Saturday, December 17, 2011, Strikeforce went live from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, for Strikeforce – Melendez vs. Masvidal, which featured a lightweight title bout between reigning champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (20-2-0) and #1 contender, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (22-7-0).
In the co-main event, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (11-1-0) made her long-awaited return to the Strikeforce cage when she put her promotion gold on the line against Japanese standout, Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka (12-2-0).
The main-event of the evening saw “El Nino” simply outwork challenger Masvidal over five rounds where neither man was put in trouble, but the action stayed consistent throughout; looking to counter, Masvidal opted for one-strike attacks for the majority of the bout, while Melendez looked to throw two and three-punch combinations at every opportunity, often backing his counterpart into the cage with his pressing style.
Although a dramatic moment was lacking, the fight served as a clear reminder that Melendez is well ahead of the field below him and Zuffa will need to get creative to keep interest in the Cesar Gracie standout high. Melendez retained his title with a clear-cut, unanimous decision.
“Cyborg” wasted no time in dispatching Japanese talent Hiroko Yamanaka. “Cat’s Eye” was true to her word and met Santos in the middle of the cage, but that was ill-advised as the Chute Boxe product pounced with vicious combinations that found their mark, flooring Yamanaka on two occasions in the bout’s opening seconds. The official end came at just sixteen seconds, as Cris Santos retained her 145lbs title with a devastating TKO victory.
The fight of the night likely belonged to light heavyweights Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux who showed remarkable resilience in over-coming some difficult spots throughout the first two rounds. A grinding effort by both men, Mousasi got the better of the action of the feet with lunging combinations that kept St. Preux backing up early; but the majority of this contest would be contested on the ground where it was the sweeps and trips of the Armenian that saw him capture most of the dominate positions obtained.
Despite a late rally by the Tennessee Volunteer, it was too little, too late, as Gegard Mousasi positions himself as one of the division’s top contenders for the vacant 205lbs title with a unanimous decision.
Full results from Strikeforce – Melendez vs. Masvidal are found below:
MAIN CARD
Champ Gilbert Melendez def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
Champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos def. Hiroko Yamanaka via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:16
Gegard Mousasi def. Ovince St. Preux via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
K.J. Noons def. Billy Evangelista via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Caros Fodor def. Justin Wilcox via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:13
Roger Bowling def. Jerron Peoples via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:42
Devin Cole def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Eddie Mendez def. Fernando Gonzalez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Herman Terrado def. Chris Brown via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 4:05
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