‘Strikeforce: Houston’ Aftermath: Pretty Much Everyone Does the Worst Possible Job During Gurgel vs. Noons

(VidProps: YouTube/KarelMMArts)
Even 12 hours later, it’s difficult to fully grasp the ways in which Jorge Gurgel’s fight with KJ Noons turned into a terrible abortion at Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Houston show. Suffice it to say…

(VidProps: YouTube/KarelMMArts)

Even 12 hours later, it’s difficult to fully grasp the ways in which Jorge Gurgel’s fight with KJ Noons turned into a terrible abortion at Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Houston show. Suffice it to say, a lot of things went horribly wrong and nearly everyone involved failed miserably to do their jobs.

As he almost always does, Gurgel came into the fight with the worst possible game plan, essentially guaranteeing defeat before the bout even started. Meanwhile, Noons crammed not one, but two blatantly illegal strikes into just over five minutes of fighting. For his part, referee Kerry Hatley seemed not to notice either of the infractions, then totally bungled one of the more obvious stoppage situations you’ll ever encounter in MMA. All the while the Strikeforce broadcast team reconfirmed for viewers its complete inability to adjust on the fly when even the slightest controversy rears its head.

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‘Strikeforce: Houston’ — Live Results + Commentary

(Focused and ready for battle, King Mo stares into his opponent’s eyes, desperately trying to remember who the hell this dude is. Photo courtesy of allelbows.com)
Two title fights in the light-heavyweight and middleweight divisions, a lightweight slugf…

King Mo Muhammed Lawal Rafael Feijao Cavalcante Strikeforce
(Focused and ready for battle, King Mo stares into his opponent’s eyes, desperately trying to remember who the hell this dude is. Photo courtesy of allelbows.com)

Two title fights in the light-heavyweight and middleweight divisions, a lightweight slugfest between KJ Noons and Jorge Gurgel, and Bobby Lashley‘s latest bit of record-padding, all brought to you by the world-famous City of Syrup. Let’s be real — if you’re not watching Strikeforce tonight, you’re a damn fool. Or, you don’t have Showtime. Or, you have better things to do. Speaking of which, your usual live-bloggers are occupied tonight, so respected CagePotato contributor Matt Kaplan will be filling in. Round-by-round updates can be found after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page for all the latest, and let your voices be heard in the comments section. 
 

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Jorge Gurgel Promises to Go Back to His Roots at Strikeforce: Houston

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosHOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to Jorge Gurgel prior to his Strikeforce: Houston bout against KJ Noons.

The former UFC lightweight talked about his game plan heading into the fight, why he…

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HOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to Jorge Gurgel prior to his Strikeforce: Houston bout against KJ Noons.

The former UFC lightweight talked about his game plan heading into the fight, why he sometimes compromises a win to put on a good show for the fans and his new hair style.

Check out the video interview below.

KJ Noons Clarifies ‘Lame’ UFC Fights Comments

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, News, VideosHOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to KJ Noons prior to his Strikeforce: Houston fight against Jorge Gurgel.

The former EliteXC lightweight champion talked about rededicating himself to …

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HOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to KJ Noons prior to his Strikeforce: Houston fight against Jorge Gurgel.

The former EliteXC lightweight champion talked about rededicating himself to MMA, his desire to be a dual-sport combat sports star, what kind of fight he expects from Gurgel and his new look. Noons also clarified recent comments he made about the UFC in which he was quoted as categorizing Strikeforce’s rival fights as “lame.”

Check out the video below.

Strikeforce: Houston Fight Week Journal Video

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosHOUSTON — It’s fight week in the Lone Star State, and MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon has been shadowing some of the headliners involved in Saturday’s Strikeforce: Houston card as they pre…

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HOUSTON — It’s fight week in the Lone Star State, and MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon has been shadowing some of the headliners involved in Saturday’s Strikeforce: Houston card as they prepare for fight night.

Watch below as light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal, Tim Kennedy, KJ Noons and Bobby Lashley met wounded veterans, work out in front of the media and film the opening segment for the Showtime telecast.

The video is after the jump.

Noons Says Media Took UFC Comments Out of Context, Promises His Hair is About to Get ‘Pretty Crazy, Dude’

(For some reason, Strikeforce opted to hold this week’s prefight media events at The Black Lodge. VidProps: YouTube/Helwani)
I’m going to tread lightly here, because I don’t want KJ Noons’ dad to physically attack me, but some…


(For some reason, Strikeforce opted to hold this week’s prefight media events at The Black Lodge. VidProps: YouTube/Helwani)

I’m going to tread lightly here, because I don’t want KJ Noons’ dad to physically attack me, but sometimes it just seems like it would be better, maybe, if Karl Jr. didn’t talk. At least not in public. Sure, Noons is a decent fighter, but watching him stumble through six minutes, 35 seconds worth of half-finished sentences, "you knows" and grammar that is probably best described as “Tito-esque” in the above video makes me wonder if a better public relations strategy for him wouldn’t be to just stand there and smile and occasionally flip his lustrous hair out of his eyes.

Noons in fact does spend the first minute of his interview with Ariel Helwani talking about his hair. He’s growing it out, see, just for the experience and just in case he goes bald later in life. You never can be too careful. “It’s pretty crazy, dude,” he says about his plans to see how long he can get it. It takes until the 5:38 mark in this vid for Noons to get to the heart of anything interesting, like the recent comments he made about the UFC being “boring as hell.” When the subject does come up, Noons falls back one of the more tried-and-true defenses for morons who say shit they later regret: It was the media’s fault.

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