HOUSTON -- This is the Strikeforce: Houston live blog for all the undercard bouts on tonight's Strikeforce card on Showtime happening from the Toyota Center.
Notable fighters on the prelims include Daniel Cormier, Andre Galvao, Jorge Patino and Vinny Magalhaes.
The live blog is below.
Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley
Round 1: Cormier comes out in a pair of flashy gold trunks, so he wins the fashion contest. Riley clinches him against the fence right away, but if he thinks he's taking the Olympic wrestling team captain down, he'd better think again. They separate and Cormier stings him with a hard right that clearly hurts Riley, then follows with a single leg. Riley is just covering up as Cormier hammers him with punches from the top. Doesn't look like he's long for this fight. A few more blows from Cormier and Riley taps. A quick night of work for Cormier, as expected.
Daniel Cormier def. Jason Riley via submission (punches) at 1:02 of round one.
Andre Galvao vs. Jorge "Macaco" Patino
Round 1: Galvao comes plodding forward with his defenses up high and tosses out a slow head kick that Patino blocks. Patino responds with a punch combo that finishes with a head kick, all blocked by Galvao. Galvao shoots for the takedown and gets it, pinning Patino's back to the mat near the fence. Galvao moves to side control and then takes Patino's back and looks for the choke. Patino defends well and eventually dumps Galvao off him and gets back to this feet. Patino charges forward with an assault that's mostly blocked, but then he slips a right hand through Galvao's defense and drops him. Galvao is hurt and Patino is pouring it on. Galvao hangs on and recovers, but then eats a hard left a few seconds later. He's bloodied and dazed in the final minute. He tries for a takedown to stop the onslaught, and they end the round resting on the mat. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Patino.
Round 2: Patino goes back to the same punch combo with head kick finish, but Galvao has his wits back and manages to block them. Galvao looks for a takedown against the fence and eventually gets it, landing in Patino's butterfly guard. Galvao goes to work with some ground-and-pound and then moves into half-guard. When his attempt to move into mount fails, Galvao settles for posturing up and landing some heavy blows on Patino. Patino rolls to try and avoid them and eventually manages to get back to his feet, but briefly. Galvao is wearing him out on the mat now, wisely avoiding the stand-up game altogether in this round. More ground-and-pound from Galvao to end the round, and Patino has no answer for it. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Galvao.
Round 3: Patino seems to have lost a little of the snap in his strikes after all this grappling. He tries an uppercut and it looks so slow that it probably wouldn't hurt even if it did land. As expected, Galvao goes for another takedown and gets it. We're back to the same mauling we saw for most of round two. Patino rolls to his knees and absorbs a ton of punches to the side of his head while doing absolutely nothing about it. The referee has seen enough. Patino doesn't like it, but he didn't do much to prevent it.
Andre Galvao def. "Macaco" Patino via TKO (strikes) at 2:45 of round three.
Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Rocky Long
Round 1: Magalhaes (no, not the one from "The Ulitmate Fighter") shoots for a takedown and is stuffed by Long. He quickly falls to his back and looks for a heel hook on Long, and it seems close. Long keeps rolling and eventually frees himself, but he can't quite get away from Magalhaes suffocating grappling attack. Magalhaes has Long in a front head lock against the cage, with Long down on one knee. Magalhaes appears to land two very illegal knees to the head, but the referee doesn't even blink. Interesting. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Magalhaes.
Round 2: The two fighters spend the first minute or so of the round staring at one another, and the crowd makes it quite plain that they didn't come here to see that kind of nonsense. Neither man seems like he's going to be goaded into actually hitting the other man, however, so the staring contest continues for much of the round. Magalhaes moves in and presses Long against the cage, working out of the clinch, but without doing much damage. The crowd is in full boo-mode to end the round. MMA Fighting scores if 10-10. Nobody did anything.
Round 3: Magalhaes in a little more active to start the round, jumping in with a wild hook that doesn't come close to landing. Long fires back and they move to the mat, with Magalhaes slipping to Long's back in a nifty little move. Long defends against the rear naked choke well, but can't seem to get Magalhaes off his back. Magalhaes thinks about transitioning to the armbar, but doesn't seem to want to give up the position. The round ends with Magalhaes still on Long's back, perhaps landing some punches to the back of Long's head, but again the referee doesn't seem interested in doing much about it.
Vinicius Magalhaes def. Rocky Long via unanimous decision
Kier Gooch vs. Adam Schindler
Round 1: They meet in the center of the cage and exchange a furious flurry of punches. Schindler may not have cared for that, because he goes for a takedown right away and gets it. Schindler moves into mount and looks for an arm triangle, but abandons it and moves to side control. Gooch pulls off a nice reversal to go from bottom to top, but the ensuing scramble gives up his back. Gooch tries to get to his feet, but Schindler hangs on and locks in the rear naked choke. Gooch is up, but in deep trouble. He can't stop the choke, so he falls to his back and taps once he hits the mat.
Adam Schindler def. Kier Gooch via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round
Again, no time given. Guess the ring announcer can't be bothered with the details for prelim fights.
Update: Strikeforce confirms the finish came at 1:58.
Jose Santibanez vs. Reynaldo Trujillo
Round 1: Santibanez starts us off with a lunging right hand that forces Trujillo back. Trujillo regains his bearings and avoids the next charging assault. Trujillo stuns Santibanez with a sharp left, then follows it with a right that drops him. Trujillo pounces and unleashes a flurry of punches. Santibanez tries for a single-leg, but it's not stemming the tide of the blows. Referee Kerry Hartley has seen enough, and moves in to stop it.
Reynaldo Trujillo def. Jose Santibanez via TKO in the first round.
No time for the stoppage was given, and the video in the arena doesn't feature a round timer, so we're out of luck.
Update: stoppage came at 0:23.
Chad Robichaux vs. Humberto Deleon
Round 1: Robichaux is popular with the crowd in Houston, it seems. He's a ball of energy to start the fight, too. Robichaux darts in and out with punches and leg kicks, though nothing much is landing. Robichaux tries to jump into guard on a standing DeLeon, but soon gives it up. DeLeon briefly puts him on his back, then again a few seconds later. DeLeon goes into a less than secure mount, but doesn't do much with the position. The round ends with DeLeon pressing forward and putting Robichaux against the fence. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for DeLeon.
Round 2: Robichaux immediately goes for the takedown and gets a slow single-leg that eventually puts DeLeon on his back. Robichaux is in side control for a few seconds, but then somewhat willingly moves into DeLeon's full guard. DeLeon is actually landing the better strikes from the bottom position, and this encourages Robichaux to get up and step back. DeLeon gets to his feet in a scramble and almost locks in an anaconda choke, but gives it up. Another takedown from Robichaux ends the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for DeLeon.
Round 3: DeLeon snaps a couple leg kicks off to start the final frame. Robichaux attempts a jumping knee, but it only earns him a right hand to the face from DeLeon. A nice front kick from Robichaux lands flush on DeLeon's face. It's his best strike of the night, and he tries it again a few moments later but DeLeon is hip to it by now and ducks out of the way. A hard right from DeLeon knocks Robichaux on his back. He tries to encourage DeLeon to come down and grapple with him, but no dice. They end the round on their feet, with Robichaux going back to work with the front kick. Seems like too little, too late. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for DeLeon.
Chad Robichaux def. Humberto DeLeon via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
The decision is met with a smattering of boos from the crowd, but DeLeon doesn't seem too indignant about the call.
Chad Cook vs. Arteneus Young
Round 1: The two tentatively move in to touch gloves with Young looking a little wary of Cook's show of sportsmanship. Cook tries for a double-leg against the cage, but Young defends well and then puts Cook on his back. After an uneventful minute or so on the mat they get back to their feet, though the fists aren't exactly flying with a fury so far and the fans are getting restless. Both men seem worried about opening up their offense and getting taken down. Fans are unimpressed. Cook looks for a kneebar in the closing seconds, but nothing doing. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Round 2: Young looks much sharper to start the second. He lets his hands go after stopping a Cook takedown attempt, and connects with a nice three-punch combo that has Cook looking a little stunned. A stinging right lands for Young. He seems to be realizing that he has a significant speed advantage over Cook. Cook tries another takedown and eats an uppercut. He clearly wants to get this one to the mat now, but he's not even coming close to Young's legs at this point. The round ends with Cook looking tired and all out of good ideas. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Round 3: A head kick from Cook starts off the final frame. There's something new from him, though it's mostly blocked by Young. Young lands a hard right, then seconds later just misses with a lunging hook. Young is the much fresher fighter now, not to mention the quicker one. You get the sense that if only he'd attack a little more aggressively he could end this. Cook tries another takedown, but Young responds by putting him on his back and then trying to fire up the crowd as he waits for Cook to get back to his feet. Cook goes down off a slip once more before the round ends. He seems like he's just grateful for the chance to rest. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Arteneus Young def. Chad Cook via unanimous decision
Notable fighters on the prelims include Daniel Cormier, Andre Galvao, Jorge Patino and Vinny Magalhaes.
The live blog is below.
More Coverage: Strikeforce: Houston Results | Latest Strikeforce News
Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley
Round 1: Cormier comes out in a pair of flashy gold trunks, so he wins the fashion contest. Riley clinches him against the fence right away, but if he thinks he's taking the Olympic wrestling team captain down, he'd better think again. They separate and Cormier stings him with a hard right that clearly hurts Riley, then follows with a single leg. Riley is just covering up as Cormier hammers him with punches from the top. Doesn't look like he's long for this fight. A few more blows from Cormier and Riley taps. A quick night of work for Cormier, as expected.
Daniel Cormier def. Jason Riley via submission (punches) at 1:02 of round one.
Andre Galvao vs. Jorge "Macaco" Patino
Round 1: Galvao comes plodding forward with his defenses up high and tosses out a slow head kick that Patino blocks. Patino responds with a punch combo that finishes with a head kick, all blocked by Galvao. Galvao shoots for the takedown and gets it, pinning Patino's back to the mat near the fence. Galvao moves to side control and then takes Patino's back and looks for the choke. Patino defends well and eventually dumps Galvao off him and gets back to this feet. Patino charges forward with an assault that's mostly blocked, but then he slips a right hand through Galvao's defense and drops him. Galvao is hurt and Patino is pouring it on. Galvao hangs on and recovers, but then eats a hard left a few seconds later. He's bloodied and dazed in the final minute. He tries for a takedown to stop the onslaught, and they end the round resting on the mat. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Patino.
Round 2: Patino goes back to the same punch combo with head kick finish, but Galvao has his wits back and manages to block them. Galvao looks for a takedown against the fence and eventually gets it, landing in Patino's butterfly guard. Galvao goes to work with some ground-and-pound and then moves into half-guard. When his attempt to move into mount fails, Galvao settles for posturing up and landing some heavy blows on Patino. Patino rolls to try and avoid them and eventually manages to get back to his feet, but briefly. Galvao is wearing him out on the mat now, wisely avoiding the stand-up game altogether in this round. More ground-and-pound from Galvao to end the round, and Patino has no answer for it. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Galvao.
Round 3: Patino seems to have lost a little of the snap in his strikes after all this grappling. He tries an uppercut and it looks so slow that it probably wouldn't hurt even if it did land. As expected, Galvao goes for another takedown and gets it. We're back to the same mauling we saw for most of round two. Patino rolls to his knees and absorbs a ton of punches to the side of his head while doing absolutely nothing about it. The referee has seen enough. Patino doesn't like it, but he didn't do much to prevent it.
Andre Galvao def. "Macaco" Patino via TKO (strikes) at 2:45 of round three.
Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Rocky Long
Round 1: Magalhaes (no, not the one from "The Ulitmate Fighter") shoots for a takedown and is stuffed by Long. He quickly falls to his back and looks for a heel hook on Long, and it seems close. Long keeps rolling and eventually frees himself, but he can't quite get away from Magalhaes suffocating grappling attack. Magalhaes has Long in a front head lock against the cage, with Long down on one knee. Magalhaes appears to land two very illegal knees to the head, but the referee doesn't even blink. Interesting. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Magalhaes.
Round 2: The two fighters spend the first minute or so of the round staring at one another, and the crowd makes it quite plain that they didn't come here to see that kind of nonsense. Neither man seems like he's going to be goaded into actually hitting the other man, however, so the staring contest continues for much of the round. Magalhaes moves in and presses Long against the cage, working out of the clinch, but without doing much damage. The crowd is in full boo-mode to end the round. MMA Fighting scores if 10-10. Nobody did anything.
Round 3: Magalhaes in a little more active to start the round, jumping in with a wild hook that doesn't come close to landing. Long fires back and they move to the mat, with Magalhaes slipping to Long's back in a nifty little move. Long defends against the rear naked choke well, but can't seem to get Magalhaes off his back. Magalhaes thinks about transitioning to the armbar, but doesn't seem to want to give up the position. The round ends with Magalhaes still on Long's back, perhaps landing some punches to the back of Long's head, but again the referee doesn't seem interested in doing much about it.
Vinicius Magalhaes def. Rocky Long via unanimous decision
Kier Gooch vs. Adam Schindler
Round 1: They meet in the center of the cage and exchange a furious flurry of punches. Schindler may not have cared for that, because he goes for a takedown right away and gets it. Schindler moves into mount and looks for an arm triangle, but abandons it and moves to side control. Gooch pulls off a nice reversal to go from bottom to top, but the ensuing scramble gives up his back. Gooch tries to get to his feet, but Schindler hangs on and locks in the rear naked choke. Gooch is up, but in deep trouble. He can't stop the choke, so he falls to his back and taps once he hits the mat.
Adam Schindler def. Kier Gooch via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round
Again, no time given. Guess the ring announcer can't be bothered with the details for prelim fights.
Update: Strikeforce confirms the finish came at 1:58.
Jose Santibanez vs. Reynaldo Trujillo
Round 1: Santibanez starts us off with a lunging right hand that forces Trujillo back. Trujillo regains his bearings and avoids the next charging assault. Trujillo stuns Santibanez with a sharp left, then follows it with a right that drops him. Trujillo pounces and unleashes a flurry of punches. Santibanez tries for a single-leg, but it's not stemming the tide of the blows. Referee Kerry Hartley has seen enough, and moves in to stop it.
Reynaldo Trujillo def. Jose Santibanez via TKO in the first round.
No time for the stoppage was given, and the video in the arena doesn't feature a round timer, so we're out of luck.
Update: stoppage came at 0:23.
Chad Robichaux vs. Humberto Deleon
Round 1: Robichaux is popular with the crowd in Houston, it seems. He's a ball of energy to start the fight, too. Robichaux darts in and out with punches and leg kicks, though nothing much is landing. Robichaux tries to jump into guard on a standing DeLeon, but soon gives it up. DeLeon briefly puts him on his back, then again a few seconds later. DeLeon goes into a less than secure mount, but doesn't do much with the position. The round ends with DeLeon pressing forward and putting Robichaux against the fence. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for DeLeon.
Round 2: Robichaux immediately goes for the takedown and gets a slow single-leg that eventually puts DeLeon on his back. Robichaux is in side control for a few seconds, but then somewhat willingly moves into DeLeon's full guard. DeLeon is actually landing the better strikes from the bottom position, and this encourages Robichaux to get up and step back. DeLeon gets to his feet in a scramble and almost locks in an anaconda choke, but gives it up. Another takedown from Robichaux ends the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for DeLeon.
Round 3: DeLeon snaps a couple leg kicks off to start the final frame. Robichaux attempts a jumping knee, but it only earns him a right hand to the face from DeLeon. A nice front kick from Robichaux lands flush on DeLeon's face. It's his best strike of the night, and he tries it again a few moments later but DeLeon is hip to it by now and ducks out of the way. A hard right from DeLeon knocks Robichaux on his back. He tries to encourage DeLeon to come down and grapple with him, but no dice. They end the round on their feet, with Robichaux going back to work with the front kick. Seems like too little, too late. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for DeLeon.
Chad Robichaux def. Humberto DeLeon via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
The decision is met with a smattering of boos from the crowd, but DeLeon doesn't seem too indignant about the call.
Chad Cook vs. Arteneus Young
Round 1: The two tentatively move in to touch gloves with Young looking a little wary of Cook's show of sportsmanship. Cook tries for a double-leg against the cage, but Young defends well and then puts Cook on his back. After an uneventful minute or so on the mat they get back to their feet, though the fists aren't exactly flying with a fury so far and the fans are getting restless. Both men seem worried about opening up their offense and getting taken down. Fans are unimpressed. Cook looks for a kneebar in the closing seconds, but nothing doing. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Round 2: Young looks much sharper to start the second. He lets his hands go after stopping a Cook takedown attempt, and connects with a nice three-punch combo that has Cook looking a little stunned. A stinging right lands for Young. He seems to be realizing that he has a significant speed advantage over Cook. Cook tries another takedown and eats an uppercut. He clearly wants to get this one to the mat now, but he's not even coming close to Young's legs at this point. The round ends with Cook looking tired and all out of good ideas. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Round 3: A head kick from Cook starts off the final frame. There's something new from him, though it's mostly blocked by Young. Young lands a hard right, then seconds later just misses with a lunging hook. Young is the much fresher fighter now, not to mention the quicker one. You get the sense that if only he'd attack a little more aggressively he could end this. Cook tries another takedown, but Young responds by putting him on his back and then trying to fire up the crowd as he waits for Cook to get back to his feet. Cook goes down off a slip once more before the round ends. He seems like he's just grateful for the chance to rest. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Young.
Arteneus Young def. Chad Cook via unanimous decision