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Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz was held in San Jose, California on April 11, 2009, at the HP Pavilion. It was the first event promoted by Strikeforce after their acquisition of assets from the defunct EliteXC promotion through their parent company ProElite. The event will aired live at 10pm (EST) on the Showtime cable network and online through Strikeforce All Access. Commentating during the broadcast was Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Pat Miletich.
Gilbert Melendez was orginally scheduled to fight Josh Thompson for the Strikeforce lightweight title before Thompson broke his leg while sparring. Rodrigo Damm was then brought in as a replacement in an interim lightweight championship bout.
Post Strikeforce Notes: The Wolf’s Wound
Play-by-Play
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz –Dysfunctional Cyborg
Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” Preview
Match | Winner | Loser | Method | Round | Time |
1 | Shingo Kohara | Jeremy Tavares | KO (Knee) | 2 | 0:04 |
2 | James Terry | Zak Bucia | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
3 | Raul Castillo | Brandon Michaels | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | 1 | 1:45 |
4 | Eric Lawson | Waylon Kennell | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4:54 |
5 | Luke Rockhold | Buck Meredith | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | 1 | 4:07 |
6 | Brett Rogers | Ron Humphrey | TKO (Knees) | 2 | 1:38 |
7 | Cristiane Santos | Hitomi Akano | TKO (Punches) | 3 | 0:35 |
8 | Scott Smith | Benji Radach | KO (Punch) | 3 | 3:24 |
9 | Gilbert Melendez | Rodrigo Damm | KO (Punches) | 2 | 2:02 |
10 | Nick Diaz | Frank Shamrock | TKO (Punches) | 2 | 3:57 |
I think this was a promising first show for Strikeforce. Already better than any of it’s 2008 events, which averaged about 2.8 stars for the year and reached a high of almost 3.2 stars with the Shamrock vs. Le event.
With a controlled budget, an established product, more television deals than it can handle, and some already intriguing events on the horizon, I’m very optimistic about Strikeforce’s future.
I am stunned with how Diaz picked apart Shamrock. It was the same Diaz that dereiled the ‘Wildman’ and whose Pride future went up in ‘Smoke’…pun intended. Strikeforce, in my humble opinion, will survive and more importantly, flourish, with a rich stable of fighters who are NOT UFC cast-aways…Smith, Babalou, possibly Ortiz, Santos, Corano, Rodgers, the elder Diaz, Lee….my fear is that it will be the same fighters on each card with little depth. Hopefully I am wrong on that one. 6 Days till the next Inside MMA on HDNet and hours till I take my next beating LOL!
I think everyone was surprised to see Shamrock look so impotent, Michael. It really makes one re-evaluate what is thought of as Diaz’s natural weight, as well as the credit Cung Le deserves for winning a close fight after 3 rounds.
i’m a little less than pleased with the card, the more I think about it. the televised portion was basically a series of mismatches and the Smith-Radach fight. The most robust offense Abongo could mount was literally getting his hair pulled. Rodrigo Damm and Akano looked like they were kids fighting their adult siblings. Shamrock’s frankly lame performance (i did feel like he stood Diaz up with one punch) was hardly worth it. if it wasn’t for Smith-Radach, it would have been a squash card.
The next card as well seems to be topped with a catchweight bout, though of a much higher caliber.
as a side note, what class is cyborg going to destroy gina in, light heavy?
I didn’t think the fights were as mismatched going in as they appeared to be after the fact, and I think the appearance going in is all you can use to hold against the promoter.
It will be interesting to see how the weight cutting goes with Carano and Cyborg. They both have a hard time getting to the weight they are supposed to be fighting at, AND I think they will both be concerned that the other won’t make the weight as well.
While I didn’t think they’d be quite as bad as this, did anyone honestly think Rodrigo Damm was going to be any threat to Melendez? In anything other than an “I’m sure he’ll put up a fight” sort of way? And Akano-Cyborg was a joke from the weigh-ins on. Shamrock-Diaz was supposed to be competitive but didn’t deliver, Rogers-Abongo was kind of an unknown due to the long layoff for Rogers. The only fight that was supposed to be competitive that actually delivered was Smith-Radach, and it delivered all three of the stars I gave the event.
I still paid for Showtime.
Garth, are you not pleased with the matchmaking, or just the way things turned out?
Can’t it be both?
Absolutely it could be. I want to make sure before I start defending that card itself, which I don’t think were mismatches that Strikeforce should have avoided. As for the way it turned out, I still felt the card was entertaining.
Damm and Abongo took a step up, and got knocked down. Akano made a choice and I’m hope she’s happy with it. Shamrock was put into context that was previously speculation. And all of this was entertaining and satisfying.
While I didn't think they'd be quite as bad as this, did anyone honestly think Rodrigo Damm was going to be any threat to Melendez? In anything other than an "I'm sure he'll put up a fight" sort of way? And Akano-Cyborg was a joke from the weigh-ins on. Shamrock-Diaz was supposed to be competitive but didn't deliver, Rogers-Abongo was kind of an unknown due to the long layoff for Rogers. The only fight that was supposed to be competitive that actually delivered was Smith-Radach, and it delivered all three of the stars I gave the event.
I still paid for Showtime.
I am stunned with how Diaz picked apart Shamrock. It was the same Diaz that dereiled the 'Wildman' and whose Pride future went up in 'Smoke'…pun intended. Strikeforce, in my humble opinion, will survive and more importantly, flourish, with a rich stable of fighters who are NOT UFC cast-aways…Smith, Babalou, possibly Ortiz, Santos, Corano, Rodgers, the elder Diaz, Lee….my fear is that it will be the same fighters on each card with little depth. Hopefully I am wrong on that one. 6 Days till the next Inside MMA on HDNet and hours till I take my next beating LOL!
I think this was a promising first show for Strikeforce. Already better than any of it's 2008 events, which averaged about 2.8 stars for the year and reached a high of almost 3.2 stars with the Shamrock vs. Le event.
With a controlled budget, an established product, more television deals than it can handle, and some already intriguing events on the horizon, I'm very optimistic about Strikeforce's future.