In his pre-fight interview, Joe “Diesel” Riggs said he believed that Louis Taylor would be aggressive and that “he’ll walk into something.”
It took longer than the seasoned veteran likely expected, but in the third round, after starting to drop his hands and wade into trouble with his head straight up, Taylor walked into a crushing left hand, forcing him to revert back to his wrestling immediately.
Taylor looked to survive by shooting for a take down, but Riggs stuffed it, then took Taylor to the ground. Riggs quickly looked to pass into a more dominant position and did, isolating and trapping the arms of Taylor.
Riggs locked up the “crucifix” and dropped a barrage of left hands, and within seconds, Taylor was tapping due to strikes.
The fight took place at a catchweight of 182 pounds, and Riggs (33-11 MMA, 4-4 UFC, 4-3 SF) will move back up into Strikeforce’s middleweight division, and has voiced his desire to be a part of the upcoming 185 pound tournament.
Tate wins back-to-back to take Strikeforce’s welterweight tournament title
After a lackluster decision victory over Maiju Kujala in the first round of the tournament, Miesha Tate (11-2 MMA, 4-1 SF) came alive with a very impressive and dominating performance over Hitomi Akano to win the women’s Strikeforce welterweight tournament title.
The victory was not without adversity, as Akano locked up a nasty looking ankle lock in the first round that threatened Tate early. Tate worked free from the submission attempt and turned it on in the second round, controlling Akano on the ground and nearly locking up a rear naked choke to finish off a dominating round.
The third round saw Tate become even stronger, with both fighters putting on a grappling clinic in the process, but in the end, the pressure and dominating positions of Tate won her a unanimous decision victory and another shot at Strikeforce 135 pound champion Sarah Kaufman.
Kaufman however, has a date with Marloes Coenen before that rematch can occur. Tate has faced Kaufman once before in the Strikeforce cage, losing a decision to the champion in 2009.
Couture impressive in Strikeforce/Pro debut
Ryan Couture (1-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) wasted little time notching a victory in his Strikeforce and pro debut, locking up a quick fight-ending triangle choke against Lucas Stark in just over one minute in the first round.
Couture used a trip takedown to get the fight to the ground early, and after a scramble, landed some stiff knees before securing a front headlock on Stark. Stark dropped for a fireman’s carry and executed it perfectly… right into a triangle. Couture slapped on the triangle and got the tap almost immediately.
“That’s my favorite [hold], for sure,” Couture said. “I feel great. It’s been a really good week getting ready for this fight.”
Strikeforce Challengers 10 quick results:
Joe Riggs def. Louis Taylor by submission (strikes) Rd 3 (2:07)
Miesha Tate def. Hitomi Akano by unanimous decision Rd 3 (3:00)
Ryan Couture def. Lucas Stark by submission (triangle choke) Rd 1 (1:15)
Hitomi Akano def. Carina Damm by submission (arm bar) Rd 2 (1:48)
Miesha Tate def. Maiju Kujala by unanimous decision Rd 2 (3:00)
Liz Carmouche def Colleen Schneider by unanimous decision Rd 2 (3:00)