Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Preview
Posted by Tommy Hackett on June 26th, 2010
Tonight, Strikeforce and M-1 Global offer a huge show for any MMA fan — as the greatest of all time, Fedor Emelianenko, takes on one of the world’s top ten heavyweights in Brazilian jiu-jitsu luminary Fabricio Werdum. The bout will be broadcast live 10 pm EST from the HP Pavillion in San Jose, CA on Showtime, delayed on the West Coast, and likely streamed illegally everywhere else.
Earlier this week, I enjoyed a Fedor Emelianenko interview — and yes, I realize there’s nothing unusual about that. He’s had some classics, like earlier this year where he took some of his fellow sportsmen for “forgetting their flags,” describing his religous faith, and more. His quiet integrity is what makes me a Fedor fan, the qualities that Dave Meltzer references when he dubbed the man the “anti-Brock Lesnar” recently.
But what struck me about this interview, which was sent from Strikeforce’s office and posted on Youtube, was that Fedor Emelianenko, the greatest of all time, appeared almost as burned out as I am about MMA lately. Among other things, he admits he doesn’t enjoy watching MMA fights; and essentially struggles to say anything at all about his opponent.
Still, the fights are on — and they should be well worth watching.
The show will mark the first time the world’s #1 male and female fighters will appear on the same show. There’s still honor in this game.
As Fedor puts it in that very interview, “I do not consider myself to be the strongest fighter or be a very special person… there are a lot of people who pray for me and that’s why I want to be the representative of my country… I just want people to remember me as the honest person, the person who loves his country, his motherland and who glorifies the Orthodox Russia.”
My predictions follow.
As always, these are for entertainment purposes only…
Heavyweight bout: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum
Werdum is a huge five-to-one underdog for a reason. Zach Arnold (my, I’m poaching off him today) reported Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker mostly making a case for the upset by such comments as “he’s big” and “you never know.” Ouch. Still, both are true, and Werdum has admittedly remarkable jiu-jitsu credentials. I just think his measured application of my beloved arte suave isn’t the answer to Fedor. He’s very good but he’s not an overpowering wrestler who can put Fedor on his back and avoid getting countered to death standing… sadly, all those guys are with ZUFFA. Coker’s right, you never know, and it may take a while… but I see Fedor eventually putting the big man to sleep with a huge left hook. Watch for Fedor to fake the throw or reap and get the T/KO. Fedor, T/KO 3.
Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
He’s kind of puttered around for a while, but San Jose’s hometown hero Le is still dangerous to anyone who stands with him. Watch for Smith, still primarily a boxer, to do just that. In Smith’s most impressive performances, against Robbie Lawler and his earlier bout with Le, he was open to kicks as his opponents controlled the range, but both times he was able to escape — a no-contest in the former and an unlikely come-from-behind win in the latter. Watch for Le show he’s learned from the mistakes of their earlier bout, and put Smith away as soon as he gets him in trouble. Le, T/KO 2.
Women’s Featherweight Championship bout: Cristiane Santos(c) vs. Jan Finney
I don’t think Finney has anything for Santos. Look for a quick and ugly beatdown after “Cyborg” gets a first round takedown. Santos, T/KO 1.
As always, enjoy the fights.
June 26th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
A little late to the game but I didn’t want to completely miss out on these so here you go.
Fedor/Werdum:
Werdum isn’t even in the same ballpark as Fedor. Despite Fedor looking about as out of shape as I’ve seen him in his career in his last fight and the fact that he doesn’t seem to have the same fire that he has in the past, Werdum just isn’t a danger to him. Fedor is too savvy on the ground to get submitted and I don’t see Werdum getting him down anyway. Fedor will knock out Werdum in quick fashion and hopefully we get the Fedor/Overeem match that we deserve as fans. Fedor TKO R1.
Le/Smith:
We’ve seen this one before. Smith has the heart of a champion and Le doesn’t have the cardio. Le simply doesn’t have the same focus and desire in MMA as his opponent. He’s got talent, no doubt, but from what I’ve heard, his training isn’t intense in the least. Smith still needs to stay away from those kicks though. Smith with a decision.
Santos/Finney:
Wow. Another brilliant move by Strikeforce in putting Cyborg up against a challenger the majority of fans have never seen before. They really have no interest in promoting the division. Either way, I don’t see Cyborg losing this one. I think Finney is tougher than people give her credit for and I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt here. Cyborg with a decision.
June 27th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Oh, man. Sad to see the Last Emporer go down — but it’s cool to see Werdum, the hard luck heavyweight, finally have his day in the sun. Respect the arte suave!
June 27th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Yeah. Kudos Werdum sad times for Fedor. One suspects that M-1’s hope of further co-promotion with Coker & co. has decreased drastically.