Strikeforce and Showtime Unite to Take Over MMA
By Sean Farrell
(Managing Editor’s Note: Sean Farrell is our newest Feature Writer for the MMA here at RSR. I, along with the rest of the team, welcome him aboard.)
With the UFC’s heavyweight division in a remission, so to speak, Strikeforce has upped the bar. It has announced an eight-man heavyweight tournament opening on February 12th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The eight heavyweights will consist of Fedor Emelianenko taking on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Andrei Arolovski vs. Segei Kharitonov, Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett, and the final first round bout with current Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1 Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem taking on the last man to defeat Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum.
On February 12th, the fight card will consist of two opening round fights as well as two other heavyweight fights. The first bout on the main card will be Valentijn Overeem (Alistair’s older brother) vs. Strikeforce newcomer and ex K-1 heavyweight Ray Sefo.
The second bout will be between two undefeated in Strikeforce fighters as Shane Del Rosario, 2-0 (Strikeforce) 10-0 (overall), goes to war with Lavar Johnson, 3-0 (Strikeforce) 15-3 (overall).
There will be two main events to officially open the tournament’s first two bouts. In the co-main event, it will be a quarterfinal bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, 15-8, and Sergei Kharitonov, 17-4, and holds a 1-1 record against Overeem, in a fight that has very little chance of going the distance.
The main event will feature another quarterfinal bout with Fedor Emelianenko, 31-2, and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, 15-2. Although Emelianenko has 2 losses, they must be explained. One loss was a doctor stoppage for a cut, although Fedor was clearly unfazed by it in 2000 and the other coming most recently against Fabricio Werdum. After dropping Werdum with a punch Emelianenko followed up to aggressively and was caught in a triangle choke and forced to tap. This is why many feel even with two losses, Fedor Emelianenko is probably the greatest fighter to ever compete in MMA since he’s only been cleanly beaten once in 33 bouts.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the other hand is exactly that: a “Bigfoot” of a man who will have a distinct height and weight advantage over Emelianenko at 6’4 265 pounds, and Emelianenko coming in at 6′ 230 pounds.
Emelianenko, although the favorite in this match, needs to be extremely cautious of Silva’s power. Strikeforce after this evening of fights will benefit a great deal in popularity as well as gain a few UFC viewers in the process with their current issues at heavyweight. The UFC is currently in a standstill in their heavyweight division since champion Cain Velasquez injured his shoulder and will be out for about nine months. UFC number one contender Junior Dos Santos wants to fight for the interim title but there is no suitable opponent. To top that, UFC top draw Brock Lesnar who is coming off a humiliating knockout defeat by the hands of Cain Velasquez may have lost his will to fight, as well as Shane Carwin’s recent back surgery and Roy Nelson’s contract issues, the UFC isn’t planning much at the heavyweight level anytime soon.
Strikeforce’s heavyweight division is, arguably, the best in all of MMA in terms of overall talent and depth but don’t have the fan base or marketing the UFC has. Strikeforce knows this and this is why the tournament is taking place. By placing Overeem in this tournament, US fans can finally see what all the hype is about concerning the current and first Triple Crown Winner in all of fight sports. Alistair Overeem spoke to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker personally on their last visit to Japan, which Scott Coker recently stated in an interview in response to their conversation: “When I was in Japan last week, he (Overeem) said, ‘You’ve got to let me fight Fabricio. I want to avenge that loss. It’s important.’ So that was an easy fight to put together.Werdum says he’s going to make Alistair go to sleep.”
The one thing making this fight not for the title is that title fights have to be five rounds and the tournament format should require all fights to be three rounds. Coker went on to state a very likely solution for this problem however “We’re trying to talk to all the commissions in all the states that we are attempting to go to work it out,” Coker said. “But I think we’ll have it ironed out in 24 hours. The goal is to have the title on the line and let them fight it out because that’s our world champion and Fabricio beat Fedor. I think that’d be a great representation of the Strikeforce belt.” Coker also addressed Overeem’s dedication to Strikeforce stating “This year, we sat down in Japan, and he’s fully committed,” Coker said. “We have an understanding, and I have no doubt he’s going to fight for us and I think he’s going to fight very well.” Overeem, although the Strikeforce Champion, has only defended the belt once in three years and that was a KO victory over Brett Rogers in early 2010.
Overeem now returning to fight in the states after conquering K-1 and taking the DREAM heavyweight title in a 19 second smashing of former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee, only signifies the growth of Strikeforce. If Overeem should go deep, even win this tournament which he is easily expected to do even considering the talent and depth of fighters, Overeem will have the U.S. MMA success which is needed by Strikeforce as well as met Coker’s request of fighting three Strikeforce bouts, leaving him free to return to Japan as planned.
Overeem can continue becoming the worldwide icon in MMA the sport so desperately needs to expand globally, which Fighting and Entertainment Group in Japan has already gotten in the works. Strikeforce has officially upped the bar against the UFC since the UFC’s only heavyweight tournament under Zuffa LLC was a three fight four man tournament and a UFC tournament is something of a joke considering what Pride FC used to produce.
Showtime has also had a major say in this tournament as they are trying to use Strikeforce to defeat the longtime boxing rivals on HBO in the ratings category. Showtime released an Official Press Release on their partnership with Strikeforce and M-1 Global following Strikeforce’s re-signing of Fedor Emelianenko.
Strikeforce has now staked its claim in American MMA and with HBO’s boxing special’s becoming secondary to MMA, Strikeforce could eventually expand to them as well. This tournament should be something the casual fan and even boxing fans should take the time out to observe, since many tournaments aren’t happening in fight sports the way they used to with the exception of K-1. This should be something fight fans will remember for many years or until the UFC attempts to one up Strikeforce.