The crowd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and the fans watching on Showtime were treated to a coming out party of sorts for Ryan Couture. Ryan, the son of legendary MMA star, Randy Couture, was able to successfully take a big step up in competition at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey, as he fought a very tough opponent, in Conor Heun.
You may have never heard the name Brandon Saling prior to tonight. However, due to some body art, you may be hearing about him quite a bit more. The Ohio native, Saling, was fighting on the Tate vs. Rousey undercard against fellow Ohio native and fan favorite, Roger Bowling, with both fighters taking the fight on short notice.
It’s been 15 months since anyone has seen Josh Thomson in a cage. The oft injured fighter was back on the main card at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey to face off with the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion, KJ Noons, in a fight that may have title implications for the future.
After all of the trash talk, and all of the drama leading up to the monumental clash between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey, fans were split as to who would emerge victorious in their match-up. Would it be the seasoned champion Tate, who held the experience edge and overall toughness? Or would the Olympic judo bronze medalist, with fewer fights, back up her world-class grappling pedigree?
The trash talking is all but over between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey and the two ladies will settle their squabble inside the Strikeforce cage. The women’s bantamweight title is on the line tonight, but before that happens, Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis will fight on the night’s preliminary card to determine the number one contender and next in line for whomever walks away with the belt.
Both Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey have done an excellent job selling their bantamweight championship bout that will be headlining tonight’s Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey card. All the trash talking wasn’t just for show and selling tickets though, as you can see that the champion genuinely doesn’t care for the challenger. When the two ladies went face to face at the weigh-ins, they literally went “face to face”.
The fighters for tonights’s Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey card stepped onto the scales last night in Columbus, Ohio. All 18 fighters made weight and will begin stepping into the cage tonight at 8pm ET / PT for the preliminary card that will be airing on Showtime Extreme. The night main card will start at 10pm ET / PT time and is headlined by the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title bout between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
Not since Cyborg vs. Carano has a female fight generated this kind of hype, yet here we are with a major female MMA bout. There has been a tremendous war of words between many fighters on this card and some of these fights could be straight-up magical. This is also one of the best betting cards we’ve seen in a long time, so let’s be sharp and hit a few of these gems for all they’re worth.
