Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce – Fedor vs. Silva

Filed under: StrikeforceIf you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reser…

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If you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reserve bout between Valentijn Overeem and Ray Sefo felt almost meaningful (though it didn’t look it), and the Silva-Emelianenko fight had enough thrills to last us until the next wave of fights in April.

All in all, a success out of the gates for the most ambitious endeavor in Strikeforce history. Now let’s sift through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the opening night of Strikeforce’s heavyweight Grand Prix.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce – Fedor vs. Silva

Filed under: StrikeforceIf you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reser…

Filed under:

If you sat through Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva on Saturday night and still don’t think that a tournament structure instantly makes everything feel a little more exciting, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.

Even the reserve bout between Valentijn Overeem and Ray Sefo felt almost meaningful (though it didn’t look it), and the Silva-Emelianenko fight had enough thrills to last us until the next wave of fights in April.

All in all, a success out of the gates for the most ambitious endeavor in Strikeforce history. Now let’s sift through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the opening night of Strikeforce’s heavyweight Grand Prix.

Valentijn Overeem on Strikeforce Win: ‘This Was My Dream’

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — MMA Fighting spoke to Valentijn Overeem about his win over Ray Sefo Saturday. Alistair’s Overeem’s older brother talked about his nerves going into the fight, how he finished Sefo and what’s next.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — MMA Fighting spoke to Valentijn Overeem about his win over Ray Sefo Saturday. Alistair’s Overeem’s older brother talked about his nerves going into the fight, how he finished Sefo and what’s next.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Predictions

Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva As Bas Rutten said on Inside MMA, this is not an easy fight for Fedor and I agree. However, Mike Kyle was 1 clean punch away from finishing off Silva in their recent fight. Fedor will not likely make the same mistake. I lean towards Fedor here, but Silva will […]

Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva

As Bas Rutten said on Inside MMA, this is not an easy fight for Fedor and I agree. However, Mike Kyle was 1 clean punch away from finishing off Silva in their recent fight. Fedor will not likely make the same mistake. I lean towards Fedor here, but Silva will be handful just in the size department alone. I don’t think it will be easy, but Fedor will catch Silva because his head is a large target and Fedor has pinpoint accuracy.

Andrei Arlovski vs Sergei Kharitonov

Arlovski is the faster more technical striker. In fact much more. Kharitonov is the russian bear and swings like it. He swings tight inside hooks and if he connects its trouble for Arlovski who has had trouble against heavy big punchers such as Tim Sylvia, Brett Rogers, and Fedor Emelianenko. If Arlovski can execute the gameplan he probably wanted to do against Brett Rogers he should be able to beat Kharitonov easily.

The Reserve Bouts

Shane Del Rosario vs Lavar Johnson

Could be the best fight of the night. I’m leaning towards Lavar, but Del Rosario is clearly the more talented fighter. I just have this feeling the toughness and power of Johnson will get him the victory.

Chad Griggs vs Gianpiero Villante

Chad Griggs.

Valentijn Overeem vs Ray Sefo

Ray Sefo. Overeem is coming off a monster layoff.

Strikeforce Grand Prix: By the Odds

Filed under: StrikeforceWhile small-scale gambling on the NCAA basketball tournament is something of an American tradition, I’ve found it’s much harder to get my friends and neighbors involved in a Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix betting pool.

That…

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While small-scale gambling on the NCAA basketball tournament is something of an American tradition, I’ve found it’s much harder to get my friends and neighbors involved in a Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix betting pool.

That’s because a) all my friends and neighbors know that I follow this stuff for a living, while they’re still wondering why Kimbo Slice didn’t get included in the bracket, and b) the lack of seeding means you kind of have to actually know something about each fighter in order to effectively pick a winner.

Thankfully, online oddsmakers have handicapped Saturday night’s opening round for us, so we might as well sift through the betting lines and see if there aren’t any egregious errors. Won’t you join me below?

Strikeforce Fedor vs. Silva Preview and Predictions

Filed under: StrikeforceStrikeforce’s much-discussed heavyweight tournament begins on Saturday night, with two of the four quarterfinal bouts taking place on a five-fight card that features nothing but heavyweights.

What: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva …

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Fedor EmelianenkoStrikeforce’s much-discussed heavyweight tournament begins on Saturday night, with two of the four quarterfinal bouts taking place on a five-fight card that features nothing but heavyweights.

What: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva

When: Saturday, the Showtime card starts at 10 PM ET

Where: Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Predictions on the five televised fights below.