Strikeforce planning HW tournament in 2011

Strikeforce and M-1 say Fedor negotiations ongoing; Jan. 29 fight "not set"
by Steven Marrocco on Dec 17, 2010 at 3:15 pm ET

A deal to bring Fedor Emelianenko back to the Strikeforce cage has not been finalized, according to representatives from the California-based promotion and M-1 Global.

And while a matchup between Emelianenko and Strikeforce heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva is possible, a Strikeforce official today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a date is not set.

"It all depends where these negotiations take us," Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz said.

A report today on MMAWeekly.com stated Emelianenko (31-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) is in discussions to meet Silva (14-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) at a Strikeforce event slated for Jan. 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

But both Strikeforce and M-1 officials say they're still negotiating a contract that includes the services of Emelianenko as well as co-promotional agreement that could bring M-1 Global events to Strikeforce broadcast partner Showtime.

"We are really hoping that we can finalize things as soon as possible," M-1 representative Evgeni Kogan told MMAjunkie.com. "We have been steadily working toward an agreement. And I think we are closer to it now than we have been in the past."

Kogan added that Jan. 29 is "not on the table," though he declined to discuss further details of negotiations.

Earlier this month, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker echoed Kogan's comments when he said Emelianenko's return looks more certain than ever.

"I think we're moving in the right direction," he told MMAjunkie.com following "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II." "It sounds like it's getting very close."

M-1 Global head Vadim Finkelstein in October told MMAjunkie.com that his company is negotiating primarily with Showtime to secure Emelianenko's return and said the heavyweight's next opponent has not been a sticking point in talks. He said talks for Emelianenko to fight Silva did not go past the preliminary stage.

As to how long the Russian heavyweight can remain on the shelf, the executive said the fighter's current deal is "open to interpretation."

"There's a reasonable period of time when the fight has to happen, and pretty soon now we'll know whether or not it will be a fight under the existing contract or a new contract," Finkelchtein said. "We have an agreement in place, and that agreement has one more fight on it.

"If we have to operate under that agreement, that's perfectly fine. But if we have the opportunity to make the relationship more long term, than certainly we're open to that as well. So we feel fine about that in terms of Fedor's career because we know at some point very soon, he's going to have a fight."

Emelianenko has not competed since he suffered a shocking submission loss to Fabricio Werdum at "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum" earlier this year. A rematch between the two appeared to be in the works before Werdum underwent surgery for a damaged elbow and was put on the bench until early next year. Emelianenko previously had flirted with the possibility of retirement, but the loss to Werdum ultimately stoked his competitive fires. In an August interview with M-1 Global's website, he hinted that a new contract with Strikeforce could last for up to four to six fights.

Emelianenko signed a three-fight deal with Strikeforce in August 2009 after intense negotiations with both Strikeforce and the UFC. He made his promotional debut a year ago, when he stopped the previously undefeated Brett Rogers at "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers."

Afromowitz said it's "possible" Emelianenko could compete against Silva in a heavyweight tournament expected to begin in February, though that will be determined by the outcome of talks with M-1.

Brown Pride wrote:Dont get your hopes up lads, these guys are struggling to put together 1 big fight at HW, lets alone organise 15 fights for a 16 man tournament.


Remember the MW tourney they wanted to do?

Brazilian magazine TATAME is reporting that Strikeforce has plans to host an 8-man Heavyweight GP in 2011.

The report states that Fedor Emelianenko will face Antonio Silva in a yet-to-be-announced Strikeforce February event as part of the semi-quarters, along with Fabricio Werdum, coming off his historic victory over Fedor, versus Sergei Kharitonov in a March event. The other two possible fights for the tournament could involve current Strikeforce HW Champion Alistair Overeem against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski, and recent Strikeforce acquisition Josh Barnett could face Strikeforce HW prospect Brett Rogers to round out the tournament.

The tournament could be broken into three events, where the semis and/or finals are potential candidates to spearhead the first Strikeforce pay-per-view event since signing a deal with Showtime/CBS after purchasing the Pro Elite assets back in 2009. MMAPayout has also learned although all the details are not confirmed as of this time, it is Strikeforce’s intent to run the HW GP and have contacted several HW’s in their roster to prepare in case injuries or other rumored participants cannot compete.


Payout Perspective:

Though there are quite a few that have scoffed at the idea of Strikeforce hosting a HW GP next year, quickly pointing out how the planned Middleweight GP never materialized, it is important to note that there were many reasons that the MW GP did not occur, most importantly was the idea of making it a one-night event, which the commissions would not allow.

Strikeforce appears to have moved on from that notion, and in fact has matched-up their MW division this past few months based on what they were originally planning for the MW GP. Current Strikeforce MW Champion “Jacare” Souza defeated Tim Kennedy, who quickly dispatched MMA veteran Trevor Prangly in the Los Angeles event, to become the MW Champion back in August. Previous to the Kennedy title bout, Jacare impressively defeated MMA veteran Joey Villasenor earlier in the year, after submitting Matt Lindland the previous year. Robbie Lawler, who is coming off of impressive victories against Melvin Manhoef and Matt Lindland, is now scheduled to face Jacare for the Strikeforce MW title in the upcoming January 29, 2011 event, set to take place in San Jose.

It is also expected that the budding company has plans to air a 30 minute weekly syndicate Strikeforce show sometime next year, which would provide much needed brand and fighter exposure outside of the Showtime network. The show would be utilized to promote upcoming fights and also show fights from recent shows. Although a reality TV show was mentioned by Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker earlier this year, MMAPayout has learned that talks are still in the early stages between the parties involved, and it is not yet known when a potential deal could materialize.

Other big rumors involve Strikeforce taking their promotion outside of the USA for the first time as an MMA promotion. Scott Coker expressed his intent, in a recent interview on “The MMA Show!”, to bring Strikeforce into Canada next year. There are also rumors of Strikeforce possibly holding an event in the United Kingdom, which would be centered around a possible Paul Daley Welterweight title fight late next year.

Voronov: What i can say finally Fedor will be fight and its happened very soon.He is in a great shape and ready to fight.Next week we will find out Fedor's Schedule for Strikeforce.Will see what happened,at this moment we have Negotiation with Strikeforce.I hope we signed new contract withe Strikeforce grand prix.8 heavy weights fighters included Fedor will be fighting for Strikeforce heavy weight Belt.

rudeboyben84 wrote:Haha that was a stretch to call that the Mw tournament, Kevin Casey.....

This is the way Im hearing there looking to match the fighters up.

Silva/Fedor
Barnett/Rogers
Overeem/Arlovski
Sergei/Werdum

Brown Pride wrote:That lineup wont happen, Barnett still doesnt have a license, Overeem has ruled himself out of fighting in SF until May, and you know he is going to focus on K-1 in latter part of next year to defend his GP win. Werdum is travelling across the world giving BJJ classes and wants a tune up fight in Japan and Abudhabi next year. Fedor and M-1 will want to renogotiate for months after each fight. And Sergei will focus on K-1 next year.


SF should aim a little lower and try to put on single big fights. Like focus on putting on Fedor-Overeem in May.

rudeboyben84 wrote:Haha that was a stretch to call that the Mw tournament, Kevin Casey.....

Anfields5thKing wrote:

rudeboyben84 wrote:Haha that was a stretch to call that the Mw tournament, Kevin Casey.....

Casey is one of the top 8 MWs signed to SF to be fair. They lack debt at MW.

The_Axe_Emperor wrote:

Anfields5thKing wrote:

rudeboyben84 wrote:Haha that was a stretch to call that the Mw tournament, Kevin Casey.....

Casey is one of the top 8 MWs signed to SF to be fair. They lack debt at MW.

I'm not surprised with the wages they pay to Hendo, amongst others.

Strikeforce today is expected to announce the quarterfinals of a planned eight-man tournament, and its remaining matchups have filled out.

In addition to previously announced matchups of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva and Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov, a third bracket featuring Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem (34-11 MMA, 3-0 SF) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) is on tap, and a fourth targets Josh Barnett (26-5 MMA, 0-0 SF) vs. Brett Rogers (11-2 MMA, 2-2 SF). It is unknown whether the quarterfinal will put Overeem's belt on the line.

The new matchups are expected to take place in March, though a date and venue have not yet been set, sources said.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the remaining matchups are "not confirmed," though he said Monday that an announcement is forthcoming on the tournament.

The Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix is planned as a three-stage, single elimination tournament slated to begin Feb. 12 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The event features the first and second bracket of the tournament with Emelianenko vs. Silva and Arlovski vs. Kharitonov.

The tournament marks the return of Emelianenko, who sat on the shelf for the second half of 2010 as Strikeforce, Showtime and M-1 Global re-negotiated a three-fight contract he originally signed in August 2009. Meanwhile, Overeem returns to action after knocking out Todd Duffee to win the DREAM interim heavyweight title at Dynamite!! 2010.

Barnett is expected to go before the California State Athletic Commission next month to address concerns stemming from a denial of license he received in July 2009 in the wake of a positive test for performance enhancers. He signed a new contract with Strikeforce this past March.