This is the Diaz vs. KJ Noons 2 live blog for Josh Thomson vs. JZ Cavalcante, a lightweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce card from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Thomson has won nine of his past 10 fights. Cavalcante is a highly regarded international fighter who will be making his Strikeforce debut.
The live blog is below.
Round 1: Cavalcante lands a leg kick early. They clinch. Thomson rubs his eye as if he'd been hit but ref John McCarthy did not call a timeout. Cavalcante pushes free 30 seconds later. Cavalcante throws a left hook but Thomson ducks underneath it. Cavalcante tagged Thomson with a right. Thomson fell to a knee and Cavalcante hooked on a guillotine. Cavalcante went for it, squeezing for everything he's worth. Thomson looked ready to tap at one point, but after an eternity worked free. Cavalcante's arms have to be exhausted after that attempt. Thomson was on top and tried to work Cavalcante to the cage. Thomson nearly got caught in a triangle. Thomson escaped and moved to side control and quickly transitioned to an arm triangle. He tried to finish as the clock ticked down, and Cavalcante kept enough space to last out the final seconds. Very competitive round, Cavalcante 10-9.
Round 2: Cavalcante closed the distance and pushed Thomson against the cage. Thomson circled off as they jockeyed for position. After a long sequence against the fence, Thomson took Cavalcante down and tried to take his back. Thomson got one hook in but couldn't get the second. He was still on Cavalcante's back and occasionally threw punches from the top. Thomson looked for the arm triangle again, but Cavalcante saw it coming and wiggled free. Thomson moved to half-guard as the grappling continued. Thomson landed a few hard strikes as the round closed. Thomson 10-9.
Round 3: Thomson shot in early but Cavalcante sprawled free. They clinched again. Thomson got a body lock against the fence and tried to trip Cavalcante down. Moments later, Cavalcante turned the tables with a takedown into mount. Thomson was able to regain half-guard and then butterfly guard. Thomson then put Cavalcante in the rubberguard and held his fist up to the camera as he locked in his opponent. A few seconds later, they returned to their feet as we went under two minutes left. Thomson looked for a takedown, Cavalcante landed a right and Thomson ended up on the mat. Cavalcante followed him their. Thomson tried desperately to get up but Cavalcante held him against the cage. Thomson tried a guillotine but it was never close. Cavalcante continued to hold Thomson down and grind him down over the final seconds. Cavalcante 10-9.
Winner: Josh Thomson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Thomson has won nine of his past 10 fights. Cavalcante is a highly regarded international fighter who will be making his Strikeforce debut.
The live blog is below.
More Coverage: Diaz vs. Noons 2 Results | Strikeforce News
Round 1: Cavalcante lands a leg kick early. They clinch. Thomson rubs his eye as if he'd been hit but ref John McCarthy did not call a timeout. Cavalcante pushes free 30 seconds later. Cavalcante throws a left hook but Thomson ducks underneath it. Cavalcante tagged Thomson with a right. Thomson fell to a knee and Cavalcante hooked on a guillotine. Cavalcante went for it, squeezing for everything he's worth. Thomson looked ready to tap at one point, but after an eternity worked free. Cavalcante's arms have to be exhausted after that attempt. Thomson was on top and tried to work Cavalcante to the cage. Thomson nearly got caught in a triangle. Thomson escaped and moved to side control and quickly transitioned to an arm triangle. He tried to finish as the clock ticked down, and Cavalcante kept enough space to last out the final seconds. Very competitive round, Cavalcante 10-9.
Round 2: Cavalcante closed the distance and pushed Thomson against the cage. Thomson circled off as they jockeyed for position. After a long sequence against the fence, Thomson took Cavalcante down and tried to take his back. Thomson got one hook in but couldn't get the second. He was still on Cavalcante's back and occasionally threw punches from the top. Thomson looked for the arm triangle again, but Cavalcante saw it coming and wiggled free. Thomson moved to half-guard as the grappling continued. Thomson landed a few hard strikes as the round closed. Thomson 10-9.
Round 3: Thomson shot in early but Cavalcante sprawled free. They clinched again. Thomson got a body lock against the fence and tried to trip Cavalcante down. Moments later, Cavalcante turned the tables with a takedown into mount. Thomson was able to regain half-guard and then butterfly guard. Thomson then put Cavalcante in the rubberguard and held his fist up to the camera as he locked in his opponent. A few seconds later, they returned to their feet as we went under two minutes left. Thomson looked for a takedown, Cavalcante landed a right and Thomson ended up on the mat. Cavalcante followed him their. Thomson tried desperately to get up but Cavalcante held him against the cage. Thomson tried a guillotine but it was never close. Cavalcante continued to hold Thomson down and grind him down over the final seconds. Cavalcante 10-9.
Winner: Josh Thomson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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