10 Thoughts On…Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Dan Henderson

10 Thoughts, News, Reviews

Saturday night, Strikeforce presented their latest event from Columbus, OH featuring a headlining title bout between Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Dan Henderson. There were 3 other great fights on the card, but don’t just take our word for it.

Check out Inside Fights’ “10 Thoughts On…Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Dan Henderson” for quick thoughts and commentary.

An Inside Pulse "original", SMS is one of the founding members of Inside Pulse and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer on the Executive Board. Smith is a fan of mixed martial arts and runs two sections of IP as Editor in Chief, RadioExile.com and InsideFights.com. Having covered music festivals around the world as well as conducting interviews with top-class professional wrestlers and musicians, he switched gears from music coverage at Radio Exile to MMA after the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale. He resides with his wife in New York City.


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With Strikeforce presenting their latest event from Columbus, OH, there’s a lot that can’t necessarily be said in our commentary. In order to get those thoughts out into the “ether,” I am putting out a quick “10 Thoughts On…” to show you all what I am thinking about tonight.

1. Showtime’s production is always really good on these events…when Gus isn’t there. Pat Miletich is awesome on commentary, but having to look at Frank Shamrock’s braces creeps me out. He’s a nice dude, just saying.

2. Billy Evangelista just gave up too much of a reach advantage to Jorge Masvidal and wasn’t able to get inside and execute his takedowns. Without those, there was no ground and pound and, well, no win. Adios to his undefeated streak.

3. Marloes Coenen looks like a prettier Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. I would probably kick it to her. Also, she’s a tremendous fighter who would beat my ass for trying to “kick it to her.”

4. Tim Kennedy looked great winning over a very strong Melvin Manhoef. He ate a HUGE leg kick in the first round that I thought was going to rupture his MCL, but he worked through and won via submission. He’s also the first person that we’ve interview on MMA 24/7 that has won in his next fight. The streak wasn’t long, but man, I am definitely glad that it is over.

5. Thus far, Strikeforce’s women’s matches have come off very one-sided, but this encounter with Coenen-Carmouche has the potential to be much better.

6. Great comeback by Marloes Coenen, who was dominated for two rounds. She was mounted and pounded badly, but was able to rebound and gain a very slick triangle choke in round 4. Great to see her retain and I grew to really respect Liz Carmouche in the process. That lady is tough.

7. Is Dan Henderson really 40? Damn, I feel old. I remember when he had just started and didn’t shave his head. Wife thinks he’s still very good looking, but what matters most here now is what Will said on MMA 24/7 this week, “if it is over in under (2 minutes), Henderson will win this.”

8. Through 2 rounds, Dan Henderson looked very strong. Whether he will wilt against the BJJ black belt (like he’s done against Feijao’s Blackhouse teammates the Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva), remains to be seen).

9. Calling something “The H-Bomb” is stupid. The dude already has a ton of nicknames already (“Hollywood,” “Hendo,” “Dangerous”) and we don’t need to name his moves. They are REALLY trying to hammer this idea down our throats, eh?

10. WOW. Dan Henderson KOs Rafael “Feijao” with a big right hand. Um, maybe that’s why they want us to call it that? Good punch, for sure. Feijao is now the fourth Light Heavyweight champion to lose in his first title defense (Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Gegard Mousasi, “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal were before him), and that’s not a good sign. It doesn’t illustrate the depth of the division; more than anything else, this loss shows that several unproven fighters were pushed into situations they weren’t truly prepared for (King Mo, Mousasi) and Strikeforce FINALLY got the result that they wanted with Henderson finally winning gold in their organization. After the “Fedor debacle” at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, they needed him to win tonight and he delivered.

Good night everybody!

An Inside Pulse "original", SMS is one of the founding members of Inside Pulse and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer on the Executive Board. Smith is a fan of mixed martial arts and runs two sections of IP as Editor in Chief, RadioExile.com and InsideFights.com. Having covered music festivals around the world as well as conducting interviews with top-class professional wrestlers and musicians, he switched gears from music coverage at Radio Exile to MMA after the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale. He resides with his wife in New York City.