A jam-packed month of MMA continued on Saturday night’s Strikeforce card, which featured a middleweight title bout between Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy.
For such an underwhelming card, Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy delivered on all levels of excitement.
In the main event, Rockhold utilized his superior striking and vastly-improved takedown defense to rout Kennedy for a fairly lopsided unanimous decision. People have overlooked Rockhold for a long time, and his win over Kennedy only furthers his progression in the middleweight division.
The co-main event featured Nate Marquardt’s return after over a year’s layoff to challenge Strikeforce welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Unfortunately for “Momma Woodley,” Tyron wasn’t able to bring this one home. After landing several elbows in the clinch, Marquardt unloaded on the former NCAA Division I wrestler with uppercuts to earn the TKO stoppage at 1:39 of the fourth round.
In the opening bouts, Lorenz Larkin upset Robbie Lawler with a decision victory, and Roger Gracie rebounded from a September 2011 loss to rout UFC veteran Keith Jardine.
There was plenty of good to take away from this event.
When there’s good, there has to be bad, and when there’s bad, there has to be ugly. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.