Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum II

[INDYjon22]

Showtime Card
Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals

• Heavyweight Bout: Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
• Heavyweight Bout: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Women's (145ilb) Bout: Gina Carano vs. Sarah D'Alelio
• Heavyweight Bout: Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs
• Heavyweight Bout: Daniel Cormier vs. Jeff Monson

Preliminary Card (HDNet)

• Lightweight Bout: KJ Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Women's (135ilb) Bout: Julie Kedzie vs. Amanda Nunes
• Lightweight Bout: Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox
• Lightweight Bout: Conor Heun vs. Magno Almeida

The time has finally come for the Strikeforce Grand Prix to start up again and I cannot wait to see these fights go down. These two fights have been a long time coming and it will be nice to finally get them done and move on to the next round. It doesn't hurt that both fights interest me a lot.

Overeem vs. Werdum II should be a very interesting fight to watch. Werdum already holds a victory over Overeem and it will be interesting to see if that plays a factor in the way in which Reem comes into this fight. That said, Reem has been my pick to win this whole thing since the beginning and as long as he doesn't make the mistake of going to the ground with Werdum I see him picking Werdum apart on the feet and eventually knocking him out. Should be a fun fight, and I really look forward to it.

The other first round fight is between Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers. Both guys like to throw some serious leather, but the key factor will be if and when Barnett takes this fight to the ground. Barnett has a definite advantage on the ground and I suspect he will tap Rogers out at some point. Rogers shouldn't be counted out though, we have seen before how powerful his fists are and if one punch connects clean to Barnett's face it'll be game over.

We also see the return of Gina Carano. I can't claim to be a big fan of Carano but it will be nice to see her back, if for nothing else but her looks. Hopefully, she makes weight and picks up the win.

The rest of the card is solid as well. The mini tournament that is the Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve fights will pit Griggs vs. Overeem and Cormier vs. Monson. Griggs has been on a nice hot streak lately, but Reem is always dangerous and Cormier is a great prospect who will face his toughest competition yet in the battle tested Jeff Monson.

It is also interesting to note that KJ Noons fights Jorge Masvidal on the prelims in what could very well be the fight of the night. I like Noons a lot and he is never in a boring fight. Expect some fireworks in this one and hopefully we will get to see it on the main card at some point.

 

[jmt225]

Very much looking forward to this show.

Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers should be a lot of fun. Barnett is the person who wrestlers in the sport should model themselves after fighting wise. Barnett is as good of wrestler as anyone who's ever competed in MMA, yet he was still one of the most exciting Heavyweights throughout the last decade. Why is that? Because he doesn't just sit in someone's guard and lay down pitter patter punches. No, he uses his wrestling to control his opponent, while looking to pound on him and go for submissions. It's called CATCH wrestling. I will get in trouble if I say what I feel is the kind of wrestling Jon Fitch, for example, uses.

Anyways, I fully expect Barnett to use his catch wrestling to take Rogers down and submit him. Barnett's boxing isn't bad either, though, so I won't be surprised if he tests himself on the feet, but he better be careful since Rogers hits as hard as anyone in the sport right now. That said, Barnett is an intelligent fighter... he won't get caught against Rogers.

Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum... man, finally Overeem will be able to shut his haters up with this fight. Mark my words... Overeem will destroy Werdum, and I do mean DESTROY. Werdum will not be able to take Overeem down, and Reem will not make the same mistake Fedor did in his fight against Werdum. I mean, first of all... if Overeem catches Werdum with a shot, it'll knock him clean out, not daze him, so that's number one, but number two... Reem is very good on the ground himself, so I'm sure if Reem somehow finds himself on the ground with Werdum, he'll hold his own.

Will be very pleased to see Gina Carano fight again. Hopefully she has a good showing.

Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs... meh, don't really care for this fight. It should be on the prelims, while KJ Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal should be bumped up. But regardless, this is a fight for Overeem to win. Chad Griggs in a tough motherfucker, but he's raw. Overeem has skills everywhere. Should be a fun fight.

Daniel Cormier will grapplefuck Jeff Monsoon, that's all there is to it.

And like I said a second ago, KJ Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal should be on the main card. This undoubtedly has the most potential to be Fight of the Night since both of these guys are very good boxers who love to bang it out. I have Noons winning, but it won't be an easy task. Masvidal has been one of the most underrated Lightweights for a while now.

Overall, one hell of a show. Definitely has potential to be show of the year.

 

[INDYjon22]

Gina Carano will not compete on June 18 at Strikeforce “Overeem vs. Werdum.”

Strikeforce executive Scott Coker announced the news during a Tuesday conference call, revealing that Carano failed her pre-fight medical examination and will be unable to fight at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Details regarding the nature of Carano’s medical issues were not immediately available.

“I know that that she’s really disappointed,” said Coker. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but we have no further information at this time.”

In light of Carano’s absence, Sarah D’Alelio is now left without an opponent. According to Coker, no decision has been made regarding whether D’Alelio will still fight on the card, but one will come shortly.

“It’s yet to be determined,” said Coker. “We’ll probably have an answer by the end of the day.”

Carano’s bout with D’Alelio was to appear on the event’s Showtime-broadcast main card. Instead, a lightweight bout between K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal has now been promoted to the main draw. The event will feature the remaining two quarterfinals in Strikeforce’s 2011 heavyweight grand prix, as Alistair Overeem faces Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett tangles with Brett Rogers.

Carano, 29, has not fought since August 2009 when she suffered the first and only loss of her pro career, a brutal stoppage at the hands of Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. Outside of the cage, Carano will star in the upcoming Steven Soderbergh film “Haywire,” scheduled to be released this August.

Well, this sucks. I'm not the biggest fan of Gina Carano but her return was going to be the biggest thing in women's MMA. She is the most recognizable female fighter in the world, though that is quickly becoming Cyborg. Hopefully she can get all of this sorted out and make her return sometime soon.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

I love the matchups on this card. Like I've posted I'm a huge heavyweight fan, but I'm really looking at Snowman's fight. Both him and Cormier are smaller heavyweights. When you think of most heavyweights you see a giant at like 6'4 pushing the limit. But both men are fantastic wrestlers that are under 6 foot tall.

On paper Snowman should have the fight won. They both have great wrestling, but I see Jeff with the submission streak he was on continuing his streak to 9 fights in a row. He should still be in great shape after taking Maro Perak to his limit in april. But Daniel is a great threat to beat him.

I look for this to be a good standup match, but alot of ground and work. I do look for Daniel to put in work, and use his superior wrestling to his takedown ability. But Monsoon is great in his own rights.

 

[INDYjon22]

About a week late, but here is my quick rundown of last weekends show. Jorge Masvidal really impressed me with the way he handled Noons. He mixed up his striking and used great wrestling. You could see that KJ had no idea what hit him. As for a fight with Melendez, Masvidal will get murdered. As impressive as his fight with Noons was, Gil is not the same fighter and is on a whole other level. Masvidal will be in for a long night. Noons on the other hand has some work to do. He needs to work on his striking that isn't just boxing, as well as his takedown defense. I like Noons though and I'm sure he will bounce back.

Daniel Cormier did what I thought he would do, beast Jeff Monson. I like Monson a lot but he isn't a top tier fighter. This was a great win and name to add to DC's resume. Monson is a tough dude and I have nothing but respect for him. Lesser men would have quit in that fight but Monson kept on going. DC should have a nice career, probably never a champion, but he will give some guys a run for their money.

Other Reem looked awful. He basically looked like he quit against Chad Griggs. What doesn't help Reem's cause is that he got his ass destroyed by a guy I cannot stand in Chad Griggs. Please Strikeforce, put this fool in the cage with someone who will wreck his ass. His ego needs to be put in check.

Barnett looked dominate as expected. Rogers has great power but he is an incredibly one dimensional fighter. He really needs to work on his overall game, especially if he thinks he can hang with guys like Fedor, Reem and Barnett. They are far to well rounded and talented in all aspects of the fight game for him to stand any chance against. Barnett vs. Kharitonov is my most anticipated fight in the second round.

And, Reem vs. Werdum was a letdown. Werdum had an interesting strategy but it did not work out at all and Reem fought way to hesitantly. Reem really needs to bring his A game for his next fight or Antonio Silva will knock him out. Reem is the best fighter in this tournament but you would never have guessed that from his fight with Fabricio. A lot of improvement is needed from both guys.

Decent show, not card of the year, but an enjoyable show nonetheless. Hopefully, and I firmly believe it will be, the July show will kick ass.

 

[SalvIsWin]

I disagree that Overeem was too hesitant when fighting Werdum. Werdum's entire strategy was clearly to bait Overeem into his guard and catch a submission. Frankly, I was impressed with Overeem's patience and his persistence not to fight the way Werdum was hoping for. A lot of fighters would eventually try to fight in the guard after hearing some boos, or after becoming frustrated with Werdum, but Alistair didn't and I commend him for that.

Furthermore, I don't think Overeem is going to have trouble with Silva on the fight. Bigfoot is powerful, but slow, and he doesn't throw combinations because of the latter. Overeem is a K1 champion and probably has some of the best striking in the heavyweight division. I buy Overeem's excuse that Werdum's strikes were simply not damaging whatsoever, and that is why he mostly ignored them and simply focused on not being taken down. I think what Overeem has to worry about with Bigfoot is not getting taken down, because Silva's takedowns are better than Werdum's, and not getting ground and pounded.

 

[INDYjon22]

Werdum was catching Reem pretty consistently when they were exchanging. Reem was certainly throwing more power shots and was more technical, but Werdum was hitting Reem with ease at times. If Reem fights like that against a guy with better striking then Werdum, then he could be in for a long night. Reem was patient but he also wasn't exploding with strikes when he needed to be, and he didn't commit to knees when he could have. I believe Reem will beat Silva and win the whole tournament, but he needs to have that K-1, aggressive style he has shown before and actually commit to his strikes because Big Foot only needs one shot to put Reem on his ass and then pound him out.

 

[Hammerfist]

I was very impressed by Josh Barnett. He completely dominated Brett Rogers and was able to get the submission. Josh could be a darkhorse candidate for winning the whole thing. I predict he will make it to the finals.

Overeem vs Werdum ended up being very boring. It was kind of funny when Werdum was pleading for Overeem to get into his guard. I think Overeem should have fought a lot more aggressively in the standup but he was so paranoid about it going to the ground that he never really let his hands and his knee go.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I was very impressed by Josh Barnett. He completely dominated Brett Rogers and was able to get the submission. Josh could be a darkhorse candidate for winning the whole thing. I predict he will make it to the finals.

I wouldnt call Barnett a dark horse, he is one of the favorites to win and his resume is hard to look past. If anyone is the dark horse it's Kharitonov, he was very impressive against Arlovski and what many dont realize is he's already beaten Overeem and Werdum. I am definitely looking forward to Barnett-Kharitonov more than any other match on the next tourney card.

The fight that impressed me most was Mazvidal vs Noons, Jorge came out and brought it to Noons in a way many(myself included) were surprised by. Not just the intensity but the superior striking, getting the better of Noons everywhere the fight went. I cant wait to see what he does next.

I really wish Reem-Werdum went another round or went to a draw because neither of them did anything significant, that fight was a major letdown and I dont think Reem deserved the UD.
Also I would like to say that I called Barnett by second round Arm Triangle a week before the show, I wrote up my predictions on this thread on my itouch but lost wifi and lost the post

 

[wrestlingfan]

Well who's left, Antonio Silva, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov,

Breakdown:
Antonio Silva vs. Overeem-Silva has knockout powers in his hands and could probably uses his legs for his Karate and Muay Thai, He's a Black Belt in BJJ, and has monsterish strength and power. This will be a competitive fight but I'm goin with Silva for win. Out of all the 4 he looks like he'll make it in the UFC and be competion for Velasquez.

Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov: On the ground they're pretty much equal, Barnett has the edge in wrestling, and more submission victories but Sergei's know slouch on the ground either. When it comes to standup, Barnett has beaten Randy Couture, Minotauro and Alex E. but 1 fight was submission, 1 strike, and 1, decision. I think if Sergei could keep the fight standing he can get a KO or Decision.