THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
"Strikeforce hasn't yet given us a definite opponent, but it seemed likely that it was going to be Overeem, and I've been kind of planning accordingly. I believe [Strikeforce CEO] Scott Coker has said to a few people that I'm likely to fight Overeem next, and I would be truly honored to fight him for the Strikeforce title... Both Overeem and Fedor are great fighters. I would be more than happy to fight either one. I have a lot of respect for each of them... For me, there is no pressure. If I fight the champion, or if I fight the legend, the pressure is on them. Overeem and Fedor do present completely different problems style-wise, so I do hope Strikeforce can determine who it will be – and when – as soon as possible... Ultimately, whoever it is, I will be happy to be in the cage and will give it my utmost and fight my heart out. I know that I can beat both Overeem and Fedor, so whatever happens, I guarantee that the fans will see an awesome fight, and I'll be prepared."
-Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva talks to MMAJunkie.com about his next fight in Strikeforce, and being ready to take on whomever Strikeforce puts him against with both Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko both rumored as opponents.
Penick's Analysis: It's highly likely that Overeem was initially in the works for Strikeforce, but with Overeem's recent statements that if Fabricio Werdum isn't ready he'll fight in K-1, it would seem the Champ doesn't want this fight at this point. The news yesterday that Fedor's been presented with this fight seems to work with that narrative as well. I think that fight makes more sense than Overeem against either, although Werdum's injury certainly makes things a bit murky. Still, a Fedor-Bigfoot bout should work out well if Strikeforce can get both to agree to the fight.
RELATED STORY: STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Fedor Emelianenko's next fight could come against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva on December 4: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP