Strikeforce May Be Gone, but Fighters Make Huge Impact on
UFC
The Strikeforce promotion, long regarded as second-fiddle to
UFC may be gone, but fighters who hailed from that promotion made a big impact
on the UFC during UFC 156. As reported by Yahoo Sports, some of the biggest surprises
of the night and some of the most impressive victories were in the hands of Strikeforce
veteran fighters.
Fighters who hailed from the Strikeforce promotion won all
four of the bouts in which they were featured on Friday night. Tyron Woodley,
more known for his wrestling skills than his striking, knocked Jay Hieron out
just more than 30 seconds into the fight. According to Yahoo’s reporting, this temporarily
won Woodley the knockout bonus for the night, but that was eclipsed by Antonio
Silva’s brutal knockout of Overeem in one of the night’s best and most
memorable fights.
Bobby Green brought his record to 5-0 following his win
against Jacob Volkmann. His victory came from a rear-naked choke against
Volkmann, who was an All-American wrestler.
Of course, the biggest upset of the night and one of the
most dramatic UFC moments in recent history came in the Overeem vs. Silva
match. Overeem had already garnered the ire of Silva for trash talking before
the fight and Silva had vowed to earn the respect of the heavily-favored
Overeem. Silva did more than that. After knocking Overeem out in the final
round of their fight, he screamed that he wanted to fight more and got himself
the knockout of the night.
Strikeforce fighters, sometimes publically, complained about
the second-tier treatment—and pay—that they got fighting in that promotion. As
they’ve made their way into the UFC, however, it’s become apparent that some of
the most intriguing fighters have come up from that promotion and that there’s
much more to come in the future.
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