Contrary to earlier reports, Alistair Overeem has not been released from Strikeforce. According to ESPN.com, Bas Boon, a representative for the Strikeforce heavyweight champion and manager of Golden Glory, said Overeem is in negotiations with Zuff…
Contrary to earlier reports, Alistair Overeem has not been released from Strikeforce.
According to ESPN.com, Bas Boon, a representative for the Strikeforce heavyweight champion and manager of Golden Glory, said Overeem is in negotiations with Zuffa LLC and is still under contract with the company. Forza LLC, a subsidiary of UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, operates under Strikeforce.
“The problem with Strikeforce was that we made some agreements with Scott (Coker) which were creating headaches (after) Zuffa took over,” Boon told ESPN.com.
Overeem was originally scheduled to meet Antonio Silva in the semifinals of Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in September. It was his last fight on his current contract and had he won, he would have been able to negotiate a new contract with Strikeforce.
However, due to Overeem’s injuries and time frame he was forced to withdraw from the bout. As a result, Forza LLC exercised a clause in Overeem’s contract that allowed them to remove one of his bouts. The bout happened to be his final match on his contract, which was previously assigned to Forza after Zuffa LLC acquired the rights to the promotion on March 10.
Due to his non-exclusive contract, it was rumored that Overeem would be featured on a United Glory card in Moscow, Russia, but his injuries have prevented his participation on the card.
A source close to Overeem says negotiations are being discussed between both Zuffa and Golden Glory and that it is not likely he will be able to compete until 2012.
Fabricio Werdum has finally responded to Alistair Overeem’s claims that he should be ashamed of his performance on Saturday night in their Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal match-up. According to Vai Cavalo, Overeem didn’t beat him; he lost the bout on his own by not listening to his corner and instead attempting time and time again to coax “The Demolition Man” into his guard.
“I don’t believe he won, I lost to myself. I could’ve won. The feeling I’m having now is worse than if he has smashed me up and if he was way better than me on the three rounds, winning with a large advantage,” he told TATAME today. “The guys is good, alright, so I’d have to keep my head down and train more. But it wasn’t like that and that made me choked. It was a [mediocre] bout, the fans expected much more, but he didn’t want to the ground at any cost.”
(Clash of styles = boring fight)
Fabricio Werdum has finally responded to Alistair Overeem’s claims that he should be ashamed of his performance on Saturday night in their Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal match-up. According to Vai Cavalo, Overeem didn’t beat him; he lost the bout on his own by not listening to his corner and instead attempting time and time again to coax “The Demolition Man” into his guard.
“I don’t believe he won, I lost to myself. I could’ve won. The feeling I’m having now is worse than if he has smashed me up and if he was way better than me on the three rounds, winning with a large advantage,” he told TATAME today. “The guys is good, alright, so I’d have to keep my head down and train more. But it wasn’t like that and that made me choked. It was a [mediocre] bout, the fans expected much more, but he didn’t want to the ground at any cost.”
Werdum says that one thing he did succeed in doing was throwing Overeem off of his usually dominant striking game.
“You can see that end of the second and third round, when we went to the ground, on the half guard, he just laid there, he didn’t punch me at all, which is what he always does… He didn’t do it, he just held me. But many things happened,” he said. “But me, in particular, wasn’t ok. I trained a lot, I did wrestling trainings, muay thai trainings… I did everything I was supposed to do. But, the way I see it, I have to put much more effort for my next bout so I get stronger, really strong because it makes much difference.”
Pointing out that Overeem was able to use his strength advantage to dump him on his back and to break the clinch, Werdum says that the power disparity was the difference in the fight. He feels that if he had a few more seconds, he could have made The Reem tap out.
“And he used much strength just to hold me there. He followed his game plan and I made a mistake because I didn’t do what we have planned for me to do. When I pulled him to my guard, on the end of the third round, I almost applied a leglock, which was something we trained a lot: pulling him to my guard and grabbing his leg,” he explained.I” did it on the end of the fight, but it wasn’t the right moment. I had the chance to do that before, but it was too late for me to do anything, there were only 10 seconds left, and I couldn’t do anything more.”
A knee injury in the second round Fabricio says may have prompted him to try to pull guard more than planned, but he says that he was put off that Overeem didn’t want to engage with him on the ground.
“I don’t know if the guys really noticed me, but on the second round Overeem got my leg and tried to take me down. Since my leg was stuck on the floor, my left leg, my knee was dislocated. A MMA bout is not only about striking. When I call the guys to fight on the floor, nobody comes. When the guys want to fight me while standing up, I’d go, I’d stand up and try to launch how many shots I could,” Werdum pointed out. “I was doing fine striking, but I paid a high price for not listening to my coach, because that was not my game plan. To call him into my guard, I could do that like one, alright… But, the way I did, it made me tired. Calling him to my guard and standing… Keep doing that over and over again got me really tired.”
Although he didn’t win the bout, Werdum says the fact that he was never really in trouble against a dangerous striker like Overeem was a bit of a moral victory and that he would like a rubbermatch if and when Antonio Silva beats him. As far as who he is fighting next, he believes that it will be against either Andrei Arlovski or Brett Rogers on the same card as the SFHWGP semi-finals.
“Overeem said he’d knock me out and I didn’t see it coming at all. I wasn’t in danger fighting Overeem, he didn’t knock me down… I wasn’t hit by any strong shots, that could almost lead me to a knockout. He never came for me as he always does. There’s a long time since Overeem has been winning his bouts on the first round, on the first minute, right? It’s been a while… And against me he didn’t do it, he didn’t come for it, he didn’t work his ground and pound,” he explained. “I intend to fight on this next phase of the GP, not on the GP, but on the same event, against Arlovski or Brett Rogers, who have also lost. I guess it’d be a good thing for me to fight on this event because I felt I needed to fight more, I stayed without fighting for too long. I was a year off, and that’s a lot of time. I lost the rhythm… I was doing good on the training, but fighting is different. On the day of the bout it’s different.”
“In my opinion, Big Foot will defeat Overeem,. And I guess it’ll be striking. If Big Foot goes like he went went he was with Arlovski, he’ll defeat Overeem. I’d fight on the same event that they would, I don’t know against who, but in case Overeem loses, on the next event we could have a rematch worth the belt, because after this bout we’re even,” he said. “I won one, and he won the other, so we have to do this third match and check it all out. It’s 1×1, so we have to do this bout, because it’s not convincing anyone: not even for him because I made the first move all times, and neither for me because I lost it. ”
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, HeavyweightsCain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they’re the two best heavyweights in mixed martial arts. The rest of the division is a jumble.
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they’re the two best heavyweights in mixed martial arts. The rest of the division is a jumble.
Velasquez has dominated the best two opponents he’s fought, Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, finishing them both in the first round. Dos Santos has dominated the best two opponents he’s fought, Fabricio Werdum and Shane Carwin, finishing Werdum in the first round and brutalizing Carwin in the first round before coasting to a decision victory. None of the other top heavyweights in MMA has been so impressive against such high-quality opposition.
So in our latest rankings of the top heavyweights in MMA, Velasquez and dos Santos are a clear 1-2. See where 3-10 stack up below.
1. Cain Velasquez (1): Although the 9-0 Velasquez deserves to be considered the No. 1 heavyweight in the sport as long as he stays unbeaten, his inactivity because of a torn rotator cuff is going to raise serious questions about whether he’ll be able to return at 100 percent. He’s tentatively scheduled to defend his title on November 19, which is 392 days after he won the belt from Brock Lesnar. It’s never easy for a fighter to return after more than a year off, even if he’s completely healthy.
2. Junior dos Santos (2): After the whipping dos Santos put on Shane Carwin, it’s easy to see why the oddsmakers installed him as the favorite against Velasquez. Dos Santos is an amazing physical specimen whose striking technique is superb. He’s also younger than Velasquez and healthier than Velasquez, and there’s every reason to think he’ll return to the cage looking even better than he did against Carwin.
3. Alistair Overeem (7): I don’t want to diminish what Overeem accomplished against Fabricio Werdum: Overeem handily beat a man who had himself handily beaten Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva and Mike Kyle in his last three fights. But Overeem didn’t do anything to make me think he’s on the same level as Velasquez and dos Santos.
4. Brock Lesnar (3): From all indications, Lesnar will sit out for well over a year when it’s all said and done: He fought Velasquez on October 23, 2010, and he likely won’t fight again until 2012. With his health problems and long periods of inactivity, it’s hard to see Lesnar ever becoming the champion again.
5. Fabricio Werdum (5): Werdum is the best heavyweight grappler in the world, but he’ll never be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world until he figures out a way to really exchange with good strikers. Werdum’s usual method is to get passive when a good striker hits him. Sometimes that works — as it did against Fedor, who foolishly jumped into Werdum’s guard after knocking him down. But usually it fails, as it did in Werdum’s decision losses to Overeem and to Andrei Arlovski. (Of course, Werdum’s stand-up really failed when he fought dos Santos, who knocked him cold in 81 seconds.)
6. Antonio Silva (6): Bigfoot will provide an interesting stylistic matchup with Overeem in the next round of the Strikeforce tournament: Like Werdum, Bigfoot has better Brazilian jiu jitsu skills than Overeem. And unlike Werdum, Bigfoot is big and strong enough to take Overeem down and keep him there. I think Overeem’s superior striking will earn him the win in that fight, but Silva is a threat.
7. Shane Carwin (4): The heart and determination Carwin showed against dos Santos was admirable, but that fight also demonstrated how far removed Carwin is from the truly elite of the heavyweight division. Carwin is still a powerful puncher and a potent force in the heavyweight division, but he’s 36 years old and on the down side of his career.
8. Frank Mir (8): Mir has now won two in a row since the beating he took at the hands of Carwin, and he’s been making noises about getting a second shot at Carwin. That’s a fight the UFC should consider booking.
9. Fedor Emelianenko (9): The greatest heavyweight in MMA history is on a two-fight losing streak and hasn’t won since beating Brett Rogers in 2009. Fedor’s upcoming fight with Dan Henderson is an interesting match-up but won’t do anything to bolster his rankings within the heavyweight division: If Fedor wins it just proves that he can beat someone who’s older and smaller than him, while if Fedor loses it’s another piece of evidence that he’s well past his prime.
10. Josh Barnett (NR): Barnett is now back in the Top 10, having finally gotten sanctioned to fight in America and beaten a relatively good opponent. I don’t think the 33-year-old Barnett is on the same level as the truly elite fighters in the heavyweight division, but I do think he’s good enough to beat Sergei Kharitonov and advance to the tournament final, where he’ll be a dangerous opponent for either Overeem or Bigfoot.
Following the final two matches in the quarterfinal round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, it seems as if a winner will be crowned in the early stages of 2012.The semifinals are slated to hit the cage in October, allowing enough time for the …
Following the final two matches in the quarterfinal round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, it seems as if a winner will be crowned in the early stages of 2012.
The semifinals are slated to hit the cage in October, allowing enough time for the winners to prepare to meet in February and fight for the title.
This past weekend, current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and former UFC champ Josh Barnett filled out the remaining semifinal spots by earning wins over Fabricio Werdum (Overeem via unanimous decision) and Brett Rogers (Barnett via second round submission).
Joining Overeem and Barnett will be Antonio Silva and Sergei Kharitonov.
This is how the matchups are scheduled: Overeem will meet Silva on one half, while Barnett takes on Kharitonov.
The tourney began back in February with two opening round bouts taking place. Silva and Kharitonov each earned upset victories over Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski.
After his lackluster win over Fabricio Werdum at Strikefroce: Dallas, Alistair Overeem has moved on to the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, where he will meet Antonio Silva. Silva earned his spot in the semifinals with an upset vic…
After his lackluster win over Fabricio Werdum at Strikefroce: Dallas, Alistair Overeem has moved on to the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, where he will meet Antonio Silva.
Silva earned his spot in the semifinals with an upset victory over MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. The victory catapulted Silva into the mix as a top-10 heavyweight in the world and earned him long-overdue recognition from MMA fans around the world.
The winner of this fight between Overeem and Silva will move onto the tournament finals, where they will meet the winner of another semifinal matchup between Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov.
Without further delay, let’s take a look at how these two heavyweight behemoths match up against one another.
The circus known as Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum has finally come to an end. The main event featuring Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum was a lackluster and odd affair that although many predicted Overeem to win, no one expected the result of the…
The circus known as Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum has finally come to an end.
The main event featuring Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum was a lackluster and odd affair that although many predicted Overeem to win, no one expected the result of the match.
Also featured was Josh Barnett having his way with Brett Rogers, KJ Noons showing a ton of heart, and Chad Griggs and Daniel Cormier looking like the two best heavyweights of the night.
Where do the outcomes of the event lead us now? What have we learned and what was answered tonight? Continue to read and find out!
Contrary to earlier reports, Alistair Overeem has not been released from Strikeforce. 
