A Bad Night for DREAM in Strikeforce by the Hands of Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz

by Dave Walsh on Jan 31, 2010 12:47 AM EST in MMA

Strikeforce just put on another highly entertaining card on Showtime featuring a lot of foreign stars in spots you wouldn't often see a major organization offer to fighters who aren't a household name. While there were two fights early on in the card that bordered on freakshow mismatches, that wasn't exactly clear on paper. Wes Sims took a fight against Bobby Lashley on a week's notice, and while Sims isn't really known for being the most prepared or in shape fighter in the world, it was clear he was not ready for this fight and was made short work of by the professional wrestler. Then former NFL player, 47 year old Herschel Walker made a debut stoppage win over a guy that you'll never see again.

Golden Glory 135lbs fighter Marloes Coenen got her title fight at 145lbs against the She-Hulk herself, Cris Cyborg Santos and it didn't end well for her. Coenen put up a strong fight against Cyborg and outlasted Gina Carano against Cyborg, but in the end the onslaught of the Chute Boxe "brawling" Muay Thai style was too much for Coenen. Aptly noted by the piss-poor announce team was that Strikeforce was going to establish a 135lbs title for the women and Coenen would be a much better fit. The problem of course is that outside of Erin Toughill or a rematch with Carano, there isn't much going on in their 145lbs division.

Of course the big stories were the Strikeforce debuts of Melvin Manhoef and DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis. Manhoef showed the world what a pro-kickboxer from K-1 is capable of, piecing together blistering combinations and destroying Robbie Lawler's leg with leg kicks. Lawler spent most of the fight covering up and hoping he wouldn't die against Manhoef before Manhoef got caught with a looping right hook that put him down and a left hand that put him out. Even in defeat, Melvin Manhoef made a giant impression on the American audience watching tonight and will no doubt be booked in Strikeforce again.

Zaromskis on the other hand was completely decimated by Nick Diaz. Zaromskis did at one point catch Diaz, but was unable to finish off the Stockton badboy and was actually KO'd by a hook from Diaz, who is not known for his punching power. Diaz, the renowned BJJ fighter won this fight on his feet against a man insiders were saying would upset Diaz if the fight was left standing.

In both cases here, the DREAM fighters looked like they should have been in a lower weight class. Of course in Japan weight-cutting isn't as extreme as it is in the United States and Melvin Manhoef has wins over legitimate top heavyweights.

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you got to love nick diaz.

serious pimp fighting / serious pimp sunglasses. (i did not know their was even a company called that) plus all the things nick diaz says after the fight are priceless. he does not answer or even listen to the guy asking him questions and then proceeds to say his brother won his last fight in the ufc. the guy can fight and talk zhit. mma is a sport but it’s entertainment too.

i'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. i was building a house, i don't deserve this, deserves have nothing to do with it. bang. "unforgiven"

by wolfmanshowlforever on Jan 31, 2010 5:13 AM EST reply actions

was actually KO’d by a hook from Diaz, who is not known for his punching power.

The conventional wisdom needs to be re-thought. Diaz has won his last 6 fights almost entirely due to his boxing. He may throw a lot of pitty-pat jabs, but it’s clear he throws power shots right behind them, especially to the body.

Mahoef has the craziest combination of terrifying power and horrifically bad defense that I’ve ever seen.

by gzl5000 on Jan 31, 2010 11:03 AM EST reply actions

Karaev is up there too

by Meshuggeth on Jan 31, 2010 1:45 PM EST up reply actions

I dont think DREAM fighters looked bad yesterday. Losing does not equal looking bad automatically. Diaz and Lawler had a perfect gameplan and they executed it flawlessly.

Nicks knees in the clinch were brilliant,and a huge reason why he won. He knew that Zaromskis’ weakness is the clinch,and strenght is his explosive kicks,so this was the perfect solution. He knew he can outbox Zaromskis,especially with that reach,if he takes Marius’ legs away. Still,Marius was able to score a knockdown,and when Diaz took him to the ground,he immediately bounced back up. Zaromskis wasnt bad at all,Diaz was phenomenal. I would go as far as ranking him no.4 WW in the world behind GSP,Fitch,and Alves.

As for Lawler-Manhoef,both are agressive strikers,Manhoef is the better one. Lawler has much better ground game,but its not his main strength. He knew exactly that if he stands and bangs with Manhoef,it will be a short night for him. He knew exactly that Manhoef has a bad habit of letting his hands down and open up too much when he smells the blood. Plus he is knockoutable. So what does Robbie? He plays possum (yes,he was hurt,but he acted a little bit as well),and the moment Manhoef decides to go for the win in crazy Manhufu-style,BANG there goes his biggest weapon,the dynamite in his hands.

So no,Mahoef and Zaromskis did NOT disappoint. Diaz and Lawler were that good.

As for the other fights,I hope we will see Lashley against a decent opponent soon,Im curious to see where does he stand right now,because he is still a question mark in my book. Walker wasnt anything special,but the fact that he is THAT athletic at the age of 47,thats incredible. Im not an expert of womens MMA,but the female version of Wanderlei is the queen of her division,I cant see anyone beating her anytime soon.

"Its not about the size of the dog in the fight...its about the size of the fight in the dog"

by SoulBrotherNo1 on Jan 31, 2010 11:13 AM EST reply actions

i would not say lawler had a perfect gameplan.

he was getting his azz kicked with leg strikes to his calves. i agree he waited until the perfect time to land that punch and followed it up with another but i don’t think anybody’s perfect strategy is to take that much punishment. nick diaz does have the perfect formula for victory. his fights vs scott smith and marious zamorskis were classic. constant jabbing, throwing hooks, with some leg kicks and some body shots. you could see the accumulative effect on both fighters faces and m.z looked like he was in agony before he fell to the canvas. i think nick diaz would have a 50% chance of beating gsp. he just keeps getting better.

i'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. i was building a house, i don't deserve this, deserves have nothing to do with it. bang. "unforgiven"

by wolfmanshowlforever on Jan 31, 2010 4:49 PM EST up reply actions