Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Finally Returns on June 18

Joshua Wood (Editor in Chief) | April 16, 2011 | 1 Reply

When the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix opened on February 13^th with two of the four quarterfinal bouts taking place, it was the talk of the mixed martial arts world. With a total of eight top heavyweights locked in a single elimination tournament, Strikeforce was doing something not seen since the days of PRIDE.

The second half of the quarterfinals were originally scheduled for April 9^th in San Diego, California but for various reasons the event was pushed back and replaced with Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley. Now four months later the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will finally return to complete the quarterfinals on Jane 18th from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

The two quarterfinal bouts will feature the Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem taking on the man the defeated five years ago, Fabricio Werdum. Josh Barnett will be making his first MMA appearance in the states since testing positive for anabolic Steroids before his schedule Affliction bout with Fedor Emelianenko in August of 2009. Barnett will be facing Brett Rogers for a post in the semifinals against Sergei Kharitonov. The winner of the Overeem vs. Werdum bout will move on to the semifinal and face Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

SF HW Bracket QF1 300x210 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Finally Returns on June 18

Click to enlarge & print

The June 18^th Strikeforce event will also have two more heavyweight bouts between some of the listed grand prix alternates. Undefeated wrestler Daniel Cormier will face off against Shane Del Rosario, while the older Overeem brother Valentijn will take on Chad Griggs. How these bouts affect the heavyweight grand prix alternates is currently unclear but Shane Del Rosario, Valentijn Overeem and Chad Griggs are all listed as alternates.

Not only is the heavyweight grand prix returning but “The Face on Women’s MMA,” Gina Carano will enter the cage for the first time in nearly two-year. Carano last fought in August of 2009 for the women’s middleweight title against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos where she suffered her first career loss. Carano currently doesn’t have an opponent after the rumored opponent, Cindy Dandois pulled out due to being pregnant.

With five bouts currently scheduled for this card that fans will want to see, expect a five bout main card on Showtime instead of the typical four on June 18^th.

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Chad Griggs, Daniel Cormier, Fabricio Werdum, Gina Carano, Josh Barnett, MMA, Shane Del Rosario, Strikeforce, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Valentijn Overeem

Category: Exclusive, Featured, MMA, Strikeforce

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