Strikeforce: Diaz Vs. Cyborg Main Card Breakdown

Posted by Dylan Horner (Staff Writer)

Jan 25

This Saturday, January 29^th, Strikeforce returns to its home to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Not only will the Welterweight Championship be up for grabs, the Middleweight championship will be on the line as well. However, with the upcoming first round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix next month, not as much advertisementhas been given to this card thus far. The main card features four bouts that will be shown on live the Showtime , below is a breakdown those four main card fights.

The first bout that will open up the broadcast is a Light Heavyweight bout featuring submission expert Roger Gracie (3-0) and MMA veteran Trevor “The South African Hammer” Prangley (23-6-1). Although Gracie has only three MMA fights, they were each against known veterans and he is the most accomplished BJJ practitioner in the entire world. Prangley holds notable victories over big names such as Chael Sonnen and, most recently, Keith Jardine. Gracie has yet to reach the third round, but with a guy that is as well-rounded as Prangley, he may not be able to pull off a submission as easily as he has in his previous three fights.

The second fight of the night is a Heavyweight contest between physical anomaly, Herschel Walker (1-0) and former IFC and WEC fighter Scott Carson (4-1). Originally scheduled to go down on the December 4^th card, but Walker was forced to pull out after sustaining a cut in training. Now, barring any last-minute injuries, the two will finally meet and Walker will get the chance to silence the critics once again. Having received a lot of criticism for getting into MMA so late in life, Walker encourages anybody who doesn’t think he is taking it seriously to come train with him and find out first hand.

The Co-Main event of the evening is a Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (13-2-1) and number on contender “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (20-6-1). Souza is making his first title defense since defeating Tim Kennedy to claim it after Jake Shields vacated the title to sign with the UFC. Lawler earned his title shot after he dramatically knocked out Matt Lindland last month. This fight will be a classic Striker vs. Grappler match and whoever can stick to their game plan better will walk out of the HP Pavilion as the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

The Main Event of the evening features Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz (23-7-1) defending his belt against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (18-13). In his last defense, Diaz out struck KJ Noons for five rounds and easily picked up a unanimous decision. Santos dropped down to Welterweight for his last fight and convincingly knocked out Marius Zaromskis, earning himself a title shot. For months, Nick Diaz had been involved in a back and forth battle between Jason “Mayhem” Miller regarding a fight between the two. To make a long story short, Diaz didn’t want to take a fight with Mayhem because he “didn’t gain anything from it”. With him being the Welterweight champion, Diaz didn’t want to move up a weight class if it wasn’t for a title and they couldn’t come to terms or a Catchweight limit. However, if Cyborg were to beat Diaz, the fight with Mayhem could come back out on to the table. With Diaz’s speed, Cyborg’s power and twenty-three combined knock out victories between them, this fight could be very exciting and one you don’t want to miss.

With two championship fights, a former National football star, and a world-renowned grappler all on one card, you can expect the night to be very entertaining. Make sure you tune in to Showtime on Saturday night at 10PM ET/PT and be prepared for a night full of action. Also make sure to visit the predictions section and leave a comment with your predictions for the night’s fights.