Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum preview and predictions
by Tim Groves on June 16, 2011
Jeff Monson, Gilbert Yvel, Mighty Mo and Geronimo dos Santos. Oh and he bankrupt an entire promotion. Pretty solid five years for the Baby Faced Assassin. 

Barnett clearly has the skills of a top heavyweight. His grappling is some of the most advanced in the division and his striking is enough to keep him competitive with most heavyweights, but when your best win in the past five years is Jeff Monson you simply shouldn't be considered at the top of your weight class. 

Anyway, this is a pretty standard striker vs. grappler match up. Rogers would like nothing more to keep this fight standing and try and knock Barnett's head into the third row. Barnett hopes to get this fight to the ground where he can take one of Rogers limbs home with him. 

As much as I question Barnett, I question Rogers even more. Barnett should be able to plant him early and work his top game until he finds a submission. Barnett via submission in the second.

Alistair Overeem (34-11 1 NC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1)

Speaking of guys with padded records, Alistair Overeem's best victory at heavyweight is either Brett Rogers or Paul Buentello. The guy has beaten a who's who of crappy fighters over the course of his heavyweight career. The only thing saving him from the Josh Barnett treatment is his K-1 Fighting championship. Being crowned the best kickboxer in the entire world is a serious accomplishment that simply cannot be overlooked. 

Fabricio Werdum has always been a top 15 heavyweight but he suddenly found himself thrust into the top five after he defeated Fedor Emelianenko a little under a year ago. Werdum is a gifted grappler with some of the best credentials in the entire sport of mixed martial arts, not just the heavyweight division. His striking is serviceable, as evident by his victory over Antonio Silva.

Unfortunately for Werdum, this fight should be nothing more than the coming out party for Overeem. A victory over Werdum would provide Overeem with the signature win needed for most pundits to add him to their list of top five heavyweights. Overeem is too big, too strong and too skilled to be beaten by Werdum.

The Brazilian really has no chance outside of getting this fight to the ground and I simply don't see that happening. Unless Overeem gets over confident and finds himself in a situation similar to Emelianenko, this should be a one sided beatdown. 

Overeem is a K-1 champion. Overeem is too strong to get this fight to the ground. Werdum hasn't fought in nearly a year. Overeem via knockout in the first.


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 |  (40) Comments Wandering_Minstrel: Good picks. flyangler: Third....except I pick Noons by descision GO HARD: i have the same picks except War Werdum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! illegalpoke: ^^^yeaaah. Well. I can see the Sherdog Grand Prix preview influence there in the Jorge over KJ pick, as they as well couldn't give a legit argument for Noons' defeat. They say leg kicks. You say takedown defense. Really, give me a reason. We're talking one facet of the whole list of techniques... Noons went after the title... Mas "played" with an up and comer, making zero case for title contention. Liked the Overeem breakdown. Reem's been busy. Werdum hasn't fought in a year. But if that is true and it is, I don't buy your Barnett breakdown. Can't have one without the other - I speak of Barnett's similar layoff. The best move Rogers made coming into this tournament is continuing to fight. He will be much fresher than Barnett come fight night. Barnett coming into Strikeforce is like Fedor coming into Strikeforce with polar opposite credentials. Rogers by UD. mike5k: The Noons/Masvidal fight is tough to call. Jorge has all kinds of potential. I think he can win a UD but it can' definitely either way. I'm with the rest of the picks. As for what Poke said, I agree that V Reem and Griggs is an entertaining fight but I see where Tim's coming from. With the GP going on, it's a back seat fight for sure. illegalpoke: A back seat, sure. It's gonna be good though. I appreciate what Groves said about Lil' Reem getting hit in the face. Game plan out the door. Liked him in his last fight against Ray Sefo - he got schooled on the feet, went for the takedown, got it no prob. And subbed Ray no less. Not sure how well Reem's TD compares to Lashley's (I'm guessing... not the same) but I guarantee he goes for it. Griggs is just too nasty not to. Plus, he's fighting with his brother on the same card. He might go nuts in there trying to make his bro proud. This is my favorite fight on the card. I took offense. :) TGroves: Just some general comments to everyone here, I don't have time to quote every response haha: 1. Noons/Masvidal is an INCREDIBLY close fight to call. I could easily see Noons taking a decision or battering Masvidal for a TKO. But Masvidal held his own against Paul Daley and looked really good against Evangelista. I just think he has turned the corner in terms of progressing his skills and is finally becoming the best fighter he can be. 2. Griggs vs. Overeem is an EXCEPTIONALLY exciting bout but when compared to the likes of Cormier/Monson, Barnett/Rogers and Overeem/Werdum it just isn't as important. It should be a wildly entertaining bout but not one with much relevance to the top of the division. A Cormier win makes him "for real", a win for Barnett or Rogers propels them into the top 15 of the heavyweight division and Overeem/Werdum helps decide who is a top 5 heavyweight and who isn't. 3. I worded that part about the televised portion incorrectly. Yeah they were being shown on HDNet but now they are being shown on Showtime. Just a mistake on my part. I knew they were being televised previously but they got a bump up, I just didn't know how to word it. TGroves: Oh and sorry to double post but this needs to be seen, who else is totally geeked out about this night of fights? Holy crap is this an amazing card. I'm more psyched for this than I was for UFC 130 and UFC 131. seedheadondatrak: Im hoping for a Rogers win against a BIG named opponent in Barnett. Plus, I've never been a fan of Barnett. KJ should win. Him vs Melendez will be the better fight IMO. Everything else I agree on. horizontalcracker: If Overeem is retarded enough to take it to the ground against Werdum he deserves to get subbed The Hitman: I'm excited for tonight. I think there are gonna be some good fights. And I can't wait to watch Overeem rip Werdum's head off :D GO HARD: lol u know what sucks?? i cant watch this event. i have to work. q; ( thug4less: OKay... I have to say that Gus Johnson and Frank Shamrock are super-hard to listen to. At one point, during the Rogers/Barnett fight, Johnson actually says, "Eye-run sharpens eye-run." I was like, "WTF are you talking about?!" Then it occurred to me that he meant IRON SHARPENS IRON! SMH, brah. Stop trying so hard. thug4less: Man, this Overeem-Werdum fight is weird. It's almost as bad as Silva-Maia. TGroves: 5/5 with my picks. Like a boss. Just sayin. Hizoka: that fight sucked a fat one... its fights like that that got Werdum booted out of the UFC... GO HARD: yeah its hard to comment when your fighter puts on a less than impressive performance. q: l but just gotta keep it real... and matchups and styles can make or break a fight... this time it sounds like it broke it.
WHO WINS THE MAIN EVENT AT UFC 162 BETWEEN ANDERSON SILVA AND CHRIS WEIDMAN?
Silva via Decision
Silva via TKO/KO
Silva via Submission
Weidman via Decision
Weidman via TKO/KO
Weidman via Submission
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!