Strikeforce Challengers VII: "Johnson vs. Mahe" is all set for tonight (Mar. 26) at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The five-fight main card will air live on the premium cable channel Showtime beginning at 11 p.m. ET.
Headlining the card will be hard hitting heavyweights Lavar "Big" Johnson and Lolohea Mahe. Ron "Abongo" Humphrey, George Bush III, Luke Stewart, Andre Galvao and others will also be competing on the card.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the event, beginning with the Showtime telecast at 11 p.m. ET. In addition, up-to-the-minute quick results of all the other under card bouts will begin to flow around 9:00 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the Showtime telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment (or 10) before you leave and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show -- it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after "Johnson vs. Mahe."
Strikeforce Challenger Series VII QUICK RESULTS:
Lavarr "Big" Johnson defeats Lolohea Mahe via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:29 of round two
Ron "Abongo" Humphrey defeats George Bush III via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:44 of round one
Andre Galvao defeats Luke Stewart via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
Miesha "Takedown" Tate defeats Zoila Frausto via submission (armbar) at 4:09 of round two
Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox defeats Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
265 lbs.: Daniel Cormier (1-0) vs. John Devine (5-1)
155 lbs.: Ben Holscher (4-0) vs. Alex Trevino (4-1)
Strikeforce Challenger Series VII PLAY-BY-PLAY LIVE MAIN CARD COMMENTARY:
James here!
265 lbs.: Lavar "Big" Johnson (13-3) vs. Lolohea Mahe (4-0-1)
Round one: Gloves touch and here we go. They exchange jabs right away. Johnson continues to snap his jab out there. Big right hand counter from Mahe sends Johnson back pedaling a few steps. He fires right back though. These guys are throwing some heat. It looks like Johnson was poked in the eye and there's a pause in the action. Back underway, and Johnson is still feeling out that jab. Again, Mahe with a hard right hand counter. Johnson is going to have to adjust to that or he'll be sleeping soon. Mahe with a takedown attempt now. He has Johnson pinned against the cage but Lavar has a standing guillotine attempt. Johnson is cranking it hard now, expending a lot of energy. Mahe may be in trouble though. The choke is deep and Johnson is cranking it hard. He finally lets it go. He used a lot of gas there. Mahe still working for the takedown and he finally picks Johnson up and drives him into the mat. Johnson is trying to kick him off, but Mahe is still on top of him. Johnson working to get back up. Mahe moves to side mount with a lot of weight on Johnson. Johnson is up! The crowd loves it and Mahe just misses on a wild right hand. Johnson looks tired and Mahe picks him up and slams him back to the floor. The round ends there and Mahe should be ahead 10-9.
Round two: Johnson walks forward with a jab. Mahe unloads a three punch combo that has Johnson retreating again. Takedown attempt now from Mahe as he drives Johnson into the fence. Nice reversal from Johnson and he pushes away from the clinch. Hard leg kick lands for Johnson. Mahe is looking dog tired and Johnson has a second wind. He's firing away now. Nice right hand lands on Mahe's chin. Mahe fires back and misses on a right hand. More jabs and right hands from Johnson are connecting at will. Leg kick and a body shot from Johnson. More hard jabs. Mahe is wobbly. Now he fires back. One of these guys are going down soon. Mahe desperately tries for a takedown. He eats a big uppercut. Johnson looking for another guillotine, but he's much too tired for that. They separate and Johnson is teeing off with big punches on Mahe. Mahe is bleeding from his nose. Johnson is unloading. Body punches. Overhand rights. Mahe is taking a ridiculous amount of punishment. Johnson continues to fire away as Mahe goes down to one knee. He's getting drilled and the referee finally ends the beating. Very entertaining heavyweight fight.
Final Result: Lavarr "Big" Johnson defeats Lolohea Mahe via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:29 of round two
205 lbs.: Ron "Abongo" Humphrey (5-1) vs. George Bush III (5-1)
Round one: Bush circles around and meets Abongo in the center. Abongo pushes him back with a few jabs and then shows a high kick. Bush with some inside leg kicks. Abongo tries to counter with another high kick and Bush makes him pay with a nice takedown. Abongo works back to his feet quickly and eats an uppercut on his way up. More hard leg kicks from Bush. Another hard one lands on the outside of Abongo's left leg and you could see him wince from it. Into the clinch now and Bush is looking for another takedown. Abongo might have a guillotine attempt here. He does and Bush is tapping out. Wow, that came out of nowhere.
Final result: Ron "Abongo" Humphrey defeats George Bush III via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:44 of round one
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170 lbs.: Luke Stewart (6-2) vs. Andre Galvao (3-1)
Round one: Stewart takes the center of the cage. He walks Galvao down and unloads a combination before Galvao drills him with a left hand and then scores a takedown. Galvao is quick! Stewart is on his back, but he has full guard. Galvao with body punches as Stewart works some shots to his head from his back. Galvao stands and drops two or three hard right hands before landing back in Stewart's guard. Stewart looking for an omaplata, but Galvao shrugs it off. Stewart trying to hold on to a leg as Galvao tries to escape, but he doesn't have it. Gavlao now has Stewart's leg, looking for an ankle lock. Stewart stacks him up and they're tied up pretty good right now. Nice escape by Stewart and they're back up on their feet. Knees from Galvao from the clinch. More knees with a couple stiff right hands mixed in as well. Galvao looking for the takedown now and he gets it. Stewart pops right back up and he unloads a hard body kick to the Brazilian. High kicks now from a confident Luke Stewart. Another takedown attempt from Stewart, but Galvao is using the cage nicely to defend it. Foot stomps from Stewart. Galvao tries to pull guard with 10 seconds to go, but Stewart is having none of that as the round comes to a close. Tough to judge. I'm leaning towards Galvao.
Round two: Body kick from Stewart and then they both exchange left hands. Another nice exchange as Stewart comes in for a body lock, looking for a takedown. Galvao is good with the knees from the clinch. Stewart pushes out and he lands a straight kick. Galvao counters with a hard left hand. Stewart felt that one. Stewart continues to stalk Galvao and push forward though. Another straight kick. Stewart leans in with a nice combination now. Galvao shoots in and Stewart with great takedown defense. Knee attempt misses from Stewart and he loses his footing. He's on his back and Galvao wastes no time jumping on top of him. Stewart reverses and he takes the top position before standing. He has a body lock and he's working some nice knees now. Galvao looking for the trip, but Stewart is standing tough. Knee now from Stewart as they separate. Body kick lands for Stewart as Galvao misses with a right hand. Stewart still pushing forward with punches and leg kicks. Galvao looks frustrated, but now he scores on a quick takedown. Stewart has half guard with Galvao on top of him. Elbows to the body now from Galvao. Stewart blocks Galvao from getting full mount, and now he reverses and takes the top position. Very nice! The round ends there and that was a big round for Luke Stewart.
Round three: Stewart takes the center again and Galvao shows a high kick. Stewart answers with three or four kicks of his own and a couple hard punches before initiating a clinch. Galvao is the one that's able to get the takedown though and he has the top position in Stewart's full guard. Hard ground strikes from Galvao now. He stands and Stewart makes him pay with an upkick. Stewart is very active from the bottom. He's looking for a triangle, but Galvao takes side control. Another fantastic reversal from Luke Stewart as he sweeps to the top position and he has side mount on Galvao now. He stands and lands a couple of punches before Galvao follows him to the feet. Stewart is latched on to Galvao's leg and Galvao is teeing off with hammer fists. Stewart has to let get and they're on the mat again. Stewart reverses again and he's back to his feet. His cardio is top notch. He has not stopped moving at any point during this fight. Another takedown attempt from Galvao. Stewart is defending with ten seconds to go. The bell rings and that's it. That was another very close round. This fight could easily go either way, but Stewart seemed to be more active. I'd give it to him.
Final result: Andre Galvao defeats Luke Stewart via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
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135 lbs.: Zoila Frausto (2-0) vs. Miesha "Takedown" Tate (7-2)
Round one: Tate with a stiff left jab. Frausto answers back with some fast hands. Tate maintains the center of the cage and pushes forward with more jabs. Frausto swinging for the fences now, but not landing. Tate lands and overhand right. Frausto with a leg kick and now Tate shoots and drives Frausto into the fence. Nice dirty boxing from Tate here as she continues to work fo the takedown. She finally gets it and she right to side control right in the middle of the cage. Nice hammer fists from Miesha. She stands and drops a big right hand on Frausto's chin. She's back on her now and still has side mount. More hard left hands from Tate. Frausto gives up her back and Tate is looking for the choke. She doesn't have her hooks in and Frausto stands and shrugs her off her back. They're back on their feet now and Miesha lands a straight kick to the body. Frausto with a wild right hand that misses and Tate makes her pay by driving her back into the cage. Knees from Tate as she continues to work for the takedown. She gets it and again has side control right away. Tate looking for a full mount now, but Frausto defends it. Frausto trying to use her legs to pull Tate off of her, but the round ends anyway. Big round for Tate. Nice execution.
Round two: Tate takes to center of the cage right away. Leg kicks from Frausto. Big right hand now from the hometown fighter. Straight kick now sends Tate backwards. Tate's had enough and she shoots for a takedown. She has a both legs and she finally secures the takedown. Right into side control again but Frausto has a weak guillotine attempt. It seems to be backfiring on her though as Tate is using it to her advantage to choke Frausto. Frausto's face is bright red and she's trapped. She seems to be okay now and they both finally let go. Miesha looking to pass to mount and now she has an arm triangle. She lets go and now she gets full mount. Frausto is trying to buck her way out and now Tate has her arm. Frausto refuses to tap, but Tate has it extremely tight. I have no idea how she is still holding on. She finally gives in and submits, but she showed a ton of heart right there. Big finish for Tate though.
Final result: Miesha "Takedown" Tate defeats Zoila Frausto via submission (armbar) at 4:09 of round two
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160 lbs.: Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox (8-3) vs. Shamar Bailey (10-1)
Round one: Gloves touch and we're underway. Wilcox charges forward with punches as Bailey retreats. Wilcox with a big kick and Bailey looks wobbly. Wilcox charges in again with big punches. The referee slips as Bailey is retreating. He's back up now and Wilcox lands a leg kick. Wilcox is the clear aggressor early on. Baily is cut and bleeding badly. Another nice high kick lands for Wilcox. Bailey tries one of his own, but Wilcox easily avoids it. Nice combination from Bailey. Wilcox fires back with a hard right hand. Wilcox with more punches. There's blood everywhere and the referee calls timeout to get the cut checked. He's able to continue and we're back underway. Nice right hands from Wilcox. Right kick lands to Bailey's body. Into a clinch, but only momentarily. Bailey leans in with a two punch combo. Wilcox answers with a combination of his own, and he follows it up with another head kick right on the chin. Wilcox shoots and he has a single. Bailey is defending it and he's able to escape, but not without eating a hard right hand from Wilcox. Bailey shoots now and he has a single leg. Wilcox shrugs him off and now he has a north south position. The round ends there. Wilcox 10-9.
Round two: Jabs from Bailey and Wilcox fires with a big right hand. High kick from Wilcox is blocked. Another lands and Bailey is hurt. Wilcox chases him down, but he's able to recover. Nice left hand lands from Wilcox. Now there's a stop in the action. Wilcox was poked in the eye. He's good to go and we're back at it. Jabs from Wilcox. Nice combination from Wilcox. Hard counter right hand lands from Wilcox. Wilcox is being a lot more active than Bailey in this round. Bailey isn't doing much but defending himself and sticking his jab out there lazily. Now he connects on a left hand, but Wilcox makes him pay with a kick to the body. Bailey says it was low and there's another pause in the action. He's given time to recover and now they're back underway. Another high kick lands for Wilcox. He's been very effective with that tonight. Nice right hand from Wilcox. Left hand lands for Bailey, but again, Wilcox counters with a body kick. Hard overhand right lands for Wilcox and Bailey is in trouble. He's covering up his eye and Wilcox is pounding him. Slamming takedown now for Wilcox. Bailey is saved by the bell as Wilcox was pounding his bloody face there for a good ten seconds. Wilcox is well ahead on the scorecards at this point.
Round three: Wilcox is still being aggressive even with the big lead and he lands a nice left hand. Bailey lands a couple of jabs and Wilcox counters with a leg kick. More jabs from Bailey. Wilcox charges forward with three or four right hands as Bailey circles away. Again Wilcox leans in with more right hands. He's landing at will on Bailey now, mixing in left and right hands. Bailey counters with a hard uppercut. Bailey tries to clinch, but Wilcox punches his way out. Bailey with tries a knee, but Wilcox times it nicely and he scores a driving takedown. He moves right to full mount and he's trying to finish the fight as Bailey hangs on for dear life. Big left hands now for Wilcox. Bailey is defending the punches as best he can and now Wilcox transitions to an armbar with 10 seconds to go. He doesn't get it and the bell rings bringing the fight to a close. Wilcox is going to win this decision.
Final result: Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox defeats Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
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