ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Joining us as a special guest for ProMMAnow.com‘s “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” staff picks, is none other than “The Human Cock Fighter” Brian Imes. In addition to being a professional mixed martial arts fighter himself, Brian is also co-owner of Hillbilly Fight Wear, along with his brother Brad, and he writes a regular feature for ProMMAnow.com entitled “The Human Cock Fighter Blog”.
“Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” takes place this Saturday, May 15, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Headlining the card will be a heavyweight title fight between the Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem, who is defending his title against Brett “The Grim” Rogers. Also fighting on the card is a co-main event heavyweight attraction between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski and American Top Team’s Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
“Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” will air live on Showtime Saturday night beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Join us here at ProMMAnow.com as we provide live results and round-by-round, play-by-play commentary during the broadcast. Now check out our predictions and let us know what you think. Do you agree or disagree, and who is completely off their rocker? Post your picks too.
Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers
BRIAN IMES: Rogers is coming off a surprisingly good performance against the world’s best fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. In a short time with limited experience Brett has fought his way to the top of the heavyweight ladder. Standing in his way is a man who has fought anyone and everyone. Overeem has over 40 professional fights against elite competition. Rogers will have the advantage on the feet while Overeem possesses the ground advantage. Overeem rarely goes to decisions, so Rogers better end it before he tires and is taken down. Prediction: Rogers by TKO late 2nd Round.
RICHARD MANN: Thanks to Strikeforce their heavyweight champion will finally defend the belt he won almost two and a half years ago. Sadly, it will not be the fight everyone wants to see. Instead he will defend his title against a guy coming off a loss. Rogers does his best work in the clinch, but so does Overeem. Look for Rogers to come out and push Overeem into the cage. The two will then jockey for position. During the clinch fighting, Overeem will secure a Thai plum and finish the fight with knees. Of course, if Rogers survives and Overeem gets tired the wheels could come off very quickly. Overeem by TKO.
BRIAN FURBY: An interesting fight. I’m glad to see that Overeem is finally going to take a drug test… I mean finally fight in the U.S. Overeem obviously has an experience advantage and his resume shows a much larger number of quality opponents than Rogers’ does. But Rogers is no pushover, and he showed in the Arlovski and Fedor fights that he can do some damage when he’s sticking with the gameplan. The oddsmakers have Overeem a favorite, but I like Rogers in the fight. He’s a hard worker and hungrier than Overeem and I think that’s going to lead to a win that’s going to surprise a lot of people. Rogers by TKO in Round 1.
JACK BRATCHER: This is a very intriguing bout with a lot of questions. Will he actually time his cycle correctly to not get busted (did I just say that?) Rogers has very heavy hands but he doesn’t use a lot of knee strikes and he’s not much of a kicker. On the other hand, Overeem has spent the last few years battling some of the best strikers in the world in K-1, and doing quite well, not to mention he can submit you at the drop of a hat. Overeem has 31 victories and only one of those went to a decision. The guy is extremely dangerous. Hopefully Strikeforce has reinforced the cage for these two behemoths. As much as I would like to see Rogers win, I think Overeem is too experienced and has more ways to win the fight. Overeem by first round submission.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva
BRIAN IMES: Silva’s wins have primarily come by thump. Arlovski has had trouble as of late with his chin and his mind. Admittedly Andrei has consulted with a psychologist following his loss to Rogers. He is definitely in need of a win to reclaim his confidence which is invaluable to a fighter moving forward. If Andrei can survive an early rally by Silva he is definitely the favorite as a former UFC champion. Prediction: Silva by TKO 1st Round.
RICHARD MANN: As much as I hope that Antonio Silva develops into a top-ten heavyweight, he is not there yet. We are still waiting for him to have an impressive performance against a top fighter. What is the biggest win of his career? Is it a split-decision win over Ricco Rodriguez after he got out of Celebrity Rehab? I think so. Everyone knows that Arlovski’s weakness is hs chin, but Silva does not throw straight enough punches to land one. Arlovski by TKO.
BRIAN FURBY: I like Arlovski to win this fight. Coming off back to back losses, he wants to prove that he’s still relevant in the heavyweight ranks and a win over Silva would certainly help make that case. His hands should be much quicker than Silva’s, and once he moves inside Silva’s reach he should be able to punish him enough to pull out the stoppage win. Arlovski by TKO in Round 2.
JACK BRATCHER: Remember when Arlovski beat Roy Nelson? That was his last victory and it’s a significant win. Silva has yet to successfully face someone at that level. He’s coming off a loss to Fabricio Werdum and Arlovski is coming off back to back losses to Brett Rogers and Fedor. I think a glimmer of that old Arlovski may come back in this fight. He has spent two weeks with Greg Jackson and two weeks at AKA getting some top notch training in. Most importantly though is his mental state. He really seems to be reborn. Whether it will be enough or if his chin can still take a punch remains to be seen, but I’m going to pick Arlovski by decision.
Ronaldo Souza vs. Joey Villasenor
BRIAN IMES: This fight is a definite case of cage experience. Villasenor has been around the block with some of the greats in the middleweight division. If Joey can dictate where the fight takes place, then it will be his night. Watch out for a hungry up-and-comer in Souza. A December submission victory over veteran Matt Lindland shows his gameness. Prediction: Villasenor by decision.
RICHARD MANN: While this is another step up in competition for Jacare, it is a relatively forgiving style match up. Villasenor’s game all works off the clinch. He locks up a guy and then works a dirty boxing game and some takedowns. Jacare has great throws from the clinch and should be able to win the position battle. With that being said, there are still questions about Jacare’s chin, and unlike his last two opponents, Matt Lindland and Jason Miller, Villasenor can test it. Jacare by decision.
BRIAN FURBY: This should end up being a hell of a fight. Expect a great all-around match showcasing some solid striking (Villasenor) and some excellent groundwork (Jacare). Villasenor has put together a good streak of wins lately, but I think Jacare will be able to narrowly outpoint him en route to a decision victory. Jacare wins by Split Decision.
JACK BRATCHER: Jacare will have the advantage on the ground and Villasenor on the feet. Villasenor has one loss by submission… ten years ago against David Terrell in Villasenor’s fourth pro fight. Since that time, Villasenor has amassed a total professional record of 27-6, with 12 wins by knockout, 10 wins by submission, and five decision victories. If Jacare is going to win, it will either be by submission or decision. Jacare has lost two fights, both by (T)KO; the first one was the first fight of his career in 2003, and then an up-kick by Gegard Mousasi in 2008. I’m going to go with Jacare by second round submission.
Roger Gracie vs. Kevin Randleman
BRIAN IMES: When I first read this I thought, “Kevin Randleman is still fighting?” Gracie has been inactive since ’08 and only has two professional MMA fights. Randleman is over the hill and the modern game has passed him by. This makes for a great fight. Both of these guys are obviously game. Gracie just submitted Pancrase legend Yuki Kondo. I wish I was going to be there. This is what makes MMA the best sport in the world. Amen boys, party on! Prediction: Randleman by KO (Slam).
RICHARD MANN: Randleman has been so sick during the lead up to this fight that he thought he had a staph infection. It is pretty clear that Gracie is not that serious about MMA, but for this fight he does not really need to be. The years have been hard on Randleman’s body, and he will need a miracle to avoid a submission. Gracie by submission.
BRIAN FURBY: Randleman enters this fight with a clear edge on experience and having fought more recently (albeit taking two losses in his last two fights) while Gracie, one of the newest First Family members to enter the cage is 2-0 in his two professional MMA fights. Six of Randleman’s 14 losses come by way of submissions and Gracie, well… he’s a Gracie, so there’s no point in taking the time to laud his submission game. Provided Gracie can stay out of the way of some of Randleman’s more explosive punches, he’ll be able to eventually get Randleman down (if Randleman isn’t dumb enough to take Gracie down first), and win by submission. Gracie by submission (armlock) in Round 2.
JACK BRATCHER: This is an odd fight but should be fun. I like “The Human Cock Fighter’s” pick of a KO slam from Randleman. However, Randleman does sometimes open himself up to get submitted and I think that’s what will happen here. I would say in the first or second round Gracie is going to get hold of a leg or arm and crank it, or get his arms around Randleman’s neck and squeeze it. Gracie by second round submission.
Antwain Britt vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante
BRIAN IMES: N/A
RICHARD MANN: I have seen Britt perform multiple times in person, and I must say that he is a very exciting light heavyweight prospect. With that being said, he has issues with ground fighting. Feijao showed in his loss to Mike Kyle that he can get swarmed on and defeated in a brawl, but thanks to Strikeforce no one who wasn’t in the building got to see that fight. Without seeing the only poor performance in Feijao’s career I can’t really pick against him. Cavalcante by decision.
BRIAN FURBY: Cavalcante has the edge on the books going into this fight, but look for Britt to pull off an upset. Both guys have heavy hands and Britt should be able to stun Cavalcante quicker, not likely knocking him out, but getting him down and disoriented enough to work some ground and pound en route to an early stoppage victory. Britt by TKO in Round 1.
JACK BRATCHER: This should be a good stand up fight. I was at Cavalcante’s fight against Mike Kyle last year when he got stopped via second round TKO. Even with Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his corner, it made no difference when the punches began to fly. Cavalcante comes from a great camp, but I think Britt has the better striking and is going to take this one via second round TKO.