Return of the 209

Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

If you weren’t already convinced of the prowess of Cesar Gracie fight team (209 being the gym’s area code), you should be now. Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz, their two Strikeforce title holders, both finished dangerous challengers in the first round at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley in March. Paul Daley proved his power by dropping the undroppable Diaz twice before falling due to the champion’s trademark attrition tactics with a few seconds left in the opening round. One fight prior, Melendez rocked the hard-hitting Tatsuya Kawajiri early and had him on the back foot until securing a ground ‘n’ pound finish at 3:14. You can’t stop the 209, son.

Fight for your right

Michael McDonald, UFC Fight Night 24

It was as much Michael McDonald’s dominance as it was Edwin Figueroa’s complete refusal to give in which made the two’s UFC 24 scrap so eye popping. On his feet, Figueroa gutted out trouble right off the bell and through much of the first round, while in the second he snuffed rear naked choke, armbar and triangle attempts. The obligatory bro’ hug to open the third, and consequent stand-up and grappling back and forth, cemented the bantamweights’ in-ring efforts as ‘Fight of the Night’. The promising McDonald eventually took the judges’ nod. The UFC will likely be offering the California fighter a little more than his standard $5,000 per fight when his contract comes up for renegotiation.

Most tearful victory

Shinya Aoki, Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

Japanese grappling sensation Shinya Aoki is an emotional chap at the best of times – it’s not unusual for the rainbow warrior to well up after a win – but with his homeland’s multiple natural disasters it was extra poignant this time. A first-round neck crank/rear naked choke victory over Lyle Beerbohm in March’s Strikeforce show clearly meant a great deal to ‘Tobikan Judan.’ Parading a banner for the ‘Fight For Japan’ movement post-tapout, Aoki provided a sobering but welcome contrast to the evening’s fisticuffs.

Most unexpected ending

Chan Sung Jung, UFC Fight Night 24

How unlikely that a revisit of the ‘Fight of the Decade’ stand-up brawl between Chan Sung Jung and Leonard Garcia would finish with not only a submission but the only twister tapout in UFC history. Their first encounter was a thrilling, if technically lacking, war with both men lugging heavy leather and Garcia the debated victor. The rematch at UFC Fight Night 24 was much the same until they hit the ground in the second and ‘The Korean Zombie’ wrapped Garcia up in a twister, securing the tap with one second remaining. Truly stranger than fiction. Throw them in there for the rubber match and we’ll probably get the Octagon’s first double knockout.

Best knockout

Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire, Bellator 39

Toby Imada, the man who secured Bellator’s first inverted triangle choke out – and won a 2009 FO World MMA Awards trophy for his effort – might have been on the receiving end of ‘Knockout of the Year 2011’. A brutal flying knee from Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire at Bellator 39 coaxed a chicken dance out of Imada halfway into the first round of their lightweight tournament fight, and a sequence of follow-up hooks from the explosive Brazilian put the American out cold. With another knockout over former WEC champ Rob McCullough in his previous scrap, this canine-named fighter is one to watch.

Fancy seeing you here

Keith Jardine, Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

Having spent 13 fights and nearly one half of his pugilistic career in the UFC, watching Keith Jardine scrapping it out in Strikeforce’s hexagonal ring was almost surreal. A late replacement for an injured Mike Kyle against Gegard Mousasi, the ‘Dean of Mean’ slugged out a gutsy performance. Jardine scraped a draw but was a bloody mess by the time his Dutch foe was finished with him. The back-and-forth battle was testament to why the UFC were so reluctant to let the big man go on at the end of a four-fight losing skid.

No, Sir. They’re saying ‘Boo-urns’

Dana White, Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

UFC president Dana White might get plenty of electronic haterade via Twitter, but rarely does MMA’s most powerful man receive it in person. Even wearing a Strikeforce T-shirt didn’t stop the boos raining onto a ringside White during the Diaz vs Daley event when his visage was projected onto the arena’s big screens. Despite his famously thick skin, the UFC head honcho looked a little taken aback by the reception. Apparently money (or purchasing America’s number-two MMA promotion) can’t buy you love.

Best knockout/acrobatics

Johny Hendricks, UFC Fight Night 24

The best part about Johny Hendricks’ ‘Knockout of the Night’ might have been the swan dive referee Mari Yamasaki was forced to perform over a prone TJ Waldburger. Not even two minutes into their UFC Fight Night 24 prelim bout, Hendricks stunned Waldburger after countering an outside leg kick with a heavy overhand left. One lunging left hook later and TJ crumpled to the mat. A merciful Yamasaki sprinted from the other side of the cage to prevent a further onslaught, which he did until his momentum caused him to fall over the downed welterweight. Classic ref slapstick.

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