· “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” Recap

The second set of quarterfinals for the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix concluded last night at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Heavyweight Champion Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem squared off against Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum in a non-title match, while Josh “Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett made his United States return in a bout with the heavy-hitting Brett "The Grim" Rogers. Both Overeem and Barnett found success and move on to the semifinals to face Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, respectively.

In the main event, Overeem faced a foe who had beaten him before, in 2006, and the man who submitted the great Fedor Emelianenko only one year ago. Billed as a classic "grappler vs. striker" contest, the fight took a surprising turn almost from the get-go as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout Werdum got the better of the exchanges against the frequent K-1 competitor, Overeem.

For three rounds Werdum landed the majority of the strikes and attempted, unsuccessfully, to bring the “Demolition Man” to the canvas via takedowns and by pulling guard. However, Overeem was able to keep the Brazilian at bay as he connected with the more powerful shots and utilized a variety of throws to remain standing, avoiding Werdum’s strengths.

Mixing takedowns and throws with several knockdowns—often the result of Werdum intentionally flopping in an effort to get the fight to ground—the Dutchman secured the overall advantage on the judges’ scorecards. Despite multiple submission attempts from the bottom by Werdum, the champion’s defense and unwavering game plan proved too much as Overeem was awarded the unanimous decision victory and he moves on to face Silva.

The co-main event resulted in a much more one-sided affair, with Barnett able to use his superior grappling to subdue and control the outmatched Rogers. Landing a leg kick early, Rogers’ offensive output was immediately stifled by the “Babyfaced Assassin” as Barnett completed a takedown and moved from side control to full mount—a position he held for the duration of the round.

Though he controlled the position in the first round, Barnett was not able to do much damage to the grounded Rogers. As the second round began we saw more of the same, with Barnett again taking Rogers down and securing mount. This time, however, he quickly maneuvered into an arm triangle choke and elicited the tap out from Rogers at 1:17 of round two.

In what turned out to be the fight of the night, two proficient strikers stood toe-to-toe for three rounds as Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal took on K.J. "King Karl" Noons in a lightweight number one contender tilt. Noons brought more professional boxing experience into the meeting, but Masvidal showcased a higher level mixed martial arts skill set as he put on a counter striking clinic for much of the bout, bludgeoning and bloodying Noons for three rounds.

After a well-timed head kick dropped Noons in the first, Masvidal went in for the kill and nearly finished him with a series of brutal strikes and ground-and-pound. Noons, if nothing else, exhibited tremendous durability.

Masvidal mixed takedowns, counters, and flying knees to leave Noons extremely worse for the wear with blood streaming from his forehead, a ghastly hematoma, and an eye that was swelling shut. To his credit, Noons did not quit, but “Gamebred” inevitably walked away with an impressive unanimous decision win and a possible shot at current champion, Gilbert Melendez.

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson disappointed in his Strikeforce debut as his younger and more athletic opponent, Daniel Cormier, demonstrated his improving striking, beating a lethargic and ineffective Monson to the punch for fifteen minutes straight en route to the unanimous decision victory.

Opening the main card, Chad "The Grave Digger" Griggs quickly overwhelmed Valentijn "The Python" Overeem, forcing him to tap out to strikes at 2:08 of the first round. Griggs picked up his eleventh finish, in as many wins, to accompany his single loss.

Full Results:

Main Card

• Todd Moore def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:17
• Jorge Masvidal def. K.J. Noons via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Daniel Cormier def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Chad Griggs def. Valentijn Overeem via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:08

Undercard

• Justin Wilcox vs. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante ruled a no-decision (accidental eyepoke by Cavalcante) - Round 2, 0:31
• Conor Heun def. Magno Almeida via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nah-Shon Burrell def. Joe Ray via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Brian Melancon via split-decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)