Sports Untapped’s free picks for Strikeforce San Jose…

Roger Gracie -170 vs. Trevor Prangley +140
As you can tell by the name, Roger Gracie is a beast on the ground. He has won a record 10 World BJJ Championships. He has 3 MMA fights and he has won them all. And he has won them all by submission — imagine that. Prangley has had a solid MMA career, but was choked out by Tim Kennedy in June. This is a stylistic nightmare for Prangley, and smart money is on Gracie. Take Gracie -170.

Herschel Walker -350 vs. Scott Carson +250
Herschel Walker is one of the most dominant athletes in American history. At age 48 he enters the cage professionally for the second time, and he is heavily favored. Carson hadn’t entered the cage in almost 10 years until he fought last June and lost via KO. Everything about this says Walker. Take Walker -350.

Robbie Lawler +175 vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza -220
As badly as fans are hoping for another “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler highlight reel KO, the chink in his armor is his ground game, specifically defending subs. It’s not a huge weakness, but it has proven to be so against world-class grapplers like Jake Shields and even Jason Miller. Enter Jacare, one of the most accomplished grapplers and submission specialists on the planet. Lawler always has that thunder at his disposal, but I really do like this style clash for him. Take Jacare -220.

Nick Diaz -350 vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos +250
Look, Cyborg is a solid fighter and a ton of fun to watch. But his inclusion in a title fight shows the dearth of solid 170-pounders in Strikeforce’s cache. Cyborg has only fought one time in each of 2009 & 2010, and he has lost 4 of his last 6 bouts. If Diaz loses this he might not be able to show his face in his beloved “209″. Take Diaz -350.

Ten years after they first did battle, Dan Henderson and Renato “Babalu” Sobral will fight again. This time it will be in Strikeforce. Here are Sports Untapped’s free picks for “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu”…

Benji Radach +120 vs. Ovince St. Preux -150

St. Preux is wasting no time getting back in the cage after his destruction of Antwain Britt on November 19th. That will be 2 fights in 15 days. Radach has only fought twice since October of 2008. But I don’t think St. Preux has ever faced a striker like Benji Radach. I like Radach to get a KO win in his return to the cage. Take Radach +120

Antonio Silva -500 vs. Mike Kyle +300

Silva is a mountain of a man but also carries a tremendous skill set. He took Fabricio Werdum to a decision and lost back in 2009, then beat Andrei Arlovski in May. Now he gets once-disgraced Mike Kyle, a replacement for Valentin Overeem. Kyle has taken the fight on very short notice and will be giving up a tremendous size difference. He predicted a 3rd round KO of Silva, but that isn’t happening. Take Silva -500

Robbie Lawler -170 vs. Matt Lindland +140

Lawler is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, but has lost 2 of his last 3. Lindland is talking about fighting Jacare for the title, but he’s lost 3 of his last 5. Lindland has an outstanding ground game, but he’s also very hittable. That’s bad news when you’re up against Robbie Lawler. Lawler will KO Lindland. Take Lawler -170

Paul Daley -500 vs. Scott Smith +300

Look, it’s two guys that are going to come out and throw down until someone gets knocked out. So will it be Daley, who’s making his return to Strikeforce or Smith, the comeback kid who has thrilled fight fans for almost a decade? My money is on Smith for the upset. Take Smith +300

Dan Henderson -260 vs. Renato Sobral +200

It’s interesting that Hendo is so heavily favored after his poor performance against Jake Shields. For as well known as Hendo is for the big right hand that knocked out Michael Bisping at UFC 100, he is really a decision machine. 8 of his last 11 fights have gone the distance, going back to the Pride days. Henderson shuns his wrestling base these days and looks mostly for the big shot. How will that fare against Sobral? Sobral likes to get the match to the ground and submit his opponents. Although Hendo has good sub defense, he has been submitted by some of the top fighters: Anderson Silva, and twice by Big Nog. Sobral also just fought another big hitter in Lawler and won the decision there. Besides the fact that Hendo just isn’t a value bet at -260, I like Sobral via decision. Take Sobral +200.

Sports Untapped presents free picks for Strikeforce’s Diaz vs. Noons II event on October 9th in San Jose, California.

“Don’t be scared, Homie.” Those were the famous words uttered by Nick Diaz to KJ Noons, asking him for a rematch. Saturday night, we finally get to see them do battle again.

Nick Diaz -240 vs. KJ Noons +190

People talk about Diaz’ improved boxing and the fact that he has a world-class ground game. Those things are true. But Noons is still a better boxer and he repeatedly stuffed Diaz’s takedown attempts. Diaz was frustrated in that fight. He’ll be frustrated again on Saturday night. Take Noons +190

Josh Thomson -150 vs. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante +120

Cavalcante has fought only 4 times since September of 2008. Thomson has fought only twice since in that time. Thomson may be “The Punk” but he’s also the pest. He has an incredible motor to match his skills. Cavalcante beat Kikuno in July at Dream in a split decision, but I question whether he is all the way back to what he used to be. Thomson will win the decision. Take Thomson -150

Sarah Kaufman -300 vs. Marloes Coenen +220

Coenen is a submission specialist but she also proved how tough she was in her loss to Cris Cyborg. She goes from one title shot to the next, this time at 135 lbs. with Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman is a KO artist who can also take fights to the limit, having gone to the judges cards in 3 of her last 4 fights. If the Cyborg fight is any indication, there will be no KO for Kaufman. Can she go the entire fight without getting caught in a submission by Coenen? We think so, but tread carefully. Take Kaufman -300

Tyron Woodley -280 vs. Andre Galvao +220

6 of Woodley’s 8 victories have come via submission. He’ll have a hard time getting a sub on the Nogueira-trained Galvao. Both fighters are undefeated in Strikeforce, so something has to give. What will give is that Woodley will be too fast and strong for Galvao to handle. I suspect Woodley will eventually pound out Galvao to a referee stoppage. Take Woodley -280.

Here are our free picks for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum.

Josh Thomson -500 vs. Pat Healy +300
Pat “Bam Bam” Healy has been around the block, fighting in the UFC, WEC, IFL, Strikeforce and probably your backyard. He’s definitely game, but Thomson is at another level. Thomson lost his belt to Gilbert Melendez, but before then hadn’t lost a fight since he lost to Clay Guida — when Guida fought for Strikeforce.
Take Thomson
Cung Le -300 vs. Scott Smith +225
It doesn’t make much sense to me that Cung Le, who doesn’t even fight full-time, is -300 against a fighter that beat him the last time they fought. Smith has the heart of a lion and perhaps the best chin in all of MMA. Le may win the fight but the smart bet is on Smith.
Take Smith
Cris Cyborg -1800 vs. Jan Finney +750
Jan Finney is a 6-6 fighter with losses to some of the best female MMA fighters currently doing battle. She has dropped matches to Julie Kedzie, Miesha Tate, Erin Toughill and Shayna Baszler. To think that she might beat Cyborg is preposterous, hence the -1800 for Cyborg. Easy money here.
Take Cyborg
Fedor Emelianenko -550 vs. Fabricio Werdum +325
Sorry, I’m not ready to buy into the hype that Fedor isn’t hungry enough or that he is getting too old. When the ref says “Fight!” at the start of round 1, Fedor will be ready and willing to do battle with Werdum. And it will end like the rest of Fedor’s fights: with his hand being raised at the end.
Take Fedor

Quick recap: Fedor, Cyborg, Smith and Thomson