In what is going to an action-packed weekend for the mixed martial arts community, Strikeforce is putting on its second card of the year. Sitting at the top is what may be the most important fight for the progression of Women’s MMA, as bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will defend her title against Ronda Rousey. Along with that bout, a number of additional matchups are planned for the Columbus, Ohio event.
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is due to face Bristol Marunde. Souza was expected to face Derek Brunson, who was forced off the card due to problems with his medical examination, leading to Throwdown Training Center representative Bristol Marunde stepping into the spot. And while many fans will not know much about the 12-6 Marunde, he is a champion in the Superior Cage Combat organization, and has fought in the now defunct International Fight League. The biggest names that appear on his career docket are Rich Attonito, Benji Radach, and Chuck Grigsby.
In Souza, Marunde will face a world class grappler that has made a successful transition into the world of MMA. The dual black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo is a five-time BJJ champion; the most recent of those accolades were in 2005. Since transitioning into MMA, “Jacare” has had a solid career, building a 14-3 record and fighting for multiple championships. He is coming off a September defeat to Luke Rockhold, which snapped his four-fight win streak.
Stepping into a fight at the last minute doesn’t always work out for fighters, as the lack of notice doesn’t give them ample time to prepare and get into shape. That situation is exacerbated when fighting someone of Souza’s caliber. It will be interesting to see what Marunde is capable of doing in the opening frames of the bout, but I expect Souza to be able to control the bout and pull out a second round submission.
Another important fight on the card is the Josh Thompson versus KJ Noons lightweight fight, which has title implications, as it will determine who will face Gilbert Melendez next. Thompson is a former champion who was able to defeat Melendez back in 2008 before dropping the title to him in 2009. Since that time his career has been riddled with injuries and he has only competed twice, going 1-1 in that time.
Noons is also a former champion, having defeated Nick Diaz back in 2007 to win the EliteXC lightweight championship during a six-fight win streak. Noons is a very technical boxer whose footwork and hand speed are near the best in the sport. However, he hasn’t been able to pick up a big victory in recent bouts, as he’s dropped two of his last three.
The key factor in this fight is where it occurs, as Thompson is a very skilled wrestler who can take down nearly any fighter in the 155 category, and creates scrambles to end up in good positions on the mat. Noons of course will have the striking advantage, and will be able to score on the feet if he can keep the fight there for extended periods of time. I think that all the injuries that have plagued Thompson, along with his extended periods of inactivity, will prevent him from finding a “zone” against Noons. I have Noons by winning by a decision, as he will be able to avoid enough takedowns to keep the fight standing and wear Thompson down for 15 minutes.
There is a second women’s fight on the card that will determine who will face the winner of the Tate–Rousey main event. Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis, whom many feel are more deserving contenders at 135 than the title challenger, are due to face off. At 14-1 and 11-4 respectively, both Kaufman and Davis have been prominent names in the sport for the last few years.
Kaufman holds a victory over the current champion, defeating her at Strikeforce Challengers 1 back in 2009. She won the bantamweight title back in 2010 when she defeated Takayo Hashi, but was only able to defend the belt once before being submitted by Marloes Coenen later that year in what is her only defeat to date.
Davis may be looking forward towards this bout more than anyone else, as she too was defeated by Kaufman, in her fourth professional bout back in 2007. Davis has the rare accomplishment of being a black belt in Japanese Jiu Jitsu and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a combination you will not find too often in mixed martial arts.
The thing that interests me most about this fight is how far Davis has grown since their 2007 fight, as she as competed against some of the biggest names in WMMA, including Tara LaRosa, Amanda Nunes, and Julie Kedzie. Kaufman has been on a tear as of late, but I would not be surprised if Davis finds a way to pull out a victory.
Along with these bouts, fight fans will get to see Paul Daley, Scott Smith, and Kazuo Misaki, as well as the continuing development of Ryan Couture. The nine fight card is set to start on Showtime Extreme and continue on the Showtime channel.
