Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Okay this is on my vigin box I thought I'd give it ago some of these guys have some name value I thought I'd give it a go.

Nick Gonzalez (11-4) vs. Josh Thomson (11-2) - Lightweight

Round One: This is no title Josh is the champ, Josh misses a big round house kick but then goes straight to a takedown and takes back control with ease. Josh nearly gets the choke but can only get a chinlock. Josh locks on a choke but Nick fights it off temporarily before having to tap out quickly. Josh Thomson wins via Rear Naked Choke in 1:42.

Wow Gonzalez was a total bum, Josh went at him hard and showed some good agressiveness but didn't manage to look particularly impressive against a terrible opponent. (E-)

Kung Lee (3-0) vs. Tony Frinklin (didn't announce) - Middleweight

Round One: Lee is a big fan favorite, he throws some nice kicks but stupidly throws an axe kick and lands on his arse, seriously he did the Booker T kick. Lee lands a right hand and tries some kicks but they get blocked. Lee throws a combo but doesn't land clean. Lee hits a nice high kick to the head. Lee throws a flurry of punches and the crowd chant for "Kung Lee". Lee dodges a spinning back fist after scoring with a right hand. Lee misses a spinning back kick and barely avoids a takedown. Lee dodges a wild swing and rocks Tony with a big right and another huge right puts Tony on his arse. Lee throws a nice uppercut and a spinning back kick. Lee gets two big head kicks the later was a spinning heel kick. Lee dodges a wild right hand and throws the jab. Lee tags Tony with a spinning heel kick and then he hits a couple of spinning back kicks one sends Tony half way accross the ring. Lee gets another nice kick to the gut. Lee dodges a spinning back kick. Good first round.

Round Two: Lee gets another spinning back kick and a soft right hand. Lee gets another gut kick. Tony finally goes for a takedown but Lee brushes it off, Lee hits a straight right hand. Tony is going after Lee tags Tony with a straight jab. Lee catches Tony with some jabs, Lee is throwing wild kicks. Tony's tactics are just dire. Lee gets a nice leg kick. Tony misses a big cross, Lee is having to duck and weave but he's managing. Lee tags Tony with a tough body shot. Tony presses the fight and unloads with a big flurry but Lee bobs and weaves and avoids the worst of it. Lee hits a flurry and dodges a spinning back fist. Lee throws a jab, this guy has very light hands. Frinklin is just tactically awful he can do more. Lee hits a knee and spinning back fist but this guy will not go down. Frinklin catches Lee agains the cage with three straight right hands but Lee takes them. Lee gives Tony a leg kick to the back of the leg, Franklin unloads wildy this guy has power but no accuracy. Lee takes a body power. Another entertaining round but the quality isn't very high.

Round Three: Tony has to go for the knock out and press the fight. Lee gets a leg kick adn back kick. Tony is struggling to close the distance, Lee hits a kick and knee strike and he goes to town with a flurry and Tony gets knocked over and the referee stops it. It was a weak cross that took Frinklin down. Lee wins by TKO in 10:25.

Well that was a pretty entertaining fight, incredibly one sided it was basically a guy with a granite chin taking a beating for three rounds. Why on earth Frinklin didn't close the gap, clinch, push up against the cage or take him down I don't know. Frinklin was just a journeymen there to make Lee look good. Good entertainment low quality. (C-)

Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
Phil Baroni (10-7) vs. Frank Shamrock (21-8-1)

Wow this fight feels like a blast from the past, I haven't seen these guys in a long while. The announcer botches the name of the company

Round One: Baroni hits a lose right hand, Shanrock goes to the clinch and Baroni unloads, Shamrock ducks and weaves and lands a straight right hand. Baroni lands a right and Shamrock returns fire with a leg kick and a right hand which Rocks Baroni. Frank says he's gonna put Baroni to sleep and Shamrock unloads and knocks the holy hell out of Baroni and goes for a gullotine but the ref won't stop it. Frank gets docked a point for rabbit punching. Baroni goes for a takedown but Shamrock unloads from the guard. Baroni gives up on the ground and pound. Frank tags Baroni and Phil has to go for a takedown he doesn't quite get it and Frank tags the hell out of the gut of Baroni. Baroni escapes and gets to his feet. Frank gets a straight right hand and knee. Shamrock taunts Baroni and unloads, dodging and striking with deadly accuracy. Shamrock gets a leg kick, Baroni gets some uppercuts from the clinch. Shamrock mocks Baroni before tagging him with some big straight right hands but Baroni gets a big takedown with ten seconds to go and he sits out the round. Great round, big miss match lots of action.

Round Two: Can Baroni take much more? Baroni tags Frank with an overhand right. Baroni tags Frank with a left hook and Frank can't land. Frank gets a knee to the gut, Frank follows up with a leg kick. Frank dodges a lef and lands a right. Frank lands a big straight left after taking some big shots. Frank is really toying with Baroni throwing some soft jabs. Frank walks right into a jab and then throws a leg kick. Baroni throws a big click and both men trade before Shamrock lights Baroni up with a series of three straight shots. Frank lands some straight shots an knee and Baroni immediately goes for the leg. Shamrock takes the back and goes for a rear naked choke, Baroni tries to punch his way out put eventually he passes out and the referee stops the fight. Shamrock wins with a Rear Naked Choke in 9:00.

Well that was a fun fight again but a total and utter mismatch in every way, even with age and injury Frank just had far far too much Baroni. Baroni has always been a one dimensional bum. He has a good chin and throws bombs and that makes for an entertaining fight but he lacks so much in terms of skill and technique. Frank was joking and showboating throughout the whole fight. Still alot of fun but Shamrock needs credible competition not a punching bag. (C+)

Overall Thoughts: This was a pretty good one hour offering of MMA, the top two fights were alot of fun with a lot of striking and no dull spots. The real weakness of this show was that none of the matches were legitimately competitive. (7/10)