My tactful, indisputably articulate summary of Strikeforce’s second Showtime event: 16 years after UFC 1, and Gracie Jiu-jitsu is still running sh-t.
Kind of.
Cesar Gracie students
Nick Diaz and
Jake Shields didn’t enter the cage Saturday night relying on sleeve chokes, but they used their grappling as the garnish for two impressive performances against two dangerous men.
Diaz -- who fought
Scott Smith -- had his jaw tested against a younger, fresher middleweight than previous opponent
Frank Shamrock, and he came out largely unscathed for the effort. He also became quite possibly the first non-video game character to land 200 punches in a three-round mixed martial arts fight. (I’ll consult with my statistician. Once someone hires me one.)
Shields looked tentative and nervous early, backing away from
Robbie Lawler’s much-publicized power. But Lawler had no defense for a jump-in guillotine. Whether that’s indicative of Shields having a place at 185 is open to discussion, but at least he got by Lawler without suffering a blackout. Always a plus.
What’s next for the two winners? Obviously not each other. Good thing there are plenty of other people to punch.
The surly Stocktonite may balk at facing a fresh loser, but a rematch with Lawler -- whom he defeated by knockout in 2002 -- would be post-Fourth fireworks. If not,
Benji Radach would give him a workout. Unfortunately, Diaz may have outgrown a rematch with KJ Noons.
Whomever Diaz doesn’t want to fight. Have you noticed Strikeforce’s middleweight division has about four guys in it? It’s kind of a problem.
Probably some swell endorsement deals. His knockout of
Andrei Arlovski was unexpected, impressionable and sets up a title bout with Strikeforce champion
Alistair Overeem. If he succeeds there, then maybe a bout with
Josh Barnett or another top-shelf heavyweight -- but please, no talk of
Fedor Emelianenko for a long, long time.
A body-fat percentage above four percent. Maybe then he could stop draining energy from major internal organs.
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