2009 in Strikeforce

The year 2009 was the 4th year in the history of Strikeforce, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2009 Strikeforce held 10 events beginning with, Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz.

2009 in Strikeforce
Information
First date	April 11, 2009
Last date	December 19, 2009
Events
Total events	10
Fights
Total fights	97
Title fights	6
Chronology
2008 in Strikeforce 2009 in Strikeforce 2010 in Strikeforce

Title fights

Title fights in 2009
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Event	Notes
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez	def.	Rodrigo Damm	KO (Punches)	2	2:02	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	[a]
Women's Featherweight	Cristiane Justino	def.	Gina Carano	KO (punches)	1	4:59	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	[b]
Light Heavyweight	Gegard Mousasi	def.	Renato Sobral (c)	KO (punches)	1	1:00	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	[c]
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez (ic)	def.	Mitsuhiro Ishida	TKO (punches)	3	3:56	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	[d]
Middleweight	Jake Shields	def.	Jason Miller	unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)	5	5:00	Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers	[e]
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez (ic)	def.	Josh Thomson	Decision (Unanimous)	5	5:00	Strikeforce: Evolution	[f]

1. For the Interim Lightweight Championship.
2. For the Women's Featherweight Championship.
3. For the Light Heavyweight Championship.
4. For the Interim Lightweight Championship.
5. For the Middleweight Championship.
6. For the Lightweight Championship.

Events list

Main article: List of Strikeforce events

#	Event Title	Date	Arena	Location	Attendance	Broadcast
26	Strikeforce: Evolution	December 19, 2009	HP Pavilion at San Jose	San Jose, California	14,749	Showtime
25	Strikeforce Challengers 5: Woodley vs. Bears	November 20, 2009	Memorial Hall	Kansas City, Kansas	2,088	Showtime
24	Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers	November 7, 2009	Sears Centre	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	11,512	CBS
23	Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista	November 6, 2009	Save Mart Center	Fresno, California	4,157	Showtime
22	Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings	September 25, 2009	SpiritBank Event Center	Bixby, Oklahoma	2,336	Showtime
21	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	August 15, 2009	HP Pavilion at San Jose	San Jose, California	13,976	Showtime
20	Strikeforce Challengers 2: Villasenor vs. Cyborg	June 19, 2009	ShoWare Center	Kent, Washington	2,836	Showtime
19	Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields	June 6, 2009	Scottrade Center	St. Louis, Missouri	8,867	Showtime
18	Strikeforce Challengers 1: Evangelista vs. Aina	May 15, 2009	Save Mart Center	Fresno, California	2,322	Showtime
17	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	April 11, 2009	HP Pavilion at San Jose	San Jose, California	15,211	Showtime

Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz

Main article: Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz

Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz was an event held on April 11, 2009 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California.^[1]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez	def.	Rodrigo Damm	KO (Punches)	2	2:02	[a]
Catchweight (179 lb)	Nick Diaz	def.	Frank Shamrock	TKO (Punches)	2	3:57
Middleweight	Scott Smith	def.	Benji Radach	KO (Punch)	3	3:24
Women's Featherweight	Cristiane Justino	def.	Hitomi Akano	TKO (Punches)	3	0:35
Heavyweight	Brett Rogers	def.	Ron Humphrey	TKO (Knees)	2	1:38
Preliminary Card
Middleweight	Luke Rockhold	def.	Buck Meredith	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	4:07
Middleweight	Eric Lawson	def.	Waylon Kennell	TKO (Punches)	1	4:54
Catchweight (187.5 lb)	Raul Castillo	def.	Brandon Michaels	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	1:45
Welterweight	James Terry	def.	Zak Bucia	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Shingo Kohara	def.	Jeremy Tavares	KO (Knee)	2	0:04

1. For the Interim Lightweight Championship.

Strikeforce Challengers 1: Evangelista vs. Aina

Strikeforce Challengers 1: Evangelista vs. Aina
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	May 15, 2009
Venue	Save Mart Center
City	Fresno, California
Attendance	2,322
Event chronology
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz Strikeforce Challengers 1: Evangelista vs. Aina Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Strikeforce Challengers 1: Evangelista vs. Aina was an event held on May 15, 2009 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.^[2]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Mike Aina	def.	Billy Evangelista	No Decision (Overturned by CSAC)	2	3:42
Women's Bantamweight	Sarah Kaufman	def.	Miesha Tate	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
Heavyweight	Lavar Johnson	def.	Carl Seumanutafa	KO (Punch)	1	0:18
Light Heavyweight	Aaron Rosa	def.	Anthony Ruiz	Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	4:29
Featherweight	Bao Quach	def.	Tito Jones	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card
	Spencer Herns	def.	Chad Sutton	Decision (Majority)	3	3:00
	Fabricio Camoes	def.	Torrance Taylor	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	3:21
	Thomas Diagne	def.	Kaleo Kwan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Ben Holscher	def.	Cody Canterbury	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	2:47

Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Main article: Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields was an event held on June 6, 2009 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.^[3]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Catchweight (182 lb)	Jake Shields	def.	Robbie Lawler	submission (guillotine choke)	1	2:02
Heavyweight	Brett Rogers	def.	Andrei Arlovski	TKO (punches)	1	0:22
Catchweight (180 lb)	Nick Diaz	def.	Scott Smith	submission (rear-naked choke)	3	1:41
Welterweight	Joe Riggs	def.	Phil Baroni	unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Mike Kyle	def.	Rafael Cavalcante	KO (punches)	2	4:05
Preliminary Card
Light Heavyweight	Mike Whitehead	def.	Kevin Randleman	unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Catchweight (175 lb)	Jesse Finney	def.	Josh Bumgarner	submission (kimura)	1	1:55
Middleweight	Lucas Lopes	def.	Scott Ventimiglia	disqualification (illegal knee)	1	3:26
Welterweight	Tyron Woodley	def.	Sal Woods	submission (arm triangle choke)	1	4:20
Light Heavyweight	Booker DeRousse	def.	James Wade	TKO (punches)	1	4:06
Lightweight	Pat Benson	def.	Dave Cochran	submission (armbar)	1	2:42

Strikeforce Challengers 2: Villasenor vs. Cyborg

Strikeforce Challengers 2: Villasenor vs. Cyborg
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	June 19, 2009
Venue	ShoWare Center
City	Kent, Washington
Attendance	2,836
Event chronology
Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields Strikeforce Challengers 2: Villasenor vs. Cyborg Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Strikeforce Challengers 2: Villasenor vs. Cyborg was an event held on June 19, 2009 at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.^[4]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Joey Villasenor	def.	Evangelista Santos	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Tim Kennedy	def.	Nick Thompson	TKO (Submission to punches)	2	2:37
Catchweight (160 lb)	Jorge Gurgel	def.	Conor Heun	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Women's Bantamweight	Sarah Kaufman	def.	Shayna Baszler	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Luke Rockhold	def.	Cory Devela	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	0:30
Preliminary Card
	Dennis Hallman	def.	Justin Davis	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	0:20
	Bryan Caraway	def.	Alex Zuniga	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Lyle Beerbohm	def.	Duane Ludwig	Submission (Bulldog Choke)	1	4:27
	Landon Showalter	def.	George Stork	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Len Bentley	def.	Marques Daniels	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Steve Hadsel	def.	Taylor Roberts	KO (Punches)	1	0:17

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Main article: Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg was an event held on August 15, 2009 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California.^[5]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Women's Featherweight	Cristiane Justino	def.	Gina Carano	KO (punches)	1	4:59	[a]
Light Heavyweight	Gegard Mousasi	def.	Renato Sobral (c)	KO (punches)	1	1:00	[b]
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez (ic)	def.	Mitsuhiro Ishida	TKO (punches)	3	3:56	[c]
Heavyweight	Fabrício Werdum	def.	Mike Kyle	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	1:24
Preliminary card
Welterweight	Jay Hieron	def.	Jesse Taylor	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Justin Wilcox	def.	David Douglas	Submission (rear-naked choke)	3	3:16
Lightweight	Alexander Trevino	def.	Isaiah Hill	Submission (keylock)	1	3:56
Welterweight	James Terry	def.	Zak Bucia	TKO (head kick and punches)	1	1:23
Light Heavyweight	Scott Lighty	def.	Mike Cook	TKO (punch to the body)	1	2:05

1. For the Women's Featherweight Championship.
2. For the Light Heavyweight Championship.
3. For the Interim Lightweight Championship.

Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings

Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	September 25, 2009
Venue	SpiritBank Event Center
City	Bixby, Oklahoma
Attendance	2,336
Event chronology
Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista

Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings was an event held on September 25, 2009 at the SpiritBank Event Center in Bixby, Oklahoma.^[6]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Tim Kennedy	def.	Zak Cummings	Submission (North-South Choke)	2	2:43
Heavyweight	Ray Sefo	def.	Kevin Jordan	TKO (Knee Injury)	2	0:24
Welterweight	Tyron Woodley	def.	Zach Light	Submission (Armbar)	2	3:38
Catchweight (147 lb)	Thomas Longacre	def.	Travis Calanoc	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Daniel Cormier	def.	Gary Frazier	TKO (Punches)	2	3:39
Preliminary Card
	Jeri Sitzes	def.	Lacey Schuckman	TKO (Punches)	3	2:18
	Paul Bradley	def.	Levi Avera	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Trey Houston	def.	Brandon Gaines	Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)	2	1:28
	Kenny Giddens	def.	Jonny Carson	Submission (D'arce Choke)	2	4:15
	Josh Pulsifer	def.	Nick Gibbons	Submission (D'arce Choke)	1	1:05
	Dylan Smith	def.	Lemont Davis	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	1:15

Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista

Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	November 6, 2009
Venue	Save Mart Center
City	Fresno, California
Attendance	4,157
Event chronology
Strikeforce Challengers 3: Kennedy vs. Cummings Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers

Strikeforce Challengers 4: Gurgel vs. Evangelista was an event held on November 6, 2009 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.^[7]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Catchweight (160 lb)	Billy Evangelista	def.	Jorge Gurgel	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Shane del Rosario	def.	Brandon Cash	Submission (Omoplata)	1	2:57
Middleweight	Luke Rockhold	def.	Jesse Taylor	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	3:42
Lightweight	Merritt Warren	def.	Thomas Diagne	Submission (Inverted Heel Hook)	1	3:49
Women's Bantamweight	Zoila Frausto	def.	Elisha Helsper	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card
	Ben Holscher	def.	Jonny Goh	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Casey Olson	def.	Chris Culley	TKO (Punches)	1	2:32
	Cole Escovedo	def.	Maurice Eazel	TKO (Punches)	1	1:47
	Rico Altamirano	def.	Alexander Trevino	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers

Main article: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers was an event held on November 7, 2009 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.^[8]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Heavyweight	Fedor Emelianenko	def.	Brett Rogers	KO (punch)	2	1:48
Middleweight	Jake Shields	def.	Jason Miller	unanimous decision (49–46, 49–46, 48–47)	5	5:00	[a]
Light Heavyweight	Gegard Mousasi	def.	Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	TKO (punches)	2	3:43
Heavyweight	Fabrício Werdum	def.	Antônio Silva	unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Preliminary card
Women's Featherweight	Marloes Coenen	def.	Roxanne Modafferi	submission (armbar)	1	1:05
Catchweight (150 lb)	Jeff Curran	def.	Dustin Neace	verbal submission (rib injury)	1	1:39
Middleweight	Nate Moore	def.	Louis Taylor	submission (punches)	2	3:24
Middleweight	Shamar Bailey	def.	John Kolosci	unanimous decision (29–27, 29–27, 29–27)	3	5:00	[b]
Welterweight	Christian Uflacker	def.	Jonatas Novaes	unanimous decision (30–25, 30–25, 29–26)	3	5:00	[c]

1. For the Middleweight Championship.
2. Bailey was docked one point in round two for holding the shorts of Kolosci.
3. Novaes was docked two points in round three for two illegal kicks to the head of a downed opponent.

Strikeforce Challengers 5: Woodley vs. Bears

Strikeforce Challengers 5: Woodley vs. Bears
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	November 20, 2009
Venue	Memorial Hall
City	Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance	2,088
Event chronology
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers Strikeforce Challengers 5: Woodley vs. Bears Strikeforce: Evolution

Strikeforce Challengers 5: Woodley vs. Bears was an event held on November 20, 2009 at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.^[9]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Tyron Woodley	def.	Rudy Bears	Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)	1	2:52
Women's	Kerry Vera	def.	Kim Couture	TKO (Punches)	1	3:35
Welterweight	Bobby Voelker	def.	Erik Apple	TKO (Punches)	2	1:23
Light Heavyweight	Rafael Cavalcante	def.	Aaron Rosa	TKO (Punches)	2	3:25
Middleweight	Kevin Casey	def.	Chad Vance	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	1:41
Preliminary card
	Lee Gibson	def.	Joe Wilk	TKO (Punches)	1	4:39
	Brian Davidson	def.	Russell Patrick	TKO (Punches)	1	0:29
	Nick Nolte	def.	Andy Waters	Submission (Triangle Choke)	1	3:45
	Darryl Cobb	def.	Gary Tapusoa	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Michael Chandler	def.	Richard Bouphanouvong	TKO (Punches)	2	2:07
	Lucas Lopes	def.	Dominic Brown	TKO (Punches)	2	0:45

Strikeforce: Evolution

Main article: Strikeforce: Evolution

Strikeforce: Evolution was an event held on December 19, 2009 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California.^[10]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Scott Smith	def.	Cung Le	KO (Punches)	3	3:25
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez (ic)	def.	Josh Thomson	Decision (Unanimous)	5	5:00	[a]
Middleweight	Ronaldo Souza	def.	Matt Lindland	Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)	1	4:18
Heavyweight	Muhammed Lawal	def.	Mike Whitehead	KO (Punches)	1	3:08
Preliminary Card
Light Heavyweight	Antwain Britt	def.	Scott Lighty	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	1	5:00
Lightweight	Justin Wilcox	def.	Daisuke Nakamura	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Alexander Crispim	def.	A.J. Fonseca	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00

1. For the Lightweight Championship.

See also

• List of Strikeforce champions
• List of Strikeforce events