Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Fedor is back! Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, a coup for MMA in 2011

Many bloggers were skeptical about the possibility of Strikeforce putting together an eight-man tourney for its heavyweights. It looks like Scott Coker and Showtime have cut through the red tape. The heavyweight extravaganza could result in some of the best matchmaking of 2011! 

The Canadian Press reported that Fedor Emelianenko Tweeted about his first-round fight. It'll be Antonio Silva on Feb. 12 in New Jersey. The former Strikeforce champ, regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport, hasn't fought since his upset loss at the hands of Fabricio Werdum last June. Silva, a winner of two straight, has only lost one fight since 2006.  

Update - FanHouse reports that the field is set:

The first two quarterfinal bouts will take place on Feb. 12, with Fedor Emelianenko taking on Antonio Silva, while Andrei Arlovski will face Sergei Kharitonov.

The other two quarterfinal bouts include
Brett Rogers facing Josh Barnett and current Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem taking on Fabricio Werdum, the last man to beat Emelianenko 

The tourney will also include a cool feature for Strikeforce's up and coming heavyweights. Shane del Rosario, Lavar Johnson and Daniel Cormier may be involved in alternate bouts as insurance down the road for injured participants.   

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fedor-is-back-Strikeforce-heavyweight-tournamen?urn=mma-303264

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