Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum and Other Fight Predictions

This Saturday, the widely accepted best heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, will take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt Fabricio Werdum.

On the card, there are a few good fights that are sure to create a fun night of fights leading up to the main event of Fedor-Werdum.

Let's break down each Main Card fight and make some picks to see who will win.  These are my first fight predictions, and I am going to start doing these for every UFC, Strikeforce and WEC card.

Let's start at the bottom of the Main Card.

Josh Thomson (20-3) vs. Pat Healy (38-15)

Thomson is the former lightweight champion and was on a eight-fight win streak before losing in a title unification bout against Gilbert Melendez. 

He is one of the top lightweights in the Strikeforce promotion and is looking to get the belt back.

Healy boasts wins over Paul Daley, Carlos Condit, and Dan Hardy and is riding a three-fight win streak heading into his Strikeforce debut.  Healy is a very good submission fighter and has won 13 fights that way.

Healy has an impressive resume, but Thomson is a former champion and will likely be trying extra hard to get back to that level.

Prediction: Josh Thomson

Christiane "Cyborg" Santos (9-1) vs. Jan Finney (8-7)

Cyborg is one of the top WMMA fighters in the world and recently may have knocked Gina Carano out of fighting for good.  She has won nine straight fights and will look to defend her title for a second straight fight.

Finney is on a four-fight win streak and is making her Strikeforce debut.

Although Finney might put up a fight, I think that Cyborg will bring her win streak to double-digits with this fight.

Prediction: Christiane "Cyborg" Santos

Scott Smith (17-6 (1)) vs. Cung Le (6-1)

This is a rematch of Le's first loss in MMA.

Smith is a former WEC champion and the only person to beat Le thus far.  He is looking to get on a winning streak and make a run towards middleweight belt.

Le is an experienced kickboxer and Tae Kwon Do black belt.  His first loss came in his most recent fight against Smith, and his combined kickboxing and MMA record is 23-1, with 18 combined knockouts.

Although Smith has beaten Le, I think that Le is going to be able avenge his only loss in fighting and get on track for the middleweight belt.

Prediction: Cung Le

Fedor Emelianenko (34-1 (1)) vs. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)

Fedor is widely considered the best heavyweight of all time.  His only loss has been highly contested and many consider him undefeated.  You have to go back a decade to find his one loss, and he still has all of the skill that made him the greatest. 

His list of wins is unprecedented, as he has beaten Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Mirco "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, Brett Rogers, etc.

Werdum is trying to upset the world, as he is considered to by most to be towards the bottom end of the Top 10 heavyweights. 

But if he wins this fight, it won't be his first win over an Emelianenko.  He beat Fedor's brother, Aleksander, a good fighter in his own right, in 2006.  He has also beaten Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem.

Unfortunately for Werdum, Fedor is still as skilled as he has always been, and I don't see him ending Fedor's decade-long win streak.

Prediction: Fedor Emelianenko

This event will be this Saturday, June 26, at 10 p.m. on Showtime.

This article can also be found at The Chicago Perspective.  Check out my website and help me out.

I'm Joe W.

Joe Willett also writes for The Chicago Perspective and The Daily Cub .