Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament: Who Should Be The Favorite Between Overeem and Silva?
Bleacher Report’s Blake Dreisbach:
After coming off of his unanimous decision victory over Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black-Belt Fabricio Werdum (14-4,) Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (35-11) will begin preparing for his future semifinal matchup against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (16-2).
Silva is coming off of a career-defining victory over Fedor Emelianenko. He dominated the Russian fighter for two rounds before winning by TKO.
Silva is one of the most underrated heavyweights, and he opened up some eyes with his victory over Emelianenko.
Overeem is a fan-favorite fighter and currently possesses that “superman” type aura that Emelianenko had. Silva is no stranger to that kind of pressure and has the skills and size to match Overeem.
Silva is arguably the bigger man, and he usually goes into his fights around 280 pounds. His gameplan will probably consist of getting Overeem to the ground and avoiding the powerful knees and punches of Overeem while using his size to wear him down.
It could be a relatively close fight, but it’s going to depend on where it takes place. On the feet, Overeem has a technical advantage. Silva has the advantage on the ground if he can get it there.