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Gina Carano put womens MMA on the map, but Cris Cyborg Santos may have become the sports first dominant female champion by virtue of her overwhelming TKO victory in the main event of Saturdays STRIKEFORCE event. Cyborg simply was too physically strong and her punches too powerful for Carano, who fought valiantly before succumbing to a barrage of ground and pound punches at the end of the first round.
Before a near capacity crowd at San Joses HP Pavilion, Carano and Cyborg made history as the first women to headline a major US mixed martial arts event. Cyborg entered the cage first to a mostly negative reaction, stopping along the way to shadow box and throw kicks on the entrance ramp. The crowd went nuts for Carano, who was accompanied into the arena by Randy Couture who trained her for the matchup.
Despite the fight being scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, the women set a frantic pace from the opening horn. Cyborgs size and strength advantage was apparent from the outset, as she landed an immediate flurry of punches before taking Carano to the canvas. Carano landed in top position, but quickly found herself in trouble as Cyborg worked for a kneebar and then a heel hook. Carano was able to extricate herself, and get to her feet but Cyborg took her back and immediately took her down again. Carano landed in top mount, however, and was able to score with some big punches from the top. Inexplicably, she backed off and let Cyborg get to her feet instead of pressing what may have been her best opportunity to win the fight.
Carano was able to land a couple of effective jabs on the ensuing standup exchange, but Cyborg caught a body kick attempt and quickly closed the distance again. Cyborg once again took her opponent to the mat and after an unsuccessful armbar attempt mounted Carano and began a brutal punching assault that eventually forced the stoppage at 4:59 of the first round.
Despite Cyborgs triumph the most dominating performance of the evening belonged to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. In his first fight at 205, Mousasi destroyed STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato Babalu Sobral via TKO at the 1:00 mark of the first round.
Earlier in a card full of decisive finishes, Gilbert Melendez became STRIKEFORCE interim lightweight champion with a third round TKO victory over the double tough Mitsuhiro Ishida. Though Melendez dominated the fight, Ishida gained the respect of fans with his toughness and heart. Melendez will now face Josh Thompson to unify the belts once Thompson is medically cleared to resume fighting.
Before a near capacity crowd at San Joses HP Pavilion, Carano and Cyborg made history as the first women to headline a major US mixed martial arts event. Cyborg entered the cage first to a mostly negative reaction, stopping along the way to shadow box and throw kicks on the entrance ramp. The crowd went nuts for Carano, who was accompanied into the arena by Randy Couture who trained her for the matchup.
Despite the fight being scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, the women set a frantic pace from the opening horn. Cyborgs size and strength advantage was apparent from the outset, as she landed an immediate flurry of punches before taking Carano to the canvas. Carano landed in top position, but quickly found herself in trouble as Cyborg worked for a kneebar and then a heel hook. Carano was able to extricate herself, and get to her feet but Cyborg took her back and immediately took her down again. Carano landed in top mount, however, and was able to score with some big punches from the top. Inexplicably, she backed off and let Cyborg get to her feet instead of pressing what may have been her best opportunity to win the fight.
Carano was able to land a couple of effective jabs on the ensuing standup exchange, but Cyborg caught a body kick attempt and quickly closed the distance again. Cyborg once again took her opponent to the mat and after an unsuccessful armbar attempt mounted Carano and began a brutal punching assault that eventually forced the stoppage at 4:59 of the first round.
Despite Cyborgs triumph the most dominating performance of the evening belonged to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. In his first fight at 205, Mousasi destroyed STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato Babalu Sobral via TKO at the 1:00 mark of the first round.
Earlier in a card full of decisive finishes, Gilbert Melendez became STRIKEFORCE interim lightweight champion with a third round TKO victory over the double tough Mitsuhiro Ishida. Though Melendez dominated the fight, Ishida gained the respect of fans with his toughness and heart. Melendez will now face Josh Thompson to unify the belts once Thompson is medically cleared to resume fighting.
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority on NFL football betting . He's a noted expert sports handicapping theory, as well as stock market investing. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, soccer and boxing.
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