Strikeforce: Evolution

Strikeforce: Evolution
Information
Promotion	Strikeforce
Date	December 19, 2009
Venue	HP Pavilion at San Jose
City	San Jose, CA
Attendance	14,749[1]
Total gate	$633,675
Event chronology
Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears Strikeforce: Evolution Strikeforce: Miami

Strikeforce: Evolution was a mixed martial arts event to be held by the Strikeforce on December 19, 2009 in San Jose, California at the HP Pavilion at San Jose. The event aired live on Showtime in the US,^[2] and live on SuperChannel in Canada.^[3]

Background

Robbie Lawler was expected to face Benji Radach on the card, however Radach was not able to get medical clearance to start training in time for the fight.^[4] Radach was replaced by Trevor Prangley; however, Prangley suffered a knee injury while training for the bout and had to withdraw from the fight as well.^[5] On December 16th, it was announced that Lawler would not be competing on the card as a suitable replacement could not be found on such short notice.^[6]

Strikeforce newcomer Bryan Travers was expected to fight Daisuke Nakamura but was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.^[7] Justin Wilcox took his place on the fight card.^[8]

The Bobby Stack vs. David Douglas bout was cancelled. Douglas, who took the fight on a week's notice, reportedly had difficulty with his weight cut and was hospitalized after having issues holding fluids down.^[9]

The event drew an estimated 341,000 viewers on Showtime.^[10]

Official fight card

Main Card

• Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith

Smith defeated Le via TKO (punches) at 3:25 of round 3.

• Lightweight Championship unification bout: Josh Thomson (c) vs. Gilbert Melendez (ic)

Melendez defeated Thomson via unanimous decision (49–47, 49–46, 49–46) to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.

• Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Matt Lindland

Souza defeated Lindland via submission (arm triangle choke) at 4:18 of round 1.

• Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead

Lawal defeated Whitehead via KO (punches) at 3:08 of round 1.

Preliminary Card

• Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Britt

Britt defeated Lighty via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 1.

• Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox

Wilcox defeated Nakamura via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 30–27).

• Featherweight bout: Alexander Crispim vs. AJ Fonseca

Crispim defeated Fonseca via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Reported payout

The following is the payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by Strikeforce.^[11]

• Scott Smith: ($55,000, no win bonus) def. Cung Le: ($150,000)
• Gilbert Melendez: ($55,000, no win bonus) def. Josh Thomson: ($30,000)
• Ronaldo Souza: ($65,000 includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Matt Lindland: ($50,000)
• Muhammed Lawal: ($20,000 includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Mike Whitehead: ($30,000) ^
• Antwain Britt: ($10,000 includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Scott Lightly: ($5,000)
• Justin Wilcox: ($5,000, no win bonus) def. Daisuke Nakamura: ($200)
• Alexander Crispim: ($4,000 includes $2,000 win bonus) def. AJ Fonseca: ($2,000)

^ Muhammed Lawal was reportedly fined 10 percent of his purse for splashing a sponsors energy drink around the cage. The CSAC's initial report did not include information on the penalty.

References