THE TWO SHEDS REVIEW by Julian Radbourne – now in it’s 10th year!
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It’s time to step into the world of mixed martial arts again as Jake Shields defends his Middleweight title against the legendary Dan Henderson in the main event of Strikeforce: Nashville, shown on Bravo this past Sunday night here in Britain, with Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock handling commentary duties.
The broadcast began with King Mo Lawal challenging Gegard Mousasi for the Light Heavyweight title. An interesting fight to start the show with. Even though Lawal scored with the take downs during the first two rounds Mousasi’s work rate was far superior, scoring with the hooked hammer fists. Lawal looked shattered as the third round began, but he quickly got his second win as Mousasi just seemed to switch off, unwilling to go that extra distance as Lawal took control. Mousasi was docked a point in the final round when he connected with an up kick while Lawal was still grounded. After a brief stoppage the fight continued in the same vein. So with the fight going the five round distance the judges were called into action, with Lawal getting the unanimous decision. A good performance from King Mo, but Mousasi’s performance was kind of perplexing.
The main event saw the debuting Dan Henderson challenging Jake Shields for the Middleweight title. This one had an explosive beginning as Henderson quickly sent Shields to the ground with a big right to the jaw, and through the round it looked like Henderson was going to get the stoppage at any moment. But as soon as the second round began Shields took control, gaining the mount numerous times as the fight progressed. Henderson looked like a beaten man as the fifth round began, and it was more of the same as Shields’ control of the fight continued. All three judges gave the decision to Shields, and rightfully so given his tremendous performance. Hopefully it won’t be overshadowed by what happened afterwards when Jason Miller interrupted Shields’ post-fight interview.
In conclusion – well, just two fights on the broadcast for British viewers, but boy, what fights they were. King Mo and Jake Shields put on tremendous performances against two highly touted opponents, and as I said before hopefully the antics of Jason Miller won’t overshadow what was a very good event. Strikeforce certainly delivered with this show. Well done all.