Home Categories Miscellaneous The FightLockdown Forecast - Strikeforce: Los Angeles
The FightLockdown Forecast - Strikeforce: Los Angeles
Written by Miles Hackett   
Tuesday, 15 June 2010 23:10
Tomorrow night, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, Strikeforce brings us another night of interesting match-ups. Breaking down the four main card fights for you tonight are FLD’s Jamie Hughes, Joshua Taylor, and Jack Barrington. Find out what they foresee, after the break!


Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler

Jamie Hughes: This contest has the potential to be a great fight, both men have a reputation for putting on entertaining fights and hopefully they serve up another good one for us tomorrow night. The fight is at a catch-weight of 195 pounds and I feel this favors Sobral as the bigger man. In the stand-up, Lawler has the advantage due to his power, but Sobral will be able to hang in there for a short while. I think Sobral avoids Lawler’s bombs long enough to get the fight to the mat and wins via either submission or strikes. Winner via 2nd round Submission: Renato Sobral.

Joshua Taylor: I always have been and always will be a supporter of Babalu, but as he nears the end of his career, I think he is like many others where he just doesn’t have the drive or skill to beat the newer, more well-rounded MMA fighters. Now Robbie is certainly no world-beater either, but I think he has the wrestling and sub-defense to keep this fight mostly where he wants it; standing. Babalu doesn’t have the chin to take shots from someone like Lawler who throws full-force, but I hope I am wrong. Winner via 2nd round (T)KO: Robbie Lawler.

Jack Barrington: A strange fight to pick, as neither man looked particularly impressive in their last outings, and it's hard to see what we can take from those fights, given the styles of their opponents. One thing that we can use those fights for though, is determining the confidence levels of each fighter. Babalu was thoroughly dominated for the first time in a long time against Gegard Mousasi, while Lawler snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in his thrilling encounter with Melvin Manhoef and can obviously take more heart from his victory than Babalu can from his loss. They both have obvious ways to win and lose this fight, as each man has struggled with similar opponents in the past. Babalu has a worrying history of being caught and stopped when trying to work his way inside against hard hitters, while Lawler had fallen victim to several submission fighters in the past, and never really shown enough on the ground against dangerous grapplers to have much confidence in him there. Lawler is the betting favourite, but if Babalu can fight smart and not get overly wild coming in, I think he can put Lawler on his back and stop him from there. An arm-triangle from top position? Why not? Winner via 2nd round Submission: Renato Sobral.


The Final Forecast: Babalu returns to winning form by intelligently taking Lawler to the ground where he has a significant edge in the grappling department.


Marius “Whitemare” Zaromskis vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

Jamie: Zaromskis/Santos is going to be a straight shootout on the feet, can’t really see the fight hitting the mat. I honestly can’t see this going to a decision, as I feel Zaromskis has the more polished stand-up of the two and he will be able to pick apart Santos, earning an early stoppage win. Winner via 1st round (T)KO: Marius Zaromskis.

Joshua: This could very well be the fight of the night with two scrappy strikers going at it. Cyborg is always fun to watch, but he often leaves himself open in the striking game and doesn’t have the best cardio. I think we will see an aggressive Santos early with Marius weathering the storm and coming on strong late to earn the stoppage victory. Winner via 3rd round (T)KO: Marius Zaromskis.

Jack: Cyborg may actually be slightly under-rated coming into this fight, as he is a game opponent for any fighter at Zaromskis' level and has the ability to finish things. Well, for the first minute at least. I see this fight lasting longer than a minute, and if Marius can avoid the early Cyborg swarm then I have a hard time picking against him here. Will we see another head kick? Maybe, if Cyborg comes out swinging he may well have his hands down by his sides three minutes in, and against a fighter that throws more head kicks than jabs that could make for another emphatic stoppage. Zaromskis finishes a tired Cyborg via strikes near the end of the second, we'll have to wait and see if he lands that head kick. Winner via 2nd round (T)KO: Marius Zaromskis.


The Final Forecast: Zaromskis erases his memory of the Diaz fight by adding "Cyborg" to his already impressive highlight reel.


Trevor “The Fighting Pride of South Africa” Prangley vs. Tim Kennedy

Jamie: This bout is a tough one to call because both men have pretty well-rounded skill-sets. I can see Kennedy setting a the pace and trying to test Prangley’s cardio, but he will need to be sharp and disciplined in his approach in order to stay away from Prangley’s power shots. If Kennedy can successfully fight intelligently, I see him picking up a decision win. Winner via Unanimous Decision: Tim Kennedy.

Joshua: Prangley is a tough customer on a nice win streak so I think this will be an entertaining fight. Kennedy has looked like a man on a mission as of late though and I think he will be able to take this one. I see the fight taking place all over, but Kennedy will carry the judges’ favour in at least two rounds. Winner via Unanimous Decision: Tim Kennedy.

Jack: I'm hoping for a competitive fight in this one, and that may well be the case. Prangley is on a decent unbeaten streak, albeit against weak opposition, and Kennedy is always game. While he is coming off of a long lay-off, I like Kennedy in this one. I feel he has the sharper boxing and a speed advantage over the older Prangley, and in a fight that I see being fought mainly on the feet, that seems to be the overriding reason for me taking him in this encounter. It won't be a great fight, but it won't be a dull one either, with Kennedy taking a clear decision in a decidedly deliberate affair. Winner via Unanimous Decision: Tim Kennedy.


The Final Forecast: Tim Kennedy is a green beret, he wins via unanimous ass-whomping.


KJ Noons vs. Conor “The Hurricane” Heun

Jamie: I see Noons having a little bit too much standing for Heun and I can see him forcing the stoppage with his good boxing skills inside two rounds. Winner via 2nd round (T)KO: KJ Noons.

Joshua: I really don’t see Heun being able to get this to the ground and keep it there, so Noons will likely have this fight exactly where he wants it. While I am not confident enough in the recently returned Noons to call a TKO victory, I do think he will clearly win each round. Winner via Unanimous Decision: KJ Noons.

Jack: While Noons is still a very mediocre MMA fighter with mediocre boxing, I see him having the tools to take this fight handily. Heun will try to work the takedown, and if he gets it then he has a route to victory. However, I see KJ working his jab (a punch that most MMA fighters don't seem to realize exists) and keeping Heun at bay for what ends up being a dull 15 minutes worth of fighting. If Noons works in his body shots well then he could have his opponent in trouble, but Heun's tough, and will most likely last the duration. Winner via Unanimous Decision: KJ Noons.


The Final Forecast: Noons outpoints and dominates Heun for all three rounds.