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Round One: The Trilogy Is Over
Bobby Voelker and Roger Bowling completed a piece of Strikeforce history on Friday Night when the first three fight series in Strikeforce concluded. Early in the fight, it looked like Roger Bowling would strike his way to victory, but that changed in round two. Round two was where Bobby Voelker crushed Roger Bowling with a knee strike and the fight was all over. Bobby Voelker now finds himself in an interesting position while Roger Bowling will be looking to rebuild himself.
Next Round For Bobby Voelker: Scott Smith or Paul Daley
Next Round For Roger Bowling: Nathan Coy or Carlo Prater
Round Two: A Much Needed Victory
Devin Cole is a heavyweight who has always been on the verge of a breakthrough and he showed why on Friday Night. With his first full time training camp leading into the fight with Shawn Jordan, Devin Cole proved he can be a player in the heavyweight division. Devin Cole is still a few victories away from an appearance on a bigger card, but he is currently on the right track. Credit must also be given to Shawn Jordan, who took the fight with Devin Cole on a few days’ notice.
Next Round For Devin Cole: Lavar Johnson, his originally scheduled opponent
Next Round For Shawn Jordan: Another shot in Strikeforce Challengers with a proper camp
Round Three: The “Streak†Is Over
Ovince St. Preux is a fighter who has come out of nowhere to make himself a player in the currently shallow light heavyweight division. This past Friday Night, Ovince St. Preux needed only one round to plant Joe Cason with strikes and put him out for good. Ovince St. Preux should permanently graduate to big show status with his fourth straight Strikeforce victory. Funny enough, despite records stating otherwise, Joe Cason made a point to MMA media leading up to the fight that he was undefeated, will that is the case no more.
Next Round For Ovince St. Preux: Mike Kyle, Renato Sobral or Lorenz Larkin
Next Round For Joe Cason: Ron Humphrey or Kevin Jordan
Round Four: The Next Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Title Challenger Is…
Sarah Kaufman, who used intelligent game planning to out point Liz Carmouche on route to a unanimous decision victory. In pre-fight interviews, Sarah Kaufman said she would slug it out with her opponent, but that plan changed once the bell rang. Liz Carmouche attempted to wear down Sarah Kaufman, but that strategy clearly failed as the fight went on. Sarah Kaufman now sit back and relax because a title shot is awaiting her at some point in the fight game.
Next Round For Sarah Kaufman: The Marloes Coenen/Miesha Tate winner
Next Round For Liz Carmouche: The Marloes Coenen/Miesha Tate loser
Round Five: Home Sweet Home
The folks at Strikeforce have brought Strikeforce Challengers all over the map from Washington to Texas and everywhere else. That will now change for the time being as all events from this past Friday’s event and beyond will be held at The Pearl At The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. While this move will certainly anger some MMA fans, it is definitely a smart move by Zuffa (the Strikeforce owners) who will save money by holding the events at a single location. In the past, UFC Ultimate Fight Night and WEC events were held at The Pearl At The Palms, now Strikeforce Challengers joins that lineage.
Next Round For Strikeforce Challengers: Strikeforce Challengers 18 in August
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