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Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Early Odds

June 13, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The second half of the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix takes place on Saturday night and the odds have been released for the two contests.

The featured bout of Saturday’s Grand Prix is Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, taking on Fabricio Werdum. Overeem opens as the heavy favorite with odds of -500 while Werdum has odds of +300. This is somewhat surprising since Werdum has a submission win over Overeem already in his career. Both men seem to be fighting the best they have in their career, but this will be the striker vs. grappler contest, where the winner will likely be decided by where the fight ends up.

In the second contest, Josh Barnett opens as a -340 favorite over Brett Rogers, who has odds of +260. Both men hit hard, but Barnett is also a world class wrestler, which should give him a clear edge over Rogers, who is mostly a power puncher. Both men are fighting for the first time this year, with Barnett nearly having a year off since his last bout.

Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Alistair Overeem Brett Rogers Fabricio Werdum Josh Barnett Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix

Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update

June 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s another Sunday night, which means we have another MMA on TV update.

Following another UFC PPV event, the middle of the week is lacking in programming, but we have another exciting event coming up on Saturday.

– On Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, Strikeforce presents the second half of the Heavyweight Grand Prix as heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem takes on Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett squares off with Brett Rogers. K.J. Noons, Jorge Masvidal, Jeff Monson, Daniel Cormier, and Valentijn Overeem will also be in action on the night. The main card will air on Showtime from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

That is all for this week. Next week features three events with UFC, Bellator, and Strikeforce all in action.

Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Alistair Overeem Brett Rogers Fabricio Werdum Josh Barnett

UFC 131 Results & Review – Dos Santos A Legit Threat To Velasquez

June 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Junior dos Santos was the No. 1 contender to the UFC heavyweight title coming into UFC 131, and he is still the No. 1 contender after UFC 131.

The 26-year-old heavyweight improved to 13-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Shane Carwin on Saturday, dominating the entire fight. Dos Santos’ reach proved to be a big factor as Carwin struggled to get inside Junior and dos Santos also showed impressive takedown defense to keep the fight standing.

In the first round, Carwin was nearly finished (and I personally would have stopped the fight) as he took a barrage of strikes from Junior that left him a bloody mess, but he managed to survive and last all 15 minutes.

Dos Santos looked as good as I have ever seen him and he appears to be a legit threat to UFC heavyweight champ, Cain Velasquez.

The co-main event saw Kenny Florian successfully make his featherweight debut by beating Diego Nunes by unanimous decision. Florian lost the first round on two scorecards but bounced back by controlling a tired Nunes for the final 10 minutes.

The other big win of the night came for Mark Munoz, who won a close decision over Demian Maia. All three rounds were competitive and close, but all judges scored the bout for the wrestler, Munoz. Maia showed impressive striking in the first round while Munoz controlled the fight with his wrestling in the final two rounds.

For complete UFC 131 results, check out the jump.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Dave Herman Demian Maia Diego Nunes Donald Cerrone John Olav Einemo Junior Dos Santos Kenny Florian Mark Munoz Shane Carwin UFC 131 Vagner Rocha

UFC 131 Picks & Predictions

June 11, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 131 takes place on Saturday from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Here is a rundown of my takes on all the main card bouts.

Heavyweight Bout – Shane Carwin (12-1) vs. Junior dos Santos (12-1) – This should be an explosive fight and I see Carwin walking out the winner. I don’t see the fight going beyond five minutes as both fighters have explosive power. I suspect Carwin can take a punch better than dos Santos, which will allow him to earn a first round KO.

Featherweight Bout – Kenny Florian (13-5) vs. Diego Nunes (16-1) – This will be a tough test for Florian, who is making his 145-pound debut against Nunes, who is on a nice run as of late. If Florian can handle the weight cut and continue to fight his style, he should be able to out-class Nunes and secure a submission in the third. I suspect Florian will do just that.

Middleweight Bout – Demian Maia (14-2) vs. Mark Munoz (10-2) – Munoz is a tough guy, but I think he will struggle with Maia on the ground. I look for Maia to pull off an impressive submission in the second round on the wrestler.

Heavyweight Bout – John Olav Einemo (7-1) vs. Dave Herman (20-2) – Einemo seems to be one dimensional and just strong with his submissions while Herman is an impressive striker and well-conditioned fighter. My pick is Herman to win by knockout in the third round.

Lightweight Bout – Donald Cerrone (14-3) vs. Vagner Rocha (6-1) – I think Cerrone should control this fight from start to finish. I don’t see him finishing Rocha, who is good at submission defense, but I do see Cerrone getting the decision win.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Dave Herman Demian Maia Diego Nunes Donald Cerrone John Olav Einemo Junior Dos Santos Kenny Florian Mark Munoz Shane Carwin UFC 131 Vagner Rocha

UFC 131 Preview: Donald Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha

June 11, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Donald Cerrone has something to prove while Vagner Rocha has a chance to make a good first impression.

That is the story of Saturday’s UFC 131 lightweight contest. Cerrone is in his second UFC bout and working his way up the lightweight ladder while Rocha is making his UFC debut after filling in for the injured Mac Danzig.

Here is a look at both fighters heading into this contest.

Donald Cerrone (14-3) – Cerrone is coming off a submission win over Paul Kelly in his UFC debut, giving him a three-fight win streak. Cerrone is a pressure fighter that mixes in boxing with great submission fighting. He has been stopped just once in his career and 12 of his 14 victories have come by submission. Cerrone may have the edge in this fight no matter where it takes place.

Vagner Rocha (6-1) – Rocha is veteran of Bellator and Strikeforce, but has just seven pro fights. He has a good mixture of striking and submissions, with three of his wins coming from an armbar. Rocha will be facing the toughest opponent of his career on the biggest stage in his career, so jitters could be an issue for him.

Who Will Win: It would be hard for me to see any way that Cerrone doesn’t win this fight. He should be able to out-strike and out-grapple Rocha. I look for Cerrone to tire Rocha with his punching and put forth some good submission attempts before winning an easy decision.