Strikeforce Fedor vs. Silva: Re-Seeding for Better Balance

The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament begins this weekend at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva, from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The card, which will be shown live on Showtime, features the first two quarterfinal fights of this very important tournament: Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov and the main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva.

The winner of the tournament will be considered the No. 1 contender for Alistair Overeem’s Strikeforce Heavyweight championship. Of course, Overeem himself will also be competing in the tournament, as he hopes to use this format as a way of proving himself as the top heavyweight fighter in the world.

But when the tournament’s bracket was announced, some criticized the seeding and questioned why one side seemed to be so much more stacked than the other. According to rankings from Sherdog.com, all four of the fighters on the left side of the bracket are ranked in the top-10 heavyweights in the world, while zero from the right side crack the top-10.

This uneven structure has given way to some experts predicting that the biggest fight of the tournament will actually not take place in the finals, but rather in the semi-finals, when the winners of Fedor vs. Silva and Overeem vs. Werdum will square off.

It’s because of this that I have decided to take the initiative of re-arranging the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix to allow for a more balanced, interesting tournament. By power ranking and re-seeding the fighters based on their perceived ranking in MMA polls, we would have a much better chance to see the entertaining super-fights that we all want to see later in the tournament.

Read on to see how this tournament could be made even better.

Antonio Silva (4) Vs. Josh Barnett (5)

The first fight in the re-seeding of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament would pit former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

As the No. 10 ranked heavyweight in the world according to Sherdog.com, Antonio Silva is getting shafted the most of anyone in the real tournament, as he faces the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in the first round. While Silva has a chance of winning the fight, he should have been facing someone ranked lower than him in the tournament, and he is a massive underdog against Fedor.

“Bigfoot” Silva is 9-1 in his last 10 fights, including a huge win over former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. In this fictional bout, he would face another former champion in Josh Barnett.

Barnett has been hovering around the top-10 in the world for a very long time and has not lost a fight since 2006. His critics, though, point to the fact that he has generally struggled when facing the true top fighters in the heavyweight division, with his five losses coming to Pedro Rizzo, Mirko “Cro Cop” and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. This tournament gives Barnett a real chance to prove himself as one of the elite fighters in the world today and in the history of MMA.

Alistair Overeem (3) Vs. Sergei Kharitonov (6)

Ranked No. 8 in the world among heavyweights according to Sherdog.com, the Strikeforce Heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem, shouldn’t be facing someone ranked higher than him in the rankings in the first round. Overeem was submitted by his opponent, Fabricio Werdum, back in 2006.

If I were re-seeding the tournament, I would place him in a first round fight with the still very respectable, but lower ranked, Russian fighter Sergei Kharitonov.

Kharitonov has only fought three times in the past three years but still remains a very dangerous threat in this tournament, as he has defeated some impressive fighters in the past including Fabricio Werdum, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, and Pedro Rizzo. But Kharitonov’s claim to fame in this tournament is that he is actually the last man to defeat Alistair Overeem.

This fight is not only interesting because it includes two guys who can really slug it out, but it also is an important rematch for the credibility of Overeem in his quest to become the world’s top-ranked heavyweight fighter.

Fedor Emelianenko (2) Vs. Andrei Arlovski (7)

The quarterfinals in my re-seeded tournament would also see the rematch between Andrei Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko.

The two men fought back in Jan. 2009 at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Arlovski had been on a five fight win streak over some of the world’s top fighters, including Roy Nelson, Jake O’Brien, Fabricio Werdum, and Ben Rothwell. This streak had Arlovski not only in the top-10, but in the top three of almost all heavyweight rankings at the time.

But the former UFC champion was in for a completely different challenge when he faced the world’s top-ranked heavyweight.

Things were actually looking good for Arlovski, who seemed to be flustering Fedor by bobbing around and not allowing him to get comfortable. At about the three-minute mark in the first round, Arlovski seemed to catch Fedor with a punch that stumbled the champion. Arlovski sensed his opponent's weakness and landed a push-kick that sent Emelianenko into the ropes. When he bounced back, Arlovski went for the finish with a flying knee but was met with a thunderous overhand right that sent him crashing to the canvas, unconscious.

Many fans and experts alike believe that Arlovski was winning the fight until that point and that if he hadn’t got caught, he could have given Fedor a real run for his money.

This rematch would be an important fight for both men, as each of them are coming off of losses going into the tournament.

Fabricio Werdum (1) Vs. Brett Rogers (8)

The final fight of the quarterfinals would feature a very interesting stylistic match-up between the heavy-handed Brett Rogers and the top-ranked fighter in this tournament, Fabricio Werdum.

Though Werdum has never held a championship in mixed martial arts, he is ranked No. 3 among heavyweights by Sherdog.com. This comes after Werdum shocked the world in his last fight by defeating then consensus No. 1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, ending his eight year undefeated streak.

If that wasn’t enough, Werdum also holds a victory over current Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem, who he will face in the first round of the real tournament. The fight between Overeem and Werdum is probably the most glaring problem with the current brackets, as it pits two of the tournament’s biggest favorites against one another so early, while other, lower-ranked fighters do not have nearly as difficult of a road to the finals.

Using my re-seeding, Werdum would face the 6’4”, 265-pound giant from Minnesota, Brett Rogers.

Rogers had been on a war path, using his powerful striking to finish each of his first 10 fights before he was knocked out in back-to-back fights by Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem.

Still, Rogers remains a very dangerous threat, particularly to a Jiu-Jitsu expert like Werdum, who isn’t particularly known for his knockout power.

Werdum would be the favorite for this fight, but I think it would be a lot closer than some fans would expect at first glance.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix: Finalized Re-Seeded Tournament Bracket

While I would be very honored by it if it were to happen, we we won’t be seeing my re-seeded tournament being used by Strikeforce. Instead, the tournament will begin this weekend with Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

Still, I think it’s worth debating whether or not the organization actually setup this tournament in a way that is both entertaining and balanced.

Certainly, the first round fight between Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem is a great attention-grabber, but wouldn’t it be a lot more exciting if it was happening in the finals as opposed to in the first round?

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