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."