(Props: MMA Scraps)
What up, guys? I just got back from shooting some footage at the Strikeforce press conference, which I’ll be sharing with you on Monday. The basic gist of the Q+A session was: Joe Riggs and Scott Smith had to go to the hospital after their fights, Andrei Arlovski just didn’t feel like sticking around, Jake Shields has made up his mind that he’s not going to give Joe Riggs the time of day, Nick Diaz doesn’t consider Cung Le to be an important opponent, and Brett Rogers is just gonna keep doin’ work. (Direct quote.) Plus, Brett Rogers told me the secret to his KO power, I chatted with Gilbert Melendez about his preparation for his rematch with Josh Thomson, and Nick Diaz provided me with an exclusive rant. In the meantime, video of the Rogers/Arlovski knockout is above, and video of the Diaz/Smith scrap is after the jump. Talk soon…
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Comments
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:02
thanks for the vids cagepotato.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:06
Yeah, good stop, clearly no "what the fuck, man?" Arlovski was out with the last right, but damn, the punches that first stunned him didn't look that crisp or clean.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:24
wheres the lawler/shields fight?
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:41
Diaz is actually starting to look like a welterweight. I know the fight was a catch-weight but he looks like he's been growing between each fight. Loved his fight too. I feel so bad for Arlovski.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 01:18
Is it me or is Nick Diaz' punches odd? I mean it just looks like he goes in slow motion but then you see the cats head snap back so they are kinda hard. but Smith didn't look like he was trying to dodge or is Diaz that good to make Smith look like he's stuck on stupid? Well it was still awesome to watch. Thanks cp for the vids.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 01:19
Jesus, I feel so bad for Arlovski too -- honestly. The look on his face after the fight was heart breaking. He was barely holding back his tears. But Arlovski didn't go after it. He seemed like he was so eager to stick to his game-plan that he lost his aggressiveness. Brett Rogers sensed that and he pounced. Strikeforce and Showtime, as the announcers said again and again, put on a great card. The UFC better watch out
Sun, 06/07/09 - 01:20
By the way never thought Grimm could do that to AA. I still on the fence with Grimm even after that fight.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 01:25
@ Effin_P_Roof Nick Diaz generally doesn't throw haymakers. Unlike many other skilled strikers in MMA, he never knocks his opponents out with a single punch. Instead, Diaz throws a barrage of accurate punches to the head and body. I think these punches have several effects: (1) the blows to the head daze his opponent and slow the opponent's reaction time; (2) the blows to the body are painful and also slow the opponent's reaction time; and (3) the variety of strikes confuse his opponent and cripple his defense. We saw all of this going on in the fight. And once Diaz took Smith down, Smith was too tired, bruised, and dazed to defend himself.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 01:43
There are only a few fighters who look better every single time you see them, and I think Diaz is one of those. If he can stop taunting fighters who are going to come after him anyway, and save that for opponents who want to stay out of range, he'll get hit just that little bit less. Very impressed with his form of late. How much of his improvement comes down to how often he fights? Do people think it makes that much difference?
Sun, 06/07/09 - 02:05
fish shit
Sun, 06/07/09 - 02:32
Yeah Arlovski looked like someone just shot his dog in the cage I was feeling for him and still shocked that Brett Rogers of all people. Maybe the pitbull has had to many KO's and is just easier to put down then he use to be. Still shocked probably the big upset of the year so far. From pouncing on Fedor to being rundown by a green novice fucking brutal turnaround this was.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 02:56
Randleman was disappointing. I was very impressed with his wrestling counters/reversals (if not his takedown defense) in the first round. After that it was complete shite. You can tell that him and Coleman have trained together from the lack of endurance.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 03:21
Arlovski reminds me of Van Damme in Universal Soldier in that millions of dollars have gone into training him and making him a badass, so he should really be performing better than that. I also, feel bad for him though. Really crazy fights, I can't wait to see more Diaz fights, that guy is definitely in his prime.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 03:57
Gotta love Diaz. Anyone who beats the #1 ranked lightweight (at the time) and then has the win taken away because of marijuana is A-OK in my books.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 05:05
hahah I think Arlovski is in the new Universal Soldier movie!
Sun, 06/07/09 - 05:45
Arlovski is gifted and driven, but you cant train a chin. Maybe it's time for him to open a serious gym, find a young prodigy, and train HIM to be the next champ. I think even the biggest AA fans now agree, the comeback is over.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 05:55
If Scott Smith keeps this up he'll be on the express train to Punch Drunk Land, and I'm now convinced that Arlovski's chin is made of Softserve Ice Cream.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 06:31
I didn't even remember that when I was writing.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 07:09
@Art Gib Robbie Lawler disagrees with you.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 07:44
and I dont give a shit what anyone else thinks but I think Nick Diaz is a fucking douchebag.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 08:18
You might think Nick Diaz is a douchebag, but he is skilled and intelligent. He doesn't get clocked in his open stance because he has good defense-- good torso and head movement, checks leg kicks, and has decent footwork to use range and cage distance. He also has at least two reasons to want fans to like him: popularity is directly linked to pay rate, and no matter who you are you'd rather heard fans cheering and commenting on the web about your greatness, instead of booing and writing that you suck. But I think Nick is pretty smart in and out of the cage, at least now in 2009.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 08:40
I can't believe how wasted Smith looked at some points but kept on taking shots. Had to be out on his feet. Diaz style is like Machida and Evans didn't fight, they had a baby.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 10:16
@ Art Gibs I get it now. Thanks for the response.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 10:31
Swimming with Idiots, you nailed the Rogers pick last night. Kudos. Arlovski's loss bummed me out for the rest of the evening. I didn't realize how much of a Pitbull fan I was. Diaz looked unbeatable again, but I am getting the impression that he is a big fish in a small pond. Strikeforce needs to up his competition. Who, I don't know.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 11:43
Feels good droppin 40 bucks on Rogers. =P
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:44
BJM gets credit for a great textbook stoppage.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 12:57
First things first, Nick Diaz really is the shit. He may be a punk but he backs it up and fucks up all his opposition. His punching is so unorthodox, weird angles and constantly putting his hands in your face. His chin is damn good too cuse Scott Smith is a way way stronger puncher but he was just overwhelmed by Diaz's relentless pace. All Diaz needed was all of 2 seconds on the ground to choke out Smith and its dunzo. Fucking bad ass fight. As for Brett Rogers and Arlovski, i was suprised but not really. Brett's wife is hood rat central hahah oh wow.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 03:04
I think Arlovski's probably finished at this point. His spirit just seems broke and he doesn't have the motivation anymore.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 03:10
We now know why arlovski sports a beard: he knocks himself out shaving. Ba dum ching!!!!! Seriously though, how was anyone surprised by this? I am still mad at myself for not betting on this fight. Was pretty much the only main card I was sure about.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 03:53
BLEH @ last night's fights. Wanted to see Smith take that shit in decisive fashion, alas... it was not to be. Rogers cleaned up pretty quick though.. that was crazy.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 04:55
Diaz is My Homeboy... Arlovski just got unlucky...There's about 20 comments on here all about his "Chin". Wrong! Chin had nothing to do with it. When You get hit in the head by Rogers you fall over. end of story. Arlovski needs to work on defense, especially head movement and stop getting tagged by every opponents power shots. Anyway i'll BET right now that Arlovski got paid more than anyone on that whole card for 20 seconds work so hey...dont feel TOO sorry for him! Rogers is looking like a big fish in a small pond.. Diaz is looking like fucking JAWS
Sun, 06/07/09 - 05:31
yeah, you're right dude, his chin is top notch.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 05:47
arlovski does have a suspect chin, but i imagine rogers would have knocked out most people with that particular onslaught. i'm noticing that the ww class seems to be the marquee group of fighters in strikeforce.
Sun, 06/07/09 - 08:34
As others have said, strikeforce put on a good card! i was very impressed and found all the fights etertaining!
Sun, 06/07/09 - 08:59
Diaz is the shit. Im goin up to stockton this summer for a month and I wanna see if he wants to burn some crip.
Mon, 06/08/09 - 08:24
@ Ironclad While I am not the President of The Grim Fanclub, I think bagging on his wife is out of line; she's been with him while he's been putting his dues in via the gym and for crappy Sam's Club pay. Can't blame her for being excited.
Tue, 06/09/09 - 06:59
First: The stoppage of the Arlovski fight is a PERFECT example of a good referee. He saw Arlovski's eyes roll back in his head and saved him from certain brain damage. Sure, Arlovski was awake when the fight got stopped, but only just barely, another dead-on shot from Rogers could have killed him. Kudos to Big John(a.k.a the best referee in MMA today), I think Yves needs to take a couple lessons from him. Second: What people don't understand about Nick Diaz's punches are that they do the EXACT same amount of damage as a heavy shot. Let me explain. Small, pitter patter punches snap the head around just as much as heavy shots, the difference is you can throw 4 or 5 of those pitter patter shots in the same amount of time as 2 of those wallowing haymakers. And scientific studies have shown that less powerful, but repeated shots to the head are just as capable of knocking someone out as heavy, lumbering blows. tl;dr: Big John is the fucking man, Nick Diaz's pitter patter punches are just as effective, if not more so than heavier punches.
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