SAN JOSE, CA—Scott Smith (14-5) reinforced the meaning behind his nickname “Hands of Steel” by dropping fellow heavy-handed middleweight (185 lb. limit) Terry Martin (18-6) with a single overhand right only 24 seconds into the opening round of their showdown at Strikeforce “Destruction” at the HP Pavilion on Friday, November 21st. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (31-7) seized the Strikeforce world light heavyweight (205 lb. limit) championship from Bobby Southworth (9-6, 1 NC) after a deep cut around Southworth’s right eye forced a doctor stoppage in between rounds one and two.

Right out of the gates, the hard-hitting Martin came forwarded as expected and began looking to capitalize on the first opening he saw. As he moved forward to deliver, though, he was dealt the finishing blow that put him out on his stomach. Referee Herb Dean immediately signaled an end to the bout.

For Martin, the single shot defeat came only two months after he laid the same fate on Cory Devela at Strikeforce’s affair at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills.

Entering his second title defense, Southworth, Strikeforce’s first-ever light heavyweight champion, appeared to be in phenomenal shape as he defended a takedown in the early seconds of the first round before tripping Sobral to the canvas and gaining side control.

Sobral was able to stand up and, soon after, referee “Big” John McCarthy separated the two fighters, threw a hard left elbow that opened the fatal gash around Southworth’s eye. The third man in charged ordered the cut to be looked at by the ringside physician, who allowed the fight to resume.

The defending champion secured a takedown before the end of the round, but his run was ended by the doctor’s orders.

Duane “Bang” Ludwig (18-8) deployed an intelligent gameplan against Yves Edwards (34-15-1) in their 164 lb. limit catch weight battle, wearing Edwards down in the second round with repeated punches to the body while the two were on their feet.

Edwards scored a takedown later in the second as well as in the third, but Ludwig defended well from the guard on each occasion.

In the third, Ludwig, a world Muay Thai champion, came out firing to the body again with a kick and a left hand. Edwards countered with a strong left kick to the ribs and followed up with a takedown attempt, but Ludwig stuffed his shot and put Edwards on his back.

From Edwards’ guard, Ludwig began tagging his opponent with punches and elbows before Edwards was able to stand. Edwards secured one more takedown before the final bell sounded and all three judges’ awarded the victory to Ludwig.

Kim “Sugar Free” Couture (1-1), wife of MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture, displayed marked improvement in her second career start, acting as the aggressor against novice Lina Kvokov (0-2).

Couture, who suffered a punishing defeat in her debut on June 20, 2008, came out of the gates firing left and right hands. Kvokov traded with her, but was overwhelmed by Couture’s knee strikes to the body while in the clinch. Couture pushed Kvokov out of the clinch and continued to bomb on her opponent, who turned her back in the middle of the storm, a move that prompted referee Jon Schorle to order a stoppage at the 1:44 mark of the first round.

Joe “Diesel” Riggs (29-10, 1 NC) made a strong statement in his return to the welterweight (170 lb. limit) division, stopping Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Luke Stewart (6-2), in the second stanza of their matchup.

Stewart, a San Francisco native, was able to secure a single leg takedown in the opening round after his first attempt at doing so was denied. Riggs applied a guillotine choke from guard position, but Stewart easily escaped. Stewart passed Riggs’ guard and moved to the north-south position and, then, to side control. Riggs turned the tables on Stewart, though, making his way to half-guard and, then, to mount before the close of the round.

In the second, it was Riggs who took down Stewart and landed in Stewart’s guard. A Riggs right hand connected and gave the 26-year-old the opportunity to open up on Stewart, who turned over to protect himself. Riggs continued to pour on the punches before referee McCarthy halted the action at the 2:05 mark of the round.

Twenty-four year old submission specialist Luke Rockhold (3-1) turned in an impressive Strikeforce debut, turning the tides on Nik Theotikos (5-2), who pulled guard and slapped on a guillotine choke from which Rockhold fought his way out of with a healthy offering of punches to the head and body.

Rockhold freed himself from Theotikos’ guard and initiated a scramble that caused Theotikos to give up his back. Rockhold sunk in a deep rear naked choke that forced Theotikos to tap at the 3:06 mark of the opening round.

Complete Strikeforce “Destruction” Results:

Zakary Bucia def. Adam Steele – Submission (Guillotine Choke) at :35, Round 1

Alvin Cacdac def. Jose Palacios – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:10, Round 2

Darren “Bone Crusher” Uyenoyama def. Brad Royster – Unanimous Decision, 3 Rounds (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Luke Rockhold def. Nik Theotikos – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:06, Round 1

Joe “Diesel” Riggs def. Luke Stewart – TKO (Punches) at 2:05, Round 2

Kim “Sugar Free” Couture def. Lina Kvokov – TKO (Punches) at 1:44, Round 1

Duane “Bang” Ludwig def. Yves Edwards – Unanimous Decision, 3 Rounds (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. Bobby Southworth – TKO (Doctor stoppage due to cut around Southworth’s eye) at 5:00, Round 1

Scott Smith def. Terry Martin – KO (Punch) at :24, Round 1

Brian Schwartz def. Lemont Davis – TKO (Punch) at 2:22, Round 3

Kurt Osiander def. Josh Neal – TKO (Punches) at 2:16, Round 1

Eric Lawson def. Tony Johnson – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:28, Round 1

Bobby Stack def. Cyrillo Padilha – Unanimous Decision, 3 Rounds (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)