Voelker, Kaufman Successful at Strikeforce Challengers 17

Though we’re in a slight lull for major UFC and Strikeforce events, there’s been some notable MMA action this past week nonetheless. Last night, Strikeforce put on their 17th Challengers event, with Bobby Voelker taking on Roger Bowling for the third time in the main event.

Voelker stopped Bowling in the second round of a competitive bout that Voelker had actually been losing before the final sequence. While Bowling’s quickness and striking helped him to dominate much of the fight, Voelker’s patience and power instantly turned the tide midway through the second.

After securing a Thai clinch that Bowling was breaking away from, Voelker landed a powerful, well-timed knee that visibly hurt Bowling. From there, Voelker hit Bowling with a left that dropped him to the canvas and extra blows on the ground that led to the referee stoppage. The TKO win came in the rubber match for the two, who had split two previous meetings.

Bowling had to be cursing himself afterward, as he actually had Voelker hurt with a left hook near the end of round one, but did not have the time or opportunity to finish and capitalize on the successful strike. Meanwhile, Voelker was surely satisfied with the comeback win, as he admitted after the fight that Bowling had been “winning the whole thing” before the TKO.

Meanwhile, Ovince St. Preux (or “OSP” if you want to make me nauseous) was successful for the fifth straight time in his unblemished Strikeforce career, as he topped Joe Cason in just over a minute by submission due to strikes. Much to the disapproval of BJ Penn, Cason tapped the mat after having been kicked in the head by St. Preux and hit repeatedly. Cason was making his Strikeforce debut and was previously undefeated in eight professional bouts.

Former women’s 135 lb. champ Sarah Kaufman won her second straight bout on Friday night, as she won a one-sided affair against a game, but outclassed Liz Carmouche. After a first round in which Carmouche was able to clinch Kaufman and work a little striking, Kaufman got the distance she was seeking from her opponent and began tagging Carmouche with straight punches.

For the rest of the bout, Kaufman was able to stay out of trouble while marking up Carmouche with jabs and right hands, as Carmouche was unable to take Kaufman down and swing the momentum in her favor, despite her efforts to do so. Kaufman is now 2-0 since having lost her title to Marloes Coenen last year, while Carmouche drops to 2-2 as a Strikeforce fighter.

Devin Cole got the first win of his Strikeforce career against against late replacement Shawn Jordan in a hard-fought bout that went to a decision. All three judges scored in favor of Cole, who escaped Jordan’s submission attempts and outstruck his foe through the duration of the bout.

Jordan, a former running back at LSU, did appear to fade late in the bout as the late notice may have been a factor. Still, even in the first round when Jordan got a quick takedown and worked for a rear naked choke, Cole was able to deftly escape. Cole then landed an uppercut that appeared to hurt Jordan near the end of the first round for good measure.

In other action, Adlan Amagov won a split decision over the unfortunately-named Ronald Stallings. Amagov likely won the first two rounds, where he used potent leg kicks and the occasional takedown to control the action. In the third, Stallings was much more successful, as he landed a takedown of his own and even briefly mounted Amagov. Stallings also went for a kimura in the third round, but Amagov thwarted it without much trouble.

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Tags: Bobby Voelker, Devin Cole, Joe Cason, Liz Carmouche, Ovince St. Preux, Roger Bowling, Sarah Kaufman, Shawn Jordan, Strikeforce, Strikeforce Challengers 17