Caros Fodor drove his win streak to four and his overall record to 11-3 after a decisive unanimous decision victory over James Terry on Friday night. Fodor remained in control for most of the night though he did have to survive a late flurry from Terry who managed to work his way into half guard and unleash some ground and pound. The rest of the fight however saw Fodor continually be more aggressive with the striking and more apt to move forward. The final scores read 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
The real headline from this show may be the fact that Ryan Couture, son of Randy, was defeated for the first time in his pro career at the hands of undefeated prospect Matt Ricehouse. Every scorecard read 29-28 and Couture’s one round was the opening frame that saw him squeak out a victory. After that it was all Ricehouse who used a mixed bag of striking and takedowns to easily capture the final two rounds and ultimately the fight.
The fighter with perhaps the most upside in Lorenzo Larkin who lost the first round but then came back to win the last two. He remains undefeated with 11 pro wins and will certainly be looking for a higher caliber of opponent after this win. He was very effective at neutralizing his opponent, Gian Villante, through leg kicks and jabs to win the favor of the judges.
In the first ever woman’s match contested under Zuffa Julia Budd made a successful return to Strikeforce against Germaine de Randamie in a rather dry fight that was none too popular in Kent, Washington. Budd decided to practice her wrestling game and while it may have bored the local audience it was enough to secure a unanimous 29-28 victory. The other televised fight saw UFC vet Jason High shut out the highly touted Quinn Mulhern. After clearly winning the first two rounds High went with a conservative lay and pray offense in the final round and it worked out well for him as all three judges gave him all three rounds.
This marked the last Strikeforce Challengers card to be held outside of The Palms in Las Vegas which is where Zuffa has announced all subsequent Challengers cards will originate from.
