Punch Drunk Preview: Strikeforce — Fedor vs. Werdum

For all those people who wonder why Dana White wouldn’t just agree to co-promote with M-1 Global so that he could land Fedor for the UFC, this event is your prime example.

The power brokers at M-1 were not pleased with how little recognition they received as co-promoters of the first Fedor fight with Strikeforce and made it known. They wanted people to understand that it was Strikeforce and M-1 Global who put Emelianenko in the cage opposite Brett Rogers on CBS last November. They also wanted you to know they have more clients than just “The Last Emperor” as well.

As a result, we get the cumbersome name of this event and an undercard featuring four pretty much unknown M-1 Global fighters facing off against a collection of combatants from in-and-around the San Jose area, all of whom look better on paper than their M-1 opponents. Seriously; I wouldn’t be too surprised if the only M-1 win of the night came in the main event.

While the usual Punch Drunk Preview protocol is to run through each fight on the card and give you my thoughts accordingly, I’ll say this for the undercard instead:

Showcasing local guys is great, and Yancy Medeiros is a solid home-grown prospect for Strikeforce. That said, putting all these M-1 guys on the undercard to appease your foreign friends is like naming the non-athletic kid that can’t throw starting quarterback because you work with his dad and want that promotion.

If they want more fighters featured, maybe they should sign more meaningful clients, and not piss off the promising ones they used to have… cough Mousasi cough…

Josh Thomson (16-3-0) vs. Pat Healy (23-15-0)

This could actually be a far better fight than some people might realize.

Thomson is coming off his first loss in more than three years, dropping a five-round decision to Gilbert Melendez in their lightweight title unification bout. It was the first time in fifteen months that “The Punk” had taken to the cage, and he acquitted himself quite well. He’s healthy and eager to get back into the title picture, so expect an energized Thomson coming out of the gates.

People may not know Pat Healy, but if you look at his resume, you see one tough S.O.B. who has secured wins over an impressive collection of competitors. Amongst his conquests are Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit and two wins over emerging Canadian welterweight Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford.

I’d wonder why he’s dropping to lightweight after nearly forty fights at the 170-pound limit, but I would assume this is the only way “Bam Bam” is going to get on TV, so it makes sense to me. Don’t be fooled by the record – Healy has the skills to pull the upset.

Scott Smith (17-6-0, 1 NC) vs. Cung Le (6-1-0)

Oh, Cung Le…

The former middleweight champion and Sanshou karate star came back after nearly two-years away from the cage making mediocre movies to dominate the first 13 minutes of his homecoming fight against Scott Smith back in December. Twenty-five seconds later, the fight was over, and Le was the one looking up at the lights.

That’s why people love Scott Smith and also why this unnecessary rematch has been made. Strikeforce wants to try and catch lightning in a bottle and see if a second one-punch momentum shift will take place, and chances are it won’t. That’s not how it works.

Smith is as tough as they come and capable of winning every fight thanks to his morbidly obese hands – calling them “heavy” doesn’t quite cut it – and Le is a crowd-pleaser thanks to his unique offensive style, but the reality is that neither are really top-end contenders. It’s a solid fight, but without the same kind of finish as last time, it’s not all that interesting to me.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (9-1-0) vs. Jan Finney (8-7-0) for the Women’s Featherweight Championship

This one is just plain ridiculous. Nothing like rolling out the most dominant female fighter in the sport today against an 8-7 opponent no one has ever heard of as the co-main event of your show.

While I applaud Strikeforce for taking a vested interest in female MMA and giving female fighters a place on the poster and a spot in the co-main event, am I really supposed to believe that Jan “Cuddles” Finney is any kind of threat to the female “Cyborg” in this one?

The champ has steamrolled through quality contenders Marloes Coenen, Gina Carano, Hitomi Akano and Shayna Baszler in the last two years, while Finney’s earned her place here with a split decision win over Adrienne Jenkins at a March FCF event. Outside of that, she’s lost to every name she’s faced, and Santos will quickly be added to that list on Saturday night.

Can we please see the long-awaited fight with Erin Toughill after this? Please?

Fedor Emelianenko (31-1-0, 1 NC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)

For all the people who want to continually bring up the fact that Werdum was smashed on by Junior dos Santos as if that lessens his viability as a contender or place as a Top 10 heavyweight: Georges St-Pierre was once smashed on by Matt Serra. I rest my case.

This is a great fight and one that I think will showcase why so many people are adamant in their belief that Fedor Emelianenko is awesome and will be for eternity.

Sadly, no matter what happens, here are the two dominant narratives that could possibly emerge from this fight:

Fedor wins: So what? He needs to fight in the UFC. Who’s he ever really beaten?
Fedor loses: See? Fedor Sucks!

Is there any way I can negotiate a nickel for every post along those lines after this fight is over?

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