· Strikeforce Preview: Going Heavy

Just a week after one seemingly immortal fighter rebounded from perceived past failures, another formerly immortal fighter will get his chance to do exactly the same on Saturday night.

Anderson Silva went a long way to make fans forget back-to-back lackluster performances against Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen when he knocked out Vitor Belfort with a highlight reel front kick, but the difference between Silva and Fedor Emelianenko is that Silva didn’t actually lose.

After a decade of running through the top competition that the sport had to offer, Fedor was beaten last June when he dove into Fabricio Werdum’s triangle. Now, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself, once again against top competition.

A tough matchup with Antonio Silva is Fedor’s draw in the opening round of the much talked about heavyweight grand prix, but many pundits and fans are awaiting a potential matchup with Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem or a rematch with Werdum in the semifinals.

Although some of the luster may be gone from Fedor’s record, the aura around the Russian heavyweight is still gleaming. Emelianenko remains featured prominently on many of the posters for the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, despite the fact that he is not the champion and the man who recently beat him is also in the tournament.

Much of the intrigue with Fedor stems from the fact that he is such a humble and secretive man, completely the opposite of how many top fighters act. One of Fedor’s most prominent values is love for his country, above and beyond the sense of nationality exhibited by most fighters.

Enter Antonio Silva. To the untrained eye, Silva would appear to be a big favorite in this fight. Not only is he four inches taller than Emelianenko, but he’ll also have a thirty pound weight advantage. “Bigfoot” holds black belt ranks in jiu-jitsu, judo, and karate, and a 15-2 record with wins over the likes of Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez. Yet he is still as high as a (+350) underdog to lose to Fedor.

Four more heavyweight battles will round out the “Fedor vs. Silva” card, including a grand prix bout featuring Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov. Grand prix reserve bouts will feature Shane del Rosario vs. Lavar Johnson, Valentijn Overeem vs. Ray Sefo, and Chad Griggs vs. Gian Villante.

Arlovski was a curious choice for the heavyweight tournament, as the former UFC heavyweight champion is currently riding a three-fight losing streak. All three men he has lost to—Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, and Antonio Silva—are also in the tournament, but Arlovski will face former PRIDE mainstay Sergei Kharitonov in the opening round.

Both fighters are known as exciting strikers, and this is expected to be a standup battle. The two Russian fighters will try to steal the show and take some of the luster from the fight between Emelianenko and Silva.

The three reserve bouts feature an interesting mix of prospects and veteran fighters, some unknowns, and even the brother of one of the grand prix fighters.

Shane del Rosario and Lavar Johnson have been two of the best heavyweight prospects in Strikeforce for the past year or so, but both have taken very different paths to the brink of being in the grand prix.

Del Rosario is an undefeated well-rounded fighter, and he opened the eyes of many when he began his Strikeforce career with an omoplata victory over Brandon Cash. He then returned last July to finish tough Hawaiian Lolohea Mahe with a flurry of strikes, making him a dangerous all-around fighter.

Johnson was shot in the abdomen while at a family celebration on July 4 in 2009, but he returned last March to take out Lolohea Mahe. A win over Virgil Zwicker in October was his graduation from the Challengers series, and he’ll now take on del Rosario for a chance to be the first alternate for the grand prix.

Valentijn Overeem is the brother of grand prix participant and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, and he has competed all over the world since debuting in 1996. He’ll face former K-1 participant Ray Sefo, who has competed just twice in MMA. The 39-year-old was the K-1 world grand prix runner-up in 2000, and he is one of the most successful kickboxers to compete in MMA.

Chad Griggs and Gian Villante could be the next generation of Strikeforce heavyweights. Griggs debuted in a big way, defeating former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley via technical knockout. Villante is a two-divison champion in the Northeast-based Ring of Combat organization, and he will certainly have a hometown advantage with the fight taking place in New Jersey.