The Weekly MMA Roundup 8/23/2010: Brazilians Reign, Lashley Falls

Brazilian Jorge Santiago defended his Sengoku middleweight title for the second time this weekend against former foe Kazuo Misaki. Though Misaki jumped out to an early lead, Santiago fought his way back to force Misaki’s corner to throw in the towel with only about 30-seconds left. It was a classic battle that saw both fighters in danger of being stopped numerous times. It’s a shame that American audiences for the most part will never see this one.

At Strikeforce: Houston last Saturday, two new Brazilian champions were crowned when Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza won the vacant middleweight title by besting Tim Kennedy over five rounds, and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante upset light heavyweight champ Muhammed Lawal by TKO in the third-round. Both are very credible titlists for the promotion, despite some media’s insistence on looking at both wins as a bad thing for Strikeforce.

Earlier on the Strikeforce card, former WWE star Bobby Lashley suffered his first MMA loss to unknown Chad Griggs when Lashley was unable to continue after the second round. It was a huge upset. Also, K.J. Noons stopped Jorge Gurgel in a foul ridden affair that should have been called a disqualification or a no contest if not for the incredibly inept officiating. That ref should never be allowed to work again.

The second installment of Bellator’s third season took place last Thursday featuring two heavyweight quarterfinal bouts, a female quarterfinal bout and Dan Hornbuckle winning a very entertaining decision over Brad Blackburn in a non-tournament welterweight bout. Damian Grabowski and Cole Konrad advanced in the heavyweight tournament, and Zoila Frausto advanced in the women’s.

The unofficial judging done by Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith for the Damian Grabowski/ Scott Barret bout was particularly misleading and lazy. Smith continuously assured the audience that Barret had won the first two rounds and Grabowski would need a stoppage to win the fight. I cringed as I listened to it, fearing that the judges might actually see it the same way, as I had scored every round for Grabowski. Fortunately, the judges did a terrific job on this one and scored it correctly, giving every round to Grabowski. Just because you are on top does not mean you are winning.

The next Strikeforce event will take place October 9 in San Jose. Already scheduled for the card is a middleweight bout between Luke Rockhold and Matt Lindland, the female welterweight championship between Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen, and welterweight champ Nick Diaz against a to be announced opponent.