KJ Noons (red gloves) is almost always the better stand-up fighter in his match-ups, but his lack of skill elsewhere allows the threat of other modes of attack to cripple his offense as it did against Nick Diaz. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
Dallas, Texas gets the honor of hosting the second installment of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarter-finals as Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum comes to the Lone Star State’s third largest city this Saturday night. On the slate for the evening is the continuance of the Grand Prix with “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (31-12) squaring off with “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) and “The Babyfaced Assassin” Josh Barnett (21-5) stepping into the cage with and “The Grim” Brett Rogers (11-2). Also up for action are tournament alternate eliminator bouts featuring “The Python” Valentijn Overeem (27-21) against “The Grave Digger” Chad Griggs (9-1) and “The Snowman” Jeff Monson (37-11) vs. Daniel Cormier (6-0). As a result of “Conviction” Gina Carano (7-1) pulling out of her bout, KJ Noons (9-3) and “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal (19-6) have found their lightweight title eliminator bout pushed up to the main card. While it lacks the name recognition of Carano, the bout is nevertheless a far more important bout int the big picture of Strikeforce as one-time title contender Noons looks to get his career back on track against a man who is looking to capitalize on a dark horse win. Continue reading »
