When speaking to the media last month, UFC President Dana White suggested that Strikeforce booked Jake Shields to fight the physically-larger Dan Henderson as a way to “stick it” to the champion in the event that he did not re-sign with the promotion.
If that truly was the company’s plan, did it execute properly in the main-event of “Strikeforce: Nashville” on CBS? And how did the night’s other key matches fare? Did Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal manage to overcome highly-touted Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi? Did Gilbert Melendez prove himself against top-ranked Shinya Aoki?
Results of the 4/17 Strikeforce show follow:
Cody Floyd b. Thomas Campbell via KO (knee) in Round Three
Dustin Ortiz b. Justin Pennington via submission (RNC) at 4:27 of Round One
Zach Underwood b. Hunter Worsham via decision (unanimous)
Cale Yarborough b. Josh Schockman via TKO (strikes) in Round Two
Jason Mayhem Miller b. Tim Stout via TKO (strikes) at 3:09 of Round One
Andy Uhrich b. Dustin West via submission (RNC) at 1:36 of Round One
Ovince St. Preux b. Chris Hawk via TKO (strikes) at :47 of Round One
King Mo b. Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) to become the new Light Heavyweight Champion
Gilbert Melendez b. Shinya Aoki via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to retain the Lightweight Championship
Jake Shields b. Dan Henderson via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 48-45) to retain the Middleweight Championship