In this piece I’ll preview the Strikeforce World Grand Prix quarterfinal bracket containing fighters Fedor Emelianenko (32-2), Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (15-2), Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) and heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (34-11).
Fedor will meet “Bigfoot” in the opening round of the quarterfinals on Feb. 12 in New Jersey, while Werdum and Overeem will meet at an unannounced date in March.
According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, Fedor is itching to get back into the cage following his upset loss to Werdum last summer. This is very good news for fans of the Russian fighter since he seemed much less motivated before the loss. Now “The Last Emperor” is bringing in fighters like Gegard Mousasi and others to prepare for Silva, something not talked about doing in preparations for Werdum last summer.
Silva is looking at this fight as his big chance to really put himself among the top world heavyweights. He too has brought in many different fighters to prepare for the match. “Bigfoot” has been shown that Fedor is human and can be beaten, providing him with a sense of confidence which has alluded some of Fedor’s opponents in the past.
Physically Silva holds the advantage weighing in at 263 lbs for his fight last December, while Fedor hit the scales at 229 lbs last June. “The Last Emperor” has been dealing with larger opponents for years so this won’t be anything new for him. Silva faced a similar sized opponent in Mike Kyle last month, and despite getting rocked in the first managed to use his size in the second to mount his opponent to reign down strikes. I think he’ll try to do the same against Fedor but I think he lacks the wrestling background to control the Russian on the ground.
Skill wise, it would be hard to find anyone who would give the nod to Silva over Fedor. The Russian has been able to beat opponents standing up or on the mat no matter the size. While Silva skill seems based on his size, this fight will give him the chance to show what he can do.
My prediction, Fedor over “Bigfoot” Silva by submission in the second round.
Matching Overeem with Werdum ensures the fans get one of the fights they’ve been looking for since the Brazilian’s win over Fedor last summer. There is also a bit of satisfaction knowing that “The Demolition Man” asked for Werdum in the opening match. A motivated Overeem could prove very scary.
Overeem has been planning this fight since he was on hand to watch Werdum submit Fedor last summer. He’s had big plans for the past year, which included capturing the K-1 and DREAM titles, and now he gets a chance to check another item off his list by getting a rematch with Werdum. Both fighters met back in 2006 during the opening round of the Pride Openweight Grand Prix tournament. Werdum submitted him in that fight so a little payback is certainly something “The Demolition Man” is looking for.
Werdum is looking for some recognition, and maybe the chance to throw a little mud in the eyes of the UFC for releasing him. When he beat Fedor last summer, it was the biggest victory of his career and instead of demanding a title shot he left his future open, even leaving things open to a rematch. His goals goal seem more in line with a fighter trying to become the best rather than a fighter by calling himself the best by wrapping a title around his waist.
Physically, Werdum is obviously the smaller of the two weighing in at 238.5 lbs last summer while Overeem came in at 260 last month for the Dynamite!! show. Overeem will definitely impose his strength and size on Werdum, he just has to be weary of Werdum’s submission skills. I don’t think Overeem will fall for the ploy Werdum used on Fedor last summer to suck the Russian into his guard, Overeem will do his best to stay on his feet.
Skill wise, it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
Overeem is by far the better striker containing knockout power in his hands, knees and legs. Werdum has stopped a few opponents, Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga, with his hands but he’d be a fool to stand and trade. Werdum obviously holds the advantage on the mat as the ADCC champ will look to take the fight there at all opportunities. We haven’t seen much of Overeem’s ground-and-pound, which he may elect to try against Werdum, but he’s only tempting fate by playing into his opponents hands.
Some part of me sees this fight going down like Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites, or on the other side, Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II.
Overeem over Werdum by knockout in the first round.
I’d like to say this was my best work but then I’d be lying. I hope that I’ve at least given you something more to think about for each of the upcoming fights and if your interested in reading more I’ll cover the rest of the tourney’s participants soon.