While this evening’s STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament was supposed to be all about MMA’s most talented big men in the sport, a fight at lightweight between Jorge Masvidal (22-6) and K.J. Noons (10-4) had Bay Area implications, given the winner would be in line for a shot at the promotion’s lightweight title currently held by San Francisco native Gilbert Melendez (19-2).
As it just so happened, the Masvidal – Noons 155 pound bout turned out to be the most entertaining match on the SHOWTIME televised card, as the heavyweights being featured in the tournament put on underwhelming performances.
Jorge Masvidal is about as intriguing an MMA fighter as it gets, given his roots are in the Kimbo Slice school of fighting in the streets of Miami. While he has some backyard brawls that have gotten a lot of attention on Youtube over the years, Masvidal proved tonight with his wide-margin unanimous decision victory over K.J. Noons that he has come a long way as a mixed martial artist.
Contested at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, each fighter came into the fight with a reputation for standing and trading punches, and neither man disappointed this evening.
Although former EliteXC champion K.J. Noons was game throughout, Jorge Masvidal exploited his opponent’s one-dimensional boxing style, countering with a more varied attack of his own by mixing in kicks, knees and takedowns along with his outstanding punching.
Masvidal’s strikes left a bad cut on the top of Noons’ forehead in the first round, and the bout got no better for the San Diego native in the second frame, as he was dropped and badly hurt at one point after being kicked in the face.
While Noons had a better third round by letting his hands go and punching in combination, it would not be enough, as all three official judges had the fight scored 30-27 in favor of Masvidal at the end of the fight.
The main event of the evening, which paired STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem against Fedor Emelianenko conqueror Fabricio Werdum, turned out to be an odd affair.
Overeem, who may be the best striker in the heavyweight division, and Fabricio Werdum, who is likely the best grappler among all big men, brought into the cage a clash of styles that failed to materialize any real combustion.
Werdum did everything he could to get Overeem to the ground, but the champion would have none of it for the most part. Werdum often intentionally fell to the mat after being hit to lure Overeem into the ground game, but the Dutchman showed a lot of discipline by resisting the temptation to attempt the ground and pound.
When Werdum did manage to get Overeem to the ground, the Brazilian was always on his back with his opponent mostly in the full guard position, so no threat of submission ever materialized.
That being said, Alistair Overeem was not totally dominant in the standup game, as Fabricio Werdum actually landed more strikes, but the champion’s punches were certainly much harder and more effective.
In the end after three five-minute rounds, all three judges had the bout scored in favor of Overeem, who will now advance to take on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the semifinals of the tournament. With the victory, Alistair Overeem also avenged a previous loss at the hands of Fabricio Werdum back in 2006.
In the other heavyweight tournament bout of the evening, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett easily took care of former STRIKEFORCE heavyweight title challenger Brett “The Grim” Rogers, submitting him in the second round via an arm-triangle choke. Barnett now advances to the tournament semifinals where he will face Sergei Kharitonov.
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