Strikeforce Main Card Results: Rousey Armbars Her Way To Bantam Title

Ronda Rousey’s first armbar didn’t finish Miesha Tate Saturday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, but you had a feeling the second would, and it did, crowning “Rowdy” Ronda as the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion via first round submission. See the recap

“I came here to put on a fight,” said Tate. “I didn’t like her so I wanted to come out here and come out hard. I got a little overzealous, she caught the arm. I do respect her as an athlete.”

Tate came out swinging, and not surprisingly, Rousey responded with a takedown. The expected armbar followed, and while it looked to hyperextended, Tate fought off the submission attempt, and with the crowd roaring, the champion got loose and took Rousey’s back. Rousey tried to slam her way out of trouble, but Tate wouldn’t let go. Midway through the round, Rousey got loose and the two locked up against the fence and then on the mat. After breaking, the fighters traded briefly before Rousey scored with a throw. Rousey transitioned into the mount and then took Tate’s back before moving back and securing the armbar again. This time, despite much resistance from Tate, she eventually had no choice but to tap, bringing a halt to the bout at 4:27 of the opening round.

“She’s good, she’s legit, but I don’t feel too bad about it,” said Rousey of the finish. It was the first time she had gone past 57 seconds in a bout, pro or amateur. Watch Rousey's post-fight interview

With the win, Rousey improves to 5-0; Tate, who was making the first defense of her title, falls to 12-3

THOMSON vs. NOONS
In his first bout since December of 2010, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson returned to the cage and may have earned a rubber match against the promotion’s current 155-pound boss, Gilbert Melendez, scoring a solid, yet unspectacular three round unanimous decision over KJ Noons.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Thomson, who was sidelined by injury for the last 15 months. See Thomson's post-fight interview

A front kick to the face from Thomson (19-4, 1 NC) got Noons’ attention as soon as the bout started, and “The Punk” showed little sign of cage rust as he stayed busy and potshotted his opponent. Thomson had to fight for a takedown two minutes in, but he eventually got it, adding to his scoring tally.  The action stalled on the mat, but Thomson remained in control, as Noons couldn’t find a way to get back to his feet.

Noons (10-4) showed more urgency in his attack to start the second, and while a Thomson slip gave him a good opportunity to capitalize on, Thomson got out of trouble with little difficulty, with a takedown following seconds later. Noons still had no answers for Thomson’s control on the ground, and you could see the frustration on his face. On the other side, Thomson was working just enough to keep the bout from getting stood up, but with two minutes left, referee Keith Peterson did restart the bout. Noons, now bleeding from over the left eye, tried to force the action, scoring with some uppercuts, but Thomson put him on the seat of his pants for the rest of the frame.

Looking to turn things around, Noons’ aggression led him into another takedown by Thomson, and this time, he almost got finished by an arm triangle choke. Noons rode out the submission attempt, but Thomson took his back and then got on top, where he drilled his foe with hammerfists that put more points in the bank and ultimately, more than he needed for the victory.

MISAKI vs. DALEY

PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix champion Kazuo Misaki returned to the Strikeforce cage for the first time since 2009 and he picked up where he left off after his win over Joe Riggs more than two years ago, taking a split decision victory over British bomber Paul “Semtex” Daley.

Scores were 30-27, 29-28, and 28-29 for Misaki, who improves to 25-11-2 with 1 NC; Daley falls to 29-12-2.

There was little significant scoring in the opening two minutes as both fighters tried to find their range, and it was Misaki drawing first blood with a quick takedown to open the third minute. Daley got up fairly quickly, but Misaki’s confidence was growing as he fired off hard and fast shots at Daley, even jarring him briefly as the round progressed. In response, Daley actually shot for a takedown with 40 seconds left and got it, finally getting on the scoreboard.

Misaki’s speed and willingness to trade kept paying off in the second, leaving Daley off-balance and throwing haymakers to try to keep the Japanese veteran at bay. Daley did score another takedown, but his ground strikes were sporadic and doing little damage. In the late stages of the round, Daley took Misaki’s back briefly, but Misaki reversed position and stood in Daley’s guard until referee Jerry Krzys re-started the action in the closing seconds.

Daley’s third takedown of the fight in the third round provided his greatest chance for victory, as he was able to open a nasty cut over Misaki’s left eye while the two were on the mat. A check with the cageside physician kept Misaki in the fight, and “The Hitman” marched forward, taking a hard kick to the face but refusing to move back off as he stalked. A tired Daley got another brief takedown, but he couldn’t do anything with it as Misaki got to his feet and kept the pressure on until the final bell.

SAYERS vs. SMITH

Middleweight up and comer Lumumba Sayers handed veteran Scott Smith his fourth consecutive loss, submitting “Hands of Steel” just 94 seconds into their bout.

Sayers (6-2) opened up his scoring with a couple strikes before taking Smith to the mat. Sayers let Smith get up, only to slam him back to the canvas. Smith (18-10, 1 NC) looked for a choke as he went down, but it was Sayers who fought loose and sunk in his own guillotine choke, prompting an end to the bout via tap out at the 1:34 mark. Hear from Sayers after the win

SOUZA vs. MARUNDE

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza got back in the win column in his first bout since losing his belt to Luke Rockhold last September, submitting Bristol Marunde in the third round of the main card. Watch the post-fight interview with Souza

Souza took his time to start off the bout, working his standup before taking Marunde down to the mat a little more than two minutes gone. While on Marunde’s back, Souza fired off strikes, but shots to the back of the head prompted referee Keith Peterson to call a stop to the action to issue a warning. Having lost the dominant position, Souza wasn’t rattled, especially not after a right hand dropped Marunde with 1:40 left. Souza looked for the submission finish, but the Las Vegan was able to make it out of the round.

“Jacare” mixed up his striking to open up the second, and he was successful, hurting his foe and taking him down the canvas. Marunde shot back up quickly, but he was unable to get any sort of offense going against the Brazilian, who easily put another round in the bank.

After getting two rounds of work in, Souza closed the show in the third, taking Marunde down and eventually sinking in the arm triangle choke that made his foe tap out at 2:43 of the third round.

With the win, Souza ups his record to 15-3, 1 NC; Marunde falls to 12-7.