Strikeforce Heavyweight GP - Overeem vs Werdum results Posted by Zach | at 10:21 AM

Yesterday night Strikeforce held their 2nd part of the heavyweight tournament, and although the main event didn't live up to the expectations, the rest of the card was pretty solid.

Main Event
Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

In this fight, you have the K-1 kickboxing champion versus the world class grappler. It was an odd fight however, because Overeem was getting outstruck by Werdum in the number of strikes, but kept trying to pull guard every time he got hit. Overeem was visibly gassed at the end of the fight, and I think most people's stock in Overeem fell pretty quickly.

 

Main Card (Showtime)
10:00 PM ET/PT
Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers by Submission (arm triangle) at 1:11 in Round 2

Another stylistic match-up: the heavy handed Brett Rogers versus the catch wrestler Josh Barnett. Barnett had been caught using steroids 3 times, so this fight tonight really meant a lot. And he was completely dominate in the fight, using his takedowns and lateral drops to mount Rogers. He ended up in mount again in the 2nd round and finished up using the head and arm choke (arm triangle).

Jorge Masvidal def. K.J. Noons via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

This was a great fight with a lot of action. Masvidal had gotten name recognition over his street fight videos all over the web, and KJ for his boxing in MMA. However, Masvidal was definitely outstriking KJ, and even landed a flush head kick. KJ showed tremendous heart, but ultimately was bloodied and bruised at the end of the fight.

Daniel Cormier def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Cormier meets the 5'9" heavyweight in Monson's first Strikeforce appearance. This fight was about the takedown defense of Cormier and the stand up. He consistently peppered Monson with jabs and combos, all while negating any takedowns Monson was looking for. Monson also showed some great heart after getting rocked multiple times throughout the fight.

Chad Griggs def. Valentijn Overeem by TKO in round 1

Chad Griggs is one of these sluggers that can actually put on a good performance. And that he did again Overeem's older brother. Griggs used a lateral drop to bring Overeem into his side control, where he unleashed a flurry of ground n pound. Valentijn ended up tapping to strikes in round 1, leading many to question his heart and will.