By MATT BOONE
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

Strikeforce: Houston took place on Saturday night, August 21, from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, airing live on Showtime with two world title fights and some great televised supporting attractions to round out the show. The event would have to be viewed as a success, as each fight delivered something worth talking about at the water cooler when everyone returns to work this coming week. In the next few pages we will preview some of the discussion that may come up during your thirst-quenching pit-stops on Monday, as we break things down one-fight at a time ...

Bobby Lashley Suffers First MMA Loss In Brutal Fashion

The televised portion of the card opened with former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley dropping his first professional MMA bout, losing in brutal fashion to relative unknown Chad Griggs by way of technical knockout after two rounds of action inside the cage.

Lashley was opened up early in the fight from an uppercut by Griggs and never seemed to mentally recover as the sight of his own blood pouring all over the mat seemed to lead to even more punishment for the former NCAA champion wrestler. Fans at this point witnessed what Lashley is made of, as he seemed to fold to adversity and switch into defensive mode for the rest of the contest. Unfortunately for Lashley his defensive mode didn't seem to help matters at all.

Griggs would continue to dish out punishment, with the remaining seconds of round two delivering the finish as Griggs hammer-fisted Lashley relentlessly until the bell sounded. After the bell sounded to end round two of their scheduled three-round fight, the referee needed only one quick glance at the former pro wrestler to determine the outcome of Lashley's night in Houston. The fight was immediately stopped, and rightfully so, as the look of defeat on Lashley's face mixed with his body language spoke volumes in terms of what condition Lashley was in. It was definitely all over for the big fellow.

Lashley's previously unblemished MMA record now has its' first flaw as he moves to 5-1 overall, batting .500 for Strikeforce with a 1-1 record in the promotion. Griggs on the other hand walked into the Toyota Center as an unknown being fed as a showcase match-up for a former pro wrestler, but walked out of the same building as a heavyweight prospect now, with an "all-of-a-sudden" impressive looking 9-1 overall MMA record.

Things were only warming up at this point, as the night would continue to get even more interesting during the three live fights remaining on the card.