Ludwig gets payback, stops Morgan

Strikeforce billed the show 'Payback', and the title was true to its word when Colorado fighter Duane Ludwig stopped Team Bison veteran Sammy Morgan just 2:01 into the first round. Morgan had scored a knockout of Ludwig in April of 2005 in just 52 seconds.

A body shot followed up with a hook to the head by Ludwig dropped Morgan (19-12) early in the round. Ludwig (17-8) then pounced on the grounded Morgan and forced him to tap with a barrage of punches and ending with a powerful straight right hand to the body.

The Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant, Morgan has dropped four straight fights since signing a contract with EliteXC. Strikeforce and EliteXC have a working partnership and Morgan has fought under both promotional banners in the past year.

Morgan to face Ludwig

Welterweight Sammy Morgan, a member of Team Bison, will be competing on the upcoming Strikeforce show, Payback, on October 3 in Denver against Duane "Bang" Ludwig. Morgan (19-11; 4 KO/13 submissions) will be trying to snap a 3-fight losing streak. Since signing a contract to fight for EliteXC, Morgan has faced Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le (6-0), top contender Paul Daley (18-6-2), who will fight for the EliteXC Welterweight Championship the next night on CBS, and most recently Fabricio Camoes (9-4), who is seen as a top contender in the EliteXC Lightweight division.

Ludwig (16-8; 9 KO/5 submissions) has been waiting for this rematch with Morgan since their first fight in April of 2005. Fighting on the Ring Of Fire 16 show, Morgan defeated Ludwig by knockout just 52 seconds after the opening bell. Ludwig will be fighting again for the first time since losing by TKO to Takanori Gomi at Sengoku 1 in March. That fight was stopped less than three minutes into the fight due to a nasty cut suffered by Ludwig.

Strikeforce 'Payback' can be seen live on Friday, October 3 on HDNet at 9 PM.