Strikeforce World Grand Prix

[Guest Rikidozan]

I can think of a criticism; Fedor hasn't fought any meaningful fighter/fight since CroCop in 2005. Oh, and he has almost routinely fought job-guys since 2003 (Yuji Nagata in 2003, Zuluzinho in 2005, Hong Man Choi in 2007, Tim Sylvia in 2008), and that's on top of the generally lower-calibre opponents he faced most of the time in Pride.

 

Frank, mate, the guy's bloated reputation is in tatters after the Werdum loss. At one time Emelianenko was great, maybe the greatest at his peak, but those days are long gone.

[Guest Frank Botch]

That's an absolutely scandalous post. For one the man doesn't make his own fights, and you know he can't exactly tear up his contract. Two if he had gone to the UFC what competition would he have had? I mean I went over this already, and so did Jack, the UFC HW division has turned out to be a joke, the hype was all bullshit. After the Mirko fight he fought Coleman, Hunt and Lindland one after another and subbed them all, they weren't 'job guys'(and I hate using that term in MMA) and as for Pride having 'lower calibre fighters'... that's a joke. He has beaten everyone thrown his way, he's the greatest fighter ever and still the best HW in the world. And a guy who has lost ONE fight in his career has a bloated reputation? And the reputation is gone after losing a fight? Is he past his peak now? Nah. Werdum got lucky and he'll win this GP, get the strap from Overeem and piss off every UFC fanboy out there... wait, you're not one of those are you Riki?

 

Unless, of course, he gets injured or they won't drug test properly. Can't blame the man for either of those though.

 

Amyway, Coker has SPOKEN:

"I'm going to give you two (predictions). I believe that there are going to be some upsets in this tournament. On one side you'll have Alistair Overeem and he will fight (Josh) Barnett."

 

The other prediction is, if Fabricio Werdum beats Alistair (Overeem), I believe Fabricio can beat Fedor (Emelianenko) again and he'll probably fight (Josh) Barnett. That's my prediction, but in these things you never know. We're going to have a lot of fun watching it unfold."

 

nope.avi

 

EDIT: Man, what a rambling, borderline incoherent post... tl;dr: I like Fedor.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Frank Botch

[Guest Rikidozan]

Frank....Fedor fought Zuluzinho, (1) in a non-title fight (2) on Pride's biggest show of the year.

 

The guy has two official losses on his record, not one.

 

The UFC heavyweight division is a joke?...strange that, considering the "joke" HW division champion Brock Lesnar (who I no doubt assume you think is also a joke HW fighter) pulled over million buys twice in a year (the first person since Mike Tyson in 1996 to do so, I may add).

 

If you genuinely think the UFC HW division is a joke, you may have just pissed-away any shread of credibility in my eyes.

 

And Frank....Coleman, Hunt and Lindland?...Coleman at the time was clearly past it, Hunt?!...are you serious? do you know anything about MMA? Take a look at Hunt's MMA record, both now and at the time of the Fedor fight. And as for Lindland, when has he ever been an elite level MMA figher?

 

Let me reiterate; the guy was once great, circa 2001-2005, but since then his management's credulity in proclaiming he's the best has been flushed down the toilet by seemingly dodging the best HW's the UFC has to offer.

 

Oh, and no, i'm not a UFC fanboy, I enjoy everthing from K-1 to Maximum FC, from vintage UWFi (althought a work, still great) to Shine Fights.

[Guest Frank Botch]

That cut loss was bullshit and everyone knows it. And yeah just check Hunt's record, sure he beat Wand, Kohsaka and Mirko before the Fedor fight but they were low calibre fighters, right?

 

I'm not sure how many more times I can go over the same things about the UFC HW division my dude, I made my points about the top guys there, there was no one for Fedor to dodge. And I absolutely think Lesnar is a joke, I'm not sure how you can't after his last performance. Since when does pulling a buyrate make you a great fighter? That's just ridiculous man, smarten up. I mean... I really find it odd that you think buyrate=talent, it doesn't make sense... do you know anything about MMA? I really love how angry Fedor seems to make people though, dude trains in playgrounds, hangs around with his priest, beats everyone and goes home and people get furious at him. What a man.

 

And man it sucks that I've lost my hard earned MMA forum credibility. Back to MMAunderground for me.

[Guest Jack]

I don't know what your point is regarding the UFC's heavyweight division. You seem to make the conclusion that because it has drawn numbers, it's not a joke? Surely not?

 

The division has always been poor. Post-PRIDE, the gap has narrowed, yes, but it's still a weak division and the gap was only decreased because a bunch of guys Fedor had already beat entered the UFC. That doesn't make it a strong division. Look at guys like Mir, Couture, Lesnar and so on. They're hardly unstoppable fighters. Mir is pumped up with steroids and past his best. Couture has the definition of a glass chin and doesn't belong at heavyweight. Lesnar is technically poor even at wrestling, his biggest strength, yet these guys, for the past couple of years, have been the elite in the division. Looking ahead, I don't think much of Velasquez either.

 

Just a poor division all round. No matter how many buyrates the big heavyweight fights get, it doesn't change the fact the talent just isn't there.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Two international destinations are on the radar for Strikeforce's upcoming heavyweight grand-prix tournament.

 

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker this past week told MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that both Ontario, Canada, and Tokyo are under consideration as host cities for the Showtime-televised competition, which kicks off Feb. 12 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

 

"This is a world grand-prix tournament, which means we might not just be in the United States," Coker said. "This thing could be traveling."

 

Coker said invitations have been extended to the promotion by interests in Ontario, which is set to host its first MMA event on April 2 following the provincial government's decision to sanction the sport this past August. UFC 129, set for April 30, likely will break North American attendance records as the province's first big-ticket event.

 

The Feb. 12 event, "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Silva," hosts the first part of tournament's quarterfinal round and three reserve matches. It's the only location set in stone, though sources have told MMAjunkie.com that Chicago, St. Louis and Nashville. Tenn., also have been discussed as domestic locations for future tournament events.

 

Until it partnered with Showtime in April 2009, Strikeforce primarily was a California-based show. Since then, the promotion has traveled across the U.S. with major events, as well as its prospect-driven Challengers series, and visited such states as Missouri, Tennessee, Washington and Oregon.

 

Coker, however, enjoys a longstanding relationship with promoters in Japan. Prior to his work in MMA, he served as the U.S. promoter when Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) held several K-1 events in Las Vegas. Strikeforce now has a formal alliance with FEG's current MMA promotion, DREAM, and frequently shares talent.

 

While Coker said it's too early to give any specifics on an international show, the promotion definitely wants to expand its borders.

 

"We're working on a lot of details," he said.

 

For the latest on "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Silva" and Strikeforce in April event, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

 

Junkie

[Guest Jack]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs043.snc6/167344_500533028228_61345743228_6277789_4235033_n.jpg

 

Fedor looks terrible.

[Guest carlito is cool]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs043.snc6/167344_500533028228_61345743228_6277789_4235033_n.jpg

 

Fedor looks terrible.

 

It is absolutely astounding an athlete like Fedor has a physique like that. Still a badass though.

[Guest John Hancock]

He has giant monkey feet. That is all.

[Guest Frank Botch]

The camera adds like 65 pounds.

 

The Fedor card is airing live on Primetime for the low, low price of 9.95. Since it's on Showtime in the States, streams will be pretty easy to find so... yeah, no one in possession of a computer should buy it.

[Guest Jack]

The camera adds like 65 pounds.

That accounts for his hips, at least. Does it also take away 20lbs of muscle?

[Guest Rikidozan]

Neither of the Emelianenko brothers have ever been ripped, ala GSP or Phil Baroni. Not that i'm comparing GSP to Baroni. Fedor has always been a podgy heavyweight, even during the Pride glory years. Same goes for Chuck Liddell and BJ Penn.

[Guest Rikidozan]

William Hill odds

 

Alistair Overeem 7-4

Fedor Emelianenko 15-8

Josh Barnett 6-1

Fabricio Werdum 13-2

Andrei Arlovski 14-1

Sergei Kharitonov 16-1

Brett Rogers 18-1

Antonio Silva 25-1

[Guest Kasabifan]

Going to have a punt on Barnett I think, hes the best fighter in his half of the draw and Fedor aside probably the most complete fighter too.

 

Barring any pesky drug tests, he'll be in the final at least.

[Guest Rikidozan]

Darn, was going to say "Barnett is your pick?...lets hope he doesn't face a urine test in the semis...".

 

Anyway, like I said when the tournament was announced, at last, StrikeForce has come up with a concept that gets me and other MMA nerds interested. Even Dana White admitted as much recently when asked about the SF HW GP. Just a shame that SF doesn't appear to have television (coverage) here in the UK.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Amazing pictures coming through:

 

http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/thumbnail_crop/600/_images/pictures/20110209042925_IMG_7742.JPG

 

http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/thumbnail_crop/600/_images/pictures/20110209042926_IMG_7753.JPG

 

What a badass puffy coat.

 

The rest of the lads, Andrei wants to be... elsewhere.

 

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/651928/20110209043752_img_7740.jpg

 

This picture is awesome on a lot of different levels. destined to become a classic in our great industry:

 

http://dreamfighters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/reem-fedor_medium1.jpg

 

Incredible.

[Guest John Hancock]

Are they on the Empire State Building? Andrei Arlovski looks like a rapist in that coat and hat combo.

 

I'm going to be boring and pick Overeem to win.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Are they on the Empire State Building? Andrei Arlovski looks like a rapist in that coat and hat combo.

 

I'm going to be boring and pick Overeem to win.

 

Yeah, I think there was a whole meet and greet deal the same day too. And that's what I was thinking about Andrei, dude has stuff to do (rape mostly), he has no time for these frivolous gatherings. And man, Silvas head is unrealistically big.

 

Saturday's full card

 

Fedor Emelianenko (32-2) vs Antonio Silva (15-2)

Andrei Arlovski (15-8 ) vs Sergei Kharitonov (17-4)

Shane Del Rosario (10-0) vs Lavar Johnson (15-3)

Chad Griggs (9-1) vs Gianpiero Villante (7-1)

Valentijn Overeem (28-25) vs Ray Sefo (2-0)

 

Got to love the shadow profile pics on the SF site:

http://strikeforce.com/events/2011/02/strikeforce-and-m-1-global-present-fedor-vs-silva/

 

Have to stick with Fedor to win the whole thing unless there's some sort of act of God/Allah/Mafia etc.

[Guest Rikidozan]

Wow, Emelianenko looks tiny amongst those guys. Overeem is the bookmakers favourite right now, and that's probably just about right, with Fedor and Barnett also in the mix to win the whole GP.

[Guest Frank Botch]

[YOUTUBE]0TrtpPuDmX8[/YOUTUBE]

 

Round up: Barnett gets booed, the announcer guy sounds like he has throat cancer of some sort, of the throat I suppose, and Rogers and Andrei look terrifed when Fedor shakes hands with them, avoiding eye contact and shit.