Filed under: Strikeforce, News
Caros Fodor was the big winner at Saturday night’s Strikeforce Challengers event, beating James Terry by unanimous decision in the main event. The big loser was Ryan Couture, who lost and showed that it’s his famous name — not his fighting skill — that has him getting televised fights.
The Fodor-Terry fight was a good one, with both fighters hitting each other hard but Fodor landing more cleanly and getting more done on the ground. The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Fodor, who credited his coaches afterward.
“I was definitely working on my striking a lot,” Fodor said. “Terry’s an extremely tough guy. I wasn’t sure if he was going to try to take me down or stand up. He did both, and I had a great strategy.”
Fodor improved his record to 9-2, and he said he wants bigger fights in the Strikeforce lightweight division. He should: He’s a real talent.
In the co-main event, Ryan Couture showed that he’s not a real talent, dropping a unanimous decision to Matt Ricehouse and not looking particularly good in the process. There was plenty of action in the fight, but most of it on Couture’s end was sloppy and lacking in technique. The 28-year-old Couture has been exposed to high-quality MMA training for years, thanks to his famous father Randy Couture, and if this is as good as he is now, he’s probably not going to get any better. The loss drops Couture’s record to 2-1, while Ricehouse improves to 5-0.
In undercard action, Lorenz Larkin showed off his trademark dynamic striking in beating Gian Villante by unanimous decision. Larkin ran his record to 11-0, and he’s one of Strikeforce’s most promising prospects. Prior to that, Jason High won a one-sided unanimous decision over Quinn Mulhern, earning his fifth consecutive victory since going one-and-done in the UFC last year.
And in the first fight of the Showtime televised card, Julia Budd beat Germaine de Randamie by unanimous decision in a fight that left the fans booing. The bout was notable because it was the first female fight Zuffa has ever promoted, but it wasn’t much of a fight: Budd used her superior wrestling to stay on top of de Randamie and win the first two rounds, but the fight didn’t provide much excitement.