After some delay, the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix will finally recommence with Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum (II). This event will be the second installment in the tournament and will feature the second half of the quarterfinals. The first half of the quarterfinals took place at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva, where Antonio Silva handed Fedor Emilianenko his second straight loss in a row with a Rnd2 TKO due to Doctor Stoppage to earn his spot in the semifinals, and where tournament dark-horse Sergei Kharitonov handed former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski his fourth straight loss with a Rnd1 KO to secure his spot in the semifinals. Also on that card were three Heavyweight bouts with each winner earning a spot in the tournament as an alternate for a fighter who wins his bout and cannot continue due to injury. Shane Del Rosario earned his alternate spot with a Rnd1 Submission win, Chad Griggs earned his alternate spot with a Rnd1 TKO win, and Valentijn Overeem earned his alternate spot with a Rnd1 Submission win. The main and co-main event will decide which two fighters will advance to set the semifinals for this Heavyweight Grand Prix, the midway point will pit two Lightweights in a bout where the winner will be next in line to compete for the division title, the second bout on the card will pit a rising heavyweight prospect against one of the most experienced Heavyweights in MMA, and two of the alternates from Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva will engage in the opening bout on the main card.
Main Card Bouts:
*Allistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (34-11-0(1)) vs Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum (14-4-1)
*Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett (29-5-0) vs Brett "The Grim" Rogers (11-2-0)
K.J. "King" Noons (10-3-0) vs Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal (21-6-0)
Daniel Cormier (7-0-0) vs Jeff "The Snowman" Monson (42-11-0)
Valentijn "The Python" Overeem (29-25-0) vs Chad "The Grave Digger" Griggs (10-1-0)
*A. Overeem vs Werdum (2)
The main event will be a rematch that originally took place at Pride Total Elimination Absolute as part of the Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. This bout will pit reigning Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Allistair Overeem against Fabricio Werdum in a bout that will decide who will be next to face Antonio Silva in the semifinals. Overeem and Werdum fought over five years ago in the now defunct PrideFC where Werdum earned a Rnd2 Submission. Overeem is coming in on a nine fight win streak with the last two being his first Strikeforce title defense with a Rnd1 TKO over Rogers at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery and winning the Dream Interim Heavyweight title with a Rnd1 KO over Todd Duffee at Dynamite!! 2010. Werdum is coming in on a three fight win streak with a Rnd1 Submission win at Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs Werdum where he handed Fedor Emilianenko his first actual loss in his career. Though Overeem is division champion, it was decided that his title will not be on the line in this bout, but if he were to lose he would wait to fight the winner of the tournament. Overeem has been on a career high in these past years with a muscular physique, gaining recognition in the American MMA scene, and becoming the first person ever to hold two MMA titles and win a Kickboxing title at the same time. Werdum is also on a career high defeating Fedor who was ranked the #1 Heavyweight in the world for years. Though this is a rematch, many are disregarding the original match since both are two totally different fighters compared to who they were then. Overeem is picked as the heavy favorite with proven elite striking that earned him the K-1 2010 World Grand Prix championship defeating three opponents in one night and prove his strength when he threw Rogers aside in his Strikeforce title defense. Though Werdum is not well favored, he has shown improved striking and is still one of the most dangerous BJJ practitioners is the sport of MMA. Essentially this is a striker vs grappler match-up with Overeem looking for the knockout as he has said in many interviews, while Werdum will look to get the fight to the ground to earn a second submission win. This should prove to be a technical affair with both fighters intent to earn a win utilizing their own specialties.
*Barnett vs Rogers
This Heavyweight tournament quarterfinal will pit an experienced veteran against heavy handed prospect with the winner taking on tournament dark-horse Kharitonov in the semifinals. Josh Barnett returns to fight in the United States for the first time in two years when he takes on former contender Brett Rogers. Barnett returns to fighting on American soil since testing positive for banned PEDs that scrapped a scheduled bout with Fedor. Barnett is coming in on a six fight win streak with a Rnd1 TKO over Geronimo Dos Santos at Impact FC 1. Rogers is coming in after rebounding with a Unanimous Decision over Ruben Villareal at W-1 MMA 6: New Ground after losing two straight with a Rnd2 KO loss to Fedor and being dominated by A. Overeem for the Strikeforce title. Barnett is a well experienced veteran with a dangerous catch wrestling game that has earned him seventeen submission wins. Rogers is more one-dimensional always looking for the knockout with his heavy swings and never wanting to go to the ground. Barnett is the heavy favorite coming into this bout with the greater experience and ability to finish a fight both standing and grappling. Rogers is given a "puncher's chance" as he will likely have to avoid takedowns and hope to land clean to finish the fight as soon as he can to avoid gassing out. Barnett is partly to blame for this event's delay due to Strikeforce having to find the right state that and venue that would permit him to fight even without being licensed by the CSAC. This bout is expected to for sure be a finish with Barnett looking for the finish to make a statement in his return to the American MMA scene, and Rogers looking to make a statement and get back into title contention.
Noons vs Masvidal
This bout was moved up from the preliminary card to replace the long awaited return bout for Gina Carano after she was not medically cleared.
This bout will pit two stand up strikers in a bout where the winner will earn a title shot against reigning champion Gilbert Melendez. This Lightweight bout pits former EliteXC champion K.J. Noons against rising contender Jorge Masvidal. Noons is coming in off a Unanimous Decision loss to now former Strikeforce Welterweight champion Nick Diaz where he sustained a broken jaw and a broken hand in the first two rounds of the bout. Masvidal is coming in off a Unanimous Decision win over then undefeated Billy Evangelista where he out-struck the rising star. Both fighters are preferred strikers with Noons having a pro-boxing background and Masvidal always willing to get into a brawl. Though both are strikers, Noons is favored in this bout with the more technical approach and disciplined game. This bout is almost guaranteed to stay exclusively on the feet with both looking for a (T)KO win, though Masvidal is seen as the more likely of the two to possibly take this fight to the ground. Both fighters do pose a significant threat to champion Melendez's title, but they will have to take on each other first to get there.
Cormier vs Monson
This bout was expected to pit two rising and stylistically opposite Heavyweight fighters meet, but leading up to this event one of them had to be replaced after an unforeseen incident. American Olympic wrestler and AKA product Daniel Cormier was expected to take on dangerous striker Shane Del Rosario, but leading up to this event Del Rosario was struck by a drunk driver while driving and was forced out of the bout. Cormier is now expected to take on longtime veteran and dangerous grappler Jeff Monson. Cormier is coming in on an undefeated seven fight win streak with the most recent being his first to go the full distance with a Unanimous Decision over Devin Cole at Strikeforce Challengers 13: Woodley vs Saffiedene where he showed his improving striking capability. Monson is coming in on a eight fight win streak with a Unanimous Decision over Maro Perak at Strength & Honor Championship 4: Monson vs Perak which was his third fight of the year already. The experience gap between these two Heavyweights is wide as Cormier comes in with less that two years of professional fighting experience while Monson is coming in with over thirteen years of professional fighting. Both are elite grapplers with Cormier coming in with a long resume with years of wrestling that includes being an NCAA1 All-American and competing on the Olympic level, while Monson has years of competing in grappling and BJJ tournaments. Though both fighters hold only a few wins each by way of (T)KO, Monson may hold the edge in the striking game with his greater experience in the sport. Though both fighters have elite grappling skills, Cormier may have the advantage on the ground with his elite wrestling, though Monson may be prepared to stuff Cormier's takedowns and ready to display his preferred North/South choke in doing so. Though Cormier is the younger by eight years and probably the more agile, Monson may not be so rusty in skill level having stayed very active having fought and won eight times in almost twelve months time. With this being considered a late notice replacement, Cormier is favored in this match with his skill set and as the younger competitor. Though Monson is coming in on some short notice he is used to competing on such a call and is always in the gym staying in shape ready for a late call like this. This should be an interesting bout.
V. Overeem vs Griggs
The opening bout on the main card will pit two of the tournament alternates in what should be an entertaining Heavyweight match-up. The bout will pit hard hitting and submission grappler Valentijn Overeem, older brother of Allistair, against heavy swinging Chad Griggs. Overeem is coming in on a three fight win streak with all coming by Rnd1 stoppage that includes a recent Rnd1 Submission over Ray Sefo via "Neck Crank" at Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs Silva. Griggs is coming in on a five fight win streak that includes a Rnd2 TKO over rising star Bobby Lashley at Strikeforce: Houston and recently earning a Rnd1 TKO win over over Gian Villante also at Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs Silva. In the striking whelm both fighters have different styles. Overeem is disciplined in kickboxing training out of Team Golden Glory with elite strikers, while Griggs is more of a precision heavy hitter. When it comes to ground game Overeem has an advantage with more experience compared to Griggs. Griggs has more of a defensive ground game where he tries to survive and tie up when on his back to get things back up where he can do damage. If Overeem picks his shots and keeps his distance, then he will be able to avoid the knockout power of Griggs and may look to chop at his legs. Griggs will look to avoid getting taken down by Overeem and land strong with precise shots, and it would also be wise to not dish out takedowns of his own until dealing enough damage. This should be a tactical bout between two dangerous Heavyweights with each having their own approach in both striking and grappling.
Each bout on this card has important implications in Strikeforce, MMA rankings, and personally for each fighters' career. A win for A. Overeem redeems his loss to Werdum years ago and may moves him up the ranks to potentially being recognized as the #1 Heavyweight in the world. A win for Werdum gets him a second win over A. Overeem even though it is not for the title, sets up a second fight against Silva, and makes a bigger statement that combined with his win over Fedor would possibly shoot him to the top of the ranks. A win for Barnett puts him in the spotlight in the American MMA scene and could divert attention from fans away from his multiple positive test results when tested for steroids and PEDs. A win for Rogers redeems him in the eyes of fans and puts a spotlight on him in the sport with a win over the favored veteran. A win for Noons puts him in range for the title many feel he should have fought for originally and a chance to jump into the spotlight and gain greater recognition. A win for Masvidal would earn him recognition where he is not well known and will earn him some well needed promotion in the eyes of fans. A win for Cormier means a victory over a seasoned veteran and could move him up in the ranks and potentially closer to a title shot down the line. A win for Monson may not get him back in the UFC where he would like to fight for the remainder of his career, but it could earn him a place in Strikeforce that could get him closer to fighting for a legitimate and recognized title. A win for V. Overeem would help put his career on the winning path and attract attention from fans to his win and not his many losses that tends to turn people away from picking him to win. A win for Griggs over a veteran like V. Overeem would earn him recognition and and make him popular among fans, especially with his entertaining heavy swinging ways. Every fight on this card has great value in rankings and in entertainment. The tournament alone attracts much attention showcasing the most popular weight class in the sport and the elite talent that Strikeforce has on their Heavyweight roster. This event is one that all MMA fans should look forward to.
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