“Strikeforce Challengers: Cummings vs. Kennedy” takes place tonight, Sept. 25, 2009, at the SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Okla. The main card airs on Showtime beginning at 10 p.m. CT. As with all Strikeforce events, PROMMA.INFO will be providing live play-by-play commentary on all the action. So join us tonight as these up-and-comers in the world of MMA try to leave their mark on the sport and on their opponents.

Quick Results:

• Tim Kennedy def. Zak Cummings by submission (north-south choke) Rd 2 (2:43)
• Ray Sefo def. Kevin Jordan by submission (verbal) Rd 2 (:24)
• Tyron Woodley def. Zach Light by submission (armbar) Rd 2 (3:38)
• Thomas Longacre def. Travis Calanoc by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Daniel Cormier def. Gary Frazier by TKO (ground n’ pound) Rd 2 (3:39)
• Jeri Sitzes def. Lacey Schuckman by TKO (strikes) Rd 3 (2:18)
• Paul Bradley def. Levi Avera by unanimous decision
• Trey Houston def. Brandon Gaines by submission (arm triangle choke) Rd 2 (1:28)
• Kenny Giddens def. John Carson by submission (D’arce choke) Rd 2 (4:15)
• Josh Pulsifer def. Nick Gibbons by submission (D’arce choke) Rd 1 (1:05)
• Dillon Smith def. Lemont Davis by submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (1:15)

Play-by-Play:

Daniel Cormier vs. Gary Frazier

Round 1 – We’ve got two guys here making their pro debut. Heavyweights. Frazier lands a nice punch. Cormier with a leg kick. Cormier lands a overhand right and Frazier goes for ta takedown but gets stuffed. Cormier attacks. Frazier shoots, gets stuffed and is turtled up on the ground covering his head. Cormier is pounding him from the back as Frazier is still covering up. Cormier is an Olympic wrestler. King Mo and Bob Cook are in his corner. Cormier passes the guard as Frazier turns over. Cormier laying on heavy ground and pound. Frazier rolls  back to turtle position and is offering little defense. He stands up though and is firing off with punches. Frazier looks angry and frustrated. Frazier is 21 and Cormier is 30. Nice left punch by Cormier. Good stuff from these debuting fighters.

Round 2 – Cormier lands a nice overhand right and has Frazier backed up against the fence. Cormier grabs a leg and tries to take Frazier down. Frazier breaks free and sprints away. Frazier lands a nice kick. Cormier backs him up against the fence and lands a nice shot. Cormier gets a body lock, goes for a slam but Frazier resists. Cormier lands some big punches. Frazier goes for a knee but slipped to his back. Cormier gets on top in half guard and starts playing the drums on Frazier’s face (to quote Mauro Ranallo). Cormier gets full mount. Frazier is defending fairly well, but is not bucking. He gives up his back. 1:30 left in the round and the ref stops it at 1:21 as Cormier is pounding.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Daniel Cormier def. Gary Frazier by TKO (ground n’ pound) Rd 2 (3:39).

Cormier claimin GDP after the fight. This was a great fight for two guys making their pro debut. Very impressive from both guys, especially Cormier. Cormier’s young daughter passed away and he showed a photo of her before the fight and said she is why he wrestled and is fighting.

Travis Calanoc vs. Thomas Longacre

Round 1 – Body kick by Calanoc. Longacre with a nice hard leg kick. Longacre lands a nice punch. Calanoc moves in swinging but eats one. Leg kick by Calanoc and gets punched back against the cage in the process. Longacre lands a brutal leg kick after a flurry of combinations. Another combo by Longacre. Longacre keeping an impressive pace. He ties up Calanoc and lands a nice knee to the body. Calanoc comes in for a body lock but gets popped. Big head kick by Longacre is only partially blocked. Calanoc hurts Longacre with a left hook that buckles him briefly. Muay Thai clinch by Calanoc lands some nice knees to the head. Longacre lands some shots, then a big left hook that rocks Calanoc briefly. Sweep by Calanoc knocks Longacre to his back, but he shoots and puts Calanoc on his back. Calanoc gets up, they exchange shots as the bell sounds. Damn good fight, and a damn close fight.

Round 2 – Quadros gave Longacre the first round 10-9 because of the first half of the round. However, Calanoc did more damage. Head kick blocked by Calanoc. Nice left hook by Calanoc. A bit slower pace this round. Nice overhand right by Longacre followed by a big leg kick. Nice knee by Calanoc, but he quickly gets rockedd by some big punches from Longacre. And another combo from Longacre lands. Longacre picking up the pace with burst attacks. Longacre explodes with different types of combos and he lands at least half of all his strikes, picking apart Calanoc is getting worn down. Lands a nice left hook though. Big shots from Longacre, rocks Calanoc’s head back from an uppercut. Calanoc locks on a guillotine and falls backward, Longacre rolls over and out of the hold. Longacre is back up and finishes with a flurry as the bell sounds. Clearly a 10-9 round for Longacre.

Round 3 – Longacre is ready to go with a smile. Left hand lands by Calanoc. Left jab by Longacre, then a leg kick. Superman punch with a jump off the cage by Calanoc. Those fancy things aren’t going to help. Calanoc goes for another guillotine but ends up with Longacre on top in side mount. Longacre simply stands up to bring the fight back to the feet. Calanoc stands up and they exchange shots. Calanoc goes for two spinning back fists to no avail, getting desperate it seems. Leg kick by Calanoc is counteredd by a nice left. Head kick lands solid by Longacre but not a lot of heat on it. Body shot lands solid by Longacre. Longacre continues to explode with bursts of combinations. Calanoc goes for another guillotine attempt. Longacre slips right out of the hold and is on top in Calanoc’s guard. Calanoc attempts an armbar but Longacre rolls out in escape. They stand up and being exchanging. 30 seconds left in the fight. Both fighters swing for the fences for the complete last ten seconds. Great showing by Longacre in his Strikeforce debut.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Thomas Longacre def. Travis Calanoc by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Tyron Woodley vs. Zach Light

Round 1 – Zach Light has a record of 6-8. Body kick by Woodley. Overhand right by Light is blocked. Nice leg kick by Light but eats a punch for it. Woodley picks Light up high in the air and slams him. Woodley is in half guard, looking for the mount. Woodley trying to soften him up. Not one of Woodley bouts have gone to the judges; he has submitted every opponent he’s faced as a professional. Woodley still in Light’s half guard. Two minutes left in the round. Woodley finally gets the full mount and has his hooks in. Nice ground and pound from Woodley, he locks in an arm triangle choke and Light is trying hard to defend. Woodley back in full mount as he lets go of the choke and Light does not tap. 30 seconds left and he is still in mount. Light tries to roll but can’t get it. Big round for Woodley.

Round 2 – Light looks pretty fresh and is moving forward throwing shots. Woodley looks calm. Right hand by Woodley followed by a head kick that’s blocked. Huge overhand right by Woodley drops Light to the mat. Woodley immediately jumps on him in full mount. He locks in the arm triangle again. Light trying to defend and he survives once again. Woodley laying on the ground and pound reminiscent of the last round. Again Woodley locks in the arm triangle. Pat Miletich says Woodley isn’t quite doing the arm triangle correctly. They are back to their feet. Woodley lands a combo then sweeps him off his feet in one beautiful transition, slams him on his head. Woodley then transitions to an armbar as Light tries to roll out, and there is the tap out he is known for and has been looking for. Including his am record he is now 11-0. 4-0 as pro.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tyron Woodley def. Zach Light by submission (armbar) Rd 2 (3:38).

Ray Sefo vs. Kevin Jordan

Round 1 – This is an interesting match-up. Leg kick by Sefo. Another leg kick by Sefo. Jordan shoots for the takedown, Sefo turns in the air and lands on top in Jordan’s guard. Sefo tries to pass and is reversed. Jordan is now on top in side mount. Knee to the body by Jordan. Sefo should have just probably stood up. Why he tried to stay down their with a veteran like Jordan is  beyond me. Jordan locks in a keylock, Sefo grimmacing and holds on with his other hand. He survives for the moment. Sefo’s defense looks like the inexperienced ground fighter he is. Jordan mounts with 1:20 left in the round. This is terrible for the kickboxing legend. Sefo covers up as Jordan lays on the ground and pound. Jordan’s shots are not super hard though. Sefo rolls to his side and Jordan is pouring it on now. This reminds me of when Kimbo got mounted by Thompson. Bell sounds and he survives.

Round 2 – Jordan is a UFC vet if you didn’t know. Jordan shoots, Sefo stuffs it. Something is wrong with Jordan as Sefo stands up. Jordan isn’t moving. Sefo rushes in for the attack. Jordan can not get up and the fight is called due to injury. Quadros says Sefo has nine lives and he just used one of them. This is not the way anyone wants to win. He won because he survived basically. Sefo moves to 2-0 in his pro MMA career.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Ray Sefo def. Kevin Jordan by submission (verbal) Rd 2 (:24).

Main Event:

American Military hero Tim Kennedy (10-2) takes on undefeated fighter Zak Cummings (10-0). Cummings’ most notable win was probably against Terry Martin at Rumble in Racetown. His last fight was a first round TKO of Dominic Brown back in May. Cummings is a senior at Missouri State.

Kennedy is a Green Beret who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kennedy’s biggest win was probably his last bout, which was against Nick “The Goat” Thompson. Thompson submitted to Kennedy’s punches at Strikeforce Challenger Series 2 back in June of this year.

Tim Kennedy vs. Zak Cummings

Round 1 – Both fighters look ready. Head kick blocked by Kennedy. Right hand and a left hand by Kennedy. Kennedy dumps Cummings on his back. Cummings attempts a kimura but Kennedy powers out. Kennedy in half guard and Cummings holds Kennedy’s wrist. Kennedy lands some punches from this position. Cummings gives up his back as he tries to explode.  Cummings rolls back to his back and Kennedy has full mount. Kennedy is landing BIG shots, LOUD shots. Cummings is rocked. Kennedy has back mount control, Cummings rolls again and gets half guard. Cummings hanging tough just like New Kids on the Block. Kennedy still pounding as Cummings squirms, twists, and grabs his wrists. Kennedy has full mount and lands two huge shots. Cummings rolls to his belly. Kennedy has his back. Kennedy is just dominating Cummings, won’t let him breath. Kennedy is teeing off now with a flurry of shots. Ten seconds left. Some how Cummings survives and gets back to his feet as the bell sounds. Definitely a 10-8 round for Kennedy. Stick a fork in Cummings.

Round 2 – Cummings looking for the shot. Kennedy lands a nice left punch. Right hook by Kennedy. Cummings looks tentative but throws a high kick that is blocked. Keennedy has his head straight up in the air and so does Cummings as well for that matter. Kennedy lands a high kick partially. Kennedy goes for a standing guillotine but Cummings escapes and lands a big left hook. Elbow to the body by Kennedy. Kennedy going for a guillotine but Cummings is out. Kennedy locks in a north – south choke and Cummings taps out. Cummings is tough but Kennedy has noticeably improved.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tim Kennedy def. Zak Cummings by submission (north-south choke) Rd 2 (2:43).

Kennedy said after the fight Cummings is a champ and he wouldn’t want to fight him this time a year from now. Kennedy says he wants the Strikeforce Middleweight Title, says he’s not sure if he’s ready for it but he wants it.

Pat Miletich says he believes Kennedy is deserving of the next Strikeforce Middleweight Title shot.

By:  Jack Bratcher