Hercules Brought to Life

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Werdum moved from world-class no-gi grappler and UFC reject to Top 3-ranked heavyweight in the world in 69 seconds. That was all it took for the Brazilian to deal Russian great Fedor Emelianenko, widely regarded as the best heavyweight of all-time, his first defeat in almost 10 years. The two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships winner has become unusually outspoken in pre-fight interviews, referring to Overeem as “son” an offering to allow him to pick the arm on which he wants to be submitted.

Overeem, once known as hothead, has mellowed considerably and looks at such bluster from a professional point of view.

“I’m not taking these talks seriously,” he says. “In these times where show and entertainment becomes more and more important, fighters will always say things like that to get the attention of the media. It would be silly of him to tell everybody that he didn’t work on his wrestling and can’t take people down, don’t you think?”

In Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker’s perfect world, his champion, Overeem, would have fought Werdum first, followed by his super-expensive shingle fighter, Emelianenko, in a blockbuster semifinal. He then would have squared off with American representative Josh Barnett in the final. Such events rarely turn out the way one expects, and Brazilian Antonio Silva threw a stick into the spoke of the grand prix wheel by eliminating the Russian from the competition in February. Even though he would have liked to have been in Werdum’s shoes when he dealt “The Last Emperor” his first legitimate defeat in MMA, Overeem does not seem overly disappointed that he will not be facing Emelianenko in the grand prix.

“It was a big possibility that Silva could advance in the tournament, and he won the fight fair and square,” he says. “I think ‘Bigfoot’ is a big challenge for every fighter. He is one of the top three heavyweights in Strikeforce right now.”

Facts support Overeem’s evaluation of Silva, a man he could face this fall. The 31-year-old Brazilian has only been beaten twice, once early in his career by Eric Pele in a superheavyweight fight and later by Werdum on points. He is also one of the few heavyweights in the sport who can outdo Overeem’s enormous 81.5-inch reach.

Overeem’s future goals include unifying the UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight titles and becoming the undisputed top heavyweight in the world. Still, when asked about his plans beyond winning the Strikeforce grand prix, he keeps his cards close to the vest.

“I think that winning the tournament is such a big goal that I don’t want to look past it,” Overeem says, “but it’s a no-brainer that fighting for the UFC title is every fighter’s ultimate dream and goal.”

UFC parent company Zuffa LLC’s March 12 purchase of Strikeforce has moved into the realm of possibility the idea of Overeem unifying the Strikeforce and UFC titles or vacating his Strikeforce strap to compete for UFC gold, a la Nick Diaz. The Dutchman has always looked to challenge himself against the world’s best.

“It’s difficult to say who the top three heavyweights in MMA are at the moment, but Cain [Velasquez] and Junior dos Santos are certainly among them,” Overeem says. “I don’t know if you’ll see me in the UFC mix after the grand prix, though. That’s up to the decision makers.”

The best-laid plans, however, unravel without the in-ring performances to back them up. Overeem faces another moment of truth in his rematch with Werdum. He will not meet a hand-picked opponent, an inexperienced rookie or an over-the-hill veteran in the cage. A dangerous adversary awaits.

How does he see the fight ending?

“Like I try to finish all my fights,” Overeem says, “with a first-round knockout.”

Contact Tim Leidecker at www.facebook.com/Rossonero1 or follow him on Twitter @TimLeidecker.