%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20width%3D%2239px%22%20height%3D%2240px%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2039%2040%22%20enable-background%3D%22new%200%200%2039%2040%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M38.5%2C7H28.2v26h10.3V7z%22%2F%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20clip-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M26.1%2C25.5c0%2C5.8-4.1%2C7.5-12.9%2C7.5C3.9%2C33%2C0%2C31.2%2C0%2C25.2v-1.1h11.6%0A%09v2.4c0%2C0.7%2C0.1%2C1.4%2C1.2%2C1.4c1%2C0%2C1.2-0.4%2C1.2-1.3v-0.9c0-1.6-0.9-1.6-3.5-2.2C2.2%2C21.7%2C0%2C19.7%2C0%2C15.3v-0.9C0%2C9.3%2C5.5%2C7%2C12.9%2C7%0A%09c10.2%2C0%2C12.8%2C2.6%2C12.8%2C7.4v1.8h-11v-2.9c0-0.6-0.4-1.1-1.2-1.1c-0.6%2C0-1.2%2C0.4-1.2%2C1.1v0.9c0%2C1.5%2C0.9%2C2%2C3.3%2C2.5%0A%09c8%2C1.6%2C10.5%2C3.3%2C10.5%2C7.5V25.5z%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Strikeforce fighters win, prove they belong on UFC stage
LAS VEGAS -- Lightweight fighter Bobby Green walked into Friday's pre-fight meeting with UFC boss Dana White. Chairs lined the room and Green was like the new kid on the first day of school, looking for a seat. But then Green, making his UFC debut, spotted two familiar faces -- those of fellow Strikeforce alumni Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Tyron Woodley. "Here we were, all the Strikeforce guys all alone and all the UFC guys are all friends," Green says. "We're just sitting there like, 'Can we do this?' "
But the trio -- all making their UFC debuts after Strikeforce shuttered last month -- went from quiet guys in the back of the room to front and center, each winning their respective fights in an impressive fashion. Strikeforce went 3-0 on the night.
"[Strikeforce] picked a lot of good fighters and it's showing today that we come to fight," says Green.
The Strikeforce crew collected its first win of the evening after a gutsy performance by an ill Vallie-Flagg. The 34-year-old outlasted Yves Edwards for a split decision in a bout that pitted two of the kindest fighters in the league.
Green, 26, from Fontana, Calif., was next in the cage. He openly doubted his worthiness to compete in UFC, the sport's biggest stage, perhaps an outgrowth of the red-headed stepchild status often assigned to Strikeforce fighters. "I've felt like I'm not worthy enough to walk behind any of these [UFC] guys that fight on this stage," he said after his third-round submission of All-American wrestling specialist Jacob Volkmann. "So for me to have a win against a top 10 guy is a blessing."
If Green initially felt unworthy, Tyron Woodley, felt determined. Woodley left no ambiguity about his talents. The St. Louis native launched a full-on blitz of punches to the head of opponent Jay Hieron, scarily laying out the UFC vet, his legs shaking. Woodley knocked out Hieron in a short but brutal 36 seconds. "I had planned on making a statement," he says. "That was the theme behind my entire training camp. I think I did that tonight."
Statement made, loud and clear. These guys have been good enough all along.
Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Melissa Segura made an immediate impression at Sports Illustrated. As an undergraduate intern in 2001, her reporting helped reveal that Danny Almonte, star of the Little League World Series, was 14, two years older than the maximum age allowed in Little League. Segura has since covered a range of sports for SI, from baseball to mixed martial arts, with a keen eye on how the games we play affect the lives we lead. In a Sept. 10, 2012, cover story titled, The Other Half of the Story, Segura chronicled the plight of NFL wives and girlfriends caring for brain-injured players. In 2009 she broke the story that MLB had discovered that Washington Nationals prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez, who had been signed to a team-record $1.4 million bonus in 2006, was really Carlos Alvarez and he was four years older than he had claimed to be. Segura graduated with honors from Santa Clara University in 2001 with a B.A. in Spanish studies and communications (with an emphasis in journalism). In 2011, she studied immigration issues as a New York Times fellow at UC-Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Before joining SI full-time in 2002, she worked for The Santa Fe New Mexican and covered high school sports for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.). Segura says Gary Smith is the SI staffer she would most want to trade places with for a day. "While most noted for his writing style, having worked alongside Gary, I've come to realize he is an even more brilliant reporter than he is a writer."