Strikeforce HW GP

[KC Masterpiece]

WOW

There are two different brackets floating around. This one was released prior to the next one:





I'm hoping for the former because it sets up a HUGELY exciting final whereas in the latter, that fight will most likely take place in the SEMI's of the left bracket.

Either way I'm super pumped. AA and Fedor fighting the day before my birthday, too . I have no problem calling this one of the most amazing lineups in MMA history

[KC Masterpiece]

The first two pairs of quarterfinal fights will take place at Strikeforce 31 and 32, on February 12 in New Jersey and March 5 in Columbus, Ohio respectively.

[hoffmeister]

Yeah this is great. I wanna see Overeem vs Fedor in the finale.

[JP]

Yeah this is great. I wanna see Overeem vs Fedor in the finale.

thats it!

fedor has been having a free ride for too long will be nice to see him facing a solid guy.

(that one submission nonwithstanding)

[Clem Snide]

Is Fedor past his peak yet? I don't follow too closely.

[KC Masterpiece]

Is Fedor past his peak yet? I don't follow too closely.

IMO yes, but just barely. He's still the top HW in the world and still a major threat to all but maybe 1 other fighter out there.

That being said, I can see him retiring after this tournament.

[JP]

my answer would be who knows - but he doesnt have the evidence to back his hype up. Continuously avoiding to enter the biggest arena in the game and only fighting, what, once a year? So he is not really proving himself.

[Clem Snide]

^Aye it does seem a shame. I can see him finally going to UFC for some huge pay day in a year or two to fight some other old HW, but it will be too late to mean anything.

still a major threat to all but maybe 1 other fighter out there.

Who's that, Arlovski? Or BJ Penn maybe..?

[KC Masterpiece]

still a major threat to all but maybe 1 other fighter out there.

Overeem A threat to him still, but not a "major" threat.

[KC Masterpiece]

UK viewing details.

Following on from Primetime’s success with the Super Six boxing tournament, numerous World title boxing cards and various MMA events, we are delighted to announce that we are now the official UK broadcaster for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix.

This magnificent tournament begins on February 12th, live from IZOD Centre, East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the first event is headlined by Fedor Emilianenko vs Antonio Silva. Fedor will be looking to avenge his shock loss to Fabricio Werdum as he sets about reclaiming his crown as MMA’s undisputed Heavyweight number 1. Co-headlining will be Andrei Arlovski vs Sergei Kharitonov, guaranteeing this to be an unbelievable night of MMA action. Details of the upcoming rounds will be released shortly.

This unmissable tournament can only be seen in the UK on Primetime, channel 480 on Sky or at www.primetimelive.co.uk . Each event will be priced at £9.95 or the whole tournament (4 events) will be available for only £24.95. For more information call 0871 200 4444 *

Primetime

Channel 480 on Sky is the UK’s newest destination pay per view sporting and entertainment channel. Primetime brings you exclusive access to the hottest live events from the UK and abroad.? Get the top ticket in town zapped straight into your living room through your Sky box for a night of sporting, music, and ‘Golden Ticket’ events.

To watch Primetime viewers must register before the event, either via the website www.primetimelive.co.uk or through the sales line on UK: 0871 200 4444 Eire: 0044 8702 416 666

[SpugFab]

Sigh

I like the look of this, but not at £25.

[KC Masterpiece]

Alright who's got predictions?

I'm thinking Fedor by submission and AA by KO.

Silva is essentially un-knock-out-able, so I see Fedor rushing him, dropping him and latching on a sub. He won't be as careless as he was against Werdum, and Silva's ground game isn't as polished as Werdum's anyway. Silva is dangerous from any position, but if he couldn't KO AA he won't KO Fedor.

The Kharitonov/Arlovski fight is much closer. They're both extremely similar stylistically--both have a Sambo base (Kharitonov used to train with Red Devil, Fedor's former team), and both have resorted to classical boxing later in their careers. I'm having trouble looking at this objectively b/c AA was the first big name fighter that I was a real fan of, and I want to see him come back with avengance.

That being said, Kharitonov has only had 3 fights in 3.5 years, two of which are wins against cans. That's not to say AA did much better (three straight losses), but his competition was significantly more accomplished than Kharitonov's and AA looked really good against Fedor and Silva. Kharitonov also just got humiliated by a no-name K1 fighter on NYE, a fight for which he essentially didn't train.

It looks like AA's mind is getting back on the right track--he's back with Dino Costeas, the BJJ coach who was the mastermind behind the old AA's title run and reign. This guys role in AA's camp can't be overstated. All this being said, I think AA takes this and moves on to face the winner of Barnett/Rogers, neither of whom are super threatening to Arlovski.

[Heinrich]

Id say Fedor gets a decision. But I know too little about Silva to have a meaningful reason behind it.

And as much as I would love to see Arlovski win, Im afraid when Silva could beat him in boxing, Kharitonov probably will too.
Im still gonna root for AA.

[KC Masterpiece]

jesus worst night of my mma-fandom

[Twoism]

Hey guys, new vegan here and I'm a huge MMA fan.

Really disappointed with Fedors loss but that's MMA. He didn't seem to have much of a game plan and I gotta say Silva looked impressive. Fedor did well to survive the second round and I reckon he could have won had it gone to the third round. But that's irrelevent really because it would have been wrong to let him fight with a completely closed eye - props to Silva.

A lot of haters say Fedor was always hype but his record speaks for its self. Yeah hes not fought much the last 5 years and he hasn't fought top 10 HW fighters but he crushed 2 former UFC champs (admittedly past their prime, but only just) but these were still tough guys.

Hope Fedor doesn't retire but if his desire to fight is gone then maybe he should. I hope he comes back with avengence (and a game plan - seemed like he thought he would just "zulu" him).

I'm not surprised with Karitanov's win. He showed a lot of potential in the 2004 HW GP but never materialised. His boxing has always been dangerous though and Arlowski has always had a weak chin.

Overeem has gotta be the favourite now without a doubt.