Gegard Mousasi walked into the Strikeforce hexagon inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., tonight (Jan. 12, 2013) to fight Mike Kyle on the Showtime-televised main card.
Prior to the 205-pound showdown, "Dream Catcher" revealed that he turned up the heat on his training, feeling that he wasn't achieving his full potential. And with an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster spot on the line against "MAK," it was most likely a pretty smart move.
A smart move that paid off in spades.
Mousasi, as he normally does, calmly stalked his opponent, throwing punches and looking for an opening to close the distance. He found that opening early in the opening frame, getting Kyle to the canvas and then unleashing his patented savage ground and pound from full mount.
Kyle could not escape as Mousasi began to fire more bombs and with more power. With nowhere to run, Kyle rolled to his belly to escape the abuse, but that's a huge blunder when you are locked inside a cage with a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter as well rounded as the Armenian.
Mousasi easily slipped his arm underneath Kyle's chin, squeezed hard and forced the tapout.
Smooth like butter.
For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce: "Marquardt vs. Saffiedine" click here.