Strikeforce ‘Feijao vs. Henderson’ Preview

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Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship
Marloes Coenen vs. Liz Carmouche

The Matchup: Coenen has spent much of her career fighting bigger opponents, ranging from her KO loss to Erin Toughill and armbar win over Becky Levi to her gallant stand against Strikeforce middleweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. Against Cyborg, she took a whale of a beating before finally losing in the third round.

At 135, she is a tough customer, with a potent ability to position herself quickly to set up submissions. In her title-winning victory on Oct. 9, the armbar with which she beat Sarah Kaufman was textbook stuff, delivered with clean technique and concise execution.

Coenen was originally slated to defend against Miesha Tate, who dropped out a week and half before the fight due to a knee injury. Late replacement Carmouche steps in. Unbeaten in five professional appearances, Carmouche is the kind of replacement that can make waves; she is aggressive and has nothing to lose.

Late-substitute fights have a flavor all their own. The process of a training camp geared toward a given opponent, along with the focus on the skill sets and game plan required to implement a strategy, is largely upended, and success or failure is distilled down to making decisions on the fly in the heat of battle.

Carmouche’s style is not too dissimilar from Tate’s, so Coenen figures to be prepared for an aggressive wrestler. Coenen’s defensive guard is excellent, and she adheres to the most important philosophy of sound defensive jiu-jitsu -- breaking the opponent’s posture by pulling her head down.

In the standing battle, Carmouche will need to be aggressive and use it to increase her percentage on clinch and takedown attempts. However, Coenen’s three-inch height advantage and quick feet make getting in close a tough assignment. Coenen should be able to stymie and frustrate Carmouche’s takedowns, while finding her range on the feet, if it stays there. In a five-round fight, and given the circumstances of the late opponent switch, this adds up to a significant edge for the champion.

The Pick: Coenen will grind down Carmouche in a spirited battle, winning by submission in the third round.

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