The final Strikeforce show is official after Friday’s weigh-ins, and thankfully there were no snags.
All fighters made weight on their first tries, including headliners Nate Marquardt and Tarec Saffiedine, who were both on the 170-pound number for their welterweight championship bout.
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine will take place Saturday at the Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City.
“In general I feel like a better athlete at 170. I’m just as strong, but faster,” said Marquardt, who defends the belt he captured in his Strikeforce debut in July when he earned a TKO win over Tyron Woodley. It was also his first fight since dropping down from middleweight.
Marquardt added: “I expect (Saffiedine) to come out fighting, he’s a tough dude, but right now it’s about me how I feel. I’m focused on going out, putting on a good show and knocking him out.”
The card was originally supposed to feature three title fights, but two were scrapped early on due to injuries to the champions.
In the co-main event, wrestling standout Daniel Cormier (10-0) returns to the city where he was a NCAA Division I All-American at Oklahoma State University.
“I loved living in Oklahoma. I lived here for 10 years. It feels good to be back home,” said Cormier, who is coming off a dominant win over Josh Barnett in the final of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix last May.
The 33-year-old takes on newcomer Dion Staring and is an extremely heavy favourite, with some books listing his odds of winning at 20-1.
“I’m going to go do what I’ve been doing my entire life — win. That’s what I plan to do tomorrow night.”
The MMA promotion will cease operations following this show, and many of the winners are expected to be offered contracts in the UFC, whose parent company Zuffa also Strikeforce.
Here are the full weigh-in results:
Main card (Super Channel, 10 p.m. ET)
Nate Marquardt (170) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (170)
Daniel Cormier (230) vs. Dion Staring (240)
Josh Barnett (249) vs. Nandor Guelmino (229)
Gegard Mousasi (205.5) vs. Mike Kyle (205)
Ronaldo Souza (193.25) vs. Ed Herman (193)
Preliminary fights (7 p.m. ET)
Pat Healy (156) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (156)
Roger Gracie (186) vs. Anthony Smith (186)
Tim Kennedy (186) vs. Trevor Smith (186)
Ryan Couture (155.5) vs. KJ Noons (156)
Jorge Gurgel (155) vs. Adriano Martins (155.5)
Michael Bravo (156) vs. Estevan Payan (156)