It was taste-of-your-own medicine time at MMA event Strikeforce Miami this weekend, with two vicious strikers getting a feel for what it’s like to end the night staring up at the lights with a minor concussion. Early in the evening, crazy Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef was picking Robbie Lawler apart with flurries and brutal leg kicks before Lawler landed his first clean shot of the night – a blind overhand right that felled Manhoef like a diseased oak.
In the welterweight title fight, California bad boy Nick Diaz withstood an early barrage from Lithuanian headkick machine Marius Zaromskis before dropping him with a tidy right hook. Diaz proclaimed his desire to fight UFC champ Georges St-Pierre after his win, but he might need to get past tough wrestler Jay Hieron – who’s already been dismantled by GSP – before he thinks about making the jump from Strikeforce to UFC.
Looking ahead, this weekend promises a great UFC bout between ageing veterans Randy Couture and Mark Coleman (46 and 45 respectively), both world-class wrestlers with multiple UFC titles to their names. It’s a must-win match for Coleman, while Couture seems to have another career in place if the comeback doesn’t work out.
Meanwhile, MF will be cheering on The Ultimate Fighter veteran (and Dan Hardy’s Rough House team-mate) Dean Amasinger when he takes on London Shootfighters’ Alberto Mina in a title fight at Ultimate Challenge Resurrection in London. ‘Mina’s going to need to weather the early storm,’ UC chief Dave O’Donnell tells us. ‘Dean won his last fight in 44 seconds and he’s so powerful that he’ll be difficult to stop in the first round, but Alberto’s very slick on the ground.’ Also on the card is UFC veteran Mark Weir taking on Mark ‘The Beast’ Epstein in a clash of strikers that’s unlikely to go past the first round. If you’re going, let us know in the comments…
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