We are now less than 48 hours away from the monumental first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand-Prix. Sceptics doubt the company can pull the tournament off with their inability to lock up talent and make them fight. Saturday night’s first round will be the initial stages in trying to prove the haters wrong.
Even those uninterested in the tournament itself will have their eyes peeled to the screen to see the return of “The Last Emporer.” Fedor Emelianenko had a nearly 10 year undefeated streak, which is unheard of my mixed martial arts standards, snapped when he was submitted by Jiu-Jitsu wizard Fabricio Werdum on that fateful night of June 26, 2010.
No one gave “Val Cavalo” a chance heading into the bout, and those who did had no idea he would do it so quickly.
And now for the first time since the defeat, arguably the greatest fighter of all time will return to the cage.
Because he keeps so private, we really have no idea how his training camp went or if he has any injuries heading into the bout. His private training camp in Stary Oskol, Russia is reminiscent to that of Rocky: It’s cold, it’s brutal, and any sight of civilization is far away, just the way Emelianenko likes it.
Antonio Silva will have the unenviable task of taking on an Emelianenko who is looking to prove he still has what it takes to be the best in the world. “Bigfoot” is riding a two fight win streak into the biggest bout of his career. He has been asking for a major name in the Strikeforce division and they don’t come any bigger than Emelianenko.
If Silva can pull it off, he will catapult himself into the top 5 in the world, while a win for Emelianenko will solidify his spot as one of, if not, the greatest of all time. A win for Emelianenko will also mean he faces the winner of the Alistair Overeem versus Fabricio Werdum quarter-final bout, both of which fans are salivating at the mouth to see.
There is a lot riding on Saturday night’s main event. A legend could be confirmed, or a new star made.
- SS
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