Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy | Results **Spoiler**

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:03

Main card (Showtime at 10 p.m. ET)
Luke Rockhold def. Tim Kennedy via unanimous decision
Nate Marquardt def. Tyron Woodley via fourth-round KO
Roger Gracie def. Keith Jardine via unanimous decision
Lorenz Larkin def. Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision

Undercard (Showtime Extreme at 8 p.m. ET)
Pat Healy def. Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision
Ryan Couture def. Joe Duarte via split decision
Jorge Masvidal def. Justin Wilcox via split decision
Jordan Mein def. Tyler Stinson via unanimous decision
Jason High def. Nate Moore via submission (guillotine)

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:05

Ryan Couture Beats Joe Duarte In Split-Decision

Even when you're the son of a UFC Hall of Famer, success is hard-earned in the cage. That's certainly true for Ryan Couture, who overcame a shaky first round to defeat Joe Duarte at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.

Duarte came out full steam early on with heavy strikes, and seemed as though he'd have a fairly easy day at the office. But slowly but surely, Couture began to change momentum with his pacing and tenacity, and by the end, Duarte was exhausted while Couture had won over two of the only three people that mattered.

In a split decision, Couture took the victory by 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 scores.

After a good start by Duarte, Couture started taking over around midway through the second round.

In fact, he had the best chance of the two to finish the fight when he took Duarte down near the cage, looked for a choke and ended the round in mount throwing punches. Duarte fended off most of the big offense, and more importantly, defended the choke, but it was probably enough to steal the round for Couture.

The third was more of the same for Couture, who out-struck Duarte 62-31 according to stats provided by Showtime.

It was the third straight win for Couture, who improved to 5-1. His victory also snapped a five-fight win streak for Duarte, who dropped to 10-3.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:06

Pat Healy Avoids Upset, Beats Mizuto Hirota

Many people felt Pat Healy deserved the next shot at Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Healy instead took a fight with Mizuto Hirota, and now he'll have to wait and see if his performance impressed decision-makers enough to warrant a title opportunity.

Hirota, fairly unknown to U.S. audience though he is the lightweight champion in Japan's DEEP organization, certainly came to fight. He forced Healy to revert to his grinding style, and Healy was able to escape with a hard-fought 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.

Hirota got off to a good start in the first, taking Healy down and establishing his toughness, and Healy wasn't able to make immediate adjustments as Hirota was able to keep walking his way into a clinch where he had success scoring takedowns. He also did well in the standup, landing several power strikes per round.

Healy finally seemed to figure things out midway through, getting a takedown and working Hirota over a bit.

Even still, Hirota had his moments, repeatedly landing a powerful left hook.

The judges had to choose between Healy's activity vs. Hirota's effectiveness, and the former apparently won out. While Healy out-struck Hirota 93-57 overall, Hirota landed more power strikes, landing 32 to Healy's 24.

The win was the fifth consecutive for Healy, who is now 28-16.

Hirota had come in winning four of five, but the loss dropped him to 14-5-1.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:07

Lorenz Larkin Beats Robbie Lawler

On a night where Strikeforce's middleweight championship was up for grabs, the promotion might have also found itself a new contender. Lorenz Larkin, fighting for the first time at 185 pounds, impressed in his divisional debut, out-classing Robbie Lawler on the way to a unanimous decision win at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.

All three judges tallied it for Larkin by 30-27 scores.

"I'm just happy," Larkin said. "I stood up with Strikeforce's most deadliest striker and I went all three rounds with him."

Larkin passed an early test in the fight when Lawler hurt him in the first round with a lead right hook that had Larkin stumbling around. He bombed Larkin with heavy strikes looking for the finish, but Larkin was able to initiate a clinch and weather the storm, and he quickly rebounded with a takedown into some hard ground strikes. Lawler made it back to his feet, but Larkin did good work, particularly in the clinch, where he landed uppercuts and knees to steal the round.

Invigorated by his first-round survival, Larkin came out quickly in the second with a series of kicks. He hurt Lawler with a right and performed well throughout the round, eventually cutting Lawler with a head kick.

Perhaps sensing he was behind, Lawler pressed the action early in the third, but after some early success, Larkin reversed momentum and Lawler seemed to run out of gas, relying on single strikes rather than mixing things up. By the end, Larkin had badly bloodied Lawler's face and the conclusion was no longer in doubt.

Larkin, who was fighting for the firs time since his no-decision against Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, is now 13-0 with 1 no contest. Lawler's record fell to 19-9 with 1 no contest.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:08

Roger Gracie Wins Middleweight Debut Over Keith Jardine

Roger Gracie's maiden voyage into the middleweight division was successful. The Brazilian went the distance for the first time in his career, and used his takedowns and dominant mat work to grind out a clear decision over veteran Keith Jardine at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.

The judges scored it in his favor 29-27, 30-27, 30-26.

"I'm very happy," he said. "I was able to do my game plan."

Gracie got the fight to his desired position within the fight's opening minute, using Jardine's momentum against him to take the fight to the mat. Gracie scored with numerous strikes from the top, then achieved full mount and blasted Jardine with elbows that left him with multiple cuts.

Still, Jardine survived the round. Unfortunately for him, the second round was more of the same, as he charged his way into a takedown and spent the rest of the round fighting for survival, with Gracie completely dominating him on the ground, alternating between throwing strikes and searching for submissions.

Jardine's best round came in the third as Gracie seemed to have tired out a bit from his efforts at finishing the fight. Jardine landed from the outside and stayed away from Gracie's clinch, and keeping the fight on the feet certainly helped him, but after the first two rounds, he needed a finish and he couldn't get it, as Gracie got the judges' nod.

Gracie is now 5-1 after rebounding from his first career loss to Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal when he was competing at light-heavyweight.

Jardine is now 17-11-2. Since May 2007, Jardine has won only four of 14 fights.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:09

Nate Marquardt KO's Tyron Woodley to Win Welterweight Title

The resurrection of Nate Marquardt is complete.

The former UFC contender reinvented himself as a Strikeforce welterweight, and now he can add "champion" to his list of descriptors after knocking out Tyron Woodley at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.

Marquardt let out his pent-up frustration with a vicious fourth-round finish. It was a standing elbow strike that rocked Woodley first, and he followed with a series of monster strikes that sent Woodley crashing to the ground, slumped against the cage. Marquardt knew the fight was over and began walking away before the referee even stepped in, celebrating with a handstand/backflip combination.

The finish came at 1:39 of the round.

It is Marquardt's first championship since holding the Pancrase crown back in 2005.

"It's a dream come true," said Marquardt. "But when I go home to my family, I'm a champ every day."

The first round was action-packed, with both men landing huge strikes early on. Woodley scored first with a solid right that staggered Marquardt. Not long afterward, Marquardt answered as Woodley turned to a southpaw stance, and hurt him with a right that sent Woodley to the mat.

The second was mostly a kickboxing contest, with Marquardt the aggressor taking the center of the cage. Marquardt landed the crisper, cleaner shots and likely sealed the round with a late takedown.

It seemed at that point that Marquardt had the momentum to stay, but Woodley came out with an explosion to begin the third, backing Marquardt up and dropping him with a right hand behind the ear. Woodley unloaded in hunting a finish, but the savvy Marquardt was able to tie him up and survive the onslaught.

It turned out that it was Woodley's last stand, as Marquardt finished things off in the fourth.

"I tell you what, T-Wood is one tough dude," he said. "He was a lot more game when I started catching him than I thought. He's one tough dude."

Marquardt hadn't fought since March 2011 after being suspended due to an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone level. He was subsequently fired by the UFC. Afterward, he revealed that he had been on testosterone replacement therapy.

In his first fight back, Marquardt said he was no longer on the treatment, but won without it.

The new Strikeforce welterweight champion is now 32-10-2.

Woodley lost for the first time in his career, dropping to 10-1.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:10

Luke Rockhold Retains Middleweight Belt, Beats Tim Kennedy

It's been a middleweight kind of week. Seven days ago, we watched Anderson Silva finally put Chael Sonnen in his rearview mirror. On Wednesday, blue-chip prospect Chris Weidman announced himself as a credible title threat. And on Saturday night, it was Luke Rockhold's turn to take the spotlight.

The Strikeforce middleweight champion didn't disappoint. He shut down Tim Kennedy's vaunted grappling game and out-struck the challenger en route to a decision win.

The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, 49-46 for Rockhold.

As always, Kennedy was game. The former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier tried to impose his physical strength in taking the fight to the mat, but Rockhold resisted most of his attempts.

During the five-round main event, Rockhold out-struck him in the standup portion of the bout, using his reach to land his favorite punch, the right hook.

According to stats provided by Showtime, Rockhold only held a slight advantage in total strikes landed, with 60-57. However, 42 of Kennedy's landed strikes were kicks, which often don't factor as highly in the eyes of judges, particularly leg kicks, which are considered more like jabs.

Rockhold more than doubled up Kennedy on power strikes, 34-16.

"I could've let a couple combinations go," Rockhold said afterward in critiquing his own performance. "He does some funky stuff. It' s hard to let things go when you know he's going to shoot."

One of his keys to victory was defending the takedown. Kennedy was successful on only two of eight tries, robbing him of his most likely route to victory.

"It was one of the main focuses of my camp," he said. "He's a great wrestler, so tenacious. What he lacks in technique, he makes up for in lack and desire. I knew I couldn't get stale."

Rockhold had his best moments in the fourth, when he floored Kennedy with a right hook and followed on the mat with ground strikes, but the durable Kennedy showed his impressive recuperative abilities by getting to his feet just moments later.

Rockhold is now 10-1, while Kennedy falls to 14-4.

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:29

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:29

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:29

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:30

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:30

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 07:30

**carlo1** · 15-07-2012, 08:53

hele toffe ko van marquardt, zo zie je ze zelden

**Justinian** · 15-07-2012, 09:07

Thanks Kemal!

**Jeru** · 15-07-2012, 13:45

Originally Posted by carlo1

hele toffe ko van marquardt, zo zie je ze zelden

Hele mooie inderdaad. Leuke partij ook. Overigens zijn ze erg groot voor 170. Dacht dat ik naar een 185 partij zat te kijken

**thijss** · 15-07-2012, 15:23

Wow, echt een hele mooie en keiharde KO van Marquardt! Lawler viel me tegen, jammer..

**T15Boxing** · 15-07-2012, 16:11

verbaast me dat roger gracie geen sub kon vinden

**Kemal** · 15-07-2012, 19:11

**Tony** · 15-07-2012, 20:14

Prachtwinst van Nate Marquardt. Topknokker die hier niet thuis hoort.... hij hoort in de UFC waar ik hem nogmaals tegen Anderson Silva wil zien knokken.

Zijn KO's tegen o.a. Gouveia en Maia waren master!!!