Obviously, he needs a blood test first. But, skills alone, can he dethrone the best fighter in the game today in Fedor? I think not. I do belive this would be an exciting fight from the go with many fireworks, but quickly Fedor picking up timing on the beast overeem and ultimatley dismantleing him. I can see Fedor's handspeed catching overeem and dropping him for good. Or I could see it going to the ground where fedor shows his craft very well. How do you see it?
Its possible. I think Overeem on paper does pose a legit threat to the great Fedor. Regardless of if his size is due to HGH this is still a 6 foot 5 and 245 or so pound man that has world class striking proved agianst the best Kick-Boxers in the world in K-1 Aerts, Teixera, Hari hell thats an impressive list of losses let alone wins. Overeem does have all the striking weapons inside leg kicks, head kicks, body kicks, roundhouses, vicious knees and punches. The guy can strong wrestling skills, violent GNP and does have some strong submissions. Fedor would probablly find a win but you cant count out a guy with the talent and well rounded skills off Alistair Overeem.
Better question...can fedor beat werdum first ? ...People are getting ahead of themselves here...Let's not forget Werdum subbed Overeem in the 2nd round...And he also recently defeated another huge guy..(antonio Silva , who's no joke )... Fedor will have his hands full vs Werdum. Don't think this is going to be a repeat of Nog vs Fedor (the 2003 edition)...
Werdum couldn't handle overeem on his feet (same with Gonzaga)..yet that didn't stop him from beating them both. He is very dangerous on the ground. Of course , fedor isn't overeem or Gonzaga...still , he shouldn't be taken lightly... yes his striking won't be his advantage...but as soon as the fight hits the floor...it'll be a big question mark. Fedor has never been subbed in his entire career...I doubt werdum will be the first but who knows...anything can happen in this sport. And though Nogueira defeated Werdum a few years back , today , Fabricio is the one who's doing better...(nog is shot imo)...Werdum is still in top form. We're talking about a multiple ADCC champ...who's also quite big (physically speaking) and who's used to handle guys who are just as big if not bigger than him. (Gonzaga , Overeem , Antonio Silva , Aleksander Emelianenko)... Personally i think Fedor will win , all i'm saying is that it's not going to be a piece of cake.
Good points but Fedor we know handles himself just fine on the ground. This guy doesnt win the Sambo Championships every year for no reason and the perfect defense for Jiujitsu in MMA is good posture and GNP and who has better posture or GNP then Fedor. Its going to be hard to gain any rhythm when a guy is constantly punching you in the face. Its worth noting the 2 best BJJ fighters that Werdum has faced in MMA where Gonzaga and Nogueira and Werdum wasnt able to do much in terms of grappling to either man and I think its safe to say Fedor is on that level. Now dont get me wrong I wont count out Werdum because his accomplishments in Abu Dhabi speak for itself and he has submitted alot of quality submission fighters in MMA like Overeem and Aleksander. Im just saying I dont give him much of a chance if any to do anything to Fedor on their feet. On the ground if Fedor is the top man I just believe his posture and strikes are to much for any fighter to be able to overcome and pull off a submission. Sweeps are possible as Nogueira swept Fedor but its going to be very very hard. Werdum's best shot is his top game but its going to be hard for him to get Fedor on his back especially if he gets picked apart standing and has to shoot from a long distance. On his back though Fedor has such great hips and control and sweeps himself and hes not easy to keep down. You are correct anything can happen but looking at it on paper Werdum to me is not as dangerous a threat to Fedor as some other top 10 level fighters. I think if the Overeem fight comes off that Overeem will present a much tough challenge.
Many casual observers will no doubt think so. I always laugh at ignorant F's who continually spout how PED's do not make you a better fighter. Overeem was basically a non entity at 205. So he magically adds over 50 lbs of solid muscle, while also losing a bit of fat. Now he is smashing elite K-1 fighters and ragdolling huge MMA heavyweights. Oh yeah; He is suddenly able to pull multiple reps in the deadlift with 700 ibs. This is not sour grapes on my part. Overeem and his team have made some serious advances in the application and subsequent clandestine nature of PED's (beating drug tests). Whenever pride/money are involved in athletic competitions, rest assured the participants will be looking for any advantage possible. In this case you are not having a running race, lifting a weight or playing with a ball on a court. You are in a sport where one's primary objective is to inflict physical discomfort on another human being. In summation: Essentially all fighters are on some sort of PED's, especially heavyweights. In Overeem's case, him and his team are simply much better at it. So any fighter he faces will have one HUGE additionla obstacle to overcome. So to answer the TS's question: YES! Considering the balance pf power change in the MMA arms race. It would not suprise me if Overeem beat anyone the way he beat Rogers tonight.
Well , yeah , against Nog , he couldn't dominate him like he did to the likes of aleks or antonio silva...But he's very deceiving...He didn't sub Gonzaga , but no matter how you look at it...He defeated him twice , and often had the dominant position. But like i said above , gonzaga isn't fedor... But Mark Hunt isn't Werdum either (if you know what i mean)... What makes fedor's fights exciting is that you rarely know what to expect from them. (even if you're certain he's gonna win). (his fights against Fujita & Hunt are perfect examples of this)... And yeah this is the same guy who annihilated a prime Nog in 2003... But it's been ages since he's been confronted to a guy of werdum's caliber (in terms of BJJ)...It's safe to say that Fabricio's bjj > Mir Mir's credentials: - 1999 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship open class champion. Werdum's: - two-time ADCC world heavyweight champion and European Jiu-Jitsu champion. (won in 2009 and 2007) - Won 3rd place in 2005 & 2003. The only other guy in mma who's on par with Werdum (or better)...Is Roger Gracie. The hw division doesn't have a lot of bjj elites , but strikeforce just happens to have 2 of them.
Whats Frank Mir got to do with anything ? But while hes being mentioned ive never really felt like hes an elite BJJ fighter. Very dynamic submission artist yes but ive always felt he has a very medicore half guard game if not poor compared to other Heavyweight Blackbelts. Compare him to Nogueira I cant tell you how many times ive seen Nogueira sweep a man from that postion and not just that theres his Spider guard to which I dont think Mir has much of. No matter what you think Gonzaga has to be listed in the Heavyweight BJJ elite discussion. 2004 Mundial Champion says it all this guy won the World Championship in his art. Gonzaga swept Werdum by using a deep Kimura and held mount for a length period of time in the 1st fight they had. Obviously Werdum won the MMA bouts but in a Jiujitsu match these 2 are evenly matched or atleast the top games are. Gonzaga has some issues on his back but his top game is very crushing he has such great guard passing skills. Ive always felt like the best 4 Heavyweight grapplers where in no order Fedor, Werdum, Barnett and Nogueira. I think all have a great deal of diversity to their individual games at any postion those guys are a legit threat. Barnett gets overlooked a bit but this is a guy who has reversed great wrestlers like Couture or BJJ greats like Nog and even off his back he is a huge threat for leglocks. I didnt rank Roger Gracie because hes a Light Heavyweight in MMA. Demian Maia and Jacare probablly should be listed in the Roger and Werdum discussion to.
As inconsistent as he has been lately, Monson also deserves props as one of the top heavyweight grapplers.
Well i'm mentioning Mir just to compare. What i'm saying is that fedor's next opponent happens to be one of those rare elite grapplers of the hw division. (and btw i agree with you on Mir)...And that's the point in a way. Werdum > Mir in bjj... It's been a long ass time since fedor has been confronted to a grappler like that. (since prime Nogueira) Like i said above..the only other guy (at least in the HW division) that comes close to werdum is Roger Gracie (who also happens to be in strikeforce)...Josh Barnett is another dangerous grappler. (but he's not in strikeforce anyway)..
Well yeah Jacare is great too but i was just talking about the HW division. I find it ironic that strikeforce's rather thin hw division just happens to have two of the very best bjj artists in the hw division. (not counting past prime Nogueira)... But right now , Werdum & Roger Gracie are right up there. The only one who's missing is Barnett.
Roger Gracie fights at Light Heavy. Fedor/Werdum could very likely end up looking like Fedor's fights with Nog. If that's the case, I feel bad for Werdum.
