Five Questions Heading into Strikeforce: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum

"This is it...the moment we've all been waiting for."

We in the MMA World have many moments that we have been waiting for, but few moments can top the aura that will overcome the multitudes in my home turf of Dallas, Texas on Saturday night, June 18th—the night when Alistair Overeem, Fabricio "The Emelianenko Hunter" Werdum, Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers all appear on the same card.

Joining these three Grand Prix quarterfinalists and the reigning heavyweight champ are the returning Gina Carano, Chad Griggs, Jeff Monson and Daniel Cormier.

With these names comes a guarantee of excitement, but it also raises up a few questions.

I now present to you five of those questions that some of us have heading into this star-studded fight card in Dallas!

How Will the Snowman Do in His Return to the "Big Stage" against Daniel Cormier?

"The Snowman" Jeff Monson is back, and he's got a shot to ride a nine-fight win streak into Dallas when he takes on Daniel Cormier.

As big as it is for Monson, who faces Konstantin Gluhov in Paris next Saturday, the question we all have about him surrounds how well he can do against a young prospect in his return to the big stage, considering he hasn't fought on a big stage in quite a while.

Then again, Texas is a big plateau for just about any sport, and it's a stage big enough to make your career or break your career unless you can make your big shot count.

I guess you can pose the counter-question of how Cormier will do on a big stage like this, especially considering that as impressive as his last few bouts were, none of them were against anyone like Monson.

Both guys are in one of the sports world's biggest hotbeds for this fight, and that means they'll both need to lay it all on the line in front of everyone at the AAC.

It's just a matter of who can make it count more.

Will We Remember Gina Carano's Comeback or Sarah D'Alelio's Breakthrough?

They called her "Crush" because she was the girl every guy had a crush on.

Just kidding—got you there for a moment, but I couldn't type it with a straight face.

Anyways, they really gave her the name "Crush" because before Cris Cyborg, that's what she did to most of her foes.

"Conviction"that came because she left no doubt in anyone's mind that she really did whoop the other girl's ass.

Actually, I don't know the real story behind the nicknames, but I do know that June 18th is the night Carano makes her long-awaited return to action opposite Sarah D'Alelio.

Little can be said about Sarah aside from her being Gina's opponent, but the same can be said about Gina's improvements in the cage ever since the loss to Cyborg.

Has she altered her game since leaving Xtreme Couture for Jacksons' Submission Fighting in Albuquerque?

That is what we all have to ask ourselves when it comes to this fight.

If Greg Jackson hasn't picked at his analytical mind for a strategy that Carano can use, we'll have to start asking ourselves two questions.

The first question will be whether Carano still has her heart in MMA, and the second will be if D'Alelio can do what no female has ever done in Strikeforce and...dare I say it in print...actually give Cyborg an ACTUAL challenge.

Will We Be Talking about Alistair Overeem vs. Chad Griggs after the Grand Prix?

If Strikeforce had given out Fight of The Night bonuses during the Fedor vs. Silva card, Chad Griggs and Gian Villante would have easily won Fight of The Night.

Seriously, a dude like him can only be overlooked for so long before people talk about him vs. the champ.

Griggs still has a glass ceiling to break, and that glass ceiling might only be broken once and for all if he can get past Big Brovereem, Valentijn "The Python" Overeem, on what is currently the last fight before the quarterfinal bout between "The Babyfaced Assassin" Josh Barnett and Brett "The Grim" Rogers.

Big Brovereem had himself a good night at the Fedor-Silva event as well—remember the neck crank on Ray Sefo?

Not bad for the brother of the champ, but Brovereem has a glass ceiling to break as well against Griggs.

The winner could wind up being a force to be reckoned with and a major prospect to watch at 265.

One has to wonder, however, if it is Griggs that wins in Dallas—and if Alistair winds up winning the entire tournament—will it be then that we start seeing Griggs vs. Overeem as a great title bout instead of a cakewalk and a half for The Reem?

How Far Can Josh Barnett Go in This Grand Prix?

The Babyfaced Assassin and The Grim make their returns to MMA action on June 18th against each other in the first quarterfinal of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

The infamous yet beloved Josh Barnett is riding a six-fight win streak—including a win over Geronimo Dos Santos last Julyagainst the first rebound win of Rogers' career, which came against Rueben "Warpath" Villareal.

Most people would rather ask if Barnett can just survive the post-fight drug test, but if an eventual shot at Alistair Overeem is up for grabs, it's ridiculous to try and falsely justify any logic as to why Barnett would juice up.

Besides, it's Barnett's first fight back in the states since he beat Gilbert Yvel in 2009, so Barnett might actually be clean for this fight.

If he can get by Rogers, it won't be an upset by any means, but it will be a step in the right direction.

A win over Sergei Kharitonove, however...we must ponder if Barnett can make that happen if he wins on June 18th.

Can Alistair Overeem Avenge His PRIDE Loss to the Emelianenko Hunter?

The last time Overeem lost in MMA, it was to Sergei Kharitonov—it's the only fight The Reem has lost since committing full time to a heavyweight stint in MMA.

The last time Fabricio Werdum lost was to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 90, and if you can still believe it, he hasn't lost since then.

Werdum is not only the first and only man to say he's beaten both Aleksander and Fedor Emelianenko, but he's also beaten Overeem as well—the win came at PRIDE Shockwave 2006.

In essence, Werdum has the momentum of the Fedor win to lose in this fight, as well as a crack at Overeemm's belt, but for The Reem, there's something on the line as well.

For The Reem, there's payback at stake—payback not only for Werdum doing the thing he wanted to do and beat Fedor Emelianenko, but for that loss at PRIDE Shockwave 2006.

Many people, myself included, feel that a win will avenge the loss, knock a favorite out of contention for the belt, set up either a rematch with Rogers or Kharitonov or a dream fight with Barnett, and possibly most important of all, give most of the hardcore Fedor fans a right to say "So What?" when people mention Werdum's victory over him.

It's one thing to be known as the man who beat Fedor, but it's another to carry the momentum over and establish yourself as the pound-for-pound best Heavyweight in MMA.

If Werdum can't go 2-0 against The Reem, the momentum he gained last year might be all for naught, whereas three birds get killed with one Uberknee, and Overeem moves a step closer to becoming the pound-for-pound best heavyweight in MMA not named Cain Velasquez.

First things first, thoughhe has to make the Go-Horse halt in D-Town on 6/18/11.