Nate Marquardt and Luke Rockhold left the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, last night (Sat., July 14, 2012) with a welterweight and middleweight championship belt wrapped around their waists after victories over Tyron Woodley and Tim Kennedy, respectively.
Particularly impressive was Marquardt, who looked like he didn't lose a single step in his first official drop to 170-pounds. Not only that, he retained his considerable power, using it to clean the previously unbeaten Woodley's clock en route to a brutal fourth round finish.
It may have been "Knockout of the Year."
Rockhold, meanwhile, wasn't worlds apart from his competition but he definitely sent a statement with this five-round unanimous decision win over Kennedy. It's just too bad he was left with calling out Ronaldo Souza for a rematch instead of the big boys in the UFC.
For a more detailed look at the Marquardt vs. Woodley fight click here and here. For a deeper glance into the Rockhold vs. Kennedy fight click here and here. And for complete Strikeforce results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action from Portland click here.