Strikeforce "Houston" Weigh-Ins Official: Several Fighters Miss the Mark, but No Fights Were Cancelled

Today marked the official weigh-ins for the upcoming Strikeforce: “Houston” event, scheduled for August 20, 2010 from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event features controversial Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Lawal, better known as “King Mo”, in his first defense of the championship he won after beating the highly-regarded Gegard Mousasi to win the belt. The co-main event will also be a championship affair, as feared submission wizard (his nickname, “Jacare”, means Alligator) Ronaldo Souza takes on 12-2 Tim Kennedy for the vacant Middleweight Championship, which was rendered vacant when former champion Jake Shields promptly left the promotion and signed with the UFC after defeating new Strikeforce signee and MMA legend, Dan Henderson. The “Houston” weigh-ins weren’t immune to a bit of controversy, as several fighters failed to make weight. Here’s how it all broke down.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (203.75) vs. Rafael Cavalcante (203.5)

Tim Kennedy (185) vs. Ronaldo Souza (184.75)

Karl James Noons (156.25) vs. Jorge Gurgel (154.75)

Bobby Lashley (246) vs. Chad Griggs (228.5)

Daniel Cormier (249) vs. Jason Riley (256.5)

Andre Galvao (170.75) vs. Jorge Patino (170.8)

Rocky Long (146.25) vs. Vinicius Magalhaes (144.5)

Kier Gooch (155.5) vs. Adam Schindler (155.5)

Jose Santibanez (154.25) vs. Reynaldo Trujillo (155.25)

Humberto DeLeon (127.25) vs. Chad Robichaux (131)

Chad Cook (205.25) vs. Arteneus Young (204)

As you can see, many fighters took generous use of the one-pound-over allowance given to non-title fights. And still, several fighters couldn’t make the weight. To his credit, Gurgel immediately forfeited his right to decline the match after “KJ” Noons weighed in over the weight limit; the fight will go on as planned. Vinicius Magalhaes also accepted a fight with his opponent that also weighed in over the weight-limit, except his bout with Rocky Long has now been changed to a catchweight fight. Chad Robichaux also missed the mark the first time around, but he was given an extra hour to cut the weight and allowed to try again. He did manage to make the weight the second time around, so his fight with Humberto DeLeon will go forward as planned.

In regards to three Strikeforce fighters missing weight, I don’t think this is all that abnormal, or that it paints Strikeforce in a negative light. MMA fighters seem to miss weight more and more often nowadays. For whatever reason, more and more people are struggling to make their weight class, and the only thing that’s saving them is the one-pound-over rule. I’m not criticizing Strikeforce in particular, but the MMA band of brothers as a whole. Fight in your natural weight class, guys.

Considering all of that, I’m still looking forward to “Houston”. King Mo and Cavalcante should put on a great match. King Mo has some awesome wrestling, but “Feijao” belongs to the prestigious Black House team, home to the Nogueira brothers, two of the best ground wizards you could ever hope to have as training partners. Both Mo and Cavalcante have serious punching power, too, so this one might end early and end brutally.

I’m also excited for the Middleweight Championship fight, even though I generally think that just throwing two guys into a title fight devalues the significance of the championship. However, I think you couldn’t ask for a better Middleweight Champion than Ronaldo Souza. He’s very energetic, has a great ground game, and his striking continues to improve. Plus, he could always face Jason Miller again, the two have quite a rivalry going ever since Souza beat Miller at DREAM 4 and Miller cracked Souza’s skull open at DREAM 9 with an illegal (though inadvertent) soccer kick to the dome. I’m even excited to see Bobby Lashley, on the off chance that Chad Griggs will beat him or, at the very least, make the fight competitive.

And what about you, fans and friends? Now that the fights are official and there’s nothing holding this card back, how excited are you for Strikeforce: “Houston”?