The first round of Strikeforce’s Grand Prix concluded Saturday night with an anticlimactic main event featuring Alistair Overeem defeating Fabricio Werdum by a unanimous decision.
Werdum constantly tried to pull guard throughout the fight, and Overeem stuffed takedown after takedown in an attempt to keep the fight on the feet. I had flashbacks of the infamous Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites main event at UFC 97, and that’s never good.
Most of the fight, Overeem didn’t even have time to put combinations together, as Werdum would pull guard and drop to the canvas after one shot from Overeem.
It was an interesting chess match at first, and I enjoyed how they tried to bait each other to fight their style of fight by using showmanship. But after a while, it got old.
I understand Werdum not wanting to strike with the guy that just won the K-1 Grand Prix and him wanting to make it a Jiu-Jitsu match with the guy he tapped out in 2006. But sooner or later, you have to adjust the game plan.
Hopefully Overeem and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will put on a much better show in the semifinals.
The event wasn’t all gloom and doom, however, because Josh Barnett, Jorge Masvidal, Daniel Cormier and Chad Griggs all put in brilliant performances.
Sanctions aside, Barnett is great for the sport. The guy is always entertaining and his love and passion for the sport is infectious. He puts on entertaining fights and always delivers with his promos that he made famous in Pride.
Perhaps the man I was most impressed with Saturday night was Masvidal. He out-struck K.J. Noons in what I thought was the fight of the night. He got the decision victory and certainly made a strong case for the coveted title shot against Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez.
As for Cormier and Griggs, I thought they both did what they needed to do. They not only get the victories, but they sent statements to fans.
Everyone knows Cormier can wrestle, and he didn’t attempt a single takedown against Jeff Monson. He showed much-improved striking skills. My only complaint in his decision victory was that I thought he should have followed up with a few more strikes after hurting Monson. But, all in all, it was a great performance.
Griggs proved once again he is no stepping stone, and he continues to win at all costs in Strikeforce. With his first round stoppage over Valentijn Overeem, he made a statement that he deserves the respect of every opponent he will face.
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