Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Breakdown and Predictions

Strikeforce is putting together another stacked card to end the month of July and hold us over until UFC 133, and it features several heavy-handed knockout artists, including Scott Smith, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler and Dan Henderson.

The presence of Tim Kennedy and Marloes Coenen means that there will likely be some exciting grappling displays as well.

While the superfight between Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko is garnering much of the attention, the event features several significant matchups including a women's welterweight title fight and a bout featuring two recent middleweight title challengers.

Let's take a look at the main card and break down who is likely to walk away with the win and how.

Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine

The first bout of the main card is a matchup between the always exciting Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith and Tarec "The Sponge" Saffiedine.

Scott Smith has probably taken more of a beating than most mixed martial artists have in their career, but he still has managed to put together a 17-8 record with 1 NC. That's because even though he gets his ass kicked in just about all of his fights, he has one-punch knockout power that is always a threat. Even when Cung Le was throwing him around the cage for three rounds, Smith just needed to land one punch to put him on Queer Street before knocking out Le at 3:25 of the third round.

That being said, it is quite dangerous to build a career relying on one-punch knockout power and an ability to take a beating because as Paul Daley showed, it can often end with one's face in the canvas.

Smith has won 14 of his 17 bouts by knockout and he's knocked out some legitimate competition, but I still think of him as an average fighter with above average power. Still, it's difficult to determine if Smith has long any of that power with the cut to 170 pounds.

Tarec Saffiedine has compiled a 10-3 record with his last bout being a decision loss to contender Tyron Woodley. Saffiedine has wins over James Terry, Nate Moore, and Brock Larson in his three previous fights.

Saffiedine doesn't have quite the name recognition of Smith, but he's the superior grappler and more technical striker. At only 24 years old, he's constantly improving and if he can avoid the big punch from Smith, he should be able to pick him apart.

Since Scott Smith has only gone to decision once and Paul Daley may have caused his chin to deteriorate, I'll take Tarec Saffiedine by knockout. 

Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley

Following his exciting back and forth bout with Nick Diaz, Paul Daley will begin his next chance at a title run with a tough challenge in the up-and-coming Tyron Woodley.

Woodley is a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler that has essentially grown up in Strikeforce, compiling a 6-0 record with the organization and an 8-0 record overall. In his most recent bout with Tarec Saffiedine, Woodley used his wrestling to negate the striking advantage, keeping his opponent pressed up against the cage and on his back for the majority of the fight. It is likely this will be his gameplan for Daley, as his striking is incredibly dangerous.

Paul Daley, despite the controversy that is often surrounding him, is one of the best welterweights in the world. His bout with Nick Diaz was extremely close and Daley nearly finished Diaz on a couple of occasions. In his two fights before his Strikeforce Welterweight Championship fight, he had two vicious knockouts over Yuya Shirai and Scott Smith.

In his UFC debut, Daley picked apart the extremely talented and technical Martin Kampmann, proving that he is capable of standing and trading with nearly anyone at 170 pounds—when he can actually manage to make that weight.

This is likely going to be Woodley trying to get Daley on his back, while Daley attempts to utilize his ever-improving wrestling to keep the fight standing. "Semtex" knows this and he'll come prepared for it. His striking advantage is severe and all he needs is one clean shot to end this fight, so I have to go with Paul Daley by knockout.

Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy

Another example of the classic grappler versus striker matchup is the bout between "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Tim Kennedy.

Lawler has had a fairly incosistent run under the Strikeforce banner, going just 2-3 since coming to the organization. Still, his losses were to top ranked opponents in Jake Shields and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, and his loss to Renato "Babalu" Sobral was at a 195 pound catchweight.

His two wins were rather spectacular first round knockouts of Melvin Manhoef and Matt Lindland, however.

Two of his losses since coming to Strikeforce have been by submission, as Lawler has always had issues on the ground. The 29-year old prefers to keep the fight standing, evidenced by his 18-7 record in which 15 wins have come by way of knockout and five losses have come by way of submission.

His opponent, Tim Kennedy, has already rebounded from his loss to Jacare with a submission of Melvin Manhoef. Kennedy has had a much better run in Strikeforce, compiling a 4-1 record with the organization along with a 13-3 record overall.

Kennedy's last four wins have all been by submission and it's clear he's going to try to drag Lawler to the ground and finish the fight that way. Given Lawler's tendency to get finished on the ground, I'll have to take Tim Kennedy by submission.

Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate

Strikeforce's Women's Welterweight Championship is on the line as Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate set to square off in the co-main event of the evening.

Since her loss to Sarah Kaufman, Miesha Tate has gone on to win her last five bouts, bringing her record to 11-2 record. In that time, Tate has showed her ability to end fights on the feet and on the ground. Of her 11 wins, three have been by knockout and four have been by submission.

Tate holds wins over top ranked Zoila Gurgel and Hitomi Akano, but hasn't been active in nearly a year due to a knee injury.

Marloes Coenen is, however, the top ranked female MMA fighter in the world at 135 pounds. Despite a loss to the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in which she was fighting above her normal weight class, Coenen has showed extremely well-rounded skills, although a clear preference to finish fights on the ground.

Coenen has finished both of her last two title defenses off her back, submitting Sarah Kaufman with an armbar in the third round and finishing Liz Carmouche via triangle choke in the fourth.

While Miesha Tate is a good grappler, Coenen is extremely dangerous off of her back if this fight hits the ground. I'll have to take Marloes Coenen by submission.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson

In the main event of the evening, MMA fans around the world finally get to witness the superfight between Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko.

These two have been in both PRIDE and Strikeforce together, but have never crossed paths before. Originally, this was rumored to be a light heavyweight bout, but it will be taking place at heavyweight.

There's not much to say about either Fedor or Hendo that hasn't been said already. They've both have had storied careers and have consistently been ranked amongst the best in the world for the last decade.

Still, Henderson's stock is high right now, going 5-1 in his last six bouts including knockouts of Michael Bisping, Renato Sobral, and Rafael Cavalcante to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Fedor, on the other hand, has reached a low point, coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. While losses to top heavyweights in Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva are no reason to question an entire career of greatness, there is some concern that is losing a step as he ages and that he is too small for his weight class.

That's what makes this fight so interesting. Fedor will actually hold a size advantage for the first time since his win over Matt Lindland in 2007.

Despite Fedor's recent losses, I still think he has the ability to hang with the best in the world, which is why I believe he should cut to 205 pounds. Both of these veterans are dangerous on the feet, but I think Fedor has the advantage on the ground, therefore I'll take Fedor Emelianenko by decision.