Zuffacaps off another year of big fights on Friday, December 30 with UFC 141. It features a massive main event, both literally and figuratively, as Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon after a lengthy battle with diverticulitis and takes on fellow behemoth Alistair “the Demoltion Man” Overeem for the right to take on Junior Dos Santos in a title fight next year. The co-main event features what should be a very exciting lightweight scrap between Nate Diaz and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The rest of the card is a little “meh,” but with Brock Lesnar’s return the UFC doesn’t need to stack the card to increase interest. To be fair, it is still a better undercard than Penn/Diaz and Rampage/Hamill. Let’s get into it.
Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes: This is a featherweight bout featuring one dude I’ve never heard of (Hettes) against someone I don’t care for (Phan). Hettes looks like he is a prospect with sick submission skills and Phan is a striker who has fought Leonard Garcia twice in the past year, losing one questionably and almost getting knocked out while dominating the second. I wasn’t impressed with Phan in his win against Garcia and he lost to Mike Thomas Brown, who has seen better days. Hettes beat some dude from the same season of the Ultimate Fighter Phan was on, so I assume this fight is to build him up some more. I’m going to go with Hettes by second round submission.
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson: Matyushenko has been fighting MMA since the USSR collapsed and Gustafsson is supposed to be part of the future of the light heavyweight division. This should be a real test of where he stands, as “The Janitor” should be a game opponent for Gustafsson. Vlad really only loses to the top level guys, or people on their way to that point. His only defeats are to Jon Jones (2010), Little Nog (2009), Andrei Arlovski (2003), Tito Ortiz (2001), and Vernon White (1999). Gustafsson recently beat Matt Hamill to a pulp (and into retirement) and has looked much improved since his loss to fellow up and comer Phil Davis last year. If this fight stays standing, I expect Gustafsson to dominate. Matyushenko needs to grapple and grind away to win. Gustafsson thwarted Hamill’s wrestling based game; I expect him to do the same to Matyushenko. I don’t know that he’ll finish him, so let’s say Gustafsson by decision.
Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks: No one took the news of GSP’s injury better than Fitch, I presume. The perennial number 2 welterweight in the world could potentially get himself in a title fight next year if he continues his winning ways here. His opponent, Hendricks, is no pushover though. Hendricks is also a wrestling based fighter, with top notch NCAA credentials, but can also trade on the feet (unlike Fitch). I expect this fight to be a bit of a snoozer, as Jon Fitch fights make me weep if I manage to stay awake through them. I really can’t decide who I want to win, as Fitch is dull and Hendricks spells his first name like a goof. People seem to think Hendricks has a good chance to win this and I feel like Fitch hasn’t looked great in his past few fights, but he is still the most dominant UFC fighter not named St. Pierre or Silva in the past five years. With a potential chance at a title shot, I expect him to put forth a better effort than lately, where it seems like he was treading water because he knew he wasn’t getting GSP again. Fitch by decision.
Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone: Cerrone has been on a tear this year, going 4-0 since joining the UFC after the WEC was closed for business. He is looking for a fifth win in 2011, an impressive feat to be sure. Diaz is looking refreshed since moving back to lightweight after a stint at welterweight. Diaz looked great against the ghost of Takanori Gomi at UFC 135 and Cerrone crushed Dennis Siver at UFC 137. The winner of this fight could be a fringe title contender next year, probably only needing one more win to get a shot. Diaz struggles against wrestlers with strong top games and Cerrone struggles against Ben Henderson, so neither of their weaknesses should come into play here. I lean towards Diaz, due to the fact he has fought consistently tougher competition the past several years and I like the way the Diaz brothers throw down. In what should be the fight of the night, Diaz by decision.
Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem: This is like Thor vs. the Incredible Hulk, two monsters in the cage going at it. There are so many questions going into this fight. For Lesnar - 1.) Is he in good health after battling diverticulitis for the past two years? 2.) Is he still afraid to get punched? 3.) Have his overall skills improved? 4.) Does he still have the dominant wrestling he used against Frank Mir? For Overeem - 1.) Can he stop Lesnar’s takedowns/can he keep the fight standing? 2.) Have the steroid allegations and his mother’s illness distracted him? 3.) Is he underestimating Lesnar by looking past him? 4.) Is he all hype, or actually a legit top 5 heavyweight? Lesnar’s inability to set up takedowns because of his poor striking game was exposed by Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, but both of those men have extensive amateur wrestling backgrounds. Overeem is not a wrestling machine and has not ever fought someone with Lesnar’s skill in that department. Two things can happen when Lesnar comes in with that chest high takedown he goes for when he is trying to avoid striking - 1.) he could walk right into one of Overeem’s lethal knee strikes or patented standing guillotine or 2.) Overeem could get bulldozed into the mat and be at the mercy of Lesnar’s vicious ground strikes. If Lesnar doesn’t establish the takedown, I don’t have much faith in his abilities to stand with the Reem. Cain Velasquez was able to tee off on Brock and he is nowhere near Overeem’s level of striker. If it stays standing, I expect Overeem to finish within two rounds. For Overeem, he needs to defend the takedown and get up quickly if brought down. Just as importantly, he needs to do this without gassing out. I have no faith in his abilities to persevere through a round or two of takedowns and ground and pound. I tend to think that Overeem’s takedown defense (his biggest weakness) is not nearly as crippling as Lesnar’s weakness in responding to strikes. On the other hand, I feel like Lesnar may be able to turn a knee to the body into a takedown. He seems to be able physically to take a shot, but not mentally. If he eats a hard punch or knee to the face, he’s done. I think this is what happens. Lesnar is going to come out blazing for a takedown. If he gets it, he pounds on Overeem en route to a second round TKO. If he doesn’t, he gets caught and stumbles. From there, Overeem blasts away with knees to the body and punches and gets a first round TKO. I’m torn over which option happens. In some ways it doesn’t matter because I think Junior Dos Santos can beat both men, although the Reem would be tougher for him. Let’s go Overeem by first round TKO.
As always, feel free to share your predictions.
Showing posts with label overeem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label overeem. Show all posts
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Reem!!!, GSP vs Condit/Penn vs Diaz?, and the Strikeforce GP Final
Big MMA comings and goings in the past week, between new signings and fights being made, as well as last Saturday’s Strikeforce card. Let’s get right down to it.
In arguably the biggest news of last week, Alistair Overeem has signed with the UFC and he will be fighting a returning Brock Lesnar on December 30. To the casual fan, the biggest part of that is the return of Lesnar after another potentially career threatening bout of diverticulitis. It’s a great fight to introduce Overeem to UFC fans and it pits two behemoths against each other. It’s like Thor vs. the Incredible Hulk. Its also a win-win for Zuffa. If Lesnar wins and looks good doing so, he beats a highly regarded heavyweight and is reinserted in the title picture. If the Reem wins and does so decisively, he beats the company’s top draw and is the next contender for the heavyweight title. While this is a winnable fight for Brock due to his superior wrestling, I don’t think he will win. He has mediocre striking and due to that, his takedowns are set up poorly. Overeem isn’t Frank Mir or Randy Couture; he can’t just be hurled around. Lesnar reacts poorly to getting hit and Overeem is a K-1 kickboxing champion. If Cain Velasquez can knock Brock around, imagine what Overeem can do. Plus, the Reem has a nasty guillotine choke or Uberknee just waiting for Lesnar to shoot for one of those chest high takedown attempts he goes for after getting punched. However, if Lesnar can get it to the ground, his superior cardio and brutal ground and pound can get him through this. Still, as of right now I think Overeem takes this with a first round TKO. The combination of Overeem’s power striking and Lesnar looking vulnerable and coming back from a long layoff will be too much.
The other biggest story this week was the upheaval at the top of the UFC 136 card. Georges St. Pierre is no longer fighting Nick Diaz and is instead facing Carlos Condit. Meanwhile BJ Penn is fighting Diaz rather than Condit. This all came to pass after Diaz missed two flights to Las Vegas for a press conference to formalize the fight and didn’t return several of Dana White’s calls. While I would have liked to have seen GSP and Diaz to see how St. Pierre reacts to Diaz’s smack talk and technically sound boxing and jiu jitsu, I think that Condit may make a better fight. He has better takedown defense and fights hard, hard enough that I think he has a better chance of finishing St. Pierre than anyone he has faced in a while. And the only real way to beat him is by finishing him. Georges can go five rounds easily and his style lends itself to decision wins. On the other side of it, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz should be one of the more exciting fights of the year. Both have great boxing and BJJ and neither man shies away from a scrap. I think it can go either way. BJ is the more talented fighter overall, but Diaz has much better cardio. I lean towards Penn, but it could go either way. Regardless, whoever wins this should be next in line for a title shot. If GSP and Penn both win however, I would just go to the GSP-Silva superfight route instead because Baby Jay can’t beat Georges. If Diaz wins, I might still go with GSP-Silva since Nick flaked out on the last fight and the Silva fight needs to happen. If Condit wins, anything goes. If I was forced to pick winners, I would go with Condit and Penn. In the future, I’ll go into further detail about why I think GSP loses. I may even discuss Nick Diaz flaking out on the biggest fight of his career.
The final match of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix is set, as Josh Barnett (the favorite in his side of the bracket) will face Daniel Cormier (an injury replacement for Overeem) at some undetermined point in the future. For Barnett, his path was easy. He outgrappled Brett Rogers in the first round earlier this year and then outgrappled Sergei Kharitonov, winning both fights by submission. I don’t know who Cormier beat in his injury replacement fight, but he knocked out Bigfoot Silva impressively to advance. This is an interesting fight, one that could make Cormier a legit heavyweight with a shot at contending in the UFC next year or give the blacklisted Barnett another shot in the company he was tossed from nearly a decade ago. Cormier is the better wrestler of the two, but Barnett has size and experience on his side. Of course, this is not the fight that Strikeforce had planned on. They originally set up the brackets so that we could see some combination of Overeem, Werdum, and Fedor square off against Barnett. Unfortunately, their brackets yielded a dud in the Reem-Werdum match, Fedor was blasted by Bigfoot Silva, and then Overeem was forced out of the tournament. Still, this should be a good one if it ever happens. One has learned never to accept things from Strikeforce at face value, especially when their erratic scheduling is paired with Zuffa cherrypicking the promotion’s best fighters. That could include one or both of the finalists in the GP to help boost a sagging heavyweight division.
That does it for this installment. Feel free to comment on anything that catches your eye. Stay tuned for UFC 135 predictions next week.
In arguably the biggest news of last week, Alistair Overeem has signed with the UFC and he will be fighting a returning Brock Lesnar on December 30. To the casual fan, the biggest part of that is the return of Lesnar after another potentially career threatening bout of diverticulitis. It’s a great fight to introduce Overeem to UFC fans and it pits two behemoths against each other. It’s like Thor vs. the Incredible Hulk. Its also a win-win for Zuffa. If Lesnar wins and looks good doing so, he beats a highly regarded heavyweight and is reinserted in the title picture. If the Reem wins and does so decisively, he beats the company’s top draw and is the next contender for the heavyweight title. While this is a winnable fight for Brock due to his superior wrestling, I don’t think he will win. He has mediocre striking and due to that, his takedowns are set up poorly. Overeem isn’t Frank Mir or Randy Couture; he can’t just be hurled around. Lesnar reacts poorly to getting hit and Overeem is a K-1 kickboxing champion. If Cain Velasquez can knock Brock around, imagine what Overeem can do. Plus, the Reem has a nasty guillotine choke or Uberknee just waiting for Lesnar to shoot for one of those chest high takedown attempts he goes for after getting punched. However, if Lesnar can get it to the ground, his superior cardio and brutal ground and pound can get him through this. Still, as of right now I think Overeem takes this with a first round TKO. The combination of Overeem’s power striking and Lesnar looking vulnerable and coming back from a long layoff will be too much.
The other biggest story this week was the upheaval at the top of the UFC 136 card. Georges St. Pierre is no longer fighting Nick Diaz and is instead facing Carlos Condit. Meanwhile BJ Penn is fighting Diaz rather than Condit. This all came to pass after Diaz missed two flights to Las Vegas for a press conference to formalize the fight and didn’t return several of Dana White’s calls. While I would have liked to have seen GSP and Diaz to see how St. Pierre reacts to Diaz’s smack talk and technically sound boxing and jiu jitsu, I think that Condit may make a better fight. He has better takedown defense and fights hard, hard enough that I think he has a better chance of finishing St. Pierre than anyone he has faced in a while. And the only real way to beat him is by finishing him. Georges can go five rounds easily and his style lends itself to decision wins. On the other side of it, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz should be one of the more exciting fights of the year. Both have great boxing and BJJ and neither man shies away from a scrap. I think it can go either way. BJ is the more talented fighter overall, but Diaz has much better cardio. I lean towards Penn, but it could go either way. Regardless, whoever wins this should be next in line for a title shot. If GSP and Penn both win however, I would just go to the GSP-Silva superfight route instead because Baby Jay can’t beat Georges. If Diaz wins, I might still go with GSP-Silva since Nick flaked out on the last fight and the Silva fight needs to happen. If Condit wins, anything goes. If I was forced to pick winners, I would go with Condit and Penn. In the future, I’ll go into further detail about why I think GSP loses. I may even discuss Nick Diaz flaking out on the biggest fight of his career.
The final match of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix is set, as Josh Barnett (the favorite in his side of the bracket) will face Daniel Cormier (an injury replacement for Overeem) at some undetermined point in the future. For Barnett, his path was easy. He outgrappled Brett Rogers in the first round earlier this year and then outgrappled Sergei Kharitonov, winning both fights by submission. I don’t know who Cormier beat in his injury replacement fight, but he knocked out Bigfoot Silva impressively to advance. This is an interesting fight, one that could make Cormier a legit heavyweight with a shot at contending in the UFC next year or give the blacklisted Barnett another shot in the company he was tossed from nearly a decade ago. Cormier is the better wrestler of the two, but Barnett has size and experience on his side. Of course, this is not the fight that Strikeforce had planned on. They originally set up the brackets so that we could see some combination of Overeem, Werdum, and Fedor square off against Barnett. Unfortunately, their brackets yielded a dud in the Reem-Werdum match, Fedor was blasted by Bigfoot Silva, and then Overeem was forced out of the tournament. Still, this should be a good one if it ever happens. One has learned never to accept things from Strikeforce at face value, especially when their erratic scheduling is paired with Zuffa cherrypicking the promotion’s best fighters. That could include one or both of the finalists in the GP to help boost a sagging heavyweight division.
That does it for this installment. Feel free to comment on anything that catches your eye. Stay tuned for UFC 135 predictions next week.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Chael Sonnen doesn't deserve a title shot, UFC on Fox, and Overeem!
Due to the severe lack of a basketball season, the bulk of the articles I’m writing are MMA related. I’m thinking of popping out with a pro wrestling story soon just to break the monotony of MMA articles, but we’ll see. If you are looking for something different, please feel free to peruse my other blog entitled Price Vincent, which is a constant ode to testosterone.
Speaking of testosterone, that brings me to Chael Sonnen. In the wake of Anderson Silva’s destruction of Yushin Okami, there has been a renewed call for Silva to face Sonnen, the person who has come closest to defeating him. This is a terrible idea for multiple reasons. 1.) Sonnen lost decisively by tapping out, 2.) Although he was winning the fight decisively, he ended up with more damage inflicted upon himself than upon Silva, 3.) He was dominating due to the fact that he was using testosterone illegally and Silva fought with a severe rib injury, which leads to 4.) Giving him a rematch right away or after his next fight only rewards someone who was caught cheating in the recent past. Seriously, I know there are a serious lack of challengers for Anderson Silva at this point, but Sonnen should have to win at least two fights before being given another shot at a title. And there’s only one real fight to book Silva in that matters: a catchweight bout against Georges St. Pierre. That would put the two best and most dominant fighters in the world against each other in a match most fans want to see, plus it could set up for at least one rematch depending on the fight’s outcome. If that fight isn’t possible, Dan Henderson is available and he is far more deserving of another shot at UFC gold than Sonnen, who could have created quite the PR problem last year if he had won the belt while juicing. That’s something Dana White has forgotten about when defending Chael, but I digress.
In other, more positive news the UFC announced the main event for its network TV debut on Fox November 12th: a UFC Heavyweight Title match between Cain Velasquez and the challenger Junior dos Santos. Oddly enough, this is the only fight that will be aired on the one hour program. I personally would have added a lightweight fight between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson that would 100% guaranteed been a match of the year candidate to open the show, but a title fight on free TV is a big deal. I think that the UFC went the right way in picking this as the fight to go with, as opposed to an Anderson Silva title match or the rumored Tito Ortiz-Rich Franklin fight. Silva, while absolutely brilliant, is mercurial and there is no guarantee that he’ll deliver a positive memorable opponent. Plus, there is some serious question as to how much name recognition he actually has in the US. Now Tito Ortiz has name recognition, but he is way past his prime. Same for Rich Franklin. While both are names and I would consider myself to be a fan of both men, there is a good chance that this could be a bland encounter and you don’t want to showcase two guys who are a bit over the hill in your network TV debut. A lot of people will be tuning in to see a UFC fight for the first time, and a good impression needs to be made. That is why this fight makes sense. Nothing draws people in like a heavyweight fight. Historically in boxing,heavyweights have been the most popular (Louis, Ali, Tyson, Holyfield) and a heavyweight title holds a common perception of being the accolade that shows who the biggest, baddest man is. While there is always the risk that a heavyweight scrap can be a dull, plodding affair, that most likely won’t be the case here as Velasquez-dos Santos is going to be great, great enough that it would be worth buying on a pay per view card. Velasquez is a machine, just absolutely relentless and efficient in his striking, takedowns, and ground and pound. As an added bonus, he never tires out. Junior dos Santos is the best technical striker in the heavyweight division and will test Cain’s chin like no one has yet, plus this fight could be where dos Santos is finally forced to use the jiu jitsu skills we hear he has. This really is the best fight the UFC can go with on this card and its great for fans to get a title fight without having to pay $45.00.
While on the subject of heavyweights, the UFC has been negotiating with Alistair Overeem and rumor has it the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champ could be making his debut inside the octagon as soon as the end of the year against Frank Mir or a returning Brock Lesnar. As a fan of the ‘Reem, this excites me. I’ve gushed about him far too often, but his inclusion into the UFC would greatly bolster its sagging heavyweight ranks. After Cain and dos Santos, the top of the division is pretty thin. Mir is near the top and can main event, but he has not looked impressive as of late and wouldn’t really stand a chance against either of the UFC’s top two heavyweights. Brendan Schaub was exposed as a very green prospect, Cheick Kongo would get murdered again by Cain or for the first time by Junior, and Matt Mitrione is a prospect. Shane Carwin has lost two in a row and is really out of contention, and as much as I love Minotauro Nogueira, he isn’t really a threat to capture the title again. Bringing in Overeem creates a Champion vs. Champion fight, plus Alistair is very marketable. He’s built like Thor and can beat the hell out of people. Since the rest of the Strikeforce heavyweights aren’t joining the UFC anytime soon, the addition of Overeem would be a major plus and would greatly bolster the main event scene - especially when 2011 was marked by a severe depletion of credible main eventers due to injuries and the ‘Reem is known for wanting to fight several times a year. More on this if he actually does join the UFC.
That about does it this time, hopefully I’ll put something up again soon. Feel free to comment here or on facebook.
Speaking of testosterone, that brings me to Chael Sonnen. In the wake of Anderson Silva’s destruction of Yushin Okami, there has been a renewed call for Silva to face Sonnen, the person who has come closest to defeating him. This is a terrible idea for multiple reasons. 1.) Sonnen lost decisively by tapping out, 2.) Although he was winning the fight decisively, he ended up with more damage inflicted upon himself than upon Silva, 3.) He was dominating due to the fact that he was using testosterone illegally and Silva fought with a severe rib injury, which leads to 4.) Giving him a rematch right away or after his next fight only rewards someone who was caught cheating in the recent past. Seriously, I know there are a serious lack of challengers for Anderson Silva at this point, but Sonnen should have to win at least two fights before being given another shot at a title. And there’s only one real fight to book Silva in that matters: a catchweight bout against Georges St. Pierre. That would put the two best and most dominant fighters in the world against each other in a match most fans want to see, plus it could set up for at least one rematch depending on the fight’s outcome. If that fight isn’t possible, Dan Henderson is available and he is far more deserving of another shot at UFC gold than Sonnen, who could have created quite the PR problem last year if he had won the belt while juicing. That’s something Dana White has forgotten about when defending Chael, but I digress.
In other, more positive news the UFC announced the main event for its network TV debut on Fox November 12th: a UFC Heavyweight Title match between Cain Velasquez and the challenger Junior dos Santos. Oddly enough, this is the only fight that will be aired on the one hour program. I personally would have added a lightweight fight between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson that would 100% guaranteed been a match of the year candidate to open the show, but a title fight on free TV is a big deal. I think that the UFC went the right way in picking this as the fight to go with, as opposed to an Anderson Silva title match or the rumored Tito Ortiz-Rich Franklin fight. Silva, while absolutely brilliant, is mercurial and there is no guarantee that he’ll deliver a positive memorable opponent. Plus, there is some serious question as to how much name recognition he actually has in the US. Now Tito Ortiz has name recognition, but he is way past his prime. Same for Rich Franklin. While both are names and I would consider myself to be a fan of both men, there is a good chance that this could be a bland encounter and you don’t want to showcase two guys who are a bit over the hill in your network TV debut. A lot of people will be tuning in to see a UFC fight for the first time, and a good impression needs to be made. That is why this fight makes sense. Nothing draws people in like a heavyweight fight. Historically in boxing,heavyweights have been the most popular (Louis, Ali, Tyson, Holyfield) and a heavyweight title holds a common perception of being the accolade that shows who the biggest, baddest man is. While there is always the risk that a heavyweight scrap can be a dull, plodding affair, that most likely won’t be the case here as Velasquez-dos Santos is going to be great, great enough that it would be worth buying on a pay per view card. Velasquez is a machine, just absolutely relentless and efficient in his striking, takedowns, and ground and pound. As an added bonus, he never tires out. Junior dos Santos is the best technical striker in the heavyweight division and will test Cain’s chin like no one has yet, plus this fight could be where dos Santos is finally forced to use the jiu jitsu skills we hear he has. This really is the best fight the UFC can go with on this card and its great for fans to get a title fight without having to pay $45.00.
While on the subject of heavyweights, the UFC has been negotiating with Alistair Overeem and rumor has it the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champ could be making his debut inside the octagon as soon as the end of the year against Frank Mir or a returning Brock Lesnar. As a fan of the ‘Reem, this excites me. I’ve gushed about him far too often, but his inclusion into the UFC would greatly bolster its sagging heavyweight ranks. After Cain and dos Santos, the top of the division is pretty thin. Mir is near the top and can main event, but he has not looked impressive as of late and wouldn’t really stand a chance against either of the UFC’s top two heavyweights. Brendan Schaub was exposed as a very green prospect, Cheick Kongo would get murdered again by Cain or for the first time by Junior, and Matt Mitrione is a prospect. Shane Carwin has lost two in a row and is really out of contention, and as much as I love Minotauro Nogueira, he isn’t really a threat to capture the title again. Bringing in Overeem creates a Champion vs. Champion fight, plus Alistair is very marketable. He’s built like Thor and can beat the hell out of people. Since the rest of the Strikeforce heavyweights aren’t joining the UFC anytime soon, the addition of Overeem would be a major plus and would greatly bolster the main event scene - especially when 2011 was marked by a severe depletion of credible main eventers due to injuries and the ‘Reem is known for wanting to fight several times a year. More on this if he actually does join the UFC.
That about does it this time, hopefully I’ll put something up again soon. Feel free to comment here or on facebook.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Strikeforce is blowing it...
The first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix was a couple of weeks ago and it was well received and provided a vicious knockout of former UFC Champ Andrei Arlovski by Pride veteran Sergei Kharitonov, as well as the incredible upset of Fedor Emelianenko by Antonio "Big Foot" Silva. It was the second loss in a row for Fedor, both coming after ten straight years without a loss. After the excitement delivered by these two fights, Strikeforce was gaining quite a bit of momentum. The next installment of the tournament was supposed to feature Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem against the man who beat him five years ago and beat Fedor in June, Fabricio Werdum. The other fight would pit perennial top ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett against Brett Rogers. The date was supposed to be on April 9, 2010 and all the card needed was a venue.
Now, Strikeforce has decided to postpone the tournament until June 18 and is instead going to have a welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz, who just fought for Strikeforce in late January, and UFC castoff Paul Daley on April 9. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that this gives them more time to promote the fights and sets up for the semi-finals to be in September and the finals in December. Coker is delusional.
This puts the winners from the first batch of fights on hold for seven months, a rather long layoff for fighters. This also gives the winners of the potential June fights a pretty short layoff of about two months, dependent on health issues. If a winner isn't allowed to fight for medical concerns, then the next round wouldn't be able to happen until October and would push the finals into next year, a year after the tournament started.
Coker is also mistaken in thinking the extra time to promote it is a good thing. There was a ton of buzz after the first fights and Strikeforce is crazy not to take advantage of that immediately. They will never top the UFC, but they can be a solid second source for mixed martial arts. The heavyweight Grand Prix was something different that the UFC would never use, so it set Strikeforce apart as something besides a place for prospects and UFC castoffs. It makes so much more sense to roll the momentum from the February fights into the early April ones. If those went well, they could have done the semi-finals in late summer/early fall and the finals in December with ease.
Instead, Strikeforce is going to have to compete with the UFC during their peak season. June should see a Brock Lesnar fight; a potential light heavyweight title match involving a combination of Shogun Rua, Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, and Rampage Jackson; the UFC's first card in Brazil in the Zuffa era; and a possible Anderson Silva-GSP fight. Strikeforce is going to be lost in the shuffle of the annual summer MMA dominance of the UFC. By running the Grand Prix in early April, late-August/early September, and early/mid-December, Strikeforce could be running with minimal opposition.
Strikeforce has the opportunity to do something special to set it apart from the UFC for a spell. They have a heavyweight division that is arguably as good as that in the UFC and if they were running the Grand Prix more coherently (I didn't even get into the absurd rules and injury replacements), could do something really special for the sport. Even Dana White said he was intrigued by the tournament, and that dude never gives compliments to the opposition. If you can't take advantage of a situation where the man who tries to run every competitor into the ground is interested in what you're doing, there is something seriously wrong. Strikeforce is blowing it.
Now, Strikeforce has decided to postpone the tournament until June 18 and is instead going to have a welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz, who just fought for Strikeforce in late January, and UFC castoff Paul Daley on April 9. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that this gives them more time to promote the fights and sets up for the semi-finals to be in September and the finals in December. Coker is delusional.
This puts the winners from the first batch of fights on hold for seven months, a rather long layoff for fighters. This also gives the winners of the potential June fights a pretty short layoff of about two months, dependent on health issues. If a winner isn't allowed to fight for medical concerns, then the next round wouldn't be able to happen until October and would push the finals into next year, a year after the tournament started.
Coker is also mistaken in thinking the extra time to promote it is a good thing. There was a ton of buzz after the first fights and Strikeforce is crazy not to take advantage of that immediately. They will never top the UFC, but they can be a solid second source for mixed martial arts. The heavyweight Grand Prix was something different that the UFC would never use, so it set Strikeforce apart as something besides a place for prospects and UFC castoffs. It makes so much more sense to roll the momentum from the February fights into the early April ones. If those went well, they could have done the semi-finals in late summer/early fall and the finals in December with ease.
Instead, Strikeforce is going to have to compete with the UFC during their peak season. June should see a Brock Lesnar fight; a potential light heavyweight title match involving a combination of Shogun Rua, Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, and Rampage Jackson; the UFC's first card in Brazil in the Zuffa era; and a possible Anderson Silva-GSP fight. Strikeforce is going to be lost in the shuffle of the annual summer MMA dominance of the UFC. By running the Grand Prix in early April, late-August/early September, and early/mid-December, Strikeforce could be running with minimal opposition.
Strikeforce has the opportunity to do something special to set it apart from the UFC for a spell. They have a heavyweight division that is arguably as good as that in the UFC and if they were running the Grand Prix more coherently (I didn't even get into the absurd rules and injury replacements), could do something really special for the sport. Even Dana White said he was intrigued by the tournament, and that dude never gives compliments to the opposition. If you can't take advantage of a situation where the man who tries to run every competitor into the ground is interested in what you're doing, there is something seriously wrong. Strikeforce is blowing it.
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