The first two quarterfinal match-ups for Strikeforce’s eight-man single-elimination heavyweight tournament will take place at the IZOD Center in E. Rutherford, N.J. on Feb. 12.
Headlining the Showtime-televised M-1 Global and Strikeforce co-promoted event will be Fedor Emelianenko (31-2, 1 NC) vs. Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (15-2), with Andrei Arlovski (15-8) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (16-4) as the co-headliner.
M-1 Global and Strikeforce confirmed the heavyweight tournament details on Tuesday via press release (which you can read here).
The other two quarterfinal match-ups have been confirmed as Alistair Overeem (34-11, 1 NC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) and Brett “The Grim” Rogers (11-2) vs. Josh Barnett (29-5). The date and location for these quarterfinal bouts will be announced at a later date.
Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals:
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio “Big Foot” Silva
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett
Aside from the fact that fans will get to see eight of the world’s best heavyweights fight for ultimate supremacy, there are some great story lines in play here such as Werdum’s 2010 “upset of the year” over Emelianenko, as well as his 2006 victory over Overeem. Also, there is Kharitonov, who was the last person to defeat Overeem, a knockout in 2007, and he also holds a win over Werdum and a loss to Fedor.