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
