Renato Babalu Sobral defeated Bobby Southworth by TKO to become Strikeforce light heavyweight champion in the co-main event of the promotions ‘Destruction’ card on Friday night. Despite leaving with the belt around his waist, it wasn’t a highlight reel worthy finish.

A -350 wagering favorite despite his challenger status, Sobral was expected to use his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and vast experience against superior competition to dominate the tough but limited Southworth. It didnt happen that way, as Southworth easily got the better of things in the first round. Southworths style isnt exactly one that provides Wanderlei Silva type excitement–he looks to use his strength and conditioning to control his opponent en route to a decision victory. While the result makes him something of a MMA equivalent to boxing’s John Ruiz, it does afford him the best chance of victory.

The first round displayed Southworth’s style in microcosm, with much of the frame spent pushing Babalu up against the cage or on the ground inside his guard not really doing much. Sobral had one effective strike the entire round”and it would decide the fight. During a clinch against the cage wall the challenger rocked Southworth with a hard elbow strike that not only busted his nose but opened a huge cut over his right eye.

Upon seeing the gusher of blood Referee John McCarthy brought the ringside physician over to take a look. The doctor took some time to examine the cut, but eventually the round resumed following the consultation with only a few seconds remaining. As Southworth’s corner futilely worked on the gaping wound during the break the doctor once again took a look and better realizing the severity and placement of the cut recommended to McCarthy that the fight be stopped. The veteran official complied, awarding Sobral the TKO victory and the championship belt.

The other half of the co-main event was decided in much more decisive fashion as Scott Smith knocked out well traveled veteran Terry Martin in a mere :24 seconds. Unfortunately, Martin didn’t adequately close the distance against a fighter dubbed ‘Hands of Steel’ and was caught with a perfectly placed punch that knocked him out cold.

In the semifinal event, Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig defeated Yves Edwards by unanimous decision in a very closely contested bout. Edwards was originally slated to face lightweight champion Josh Thomson until a toe injury necessitated his withdrawal. Ludwig took the fight on two weeks notice, and after a takedown clinic by Edwards in the first began to control the fight with his superior standup skills. Edwards’ superiority on the ground in the first two frames wasnt enough to sway the judges who obviously favored Ludwig’s more effective striking.

Earlier in the evening, Kim Couture made short work of overmatched Lina Kvokov as she TKOd her foe in 1:44 of the first round. Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture, gained even more notoriety for the courage she displayed in her professional debut last June. She had a much easier time here”despite the fact that both fighters entered with 0-1 records Couture was significantly more polished as she put Kvokov on the defensive from the outset with her sharp punching combinations. She recovered momentarily and survived the initial onslaught. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as Couture launched another barrage of punches prompting the referee to step in and wave off the non-competitive affair.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer who has written on sports betting and how to successfully bet on NFL football. He has appeared on TV and radio talking about boxing, hockey and NFL pointspreads. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a lynx.

There seem to be a few great MMA fights each year, highly anticipated. Generally speaking, there’s still a favorite in each fight, as fans know who to expect to win. Once in a blue moon, the type of epic fight comes along that has a feel of the “Frazier/Ali” hype to it.

Looking at the current state of the UFC, middleweight and welterweight champs Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre have both defeated all of their recent competition with relative ease, leaving many fans to ponder how they can do something interesting from here.

As for St. Pierre, he’ll be awaiting the victor of the Mike Swick/Martin Kampman fight later this fall. No one’s really thinking much of either Swick or Kampman’s chances against St. Pierre considering the damage he did to Thiago Alves at his last fight. What’s next on St. Pierre’s list?

After Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin’s “fight” at UFC 101 this past Saturday some questions were raised. What was Anderson Silva going to do next? He had just defeated former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in an embarrassing fashion. Knocking down Forrest twice before offering to help him up, then seconds later knocking Forrest down for a third and final time. Before the fight Forrest said something like “you may beat me, but nobody will ever break me.” Really Forrest? He ran out of the octagon and then the building. Avoiding the post fight press conference and has still not released an official statement. I think broken is a nice word, words like crippled, shattered and disintegrated come to mind.

Next on Silva’s list is Dan Henderson, who earned a shot for the title against Silva after defeating Britain’s best, Michael Bisbing. Still, no one sees this as a fight to take too seriously and fans and experts alike predict an easy win for Silva. What’s left for Silva to prove now?

Despite the fact that Silva can roll with the best in his class, he still isn’t willing to move up to the light heavyweight division and accept a fight with its champ, Lyoto Machida. Silva and Machida are great friends and he’d prefer not to fight such a close friend.

At this point, it looks like both St. Pierre and Anderson are at their peaks, with no one posing any kind of threat to the two. Interest may wane due to the lack of competitiveness in their fights, so why not put the two against each other?

Sizing the other up, knowing full well that the other is considered just as good as themselves. The two would implement totally different strategies against one another, both of which are masters at knowing what to do to win. A fight between these two at 185 would make history and isn’t that what the UFC is always looking to do?