Strikeforce has confirmed the date of April 9 for the second round of its Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals, featuring a rematch between reigning heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu deity Fabricio Werdum, who first met under the PRIDE banner way back in 2006.
The bout saw "Vai Cavalo" crank his way to a submission victory over "Demolition Man" with a second round Kimura.
Now, the resurgent and seemingly unstoppable "Reem" will get his long-awaited chance to avenge that defeat when he meets the Brazilian in the second half of the opening round of the promotion's heavyweight tournament on April 9 at a venue to be determined, according to a report from ESPN.com.
Overeem (34-11) tossed his way to a first round technical knockout victory over the hard-hitting Brett Rogers at last May's "Heavy Artillery" event to notch his first win as a Strikeforce employee since he creamed Paul Buentello to capture the division title over three years ago.
In addition to the stoppage over "The Headhunter," the deadly Dutchman has gone ten straight fights without a defeat, making a mockery of Todd Duffee's best intentions at FieLDS Dynamite!! earlier this month.
And in his spare time, he plowed through the competition to capture K-1's 2010 World Grand Prix in Japan. But does any of that matter against the grappling prowess of Werdum?
Once labeled as a UFC castaway, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) champion put together back-to-back wins following an August 2009 Strikeforce debut.
After disposing of Mike Kyle and Antonio Silva, Werdum (14-4-1) was rewarded with a main event against Fedor Emelianenko, shocking the Russian (and the rest of the world) with a first round upset win via triangle choke.
His victory over "The Last Emperor" made an Overeem rematch all but a foregone conclusion.
Of course, winning the belt from "The Reem" may also land him in a rematch with Emelianenko, who must first get past "Bigfoot" Silva in a tournament bout of his own on Feb. 12 in New Jersey.
No comments:
Post a Comment