Scott Smith Steals the Show at Strikeforce;s “Evolution”
Published by Jim Genia on December 20th, 2009 in Current Events

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Cung Le came into the bout an undefeated former Strikeforce middleweight champ, but he left with a smashed nose, a storybook of bumps and abrasions on his face, and a big, fat “L” on his record. At Strikeforce’s “Evolution”, lightweight champ Josh Thomson and interim champ Gilbert Melendez may have waged a five-round war, and highly-touted rookies Jacare and King Mo may have dominated, but ultimately the night belonged to the man who played the role of human punching bag, taking everything Le had before KOing the hell out of him. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith stole the show.

On paper, it was Le’s fight to lose. None have been able to match his level of stand-up prowess, and despite a layoff to pursue an acting career (which made him give up his belt without a single title defense), it was expected that Le would have his way with Smith, who is not known for getting out of the way of strikes. And for two and half rounds, it looked as if that assessment was correct. A spinning kick here, a spinning kick there, and Smith was stumbling or on his butt, at one point just covering up and absorbing a barrage of hammerfists. The UFC veteran survived, though, and in the latter part of the third round feinted with his right and landed with his left, starting a chain of pugilistic events that ended with Le flat on his stomach and referee “Big” John McCarthy pulling Smith off. It was, quite simply, an amazing turn of events.

In a definite candidate for “fight of the year”, Thomson and Melendez fought as if their lives depended on it (really, it was just for the Strikeforce crown). For all five rounds these two battled, Melendez clearly determined to make this one – a rematch of a bout Thomson had won convincingly – as one-sided as possible. He was pretty much successful, stifling every takedown attempt and coming out ahead in the exchanges, even when the taller Thomson stood in the pocket and threw every thing he had. From the opening frame to the last waning seconds they blasted each other, and though when time ran out there was no question Melendez had earned the decision, there was also no questioning the heart, intensity and determination of either fighter. After a performance like that, no one doubts there will be another rematch.

DREAM and Sengoku imports Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal both saw success in their respective Strikeforce debuts, with Jacare tying Matt Lindland in knots before tapping him out and King Mo putting a too-heavy Mike Whitehead to sleep with a fist full of fury. As expected, Jacare was all aces in the grappling department, handling the experienced Lindland like a black belt toying with a white belt. The end came by way of a first-round head-arm choke. The end in the Lawal/Whitehead pairing came when King Mo found the range on his right hand in the first round as well, an abrupt act of violence that sent the TUF castoff to the canvas, where King Mo delivered the ground-and-pound coup de grace.