Hot! Fighters In Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament Hope For Shot At Ufc Belt

Sam Morris

Fabricio Werdum celebrates his or her firs around submitter regarding Fedor Emelianenko in the course of their own Strikeforce session Saturday, June 26, 2010 and beyond with the HP Pavillion with San Jose, California.

By Case Keefer (contact )

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UFC President Dana White prides herself on piecing together this arguements most people wants to see.

Because of this reputation, it azines hard in order to visualize a attack pitting the particular eventual winner belonging to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and also the UFC heavyweight champion possibly not happening sometime next year. As that Grand Prix marches on which consists of second standing of best around meets Saturday inside Dallas, requirement is usually expanding coming from devotees plus fighters the same regarding a foreseeable future showdown between the actual two champions.

If I win this particular Grand Prix, I will count number the titles, Fabricio Werdum said. I desire to be your champ on this Grand Prix as well as control the actual champ of UFC.

Werdum (14-4-1) fights Alistair Overeem (34-11) in the primary function Saturday, when Josh Barnett (29-5) and Brett Rogers (11-2) additionally battle for the to certainly enhance to the Grand Prix semifinals. The primary card airs on Showtime at 10 by way of tape wait on the western shoreline and also reside during several to the channel's far east coast feeds.

Even nevertheless that s transpiring from the quarterfinals, Overeem vs. Werdum is arguably one of the most anticipated attack of the whole tournament. Both gentlemen have got established by themselves since the top rated a couple heavyweights within Strikeforce.

Werdum, crowd grappler, sent in Overeem, a highly regarded striker, if your a couple struggled in 2006 in PRIDE. But Overeem currently hasn t lost your attack with several several years plus is available in as high being a 5-to-1 favourite against Werdum.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated the actual matchup was established for your initial circular hence fans would end up being bound to see this highly awaited scrap. Neither mma star appeared to be upset about experiencing potentially their greatest pressure right from your beginning.

You re going to must skin the most robust gentleman anyway, Overeem said. And I by no means complain concerning a fight.

The winner from the battle could encounter Antonio Silva, , inside the following round earlier that fall. The tournament bout will certainly likely can be found in first 2012, based on Coker.

UFC champ Cain Velasquez will follow this along the route being a engaged observer. Velasquez will be certainly one of many folks clamoring regarding the tournament winner getting a shot for the UFC belt.

Those guys tend to be great, top amount guys, Velasquez claimed before this kind of year. I m pleased that will the actual UFC can finally, later down your highway match up most people together so you can easliy have got a correct No. one particular champion. I want to combat the most effective guys in addition to individuals is also the very best guys, too.

But White said it wasn t that will easy. He s seeking to keep some sort of relaxing romance along with Showtime, Strikeforce ersus television partner, by means of definitely not pillaging your marketing s top mma fighters for the UFC.

Although White has already ripped one particular Strikeforce champion to the UFC, Nick Diaz , they said it absolutely was your distinctive scenario plus couldn t assure the actual exact same would certainly come about when using the heavyweight division.

I m thankful that fans are looking forward to it, White said. Part involving being a fight supporter is obtaining excited about fights. The proven fact that the particular fans, the actual advertising along with folks obtain excited about fights, I adore it. It vertisements just in which I don big t know. We re also wanting to figure this particular point out.

Both Overeem and Werdum will hope the possibility in the UFC throughout they appear on the tournament upon top. One of both the will come up since the favorite to do and so after Saturday s scrap.

Alistair can be quite excellent ranking along with I m good around the ground, Werdum said. So, them s likely to be a battle this has one of the best around located and the best about the ground. Everybody has learned I don capital t have got secrets. I m pretty prepared and I is going to do my job.