Strikeforce: Fedor Vs. Henderson Live Results And Fight Card Analysis

Dan Henderson capped a legendary career by finishing Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. Henderson, a true middleweight who's already the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, beat Emelianenko, the man universally acknowledged as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history. 

The fight was an absolute classic. Fedor went after Henderson from the opening bell but Henderson tagged him with a hard left that staggered him. From there Henderson, a former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler for Team USA forced the bigger Emelianenko up against the cage. But then Fedor got free and again attacked Henderson with wild punches. He tagged Henderson with an uppercut and dropped him.

Strikeforce results: Dan Henderson defeats Fedor Emelianenko via TKO at 4:12 of round 1.

When he followed Henderson down, he attacked. But the shots missed and Henderson used a great escape to take Fedor's back. He trapped Fedor on his hands and knees and landed a brutal uppercut that dropped Fedor. Then he finished him with strikes.

Miesha Tate vs. Marloes Coenen was easily the greatest women's MMA grappling match of all time. Both fighters put on incredible performances, but in the end Miesha Tate's wrestling was too much for the guard play of Coenen.

Fedor vs. Henderson results: Miesha Tate defeats Marloes Coenen by submission (head and arm triangle) at 3:03 of round 4.

Despite Coenen putting on a brilliant grappling performance throughout the fight, Tate's wrestling wore her down. She passed an exhausted Coenen's guard. Coenen's arm was trapped as Tate applied the fatal arm triangle and got the tap.    

Coenen used a brilliant move to counter a Tate single leg and took her back. From there she dominated Tate for most of the round. But that was the only round she won. The rest of the fight Tate was on top and she finally just wore Coenen out. Tate is the new Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion.

Combat veteran Tim Kennedy fought for the Wounded Warriors tonight, beating a dangerous Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. Kennedy took a some brutally hard uppercuts to the face from Lawler. That didn't stop him from using his kicks and wrestling/grappling ability to dominate Lawler on every judge's card in all 3 rounds. 

Fedor vs. Henderson results: Tim Kennedy defeats Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Kennedy had been forbidden to wear his sponsor Ranger Up's gear by Strikeforce's new owners. He cleverly made sure the company -- which is a huge supporter of not only his fighting career, but veterans as well -- got precious camera time on Showtime after he won the fight. 

Lawler seemingly had every opportunity to come back and win the fight in the third round but was too passive. Kennedy poured it on at the end and took it home. Despite being battered and beaten, exhausted and spent, Kennedy waited out Lawler in the third and poured it on in the end. 

Tyron Woodley maintained his perfect record at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson by controlling Paul Daley for a decision win. Woodley, a formidable wrestler lost the third round on all three judges cards, but did enough to win the other two rounds. 

Daley held up his finger while waiting the decision and seemed very confident that he had done enough to win. After the decision, he was visibly shocked and angry.

Fedor vs. Henderson: Tyron Woodley defeats Paul Daley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Daley a top-notch kickboxer did a brilliant job of shutting down Woodley's take downs. He stopped him on 8 out of 10 take downs. Unfortunately, Woodley managed to out-wrestle him and control him in the clinch or on the ground throughout most of the fight. And that meant much more to all three judges. 

According to CompuStrike he landed more "power strikes" than Woodley during the fight by a 26-22 margin. Unfortunately for him, Woodley outstruck him 56-10 in non-power strikes. 

Tarec Saffiedine, a Lebanese-born Belgian, painted an exotic picture of what's possible in Mixed Martial Arts at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. His palette consisted of a rainbow of striking technques. Unfortunately for Scott Smith, he was little more than a canvas upon which Saffiedine painted a masterpiece of hurt.

Smith, a veteran reknowned for having pulled off 2 or 3 of the most dramatic come backs in MMA history, didn't have that last minute come back in him tonight. Probably because Saffiedine spent three long rounds literally beating the fight out of him.  

Saffiedine did everything but finish the gutsy, durable Smith. 

Fedor vs. Henderson results: Tarec Saffiedine defeats Scott Smith via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Saffiiedine established himself at the forefront of a wave of Karate and Tae Kwon Do practictioners who are bringing an exotic, exciting new flavor to MMA. He's a Shihaishinkai Karateka who has worked long and hard to blend Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques into his arsenal. Lyoto Machida is the archetype of this style, but others like John Makdessi and Saffiedine are following fast in his footsteps. 

According to CompuStrike, Saffiedine out-struck Smith 67-14 in power strikes.