Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum recap and analysis
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/19/2011 @ 1:04 pm)
I didn’t buy the idea that Fabricio Werdum was as good as his win over Fedor Emelianenko made people think he was.
That showed on Saturday when he lost a decision to Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, in the first round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix (Photo courtesy of Tracy Lee at Yahoo! Sports)
While Overeem wasn’t that impressive either, I never enjoy watching a guy flop to his back and beg his opponent to come to the ground.
This is MMA, not a grappling tournament. If you can’t get your opponent to the ground, then you better find a way to beat him on your feet.
Do you ever think you would see Cain Velasquez begging his opponent to do anything? I don’t. It is pretty clear that Werdum doesn’t have a ton of confidence in his striking, and to truly be considered one of the best in the heavyweight division, he needs to be more well-rounded and be willing to exchange.
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Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce
Tags: Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Daniel Cormier, Fabricio Werdum, Jeff Monson, Jorge Masvidal, Josh Barnett, KJ Noons, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Picks & Predictions
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/18/2011 @ 11:00 am)
Strikeforce puts on one of its biggest events in the history of the promotion when the second half of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix takes place from the American Airlines Arena on Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET.
Here are my picks for the four bouts that will be on the main card.
Heavyweight Grand Prix – Alistair Overeem (34-11) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) – Overeem doesn’t have a match in this weight class in Strikeforce in my opinion. He has really beefed up and continues to have the same striking ability he has always had. Only a true wrestler has the skill set to take him out, and Werdum isn’t a wrestler. I look for Overeem to pick apart Werdum and earn a second round TKO.
Heavyweight Grand Prix – Josh Barnett (29-5) vs. Brett Rogers (11-2) – Barnett is the better fighter but Rogers does have knockout ability with one punch. Look for Barnett to play it safe early on and survive the storm from Rogers before scoring some takedowns and eventually choking out his opponent in the second round.
Lightweight Bout – K.J. Noons (10-3) vs. Jorge Masvidal (21-6) – Masvidal is tough but he hasn’t quite slugged it out with the talent that Noons has in recent years. If this is going to be a slugfest, I look for Noons to come out on top. Strikeforce would like to get Noons and Gilbert Melendez in a fight together, and I think an impressive second round KO for Noons will do just that.
Heavyweight Bout – Daniel Cormier (7-0) vs. Jeff Monson (42-11) – Cormier has had a nice little start to his MMA career, but Jeff Monson is a smart fighter that will find a way to get Cormier to the ground. Once it hits the mat, Monson will dominate the fight and eventually score a submission in the first five minutes of action.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, Predictions, Strikeforce
Tags: Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Daniel Cormier, Fabricio Werdum, Heavyweight Grand Prix, Jeff Monson, Jorge Masvidal, Josh Barnett, K.J. Noons
Strikeforce Weigh-In Results
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/17/2011 @ 8:13 pm)
Strikeforce held its weigh ins for Saturday’s card and everyone hit their weight, including the fourth competitors that will be battling in the Heavyweight Grand Prix.
In the main event, Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum both came in on point. Overeem weighed in at 256 pounds while Werdum tipped the scales at 246 pounds.
In the other Grand Prix contest, Josh Barnett weighed in at 256 pounds for his Grand Prix showdown with Brett Rogers, who weighed in at 258 pounds.
Both contests will air live on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
For full weigh-in results, check out the jump.
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Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Preview: Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/16/2011 @ 7:18 pm)
Can the under-appreciated beat the over-hyped?
That’s the big question on Saturday when Josh Barnett faces Brett Rogers in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Barnett, who has an impressive list of wins in his lengthy career but is often not considered one of the top heavyweights, takes on Rogers, who was thrown into the spotlight by Strikeforce before he was ready and has since had to take a dose of reality.
Here is a look at both fighters heading into their contest on Saturday.
Josh Barnett (29-5) – A former UFC heavyweight champion, Barnett has won his last six fights. A wrestler at heart, Barnett also has good striking and submission skills. 17 wins in his career have come by submission and that will likely be where he looks to win on Saturday. Rogers is very unproven on the ground but has big punching power. It would be wise for Barnett to keep Rogers grounded and win with his jiu-jitsu.
Brett Rogers (11-2) – Rogers started his career 10-0 and had a string of very impressive knockouts to his credit. But, then came fights against Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeen, who disposed of Rogers with some ease. Now, Rogers is an underdog in the Grand Prix, but he still has the one-punch KO power to be dangerous. Rogers will need to show improved ground skills and conditioning in order to compete with Barnett on Saturday.
Who Will Win: Barnett simply has to survive the opening storm that Rogers will likely have. That should last about two minutes and will require Barnett to either, take a punch or two, or score a quick takedown. I don’t see Rogers as much of a threat in this contest and I will take Barnett to win this fight by submission early in the second round.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Early Odds
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/13/2011 @ 10:54 am)
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.
