Strikeforce targets Fedor vs. "Bigfoot," Arlovski vs. Kharitonov for Feb. 12 event

Strikeforce targets Fedor vs. "Bigfoot," Arlovski vs. Kharitonov for Feb. 12 event

by Steven Marrocco on Jan 03, 2011 at 6:10 pm ET

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"The Last Emperor" is returning – finally.

Fedor Emelianenko (31-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) meets Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (14-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) in the opening round of an eight-man Strikeforce heavyweight tournament scheduled to begin Feb. 12 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

In a second quarterfinal fight, former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (15-8 MMA, 0-2 SF) meets Sergei Kharitonov (16-4 MMA, 0-0 SF).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the news from sources close to the fighters who are earmarked for the tournament. Sherdog.com first reported the tournament earlier today.

A third quarterfinal matchup between Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) and Brett Rogers (11-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) reported as in the works for a March 5 event in Columbus, Ohio, is said to be off, sources said, though Werdum recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio he plans to compete at the spring event.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on the reported fights, though he said an "important announcement" about the tournament is due by Tuesday.

Emelianenko's return marks the apparent end of contentious contract negotiations between Strikeforce, Showtime and M-1 Global, the parent company responsible for managing the Russian heavyweight. This past month, as heavy rumors circled about an Emelianenko vs. Silva matchup at a Strikeforce card set for Jan. 29, officials from Strikeforce and M-1 Global said negotiations still were ongoing and a deal was not finalized.

However, the officials were optimistic that a deal was closer than ever.

"We are really hoping that we can finalize things as soon as possible," M-1 representative Evgeni Kogan then 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."

Emelianenko has not competed since he suffered a shocking submission loss to 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, though the terms of Emelianenko's new deal could not be verified.



What do you guys think of this fight? I actually think its quite risky for Fedor. He's clearly lost a step and his inactivity may even hurt him more. Silva is a massive heavy. He's got a good chin and some very good BJJ. I dont think he's loss to Werdum (Silva) isnt a good enough barometer to measure this fight by. Plus it appears that Fedor doesnt seem to be that motivated. Apparently he flirted with the idea of retirement plus he's been inactive for some time. This would be very interesting if Silva could cause a huge upset in this tournament.