Strikeforce World Grand Prix

[Guest Frank Botch]

Thanks for typing that out, I never get around to listening to the podcasts. Not really suprising about Dynamite but it stiil sucks to see how far Japanese MMA has dropped. I mean the show had Frank Trigg wearing a pink wig and lipstick, if that can't pop a rating nothing will.

 

Strikeforce bracket:

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs790.ash1/168012_485611868228_61345743228_6066777_3227764_n.jpg

 

As I saw someone mention, the fights make a lot of sense, Werdum should get a title shot, winner of Fedor/Silva deserves the next one and the four lower ranked dudes fight to get the one after that(which will of course be against Fedor). Just not sure why they packaged it that way, I really don't care though, this kills the current UFC HW scene.

 

EDIT: Just to be clear I saw somewhere that all Overeem's fights will be five rounds with the title on the line. In the tournament. Yup.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Frank Botch

[etz 78]

EDIT: Just to be clear I saw somewhere that all Overeem's fights will be five rounds with the title on the line. In the tournament. Yup.

 

Actually, that kinda makes sense, since it means the final will definitely be for the title.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Yeah but usually the final of a grand prix deal is just to... win the grand prix (or if there's a vacant title, or to get a new contender). It's just odd to have the champion fighting and defending his title in one. Again though I like the brackets and the all the fights should be cool so I'm not complaining.

 

Maybe this new touranment idea is phase one of Coker's plan to take over MMA? Probably.

[Guest Jack]

Oa5pGXyZ26Y

 

94rwn_Je3Tg

 

As this is an amazing card, I thought I'd split it into a new thread for the inevitable discussion.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Paul

[Guest Kasabifan]

Odds on Barnett failing a drug test again?

[Guest Jack]

Probably low. The testing in MMA is a disgusting joke. I hope Overeem gets slaughtered for that reason. Edited January 5, 2011 by Jack

[Guest Dusty Finish]

Those brackets look like the proverbial fat chick/anorexic chick on a see-saw (ie. the left hand side is significantly heavier). They clearly (and rightly) want Fedor vs Overeem for the belt. I suppose bracketing them to meet in the semis gives them a quick and credible-ish way to get that fight, although the romantic in me wants them on opposite sides so they'd only meet in the final.

 

At least they've scrapped the daft idea of Werdum-Rogers. It's good to see Kharitanov back in the spotlight, to boot. As an aside, I think there are enough heavyweight prospects at a similarish level (Del Rosario, Sparks, Cormier, Griggs etc.) that a "B" tourney, perhaps on the Contenders series, would be a lot of fun.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Lavar Johnson and Shane Del Rosario are fighting at the February 12 event, along with the Fedor and Arlovski fights, and the winner of that fight will step in if anyone is injured. Hoping Fedor doesn't break his hand on Silva's head...

 

Good article on the whole thing here: http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5989025

[Guest John Hancock]

Oh I don't like Fedor, Werdum and Overeem being on the same side of the tournament at all. The finals going to be hugely underwhelming after that relatively star-powered semi-final and one and a half of the quarter finals on that side.

[Guest Frank Botch]

All Overeem's fights are for the title so having him fight Kharitanov or some other bum, like he's been facing for a while now, wouldn't make sense to me. He already beat Rodgers, Barnett can't go straight to No. 1 contender status etc. This way everyone who fights for the title has a legit claim to deserve his shot.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Best poster in the history of sports and entertainment. Or any combination of the two.

 

http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu181/D1N0317/0d86573d.jpg

 

I believe the point is: Fedor is fighting one of those dudes on the left.

[Guest Kasabifan]

I'll lol if Bigfoot beats him in the first round.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Dude I'm not sure I could take that... I'd probably not even bother watching the rest of the tournament. Losing to Werdum was bad enough but at least he's a legit fighter.

 

If he does lose though, after SF made him front and center of the promotion, it would be a little funny. Especially if a goof like Silva beat him. That poster though... damn Fedor is one of the coolest people in history.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Strikeforce clarifies tourney rules: three-round fights, Overeem's title not up for grabs

While the buzz surrounding Strikeforce's recently announced heavyweight grand prix has been immense, understanding of the specifics of the tourney has been a bit less than ideal.

 

Today, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker clarified many of the questions that needed to be addressed.

 

First up, Alistair Overeem's title will not be on the line in the tournament. And while there were some suggestions that every fight in the tournament would be contested as five-round affairs, instead, that will only happen in the grand prix finals, when a newly created Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix title will be on the line.

 

"All quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be scheduled for three, five-minute rounds," Coker said. "The tournament final will be five, five-minute rounds for the Strikeforce world grand prix championship."

 

The grand prix champion would then get first crack at Overeem. Of course, if the Dutchman cleans house in the eight-man bracket, he's imply add another belt to his already impressive trophy case.

 

Strikeforce's heavyweight grand prix, featuring such luminaries as Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett, PRIDE great Fedor Emelianenko and others, kicks off on Feb. 12 at "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Silva," which takes place at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

 

With the heavyweight grand prix set up as an eight-man, multi-night, single-elimination tournament, draws could prove problematic along the way. In order to address that, Coker said a fourth judge will be on hand in each fight to determine which fighter will advance from the tie (similar to the "must win" format used by World Victory Road's Sengoku promotion).

 

"If any fight results in a draw, an independent fourth judge will determine who advances or who wins based on the fighter's overall performance in the fight," Coker said. "We will have a fourth judge on hand scoring the fight independently of the three that we normally have."

 

The final question mark in terms of tournament format involved potential injuries to the eight competitors. If a winner suffers a serious issue, who continues on in the bracket?

 

"If a fighter qualifies to advance in the tournament but for any reason can not advance, we're forming a five-person tournament-review committee who will select a fighter to advance in his place," Coker said. "This fighter will be chosen from a pool of fighters that will include the previous opponent and the winners of reserve matches."

 

Coker said the tournament-review committee will be headed by Strikeforce rules director Cory Schafer.

 

While the final regulations for the tournament represent a small shift from the ruleset originally expected to oversee the ambitious grand prix, Coker said the ultimate goal was simplicity and not any specific concerns related to overseeing athletic commissions.

 

"In this tournament, everybody has to climb the same mountain," Coker said. "To make it simple, just like they do in Japan, ... the tournament champion will stand on his own. We'll have our heavyweight champion and a tournament champion."

 

Coker said the dates for the semifinals and finals of the tournament have yet to be decided, but he estimates the second round of the bracket is likely for late June or early July.

 

Further details are expected to be announced shortly. Showtime executive Ken Hershman said the premium cable channel is making a Showtime broadcast a priority for all three rounds of the grand prix, he believes a pay-per-view slot for on of the rounds may be "inevitable."

 

Much better.

[Guest Kasabifan]

Pretty dumb that Werdum has to beat the champion and two other guys to get a 'title shot', when hes already No.1 contender after beating Fedor.

 

Scott Coker is an absolute pussy, hes totally bottled it. He must of thought Fedor was a lock to beat Werdum last yr so made it a no.1 condender fight, yet because Werdum isnt a big enough name hes backtracked and changed the rules.

 

Its a really sleazy organisation tbh.

[Guest Jack]

I don't think the rules of the GP are that important, honestly. At the end of it, we'll know who is the best heavyweight in the world, even if Sherdog decide to sick with the UFC garbage, and that's all that matters. I still consider Fedor to be the best heavyweight in the world even though he doesn't hold a title and recently lost. Assuming he wins this, he still won't have a title yet he'd be the clear number one. All this is going to do, is ensure that, unless Overeem wins, there'll be a title fight immediately after the GP with the winner going for the title. I don't have an issue with that, especially if Werdum beats Overeem and Fedor wins the whole thing.

[ShaolinHandLock 73]

I'm going to make a bold prediction about this tournament, and say that Alistair Overeem will win the whole thing.

[Guest Rikidozan]

I have to be honest, in my view the winner of this GP won't be the best heavyweight in the world. Fedor hasn't been the No.1 heavyweight for over five years now, since his last significant fight against CroCop. Like him or not, Dana White is often bang on the money when he talks MMA. I lost a ton of respect for Fedor when he signed with Affliction instead of the UFC (and how exactly did that signing work out?...). It seems the guy has been running from the competition in the UFC ever since the Pride buy-out, or at least has surrounded himself with people using him as a meal-ticket. If Fedor wants to be seriously considered the all-time great that his fanboys proclaim him to be, he needs to ditch the Crazy Russians around him.

 

On the SF GP in general, yeah, finally SF has come up with an interesting concept that fans can get into. With that said, running this tourney was hardly a stroke of genius, it's an obvious thing to do considering how little depth their HW division (like all their others) has. Clearly Fedor and Overeem are the obvious favourites, personally I think Sergey Kharitonov is the dark horse in this thing. The question remains though, will the tournament transpire without a hitch? I.E no fighters sustaining injury, contract disputes/wrangles, and of course there's the risk Overeem will (A) defend his K-1 championship this year, and (B) he'll pick up an injury whilst doing so.

[Guest Jack]

You didn't consider Fedor to be the best 5 years ago? Sure, his competition level has slipped but who else is there? His record went from being outstanding to equal to everyone elses. I don't think anyone surpassed him, even though he wasn't fighting great opposition post-PRIDE.

[Guest The Beltster]

If Fedor wants to be seriously considered the all-time great that his fanboys proclaim him to be, he needs to ditch the Crazy Russians around him.

Easier said than done. Fedor is owned by the Russian mob, if he breaks away from them, they'd probably kill him.