Roger and Prangley / Photo: Esther Lin

There was a lot at stake at this Saturday’s Strikeforce event in San Jose, California. Two belts were on the line, but something eles that marked the show was the ground games on display in three of the main bouts on the card.

In the evening’s main event, Nick Diaz put his black belt in Jiu-Jitsu to good use in hanging on to his welterweight belt. The Cesar Gracie student had his hands full standing against Evangelista Cyborg. In the second round, after being taken to the ground, he bust out his gentle art skills. As the round came to a close, he sunk an armbar from the guard, forcing his opponent to tap out.

In defending his middleweight title against Robbie Lawler, Ronaldo Jacaré showed he’s still got Jiu-Jitsu. The black belt dominated the first round, but not without taking a score. Lawler landed some solid strikes standing and in ground-and-pound action. In the second round, Jaca let his ground game flow, trying some slick armbar variations. The third round was more of the same, with the ADCC 2009 supermatch champion making it to his opponent’s back and finishing with a rear-naked choke.

In one of the most heavily-anticipated fights of the night, Roger Gracie didn’t encounter to much resistance in submitting Trevor Prangley and remaining unbeaten in MMA with four wins, all by submission. After testing the waters standing, Roger went for the takedown. The black belt quickly mounted and then back-mounted, finishing his opponent off with a rear-naked choke while still in the opening round.

Gracie Magazine