(“Babalu, you old son of a bitch, I thought you were dead.” ”Maybe I was, Danny. Maybe I was.” Photos courtesy of Esther Lin/Strikeforce.)

(From left to right: Mike Kyle squares off with Bigfoot Silva’s massive cranium, Kelli Hutcherson stands out in a crowd, and this is going to sound really strange, but does that photo of Lawler and Lindland remind anybody else of those optical illusion face-drawings that show a different person when you look at them upside-down?)

Headlined by a rematch ten years in the making, and featuring a solid supporting cast of knockout artists, Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu could be the sleeper event of the year. The main card is about to kick off at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, and CagePotato contributor Matt Kaplan will be liveblogging it as quickly as his little fingers will allow. Round-by-round updates from the Showtime broadcast can be found after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and share your own thoughts in the comments section.

Here’s the opening promo; I love these for some reason, but Mauro may have lost me with “a decade ago.” And here are highlights of Carano, Fedor, Kung Le, Brett Rogers, Overeem, Frank Shamrock, Mayhem, Gil Melendez, Nick Diax, none of which will be fighting, but that’s ok, I guess.

Mauro rocking the beard, I see. Like it

Frank Shamrock is already sweating a bit. Pat Miletich talks Rings and Babalu’s motivation to avenge the loss to Hendo in Japan.

Who participates in the Text Polls?

Sorry for the technical difficulties, but I think we have everything under control.

I typed a whole bunch for Ovince St Preux vs. Benji Radach fight, but none of it came through. Oh well. Here’s what you missed: OSP is tall, lefty, and he completely controlled Radach, who mounted virtually no offense. OSP controlled the action, taking Radach’s back, riding him, and firing punches for three rounds. OSP earned the judges’ nod. Time for the big boys now.

Mike Kyle vs. Bigfoot Silva:
Silva has a major weight advantage here. Kyle fires some jabs. BIG RIGHT HAND DROPS BIGFOOT! Pounding! Hammer fists! Kyle is on top, still dropping fists, but Bigfoot is staying alive. Silva looks to sweep. More hammers from Kyle to that huge-ass head. Kyle is in Bigfoot’s guard, firing punches. Bigfoot seems relaxed. Big round for Kyle.

Rd 2: Bigfoot lands some of his own after a failed shot. Bigfoot drags Kyle down to the ground and starts firing. Kyle looks for the triangle. Bigfoot in side mount, knee on gut, locks in an anaconda. Kyle escapes, but Bigfoot is back in the mount. Punches, punches. punches. Kyle is done. Here’s Big John to end the damage.

Highlight of Babalu locker room interview: “I feenk dee key will be my speed and my hungry.”

Matt “The Law” Lindland vs. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler:
Lawler looks cool with the beard. Granite City is also a cool name. My dad: “I don’t like this fireworks shit.” Agreed.

Both men fire early, Lindland withstands a big left. Big right uppercut, big right cross and Lindland is DOWN! Game over. Damn.

Seeing Lindland down for that long is kinda unsettling. I hope he’s ok.

Up next, Paul Daley & Scott Smith…

Paul “Semtex” Daley vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith:
In the pre-fight interviews, Daley pronounces the “h” in “hit,” but not “him.” Fascinating.

Rd. 1: Kick from Daley to the legs. Smith jabs. More kicks from Daley to the lead leg. Smith is dropped from a combo, but is up. And hurt, it seems. Daley moves in. Daley is finding his range and getting his timing down. LEFT HOOK DROPS SMITH! Holy shit. Smith drops face down in highlight reel fashion. My goodness. Mauro is now talking about how Daley fulfilled Mauro’s tweet from earlier today. Daley calls out KJ Noons…and then Nick Diaz.

Halfway through the Tyrone Woodley interview with Heidi inside the cage, Showtime plays a replay of Daley KOing Smith. Weird.

Main event time, kids.

Who really votes in these text polls?

Side note: This card is being broadcast on the American Forces Network, and I’d like to thank the servicemen and women overseas, especially my brother and his boys in the 101st.

Babalu Sobral vs. Dan Henderson:
6″ reach advantage for Babalu could make things interesting. Just sayin’.

Rd. 1: The two clinch. Nice elbow from Hendo, who’s loading up the right. Hendo moves in and drops Babalu. Babalu tries to close the distance, but BIG RIGHT! And another. That’s a wrap. That was brutal. Babalu is on another planet right now.

OK, I’m off to watch the UFC card. Sorry for any technical delays. See you, guys.