MMA Valor was live in the arena for Strikeforce Challengers 16 in the Showare Arena in Kent, WA for all the action as Strikeforce and Showtime presented an interesting night of MMA action

In the main event tonight at Strikeforce Challengers 16, Caros Fodor used consistent forward pressure, knees, punching  and a myriad of takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over Cung Le’s charge Jason Terry.   Jason Terry was able to put Fodor in some danger in the third frame, as he mounted and let fly with some damaging shots, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges who scored it (30-27, 30-27 and 29-28) all for Fodor.

After the fight Fodor, was hoping to step up in competition saying, “This is four in a row for me. I’d like to start fighting the contenders and working my way up.”

It will be interesting to see who Caros Fodor gets next.

Famous MMA offspring, Ryan Couture found the going a little tough tonight as he faced a very game and talented Matt Ricehouse in the evening’s co main event.  Ricehouse has been a pro fighter for less than two years, but now has a 5-0 record and is 3-0 inside the Strikeforce organization.  Matt Ricehouse was always pressing forward and never found himself in danger.

Ryan Couture couldn’t get going tonight and was met with lefts and rights, takedowns and knees throughout the fight leading to a frustrating decision loss.  Randy Couture was in town to corner his charge but even the Hall of Famer wasn’t enough to derail Matt Ricehouse.  In the end, Ryan Couture fell to 2-1 as a professional but will be back, most certainly.

Lorenz Larkin absolutely tore into Gian Villante’s legs with low kicks throughout the first two rounds of their fight doing noticeable damage.  This was an entertaining fight that saw Larkin grounded for the entirety of the first round, but landed some awesome kicks and knees to win the  next two rounds to take a clear unanimous decision.

Look up takedown in the dictionary and you’ll likely see a picture of Jason High.  He took submission specialist Quinn Mulhern down at will Friday night, smothering him, pressing him, and landing some ground and pound while winning a one sided decision.  This fight was all Jason High, and fought off all of the Mulhern’s submission attempts.

Julia Budd earned a sense of redemption tonight when she grinded out a decision victory over Germaine de Randamie in the opening fight of the main card.  The fight served as the first ever female battle under the Zuffa banner.  Budd suffered a badly swollen eye in the first frame, but it never slowed her as she used takedowns and a smothering top game to control the action.  The fight wasn’t astetically pleasing but it was a big win for Julia Budd who had lost a Muay Thai fight to Germaine previously.

MAIN CARD

Caros Fodor vs. James Terry via unanimous decision

Matt Ricehouse def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision

Lorenz Larkin def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision

Jason High def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision

Julia Budd def. Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision

PRELIMS

Derek Brunson def. Jeremy Hamilton via unanimous decision

Eduardo Pamplona def. Jerron Peoples via TKO

Trevor Smith def. Keith Berry via technical submission via an arm choke