Pat Healy Pins First Loss on Lyle Beerbohm Friday Night in Cedar Park

Results from the Friday night Strikeforce Challengers Series card at Cedar Park, TX:

Pat Healy Pins First Loss on Lyle Beerbohm

If you want to see the definition of a war of attrition simply check out a copy of this fight.  To say that it was grueling would be to undersell it immensely.  Simply put, Healy and Beerbohm engaged in three rounds of wrestling, scrambling, and dirty boxing.  It was the type of fight that makes you as a spectator fatigued.  Beerbohm was scrappy throughout the fight but Healy was the more tenacious fighter and his size advantage wore down the always transitioning Beerbohm. 

The fighter was in essence fifteen minutes of non-stop grappling which was surprisingly entertaining thanks in large part to the guile exhibited by bother fighters.  In the end it was Healy who simply did more to walk away with the victory. 

Carlo Prater Demolishes Bryan Travers in One

Geez!  Props to Carlo Prater for completely dominating Bryan Travers in seconds into the first round.  Travers was up for the challenge by Prater was dialed in and slapped in a modifier anaconda choke that put Travers out for the night. 

Ryan Couture Submits a Very Game Lee Higgins

It’s not easy being the son of a legendary fighter.  Instead of getting comfortable with the pain and nuance of the professional fight game, Couture has to deal with such pressure and the added weight of constantly being measured to his UFC Hall of Fame father.  It’s because of this famous surname that we have been able to witness both of Ryan Couture’s professional fights on Showtime.  While I don’t begrudge Couture for taking the hype and using it to a lucrative advantage, it’s painfully clear that Couture is still green to this fight game but that is not to say there were not flashes of brilliance.

First of all, give credit to Lee Higgins who never fell into the hype trap and who gave Couture hell over the course of the fight.  Still, after showing some passable Muay Thai striking skills but when the fight went to the ground you could see where Couture’s experience as a wrestler shined bright.  Sure, Higgins fought off every submission attempt that Couture threw at him but in the end it was Couture’s tenacity that allowed him to eventually break through Higgin’s defense to sink in the rear naked choke.

Ryan Larson Upsets the Apple Cart with Second Round Submission of Erik Apple

Despite the buzz surrounding Erik Apple heading into this fight, Austin native Ryan Larson refused to let his opponent get anything going in their bout.  Larson took the fight to the ground early in the second round and was able to use some sick grappling to put Apple in a number of vulnerable and uncomfortable positions.  If not for a couple of knee bar and heel hook attempts by Apple toward the end of the opening round one may have thought it just to give Larson a 10-8 round. 

Things continued to shine favorably for Larson in the second round as his ground game was too much for Apple.  After softening Apple us with some ground and pound, Larson ended things with a tight triangle choke. 

David Douglas Submits Nick Gonzalez in Opening Round

The way that Antioch, CA based Gracie Fighter David Douglas clamped in the rear naked choke to end the fight against Austin’s Nick Gonzalez you would think that most of his fights would have ended in submission.  Not so, as Douglas is beast like in his penchant for leaving fighters unconscious.  Though, you would never know that the way he effortlessly slipped in, took the back of Gonzalez and ended the bout with a vice like rear naked choke. 

We didn’t see too much from Douglas given the way he basically blitzed Gonzalez from the opening bout, but with some seasoning you get the feeling that he’s going to be a welcomed addition to the Strikeforce lightweight or welterweight divisions.