It may come as a surprise but i personally don't see Overeem win the whole tournament. (nor antonio silva)... I'm hesitating...but either Barnett Werdum or Kharitonov are my pics.... Maybe i'll change my mind if Barnett gets owned by rogers & Overeem annihilates Werdum. But right now...I don't think Overeem will win the whole thing. I believe that styles make fights (for the most part)...& 2 possible opponents could give him problems. Barnett 6 ft 3 + 255 lbs.... Not a top striker....But more endurant than Overeem , better wrestling + solid submission game + great gameplans. When he's at the top of his game...He's a very dangerous opponent. Here is his latest fight [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Khv0cJLDrY[/ame] Overeem's size wouldn't be an issue...And i dont think his trademark guillotines would get the job done on a guy like this. Barnett would just have to be concerned about overeem's striking. Of course...if Barnett gets KOed by Rogers then it' a different story and no longer a concern... But i don't see Rogers beating him nor winning a rematch against Overeem I'm mostly giving Barnett the edge because it's been ages since Overeem hasn't faced an endurant...bully...A guy who'll avoid his strikes , take his time & drain Overeem's energy. --------------------------------- Which brings me to Kharitonov. Sergei...I'm not as certain...For 2 reasons. 1 - He's very hittable...But at the same time...He's a tuff *******...This is what happened in his first fight against Overeem. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxx4WJZSwG0[/ame] Overeem landed many brutal knees to the guy's head but he never gave up...he kept on going , but since he had an injured shoulder...he couldn't do much to defend himself...(watch at 1:50) and here's what happened in their rematch , without the injured shoulder.. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR-zGimZWJQ[/ame] As you can see...Kharitonov wasn't necessarily more active or versatile with his striking...Overeem was doing great but his attacks had little effect..Kharitonov just did his usual thing...he was patient , endurant...and Overeem's gas tank betrayed him. Kharitonov just kept stalking him...Like you can see , he's very hittable...But he keeps pressuring his opponents. It doesn't always work...and hey...maybe Overeem could just submit him too. Afterall , that's what Monson did. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm1nz9753TY[/ame] But don't let this one fool you...Monson may not be physically huge but he's no joke on the ground. Black belt in jiujitsu + ADCC champ. (his adcc record is way better than overeem's)... It doesn't mean that Overeem is incapable of submiting Kharitonov though...But again, Kharitonov is also a legit ground fighter..So he'll have his hands full.. and if he doesn't KO or submit Kharitonov early in the 1rst round...I'd say the odds would be on Sergei's side. Kharitonov is also used to fight big opponents...(not to mention he's also quite heavy himself...)... Kharitonov is for the most part rather slow & at times predictable...But he's a stalker , has ko power + ground game + real endurance...
Overeem's latest opponents had none of that. Todd Duffee (big guy , but not experienced enough & has a very questionable chin and his ground game is nowhere near barnett's , werdum's , kharitonov's , silva's or monson's level) Brett Rogers (another big guy , has heavy hands , uses his size to his advantage but doesn't have a ground game and his stamina is questionable...a better record than Duffee but not by much) Fujita (used to be a very endurant fighter...but he's too old and shot as a fighter , great wrestler , great stamina..but that was years ago..Overeem fought the guy in 2009...when he was 38...besides his submission game never was on par with werdum's or kharitonov's anyway) James Thompson (he already had 4 straight losses before fighting Overeem...And he gets KOed even faster than Arlovski...But unlike Arlovski..he doesn't have solid submission defense or offense..he isn't a quick striker and he gasses faster than Lesnar + Overeem + Carwin combined...He's got a good heart but hasn't learned anything from all his defeats...and never will) Tom Sylvester (never fought any competition some of his opponents had very terrible records... such as 2-15 i **** you not...) http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Anthony-Ferguson-4624 Goodridge (been shot for ages...he doesn't fight to win...just for the pay...Goodridge is 45 years old !...and hasn't even been gatekeeper material for several years now)... Buentello (whatever was left of him disappeared in 2005..) Out of Overeem's 9 straight victories...Only 3 fights stand out... Crocop (shot version and that was after his 2 losses against Kongo & Gonzaga...plus the fight ended as a No contest) Hunt..(there was a point in time when he was super-motivated to fight...but that was during pride's era...he gave up...too easy to submit...a very endurant fighter but the guy has 5 losses in the 1rst by submission...he's basically retired..he only fought once in 2009 and once in 2010...After his loss against Barnett & Fedor in 2006..it took him 2 years to accept a fight...in 2008 against overeem....it's all over for him) Rogers...(but who knows what he's really worth...i mean apart from his arlovski victory ?...which was the only reason why he had the opportunity to fight fedor...He seems to have little ground game and only Ko power and his size going for him...I seriously doubt he'll be able to beat Barnett)
And then there's Werdum... Werdum is a terrible striker...And his stylistic approach can be very annoying...When he's desperate or sees that he can't dominate the stand up...he'll pull this kind of ****... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwYPxhud_EY[/ame] But...he's the most dangerous on the ground...multiple adcc hw champ...his jiujitsu speaks volumes...He's also a huge guy... This is what happened in his first fight against Overeem. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVK1NF3N7I[/ame] Will Overeem make the same mistakes ? will he take the easy road and try to copy and Arlovski did ?...(who avoided the ground like the plague)..Will he KO him in the first like JDS did ?...Guess we'll have to wait and see... Today's version of Overeem is even bigger...But bigger means less endurance...and Overeem's latest 9 straight victories do not indicate he's infinitely better than he was before. I'm actually more impressed by his K1 fights against the likes of Tyrone Spong & Aerts (even if it's a 40 yr old past prime Aerts) than most of his latest mma fights. If he beats Werdum then i'll definitely change my mind...(and especially if Barnett gets koed by Rogers)... Then there's antonio silva but i don't see him beating any of them...He gave Werdum big problems though....so who knows...and maybe i'm over estimating Barnett too... but i think he'd be capable to defeat overeem , sergei & antonio...As long as he can avoid the KO...he'll probably win the grand prix imo
Thats the beauty of MMA and GP's. Although i will say GP's in the PRIDE format didnt generally reveal who is the best. But more so who is the toughest. Both Sergei and Fedor were in the army. Its no surprise due to their training they're ridiculously tough.
I'm predicting a Kharitonov vs Overeem final matchup. Kharitonov should take it. But then again, seeing his performances in the past (Arlovski fight excluded) I'm leaning a bit towards Overeem. Truth be told, I'd be happy if either one of them one. Golden Glory is taking this tournament.
I would say Overeem but one thing Overeem might not have on the same level as Serge, Josh and Fabricio is tenacity. I'm not just talking physically but also mentally. Reem is a front runner who when pushed breaks. Has this changed like his physique or skill set? Maybe! Reem is an incredible fighter who smells blood and looks to devour his opponent. However, its intangiables which will be intriguing every step of the way.
Spong pushed him pretty hard and he didn't break mentally. Same with Saki, but he was severely injured. I genuinely believe that he is over the mental issues that hindered him in the past.
That is K1 though....and Spong is what ?...even lighter than fedor...225 lbs.. When you're facing a bigger opponet + you have to worry about takedowns...it's a different story.
True. We want to see people hold up mentally against top comp and in K1 there seems no problem. He has bounced back from losses and stoppages and been in tough fights with no issue.
