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Strikeforce: 'Los Angeles' predictions, preview and analysis

Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" is all set to blow the roof off the Nokia Theater at L.A. LIVE tomorrow night (Wednesday, June 16) at 11:00 p.m. ET in Los Angeles, California.

The Showtime televised event will mark the return of Renato "Babalu" Sobral as he takes on hard-hitting slugger "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.

Several of the promotion’s other top fighters will be in action as well, including a lightweight match-up between KJ Noons and Conor Huen as well as a 205-pound scrap between Tim Kennedy and Trevor Prangley.

Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates with blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 11 p.m. ET.

To help us better prepare for tomorrow night's rumble in L.A., MMAmania.com's west coast correspondent Mustafa G is breaking down the main card fights with a closer look at each contest.

See what "G-Unit" has to say about Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" after the jump.

195 lbs.: "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral

Backgrounds:

Robbie Lawler:
3-1-1 for his last five fights.
Recent Win: KO'd Melvin Manhoef with a haymaker hook, despite being picked apart on the feet for the majority of the fight.
Recent Loss: Was submitted in the first round via guillotine by Strikeforce middleweight champ, Jake Shields.
Strengths: One punch power, TKO machine.
Weaknesses: 4 of his 5 losses are all by submission, calling his ground game into question.

Renato Sobral:
4-1 for his last five fights.
Recent Win: Submitted Rameau Sokudjou with a slick brabo choke.
Recent Loss: Was TKO'd by Gegard Mousasi in the first minute of round 1.
Strengths: Good jiu-jitsu, 18 of his wins are via submission. With 43 professional MMA fights he's got more experience than Lawler.
Weaknesses: Coming off a brutal knockout loss, not known for great stand up.

Mustafa G predicts: There's a lot riding on these fights, as the winner will receive a title in their respective weight classes. It's tempting to write this off as a "striker vs grappler" match-up but that is oversimplifying the bout. Lawler's training with the HIT Squad provides him with access to training with great wrestlers, so Babalu may have difficulty taking Lawler down.

This should seem like great news for Lawler, who could sprawl and brawl, thus giving him more opportunities to let his heavy hands fly. Lawler's striking, however, is not that technical. Every kick Manhoef landed on Lawler's thighs had me wincing in pain, and it didn't look like Robbie was going to be able to walk to his corner at the end of the round, let alone pull off the KO punch he did against his opponent.

Babalu's best bet is on the ground, but if he shows up with more technical striking than Lawler, such as setting up leg kicks like Manhoef, he can throw Lawler off guard, disrupt his rhythm and even score points in the stand up. If it goes to the ground, I'm a big fan of Babalu in this fight. Plus, Sobral's 21 more fights offers him considerably more experience than the "Ruthless" Granite City slugger, so that may very well play a factor in the fight. Also since there's no bad blood between the two fighters, if Babalu locks a submission on Lawler, he will most likely not keep it on after the ref calls the fight.

Although I genuinely believe this fight could go either way, I still cannot get the image of Babalu being so quickly dropped to the ground and TKO'd by a much younger, faster, and stronger Mousasi. I see this fight going similarly, the younger, heavy-handed Robbie Lawler overpowering Babalu on the feet, and TKO'ing the Brazilian middleweight.

Prediction: Lawler via technical knockout

170 lbs.: Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos vs. Marius "Whitemare" Zaramoskis

Backgrounds:

Evangelista Santos:
Recent Win: Landed a nice head kick followed up with strikes against Daniel Zarate in December.
Recent Loss: Split decision loss to Joey Villasenor, TKO'd by Mousasi
Strengths: Chute Boxe brawler, 10 of his wins are via KO or TKO
Weaknesses: 8 of his 13 losses are by KO or TKO, doesn't really excel in one area.

Marius Zaramoskis:
Recent Wins: String of head kick victories in Sengoku and Dream
Recent Losses: Was picked apart by Nick Diaz
Strengths: Kickboxing. He's a young, welterweight Mirko Cro Cop
Weaknesses: Not much known about his ground game, still young.

Mustafa G predicts: It's difficult for me to see Evangelista pulling off a win here. The less popular of the two Cyborgs seems outmatched by his younger opponent. Zaromskis, in addition to being exciting as hell to watch, possesses technical stand up skills and pushes an exciting and fast pace.

Santos doesn't look to have much of a chance standing with the "Whitemare". In addition to the head kicks that Marius will be looking to send home, the frenetic pace that the Lithuanian fighter pushes can be a problem for Evangelista. Since this is a welterweight fight, and Santos is considerably more muscular than Zaromskis, I can picture Marius tiring Mr. Cyborg out, and finishing the fight via KO.

Prediction: Zaromskis via knockout

205 lbs.: Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Prangley

Backgrounds:

Tim Kennedy:
Recent win: Locked a north-south choke on Zack Cummings in September. Jeff Monson would be proud.
Recent Loss: Dropped a unanimous decision to "Mayhem" Miller in December of 2007.
Strengths: Mixes all aspects of MMA, (wrestling, submissions, stand up) well. Knockout power in his hands.
Weaknesses: Still somewhat inexperienced, hasn't faced top-flight competition with the exception of Nick Thompson, who at some point was a top welterweight.

Trevor Prangley:
Recent win: Rear naked choke over Marcus Sursa
Recent Loss: Was KO'd by Jorge Santiago with a nasty knee to the body.
Strengths: Wrestling, ground game.
Weaknesses: Stand up nothing to write home about.


Mustafa G predicts: Neither Tim Kennedy nor Trevor Prangley have had significant victories over relevant fighters as of late, so it's difficult to call. The former UFC pugilist should have the edge over the Strikeforce Challengers product. Kennedy looks better every time he fights, but Prangley has more fights and has had them more often.

Couple this with Prangley's wrestling experience, and I see this fight going to the ground early where the AKA fighter will most likely control the pace of the fight for all three rounds.

Prediction: Prangley via unanimous decision.

155 lbs.: Conor "Hurricane" Heun vs. Karl "KJ" Noons

Backgrounds:

Conor Heun:
Recent Win: TKO'd James Berto
Recent Loss: Unamimous decision loss to Jorge Gurgel
Strengths: Jiu Jitsu
Weaknesses: Stiff and un-intimidating stand up.

KJ Noons:
Recent Win: Unanimous Decision Win over Andre Amado at Dream 13
Recent Loss: KO'd by Crazy Horse Bennet in February 2007.
Strengths: Good stand up, knockout power.
Weaknesses: Layoff from fighting top guys for two years (luckily for him, he's fighting Heun)

Mustafa G predicts: This fight is probably going to give KJ Noons Productions some more material for a highlight reel. Heun needs to try and get the fight to the ground to win. In the "Hurricane's" last bout, his shots were sloppy and his stand up was almost non-existent, causing him to freeze and back tread whenever Gurgel threw any punches or kicks his way.

The former EliteXC champ is exponentially better in the stand up department than Gurgel, and has fought and won against legitimate competitors in Nick Diaz and Yves Edwards.

Prediction: Noons via knockout

That’s a wrap, folks.

Remember to come check us out after the show for all the latest results, recaps and coverage of "Los Angeles."

What do you think? Now it’s your turn … let us have it in the comments section and share your thoughts and picks for Wednesday’s event.

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