Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery Parting Shots

Strikeforce pretty much “won” last weekend in the MMA world simply by actually carrying through with their event as planned. If you aren’t the UFC, simply surviving seems to be a pretty good indicator that you are successful, and as Shine Fights proved on Saturday, just getting through a televised event can be difficult enough. When you factor in that Strikeforce actually wrangled their elusive heavyweight champion for a rare appearance and his first title defense in two and a half years, the event becomes that much more remarkable. Let’s take one last look at what happened on Saturday night before we move forward, shall we?

Overeem Appears Ready for Fedor

Let the posturing begin! Fedor Emelianenko’s camp now says that they were never unwilling to face Alistair Overeem, despite all of the remarks earlier in the year about their reluctance to do just that. Apparently, feelings have changed toward the supposed “steroid bully”, who absolutely steamrolled the always dangerous Brett Rogers on Saturday night. Overeem was able to display his raw strength, technical striking and punching power within the short bout, and confidently called out Fedor after the win.

A couple of years ago, a fight between Overeem and Fedor would have yielded unanimous picks for Fedor, without the need of anyone actually putting much thought into what might transpire in the bout. Now, things have changed slightly. Overeem has fought an opponent who just faced Fedor, and looked great in doing so. Meanwhile, Fedor has had his frustrations in his last couple of fights, though he prevailed in both of them. There seems to be this feeling in the MMA community that Fedor has to lose at some point, and that that point may be arriving sooner than later. Andrei Arlovski showed some chinks in Fedor’s armor before making a foolish mistake, and Rogers, like Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic back in the Pride days, showed what a determined striker can do if he refuses to defer to the world’s best heavyweight.

The thing is, Fedor has never looked invincible. He has had many moments in his fight, such as when Kazuyuki Fujita rocked him with a powerful punch or when Kevin Randleman memorably slammed him on his head, where he looked to be in trouble for a second. It’s his recovery from these instances that has helped contribute to his legend, however. Still, Overeem can surely give Fedor a fight- possibly a better one than just about anybody outside of the UFC’s ranks.

Arlovski Continues to Struggle, Silva Moves Forward

Where does Andrei Arlovski go from here? In the days before his bout with the monstrous Antonio Silva, most of the concerns towards Arlovski’s ability to win had to do with his chin. However, the bout itself showed very different problems, as Silva just plain outstruck Arlovski throughout their bout en route to a comfortable decision victory. Now, Arlovski is on the longest losing streak of his career, and faces a long battle to get back towards relevance, even in a relatively thin Strikeforce heavyweight division.

Silva, on the other hand, may be in position to challenge Fedor Emelianenko, should he prevail against Fabricio Werdum (and should an offer to face Overeem be refused). Otherwise, if Fedor beats Werdum, perhaps Silva will get a chance to avenge his lone Strikeforce defeat. Either way, another win will put him right in position to fight for the Strikeforce heavyweight strap. If he can get back to the form that he showed Saturday night (and that notched him six straight wins before the Werdum fight), he will be a threat to anyone he faces.

I have to wonder whether it was smart for Arlovski to take nearly a year off after the Rogers fight. Most fighters indicate that they want to get right back in the winning column after a disappointing loss, and I think that it is generally a better move than waiting to fight again. Arlovski mentioned seeing a sports psychologist, and I think that waiting a year to fight may lead to a fighter putting a lot of pressure on himself to perform well when he finally does compete. Maybe a quick fight against someone who can test Arlovski, but is not quite on his level would be a good idea. One thing to note about Arlovski is that all of his losses have come in bunches, with the exception of the one he endured in his first career bout. He tends to lose a couple of fights, then get right back to his old form. We’ll see if he can continue that trend in the upcoming months, as Arlovski is sure not to take such a long break this time around.

With or Without Shields, Middleweight Division Looks Good

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza may not have submitted Joey Villasenor, but his win over a very skilled and experienced middleweight showed how well-rounded he has become. While Jake Shields is all but certain to be leaving Strikeforce, there are still many fighters worth watching in Strikeforce’s middleweight division, especially Jacare. The addition of Dan Henderson, even with the Shields loss looming in his recent past, is still a very positive move. Robbie Lawler should be able to get back on track in the short term, too, and Jason “Mayhem” Miller is a very good fighter who will always attract a lot of eyeballs to his fights. Then you have others, like Cung Le, Scott Smith and Nick Diaz, who can easily fight at 185 pounds, and may be willing to do so more often now that Shields is pretty much out the door.

Jacare has a good shot to stand head and shoulders above his competition, setting himself up down the road for a lucrative payday with the UFC. In the meantime, Strikeforce should groom him to be a top attraction, and make sure to show him the respect that Shields never felt he got with the company. I would hold off on Jacare-Henderson for the time being, allowing Henderson to get back on track so that a hypothetical Jacare win over the legendary fighter would mean more. Jacare-Lawler would be an acceptable fight for the soon-to-be vacant middleweight title, as would a fight between Jacare and Diaz, who could step in and take his teammate’s place at the top of the division.

Quick Shots

–Many are disappointed with the fact that Roger Gracie took a couple of rounds to submit Kevin Randleman, but not me. The Gracie family has always seemed to prefer a more conservative and methodical approach to jiu-jitsu, and Gracie isn’t as dependent on lightning-quick submissions as a Demian Maia would be. Furthermore, those quick wins will come a lot easier when Gracie gets more experience under his belt. Randleman may not be a BJJ black belt, but he is freakishly strong and has a lot of experience in the sport, which makes him a tough opponent when he is in the right mindset. I was impressed with Gracie’s standup at points during the fight, as well.

–Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm is not just the owner of one of the best nicknames in the sport, but also a sparkling 14-0 record. While detractors could previously point out that his resume was mostly devoid of recognizable names, his win over Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro is one that shows what the lightweight fighter is capable of. Sure, it was a split decision, but against a fighter who has spent most of his career in the top ten of his weight class, it is a good indication that Beerbohm is a very talented competitor.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, Jake Shields, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Joey Villasenor, Kevin Randleman, Lyle Beerbohm, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Roger Gracie, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Strikeforce, Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery, Vitor Ribeiro