brock. kos would be the one beat up. kos gets wins over people without even doing any damage. plus diaz can beat drew fickett and kos cant. if kos doesnt lay on you. then he tries to cheat.whats up with ufc stars going to diaz’s fights. gsp in miami –now kos in san jose. diaz lost by cut to koons and got a no dec because of his weed. but he really hasnt been beat in like 4-5 years and way over 9 fights since somebody deserved to have their hand raised when they stepped in the ring with diaz.imo diaz is top 5 ww easily.
@glassman6
I think Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez being in San Jose last night and in attendance when other AKA fighters, like Herschel Walker, throwdown was more of a “camp” thing, repping AKA, than an org thing, repping the UFC, if you follow…
Let’s not forget Bob Cook of AKA is Strikeforce’s matchmaker.
Plus, let’s not get ahead of ourselves with Diaz. His record may be impressive over the last few years and he’s definitely provided some good finishes. That said, he has not faced a fighter whose been ranked above 8 since Gomi in ’07. Also, SF’s welterweight class isn’t very deep and Diaz apparently doesn’t care to fight their most promising WW, Tyron Woodley. So Diaz’s welterweight future is pretty limited.
Good fights tonight ………..
Roger showed he is a threat on the rise .
Walker put on a strong performance .
Jacare was just to much on the ground for lawler …. maybe lawler can make the WW division for a showdown with Paul Daley ?
And the Diaz – Cyborg fight was good .I felt bad for Cyborg tho , seemed to mean alot to him .He should do a few fights for DREAM and rematch Zaromski’s for his belt .
Diaz did throw his mouthpiece at koscheck. You can see him in a red touque a couple rows from the cage. Diaz showing the class of a champion
Good fights dude.
I’ll admit I never gave walker credit but the guy deserves respect. He’s 48 still looks like a machine and is truly taking the time to learn mma.
I hated watching robbie lose like that again but jacare fought a great fight and didn’t allow Robbie to get off.
I was impressed with Diaz. I thought he was going to leave the cage with one leg. Great job weathering the storm. Hes a tough dude.
@BSBIZ
Is it me or did cyborg(womens145 champ) actually look pretty???? With the make up on and the straight hair,she cleans up real nice no? :)
@jazzkok -
Best watch yourself mi amigo.
@bsbiz has already publicly posted his intentions towards the Santos of the “fairer” sex…
;-)
Actually? ACTUALLY!!?!?!?!?
If I knew where it was, I would pull out my white glove and slap you across the face while challenging you to a duel.
Damn, Hershel Walker could still be in the NFL!
Actually Walker very recently stated he could “contribute” to any nfl team out there…somehow I beleive him.
People are saying he needs stiffer competition, others are saying he needs to build his way up. I say at his age, he doesn’t have much time to build his way up to stiffer competition. He’s show he’s a literate and capable MMA fighter, give him a real, legite fight like NOW and let’s see where he’s really at!
At his age, (48)? I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever seen someone in better physical condition.
Here is the Diaz drama details got from some other site:
————————–
After hours of speculation, Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani caught up with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and asked him about the incident.
Coker dismissed all of these rumors quickly, noting that it was in fact simply disruptive fans that were the target of Diaz’s tirade.
According to various reports from fans in attendance, a group of very vocal non-Diaz fans were hurling insults and screaming at Diaz and his corner both during and after the fight.
Coker admitted that he knew who the group of fans was but that was unaware of the actual individuals who were responsible for harassing the Diaz corner and eventually throwing a drink at Nick himself in the cage.
“I’ll have to look at the seating chart,” Coker said. “But I know the group that was a little bit unruly and, you know, maybe we won’t see them here anymore.”
In addition to his interview with Helwani, Coker also told ESPN that he thinks Diaz will be busy in 2011 and that he believes a fight with “Mayhem” Miller will eventually happen.
Diaz himself was interviewed by Helwani after the fight but would not comment on the incident
For details: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/590015-strikeforce-video-was-nick-diaz-yelling-at-mayhem-miller-after-his-win
And just to add a little something as my personal POV .
I am noticing that the level of quality in these Strikeforce events is improving . They just need to bring in a fresh batch of fighters and it could be even bigger . They were talking about holding a tourney at different weights last night and the middle weight class got the nod .. I personally dont like this myself as they pretty much have fought each other already.I am thinking Light heavy needs some boosting as does the WW division . Melendez has 3 good fights on the rise in Kawajiri , Eddie alvarez and Jz calvan . plus they have other guys like thomson , beerbohm , aoki , etc etc etc ………
WW I’d like to see in Strikeforce …… a resurging /stable Karo Parisyan , Kyle Jensen , Steve Karl , Brock Larson could spice it up a bit
.
The production has been better yes, but their main cards have not been great in my opinion. Santos isn’t a .500 fighter since 2007, Lawler was .500 in SF… and they fought for titles. The fights have held flashy finishes but as far their fights being top talent versus top talent. They have a ways to go.
The last two fights on the card made more sense (competitively) for a challengers card.
Speaking of the Challengers events… They’ve been great. Solid fights, with well paired fighters. I’ve actually enjoyed those more than their bigger cards.
While I don’t like Diaz, I’m finding myself respecting him more every fight. He’s definitely on the top of my list of guys I want to see lose, so I tune in regularly.
However, the fact that he is in fact, as it was so elequently put, “a big fish in a small pond”, just furthers my dislike for him, seeing as how he’s so quick to badmouth GSP and others, while signing a 4 fight extension to keep fighting marginal competition. (what I mean is marginal in comparison to the UFC ww division, so don’t freak out)
As Dana White put it, “he should be in the UFC, but he won’t play ball”
Which for all those from Stockston, that means “homie needs to quit perpetratin’ and actin a fool, cuz DW don’t play dat”
In all fairness to Nick Diaz he’s calling out GSP in pre- and post-fight interviews more for promotional than pugilistic reasons.
I’m sure like any self-respecting 170er he’d one day like to test himself against the “king of the mountain”, but once all the hype and horsesh!t are holstered he HAS to know on some level that the only way he’s ever facing the Greatness is if he drops his Strikeforce title, obtains his Sf release, signs with the UFC [with all that signing implies] and is able to defeat someone who can wrestle, like Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck or possible [albeit unlikely] Jake Shields to earn a title shot.
When read in black and white, that just doesn’t seem at all very likely to me, but we all have to admit that it makes for great buzz when Diaz talks about throwing down with GSP…
It’s all talk with Diaz signing his recent SF extenstion.
Plus, he couldn’t defeat Sean Sherk who he had massive advantages over in reach, height, and weight…
I’ve never been a big fan of Diaz, but he has some talent and just seems to be getting better all the time. I’m a DISH Network employee and subscriber and love the fact that Showtime is bringing us all these cards in HD without having to pay for PPV!
I can’t wait too see him box with Daley. Diaz has a strong chin, but I don’t see Daley fading as fast as Cyborg. Good night to Diaz if decides to trade with Semtex.