Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine takes place tonight from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and TheMMAReport.com will have live results and play by play of tonight’s card.
The televised preliminary card will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Showtime Extreme with four fights and the main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET with five fights.
To discuss the fights, use the comments section below and follow Jason Floyd (@jason_floyd) on Twitter, who will following the action.
Roger Gracie vs. Anthony Smith
Round 1 – The preliminary card on Showtime Extreme and Smith opened the fight by missing with a combination. After trading punches, Gracie looked for a takedown, but Smith was able to stop the attempt. Smith landed several low kicks as he looked to set up his punches. Gracie would accidentally poke Smith in the eye and the action would be stopped for a moment. Smith would be able to continue with just over a minute left in the round. Smith would end the round with a flurry of punches and the fight moves on to the second.
Round 2 – Smith came out throwing punches as the round opened and Gracie landed a two punch combination that had Smith on his heels. Smith appears to be having problems with his right eye that was poked in the first round. Gracie would be able to take advantage and get the fight to the ground. Gracie would have top position and began to work his ground strikes. He would transition to side control and began to look for submissions. He would then move to the mount position and then went for the arm triangle choke and Smith would tap out.
Result: Roger Gracie def. Anthony Smith via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:16
Pat Healy vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Round 1 – Holobaugh came out as the aggressor and dropped Healy in the first 20 seconds of the fight. Healy was able to get back to his feet and the action would move towards the fence. Holobaugh would continue to land strikes, but Healy would look to take the fight to the ground, which he would. Even thought he was on his back, Holobaugh looked for submission and Healy defended the attempts. Healy would have side control and looked to transition towards the legs of his opponent. As Healy was going this, Holobaugh looked for a toe hold. He submission attempt would be defended by Healy and he would have top position. Holobaugh would get back to his feet with 90 seconds left in the round. After a grappling exchange, Holobaugh would get the back of Healy for a moment but Healy would escape the position. As the round was coming to an end, Healy attempted a rear-naked choke and Holobaugh was able to make it to the end of the round.
Round 2 – They would open the round by exchanging punches before Healy would take the fight to the ground. While on the ground, Healy would be able to get his opponents back and began to look for a submission. Holobaugh would be able to escape the hold, but Healy would have ahold of his foot. After a failed leg lock, the action returned to the feet. The action would return to the mat and Healy would have top position. Healy would lock his legs around the head of Holobaugh and began to land strikes. Healy would give up on the submission attempt and moved back into the guard of Holobaugh as the round came to an end.
Round 3 – Holobaugh stated the round by landing low kicks and Healy went for a takedown, which was unsuccessful. Holobaugh began to land punches and Healy looked for a takedown. As Healy went for a takedown, Holobaugh looked for a guillotine choke. Healy would defend the choke and get the fight to the ground. Healy started to look for a submission and Holobaugh would defend the attempts. Healy would go for an arm triangle choke and Holobaugh would attempt to defend the choke and would be able to escape the hold when it looked like he was about to be submitted. They would continue to grapple on the ground and Healy would land strikes on the ground as the fight ended.
Result: Pat Healy def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-37, 30-37)
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith
Round 1 – Kennedy landed a leg kick and the fighters would scramble before Smith took the fight to the ground. Kennedy would be able to get back to his feet and they would grapple against the cage. They would end up moving away from each other and Kennedy missed an uppercut. As Kennedy missed the strike, Smith went for a takedown, which was successful. Kennedy would get back to his feet and he looked for a takedown. Smith would be able to stop the takedown and move away from his opponent. Kennedy would land a punch and kick combination near the cage. Smith would throw a kick, which hit Kennedy in the groin. Kennedy would take a minute to recover and would continue. Kennedy barely missed a front kick and Smith once again looked for a takedown. Kennedy would stop the attempt and they grappled against the cage as the round ended.
Round 2 – Smith would open the round with a single leg takedown, but Kennedy would immediately get back to his feet. Kennedy would end up getting the fight to the ground and would land in half guard position. They would grapple on the ground and the referee would eventually break them apart after a lack of action. Upon the restart, Smith immediately looked for a single leg takedown and the fighters were back in the same position that the referee broke them up from. The round would end with Kennedy in top position and they move to the final round.
Round 3 – The pace seemed to be slowed down at the start of the round. Kennedy would land two uppercuts in close range and Smith would look for a single leg takedown. As he went for a takedown, Kennedy saw the opportunity for a guillotine choke and finished the fight with the submission hold.
Result: Tim Kennedy def. Trevor Smith via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 1:36
KJ Noons vs. Ryan Couture
Round 1 – The fighters would circle around each other for the first minute of the fight before Couture began to work his leg kicks. Noons looked to counter the strikes of Couture as he came in. They would continue to exchange strikes with Couture moving around Noons. Noons would land an uppercut after a jab from Couture, which force Couture to back up. Couture would end the round by landing a spinning back and Noons reacted with a flurry of punches.
Round 2 – The second round began just like the first round did with the fighters circling around each other and picking their shots to throw. A cut opened up on the top of Noons head after an apparent head butt. Noons became an aggressor at this point and continue to come forward and landed multiple strikes. Couture was rattled, but would survive the flurry of punches. Noons landed a right hand with 75 seconds left in the round, but did not follow it up. With ten seconds left in the round, both fighters landed shots and the fight heads to the third.
Round 3 – The would continue their striking bout as the third round started and Couture looked for a takedown 90 seconds into the round. Noon would escape the attempt, but Couture would land a knee. They would continue to circle around each other with each fighter landing punches. In the final 20 seconds of the round, each fighter looked for a significant strike, but neither would land and the judges will decide the winner.
Result: Ryan Couture def. KJ Noons via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Ronaldo Souza vs. Ed Herman
Round 1 – Herman opened up with a kick and they exchanged punches. Jacare would put Herman in the clinch and they would break away from each other. After Herman missed a strike, Jacare went for a takedown, which was successful. The referee stopped the action after Herman landed an illegal up kick but did not take a point away. Instead of keeping them on the ground, the referee restarted the fight with the action on the feet. After the restart, Jacare began to land punches and then slammed Herman to the mat. He went for a key lock and transition to a kimura and Herman had to tap out.
Result: Ronaldo Souza def. Ed Herman via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 3:10
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
Round 1 – Mousasi landed a low kick as the fight began and Kyle would end up clinching with him. They would grapple against the cage and Kyle was able to stop the takedown attempt. Kyle landed a head kick, but Mousasi continued to come forward. He would take Kyle to the ground and had top position. He would transition to half guard position and was looking for submissions. He would then transition to the mount position and began to land strikes. Kyle would give up his back and Mousasi looked for a rear-naked choke and Kyle would tap to the submission.
Result: Gegard Mousasi def. Mike Kyle via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:09
Josh Barnett vs. Nandor Guelmino
Round 1 – Barnett wasted no time in looking for a takedown, which was successful. He went for a leg lock, but Guelmino would be able to escape. Barnett would look to take the fight back to the ground as he had the back of his opponent. He would take the fight to the ground and locked in an arm triangle choke and Guelmino would tap to the submission.
Result: Josh Barnett def. Nandor Guelmino via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:11
Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
Round 1 – After standing in front of each other, they grappled but Staring quickly broke away. Cormier would once again get ahold of Staring and slammed him to the ground. Staring would scramble on the ground and would be able to get to his feet with Cormier hanging onto him. They would separate and Cormier began to open up with his strikes and had Staring on his heels. Cormier would then take the fight to the ground an began to land elbows on the ground. Staring would get back to his feet and the action would be stopped for a moment since the mouthpiece fell out of Staring’s mouth. Upon the restart, Cormier grabbed his opponent and once again takes the fight to the ground. He would begin to drop down shots from the top and Staring would make it to the bell.
Round 2 – They would grapple against the cage before Staring would be able to push Cormier away. As the fighters grappled, Cormier overpowered his opponent to take the fight to the ground. Cormier would pound away at Staring with strikes and referee John McCarthy stopped the fight after Cormier was dominating his opponent on the ground.
Result: Daniel Cormier def. Dion Staring via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:02
Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Round 1 – After the fighters had a feeling out process, Saffiedine appeared to hurt Marquardt with a strike and the champion went for a takedown. After a bit of grappling, they would escape and the action moved back to the center of the cage. They would grapple against the cage and Saffiedine would back away from Marquardt as the round would end.
Round 2 – Marquardt looked for a single leg takedown one minute into the round, which he would get. Saffiedine would be able to get back to his feet and Marquardt would grapple with him against the cage. After not liking the action, referee John McCarthy separated the fighters and moved them to the center of the cage. Marquardt would once against look for a takedown and once again could not get the fight to the ground. The round round end with Marquardt throwing a spinning back kick.
Round 3 – After exchanging strikes, the fighters grappled and Saffiedine attempted to take the fight to the ground with a leg trip. However, Marquardt would stop the attempt. Saffiedine continued to land low kicks as the fighters circled around each other and the round ended.
Round 4 – Saffiedine continued to attack the lead leg of Marquardt and the champion came forward with aggression. Even with Marquardt coming forward, Saffiedine continued to attack the leg of Marquardt. They would clinch against the cage for a brief moment before they would separate. Saffiedine would continue to attack the leg as the round came to an end.
Round 5 – Once again, Saffiedine came out attacking the lead leg of Marquardt and the fighters would grapple against the cage. They would separate and strike with each other. After grappling, Saffiedine would take the fight to the ground with 40 seconds left in the fight and the fight would end on the ground and the judges will decided the winner.
Result: Tarec Saffiedine def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) to win the Strikeforce welterweight title