Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010 | 12:38 a.m.
Ryan Couture got his professional mixed martial arts career off to a good start Friday, submitting 20-year-old Lucas Stark on the Strikeforce Challengers 10 card in Phoenix, Ariz.
Couture, son of MMA legend Randy Couture, made his first professional fight a quick one, submitting Stark with a triangle choke just 75 seconds into the first round.
It was Ryan Couture’s first bout since fighting to a draw against Sean Bollinger on a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas in March.
“I feel great,” he said. “It’s been a good week down here in Phoenix. (The fight) definitely didn’t go how I expected it, but I got the job done.”
He secured a hard takedown with a nice trip early in the fight.
Stark did well to reverse the position and wind up on top, but Ryan Couture didn’t panic and locked in the triangle choke almost immediately once he went to his back.
Ryan Couture has five fights left on the six-fight he deal he signed with Strikeforce last month.
Other big winners of the night included female welterweight contender Miesha Tate (11-2) and nine-year veteran Joe Riggs (33-11).
In the first female single-elimination tournament in Strikeforce history, Tate notched unanimous decision wins against Maiju Kujala and Hitomi Akano to claim the tournament belt and a future title shot.
In the tournament’s first fight, Tate held off a solid striking effort from Kujala in the second round before securing a takedown and grinding out a decision win.
Akano advanced past the first round with a second-round submission win over Carina Damm, snapping her opponent’s 10-fight win streak in the process.
In the tournament finals, Tate used her wrestling ability to control the fight and neutralize Akano’s submissions.
“My submission defense is one of my strong points,” Tate said. “I felt confident coming in here. She was the one I wanted to fight most. She was ranked above me. Beating her is definitely monumental in my career.”
The tournament win could give Tate a shot to avenge a previous loss to welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman will first have to get past No. 1 contender Marloes Coenen.
In the main event, Riggs gave his hometown fans what they wanted with a third-round submission win over Louis Taylor due to strikes.
After a lackluster two rounds in which neither fighter seemed to find his rhythm, Riggs wobbled Taylor with left hand before defending a takedown and eventually putting his opponent on his back.
Taylor tried to survive, but a few hard shots by Riggs from top position was enough to get a tap from his opponent at the 2:07 mark.
The bout was fought at a catchweight of 182 pounds and should open potential matchups for Riggs in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
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