Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog Saturday in San Jose, “I think Fedor will fight [in April on CBS]. Looks like he’ll fight Fabricio Werdum.”
Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) have been on a collision course since both won impressively on the original M-1 Global and Strikeforce collaboration on CBS in Chicago November 7.
But, Coker warned, “Nothing is signed. We haven’t gone through that process yet. But, Fabricio, I think, is a natural because he fought Giant Silva on CBS. I’d like to see that fight.”
The matchup leaves Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (29-10) will leftovers in what will probably be his first title defense.
Coker added, “I’d like to see Alistair Overeem make his debut on CBS with somebody, maybe Silva, maybe Brett Rogers.”
Both “Bigfoot” Antonio Silva (12-2) and fifth-ranked heavyweight “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1) are coming off losses to Werdum and Emelianenko respectively, creating an awkward situation for Strikeforce where their champion is defending his title versus fighters who’ve already lost to the top challengers who’ll be fighting each other on the same card.
Is it any worse than another UFC interim title fight between third-ranked heavyweight Frank Mir (13-4) and sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0)?
Fighters.com thinks so. The longer Emelianenko doesn’t challenge for the Strikeforce title, the more devalued the title and their division becomes. It risks mirroring the convoluted and frustrating professional boxing divisions that MMA has avoided doing…until now.
For example, if Rogers challenges Overeem for the Strikeforce title and wins and Emelianenko beats Werdum, it sets up a Strikeforce title fight of little interest to anyone since Emelianenko already outclassed Rogers last November. Rogers won’t have done anything to deserve the rematch, since Overeem is ranked lower than Emelianenko, and it serves Emelianenko another matchup he’s well-prepared to win.
Emelianenko should challenge Overeem in April so that the Strikeforce heavyweight division can shake out and become clear to fans of the sport. The proposed matchups – Emelianenko-Werdum, Overeem-Rogers or Silva – just create a confusing and awkward set of possibilities.