Strikeforce Dallas: What Alistair Overeem Must Do to Beat Fabricio Werdum

Occasionally, fans of a champion in combat sports maintain that earning a shot to become a World Champion, and subsequently defeating the champion, are more difficult if not as difficult as defending the championship itself.

With a lack of real depth in its earlier stages, the Strikeforce heavyweight division was the one exception to that very statement, as Strikeforce officials had a difficult time lining up any type of foe that could give a fight to its champion, "The Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem.

"The Reem" subsequently honed his kickboxing and Muay Thai skills as part of K-1's most recent Heavyweight tournaments before being faced with the task of facing Brett Rogers at last year's "Heavy Artillery" event in St. Louis, and after winning the K-1 and DREAM Heavyweight titles, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion will look to avenge two losses in one rematch against Fabricio Werdum.

Werdum, notably the first man to finally defeat Fedor Emelinenko by a legitimate finish, also defeated Overeem at PRIDE Shockwave 2006, so for The Reem, this bout is about two things:

First off, he wants to erase the memory of the submission loss to Werdum in PRIDE and move a step closer to proving he's pound-for-pound the best Heavyweight in the world.

Second off, he wants to avenge the loss that Werdum handed Emelianenko, a loss that has been well-documented as the upset loss Overeem himself wanted to hand Fedor.

The more powerful Overeem is not a well-versed jiu-jitsoka like Werdum, but he can take fights to the ground early by showing his aggression in the stand-up and showcasing arguably one of the scariest guillotine chokes in MMA.

He mustn't force the guillotine attempts, however, but instead he needs to create openings with his Muay Thai and kickboxing in order to put Werdum in a spot where he cannot escape the hold without a tap or passing out.

The striking and takedown defense, while possibly not applicable in this fight, in the case of the latter, are givens for Overeem—the champ MUST NOT let Werdum feign getting rocked, and must make his shots count.

If he can break the chin of Werdum and leave him with no way to win by using the tools he has in his arsenal—his submissions and his famed striking game, he's one step closer to causing fans to pose the question:

Is Cain Velasquez truly the best P4P Heavyweight in the MMA world?

If Overeem can impose his will on Werdum, we may be answering that question with an emphatic "NO!" in the near future.