LAS VEGAS — ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) is LIVE on the scene at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas this evening for Strikeforce Challengers 19 featuring Lorenz Larkin vs. Nick Rossborough in the main event. Bobby Green, Lavar Johnson, and Ryan Couture will also be in action.

Keep checking back for updated results and live play-by-play.

Strikeforce Challengers 19 quick results:

MAIN CARD:

• LHW Main Event: Lorenz Larkin def. Nick Rossborough via UD (30-27,29-28,30-27) Round 3 (5:00)
• HW Co-Main Event: Shawn Jordan def. Lavar Johnson via Tapout (Americana) Round 2 (3:08)
• Lightweight Feature Attraction: Ryan Couture def. Maka Watson via Maj. Dec. (28-28, 29-28,29-28)
• Welterweight Bout: Jason Moore def. Todd Moore via UD (30-27, 30-27,30-27) Round 3 (5:00)
• Welterweight Fight: Brian Melancon def. Felipe Portela by UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Round 3 (5:00)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

• Lightweight Bout: James Terry def. Magno Almeida via KO Round 1 (3:27)
• Lightweight Fight: Bobby Green def. Chris Spain via Tapout (Arm Triangle) Round 2 (2:54)
• Welterweight Bout: Chris Spang def. Joe Ray via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x 3) Round 3 (5:00)
• 176.5 Catchweight Fight: Quinn Mulhern def. Danny Davis by Sub (Arm Triangle) Round 3 (4:08)

Strikeforce Challengers 19 play-by-play:

(176.5 catchweight) Quinn Mulhern vs. Danny Davis

Round 1 – Davis comes out with an early high kick. He’s taking the center of the cage and is attacking. Mulhern shoots for a takedown and is stuffed. Big flurry, punches landed by both fighters. They clinch in the center and Mulhern presses Davis against the fence. They trade knees to the body. Mulhern with over-under control. Davis is able to scramble free and retakes the center. Big straight right by Davis. Both fighters connecting on their exchanges. Teep kick by Mulhern is answered with a kick by Davis, who is taken down, but immediately pops up and has his back against the cage. Mulhern trying hard for a single, Davis showing great balance. Mulhern’s corner calling for the knees against the cage. They’re apart again with about 40 seconds left. Low kick by Davis is answered with a right by Mulhern. And again. Davis comes in with a combo to end the round. 10-9 Davis

Round 2 – Low kicks by Davis, Mulhern attempting to counter. Good sprawl by Davis on the double attempt, and once again we’re up against the fence with Mulhern in control. Mulhern working hard for a double. Davis pummeling into double underhooks, and is able to spin out and take control. Mulhern spins back to the dominant position, and is able to life Davis into the air temporarily, but is punished by strikes and is temporarily on his back. Another great sprawl by Davis. Mulhern is cut around the hairline, doesn’t seem to be affecting his vision yet. Mulhern with the thai clinch against the fence, and a little dirty boxing by both fighters. Level trajectory elbow by Davis. Mulhern seems to be taking big breaths. He’s once again trying for a double, and after a scramble, ends up on Davis’ back. Raining down punches, attempting the rear naked but abandons it quickly in lieu of more strikes. Davis attempting to control the hands to avoid the choke. Ten seconds left, and Mulhern finishes with a few more short strikes. 10-9 Mulhern

Round 3 – Mulhern starts off the round with a single leg, and gets it. Quinn’s corner shouting that Davis is tired. He takes Davis’ back once again, but loses it quickly. He switches to a guillotine position, but retakes the back after Davis scrambles to escape. After landing a few blows, he scrambles into full mount. His corner is yelling for elbows, and Mulhern obliges. Davis trying very hard to hip escape, to no avail. Mulhern reposition and continues the elbows. Davis is in full turtle mode as Mulhern rains down punches. He moves to the Davis’ back, and locks in a body triangle. Back to full mount. More shots, into an arm triangle. Davis taps with :52 left in the round.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Quinn Mulhern wins via Submission (Arm Triangle) at 4:08 of Round 3

(170) Joe Ray vs. Chris Spang

Round 1 – Feeling out process to start, until Spang lands a big body kick. His jab gets through the guard of Ray. Ray answers by popping Spang’s head back with a jab of his own. Spang goes for the head kick; blocked. One two by Spang lands hard. They’re aboslutely trading now. Spang presses him against the cage and start working the knee strikes. After a little hand battling, he separates. In the center of the cage, neither man immediately engages. Lots of faints and fakes by both fighters. Spinning back kick by Spang lands to the body. More kicks by Spang. Double jab by Chris. Ray’s corner admonishes him for dropping his hands. They trade kicks. Ray gets through with his jab. High kick by Spang lands on the shoulder of Ray. Spang lands a brutal 1-2-kick combo. No one engages after the 10 second sticks clap. 10-9 Spang

Round 2 – They again start out the round with a feeling out process for the first 30 seoconds. Spang lands a combo. Leg kick by Ray. Spinning backfist by Ray, followed by a 3 punch combo against the fence. Most of it was blocked. Flying knee attempt by Spang, who is definitely the flashier fighter. Spang motions for Ray to engage with him. Ray walks him back to the fence, and lands a leg kick. More fainting by both men. Big right hook by Spang connects on the ear. Head kick by Spang barely misses. Ray charges forward with a combo, landing only the final strike, a leg kick. Ray partially lands a body kick, mostly with the foot. Spang with some SNAPPING kicks to the body. Another 1-2-3-kick combo by Ray. He’s starting to land more leg kicks this round. Another one. High kick by Ray pushes Spang to his right. 10-9 Ray

Round 3 – Very important round for both fighters. It’ll probably come down to who wants it more in this stanza. Flurry of punches and kicks by both fighters. Spang with a teep. Ray finds a home for his jab. Ray takes a low kick, but tells the ref to start the time right back up. Spang clinches, lands a knee to the head, and completes the take down near the fence. He’s in half-guard. Ray doing a good job of neutralizing his movement so far. Short strikes to the body by Spang. Mosquito bites really. Now he’s connecting with some hammerfists. Ray uses a kneebar attempt to scramble back to his feet. Now it’s Spang who takes one to the nether region, and hits the deck because of it. Back to his feet, then back to his knees. He’s in obvious pain, but only uses about 30 seconds of his allotted five minutes and we’re back to the action. Spang connects with a hook. Ray answers with a multi punch combo. Another incidental low kick by Ray. Ref tells Spang the next low kick will result in a point deduction. Ray comes forward and seems to hurt Spang with a combo. Spang does the “bring it on” motion, and after Ray presses him against the cage, he jumps a tight guillotine. 40 seoconds left. Ray still in the choke, punching Spang in the liver. He pops his head out with ten seconds left, and ends the round in Spang’s guard. 10-9 Spang

OFFICIAL RESULT: Chris Spang defeats Joe Ray via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x 3) Round 3 (5:00)

(155) Charon Spain vs. Bobby Green

Round 1 – Green takes the center of the stage, but it’s Spain who’s coming forward early. Green backs him up to the fence, and Spain answers back with a combo of his own. Big flying knee by Green fells Spain, and he follows him to the ground with strikes, ending up in side control. Green tries to isolate and arm, and it leads to him halfway on Spain’s back along the fence. Green peppering in hammerfists and punches in between trying to improve his position. Spain regains half guard. Green moves to North-South, and back into side control. Knees to the body by Green. Short elbows to the head by Green. Back to north-south. Spain can’t seem to escape the clutches of Green. Impressive top control from many positions. Green threatens with a north-south choke for a moment, and now has Spain in a front headlock on their knees. Spain momentarily regains his feet, but is slammed back down to his back with Green in his closed guard. He’s leaving his guard wide open now, and Green passes to half-guard. Few more shots by Green as the horn sounds. 10-8 Green

Round 2 – Green coming out as the aggressor early in the round, but gets a little overzealous and gets taken down. He immediately outwrestles Spain though, and winds up back in his guard. He passes to side control with Spain in the turtle position. Green landing shots the entire time. Spain attempts to use the cage to wall walk back up, but Spain puts the nix on that. Back to half guard, and he passes to full mount before taking his back and flattening him out. Big shots now by Green. Spain is only covering up at this point. He finally starts scrambling, but ends up tapping quickly to a head and arm choke.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Bobby Green def. Chris Spain via Tapout (Arm Triangle) Round 2 (2:54)

(155) Magno Almeida vs. James Terry

Note: Surprised to see Terry on the unaired prelim card after headlining the last Challengers card in a loss to Caros Fodor. Guess that speaks to the amount of talent on this card.

Round 1 – Almeida lands a right to start us off. Low blow stops the action less than 30 seconds in. They touch gloves, and Almeida goes right back to the inside leg kick. Almeida looks VERY relaxed in there. Terry just misses with a head kick off of a jab. Set it up nicely, but Almeida just slipped it. Another low kick has Terry grimacing. Double leg kick from both fighters land simultaneously to start us back up. High kick by Terry blocked. He lands an inside leg kick, and taunts Almeida a bit. Almeida pushes him against the fence, but Terry escapes quickly. Terry starting to let his hands go now. They trade leg kicks. Almeida charges forward with a combo, but Terry hurts him with a punch, then drops him against the fence with a series of hooks, and the ref steps in.

OFFICIAL RESULT: James Terry def. Magno Almeida via KO Round 1 – 3:27

(170) Brian Melancon vs. Felipe Portela

Round 1 – We’re live on Showtime! Kim Winslow is our referee. Melancon comes out with a flurry of punches to start us off. Portela lands a counter off a Melancon combo. Melancon is very aggressive in the first minute. Nice inside leg kick by Portela. BIG outside leg kick to follow it up. They are trading big shots now, really swinging to end the fight. Head kick by Portela is blocked. Nice combo by Melnacon. Melancon shoots for the double, and continues the attempt along the fence. BIG slam  brings Portela down with Melancon into North South. Melancon almost has the back standing, but Portela is able to circle out. They sepearate, and Portela lands a nice counter right. Front kick to the face just misses for Portela. Nice body shot by Melancon, followed up by a HUGE outside leg kick by Portela. Right hook by Melancon. Suplex slam by Melancon lands him in side control. No real strikes landed before the horn sounds. 10-9 Melancon in an action packed round.

Round 2 – After trading a few jabs, Melancon catches one to the family jewels 27 seconds in. They’re back at it after a short stoppage, and they’re both swinging wildly in close. Nice faint by Melancon ends with a right. Melancon charges forward with a combo starting with an uppercut. Portela has a leg kick checked. Punches in bunches, with nothing looking to have landed too cleanly. Portela fakes a jab and lands a high kick to the right arm of Portela. Portela shoots for a single, and ends up getting spun around on the fence when it fails. They seperate, and Melancon lands a big body shot followed by a clean hook to the head. Stiff left jab from Melancon. Portela finds a little success on a counter, followed by a leg kick. Portela misses with a combo, but ends up getting the double into half guard along the steel. Winslow stops the action for a moment, then restarts it in the original position. Melancon breaks free and lands a huge hook to drop Portela right before the horn. This round is much easier to score. 10-9 Melancon

Round 3 – The fighters come out with a slightly slower pace to start the third. They trade jabs, and Melancon lands the first good punch of the round with a hook. He’s starting to put his combos together in a big way. They trade left hands. Portela connects with a left followed by a body kick. Body shot by Melancon before he finishes with a leg kick. STIFF straight left by Melnancon. More body work by Melancon. Portela lands a head kick and gets a huge crowd reaction. Left hand by Melancon lands clean. He shoots for a takedown and gets it along the fence. Portela in a sitting guard position, Melancon is able to drag him away and put him fully on his back. With 90 seconds left, they scramble and end up back on the feet. Portela lands a nice three punch combo. Both fighters have slowed, and just as I type that, Melancon gets a big takedown in the center of the cage and now has Portela’s head up against the fence. He’s back up with 10 to go, and gets his TD attempt stuffed by Melancon. 10-9 Melancon in another close one. Could go either way with the close first and third round.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Brian Melancon def. Felipe Portela by UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Round 3 (5:00)

(170) Todd Moore vs. Jason High

Round 1 – High attemps a high kick that’s blocked. Moore taking the center of the cage. High lands a nice combo and finishes with a double leg against the cage. He moves into position for an arm triangle, but is using it to land punches for now. High stuck in half guard, not landing many shots of consequence. Crowd is completely silent. He starts to try to use his instep to pass, and does temporarily before Moore is able to scramble into full guard. As he tries to sit up, High jumps into a guillotine position, but loses it. Back in half-guard. Moore is doing a pretty good job of neutralizing the offense of High. Now he’s passed into full mount and lands a nice left hand. Moore regains half-guard and that’s how the round ends. 10-9 High

Round 2 – They touch gloves and we’re back underway. High reaches in for a left and his new position causes a Todd Moore leg kick to land in the groin. They’re both in the center of the cage, and High lands a left. Moore gets taken down off of a combo, and High lands in half guard. High once again attempts to slide his leg out by using his free foot, this time to no avail. He breaks free temporarily, but in the ensuing scramble, Moore out wrestles him and winds up in High’s closed guard. Moore spins to his back, but gets shrugged off and winds up on his back. Back to half-guard. High attempts a guillotine from half-guard, likely in an attempt to pass more than to finish the fight from that position. Moore does a good job of keeping  the leg locked in though. Crowd getting restless. “Somebody do SOMEthing”. Not much happens in the final minute, but I think Moore is going to have to do something drastic in the final frame if he wants to win. 10-9 High

Round 3 – Let’s see if Moore’s corner told him the truth and he shows some desperation. High starts off the round with a big double leg. Back into half-guard. Cut to the back of Moore’s head. Mazzagatti doesn’t look too concerned yet, despite the large bloodstain on the mat behind Moore’s head. Not sure how he got that cut, as it didn’t appear he was illegally struck. Now that they’re nice and lathered up, there doesn’t appear to be any new blood coming from Moore. Crowd audibly booing the lack of action now. Mazzagatti apparently doesn’t feel like standing them up despite the relative absence of any offense. Moore finally regains full guard in the most action we’ve seen in about 3 minutes. More top control by High almost certainly locks up the decision. 10-9 High

Note: Replay shows that Moore did in deed catch a glancing elbow off the side of the head that cut him. Ring announcer Adam Gibbs misspoke, announcing that High won, which elicited a HUGE groan from the audience until he corrected his mistake.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jason Moore def. Todd Moore via UD (30-27, 30-27,30-27) Round 3 (5:00)

(155) Maka Watson vs. Ryan Couture

Round 1 – Couture takes Watson’s back standing within the first 30 seconds. Watson has been carrying him for almost a minute now, and finally drops. Both hooks in. Now he’s lost one of them. He locks in the body triangle. He gives it up to go for the arm triangle. It looks tight, but Watson gives the thumbs up. Watson escapes it, but Couture scrambles onto his back once more, both hooks in. Randy C. telling his son to “chop it in hard”; referring to his attempts at the RNC. Watson scrambles, but Couture sticks to his back like they’re velcro’ed together. Very impressive ground skills displayed by Couture, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has followed his career to this point. Watson finally scrambles and winds up in Couture’s guard. Ryan working the rubber guard, can’t quite obtain full mission control. Watson standing, delivers a few leg kicks and a punch before the horn sounds. 10-9 Couture

Round 2 – It appears Couture got cut at the end of the first round. Some residual blood, but nothing new seems to be flowing. Couture ducks a hook by Watson and drags him to the ground. He’s in side control. He takes his back again. Both hooks in with Couture on bottom, punching and hand fighting for the RNC. Watson gets his back to the mat, Couture switches to mount for just a moment before retaking the back, this time with a body triangle. 2:20 to go says Randy. He switches to mount, back into the arm triangle. Watson escapes and winds up on top. Delivering big shots from Ryan’s guard. Stacking him up. Now Couture has closed his guard. He traps and arm and opens it up. Throws his hips up, but Watson stuffs it. Watson standing, leaps in but doesn’t connect. More punches and elbows from the guard. New blood on the forehead of Couture. Horn sounds. Razor close round. I’ve still got it for Couture because of all the submissions, but I’m ready to be wrong on at least two judge’s scorecards. 10-9 Couture

Round 3 – We start off with a takedown from Watson, which Couture eventually reverses to once again take the back. Looked like he was as close as he’d been to securing the choke, but Watson escaped. He switches to full mount, but Watson is able to escape to half guard. Couture goes right back to mount. Watson looks tired now. Couture smothering him and landing punches. He sits up and starts raining them down now. Takes the back again. Flattens him out, then goes back to mount for more elbows. Couture’s punches have lost some sting, but Watson is way too tired to capitalize or escape the mount. Couture has the back again. Elbows from the back mount to the side of the head. Mount once again. Couture goes for a mounted triangle and loses position back to side control. Horn sounds. 10-8 Couture

OFFICIAL DECISION: Ryan Couture def. Maka Watson via Maj. Dec. (28-28, 29-28,29-28)

(265) Shawn Jordan vs. Lavar “Big” Johnson

Round 1 – These guys look HUGE after a night of welter and LW fights. Lavar catches an eye poke, but the action isn’t stopped, and he lands a big punch. Jordan winds up on top in side control after a TD along the fence. Nasty mouse forming under Johnson’s eye, exacerbated by Jordan squeezing his head in a guillotine attempt. Jordan controlling position now in side control. Referee Kim Winslow stops the fight to have the doc look at the giant contusion under Johnson’s eye. Doesn’t appear his vision is completely blocked, so we continue. Johnson lands a big knee as Jordan comes forward. Johnson has him pressed against the cage, and starts throwing knees and punches to the body. They break, and Johnson throws a wild high kick that lands. Big hook by Johnson. Johnson either pulled a guillotine or was taken down. It was hard to see from my vantage point. Jordan scrambles to full mount. Ten to go….nothing landed. 10-9 Jordan

Round 2 – Johnson’s eye is pretty swollen, yet he presses forward. Johnson connects. BIG uppercut and hook by Lavar makes Jordan take a step back. They re-engage in the center, and Johnson is head hunting. He’s backing Jordan up in every exchange so far this round. Knee to the body against the fence by Johnson. Big flurry along the fence. Jordan answers back with a big punch. Jordan shoots for a double and gets it, winding up in half-guard. Jordan attempting to slide his leg out and pass. He looks to be isolating Johnson’s right arm, possibly for an Americana. He’s trying to use it to pass, but Johnson is keeping him locked up for now. He locks in the Americana and gets the tap! Huge backflip by Jordan to celebrate! Doesn’t quite land it, but props for trying it without injuring himself!

OFFICIAL RESULT: Shawn Jordan def. Lavar Johnson via Tapout (Americana) Round 2 (3:08)

(205) Lorenz Larkin vs. Nick Rossborough

Note: Rossborough is about the 6th fighter to get confused at which way he’s supposed to enter from the stage.

Round 1 – Here we go. Rossborough lands a jab with teh first punch thrown. Larkin answers with a HUGE leg kick. Jumping headkick by Larkin connects.  Wild strikes by both fighters. Rossborough slows things down by pressing Larkin against the fence. Thudding knee to the thigh by Larkin. Rossborough answers back with a knee of his own. Larkin explodes and gains the dominant position. More leg punishment by Larkin. Punches back and forth. Lots of dirty boxing. Larkin’s corner calling for the break, yet he holds on. Now they seperate, and Larkin goes back to the leg kick and misses a wild hook with bad intentions. Now Rossborough is putting together some combinations along the cage, and Larkin answers back. Heel strikes to the legs by Larkin with his back against the fence. He’s fighting off Rossborough’s attempts at a round-stealing takedown. More dirty boxing. They seperate with five seconds. Push kick by Rossborough just before the horn. 10-9 Larkin

Round 2 – Larkin goes right back to the thudding outside leg kicks. They trade shots. Larkin just misses with a looping hook. Rossborough comes forward, but Larkin is able to peddle backwards out of danger. Big right hook by Larkin. Rossborough is bleeding from the nose now as he takes the fight back up against the steel. Lorenz circles out and is delivering some sparse knees. Both fighters looked to be resting, so Mazzagatti separates them. Jumping knee from the half collar tie by Larkin lands to the body. Teep to the body by Rossborough creates some space. Larking putting a combo together, ending with a kick. Rossborough lands a jab and presses him to the cage again. More dirty boxing by both fighters along the fence. Larkin takes his back standing, and delivers a few knee strikes before dragging Rossborough down right at the horn. 10-9 Larkin

Round 3 – This has been a war thusfar. Rossborough putting a long combo together along the fence, bordering on a flurry. HUGE knee to the body crumples Rossborough! Larkin on top in half-guard. Larkin stands back up. Thinks Rossborough is still hurt. He’s taking big breaths through his mouth as they re-engage. Larkin gets a TD that looked more like Rossborough just kind of sitting down. Maybe I couldn’t see a trip. Big shot from Larkin on top. Larkin’s corner warning him to watch for “that Fedor”. The push-pull triangle. Should probably be called “that Werdum”, but oh well. Larkin just smothering Rossborough in his guard along the fence, landing a few short elbows here and there. Rossborough is trying to throw his hips up and attack, but Larkin is having none of it. Rossborough is bleeding from his right temple now. He almost pulls off an armbar from the bottom, but Larkin scrambles to side control. Bloodbath now. Ten to go. Larkin ends the round on top delivering strikes. 10-9 Larkin

OFFICIAL RESULT: Lorenz Larkin def. Nick Rossborough via UD (30-27,29-28,30-27) Round 3 (5:00)