Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix: Who Truly Has the Advantage?
The Grand Prix has already begun, and with the recent delay, people don't know what to expect. The winner of the tournament will be crowned as the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, and will be presented a belt. At the moment it appears if Overeem does not win then the winner will face him at a later date for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship.
Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Silva have advanced to the semifinals already.
Strikeforce recently announced that the second half of the quarterfinal bouts will take place in June. That being said, what does that mean for Kharitonov and Silva?
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Both have said they will fight outside of Strikeforce, to prevent ring rust.
Josh Barnett will face Brett Rogers in June, and this will be the first big fight Barnett has had since early 2009.
Rogers won his last fight over Rueben Villareal in a unanimous decision after losing matches to both Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem.
Barnett has the better ground game and is a submission wrestler, while Rogers has the heavier hands.
Experience will be a key factor in this bout and I see this fight quickly going to the ground, where Rogers isn't as experienced as Barnett.
Josh Barnett should win this fight and move on to the semifinals, depending on the results of the post-fight drug test.
The other bout will be Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum.
Many people say Overeem is going to "crush" Werdum, forgetting that Werdum has already submitted Overeem in the past. Still, people are quick to say that Overeem isn't the same fighter and has gotten better since the previous match.
That may be true and I have noticed that Overeem has gotten better, but so to has Werdum.
Overeem is obviously the better striker in this bout, but one slip and this fight is on the ground, where Werdum is at his best.
Overeem is 2-8 in his career against top-10 fighters.
During his win streak he hasn't fought a fighter that is on Werdum's level. This fight could go either way, but how long will this fight stay on the feet?
Werdum is the ultimate underdog, but in reality, could take the whole tournament.
Overeem wins this fight if he makes zero mistakes, while Werdum wins if he turns the match to his strength.
This leaves Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio SIlva to think about.
Odds are the semifinals will begin in September at the earliest.
Antonio Silva has the size and the ground game to compete with anyone in the tourney.
His performance against Fedor Emelianenko was outstanding. He used his size to his advantage and showed that he is a serious contender.
Sergei Kharitonov is arguably the best pure boxer in the grand prix. He was offered a chance to box for the Russian Olympic team but instead decided to fight for Pride Righting Championships.
Kharitonov won his quarterfinal bout against Andrei Arlovski via KO, and really caught the attention of many fans who had never heard of him prior to the tourney. Sergei wants to fight as much as possible in 2011.
Who is truly the legit favorite to win? Werdum has beat Overeem, Fedor and Silva. Kharitonov has beat Werdum, Arlovski and Overeem.
Technically, Shouldn't these two guys be th favorites?
Alistair Overeem is the betting odds favorite, even though he is 2-8 against top-10 opponents, thanks to winning 2010 K-1 Grand Prix.
Barnett has defeated a who's who list of heavyweights as well.
Antonio Silva recently beat Fedor Emelianenko.
So taking away betting odds, who is your favorite to win the tourney?
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