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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Though M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein earlier this week stated that they were looking to have Fedor Emelianenko wait out Fabricio Werdum - and only wanted that for the last fight on his current deal with Strikeforce - Fedor himself has another name in mind: Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.
In an interview with Russian website MixFight.ru, Fedor called out Overeem and said he wanted to face him in either November or December of this year.
"Сertainly, I would like to have a rematch with Werdum," Fedor said. "But as he had surgery this fight unlikely to happen soon. This year, in November-December, I would like to meet in a cage with Alistair Overeem."
Overeem has stated he wants to wait for Werdum himself, and said he may head to K-1 this fall. But if Strikeforce can get this fight together, for Overeem's title or in a non-title capacity, they'll have the fight they tried to build to when Fedor was signed last August.
Penick's Analysis: With Werdum out injured I'm far more interested in this fight than I was initially. They talked about this fight right away after Fedor's loss, as they also did with the immediate Werdum rematch, but it's still a fight that people want to see. Whether it's for the title or not, Strikeforce should try to convince Overeem to stick around and take this fight, because Fedor likely won't be taking that fight with "Bigfoot" Silva.
UPDATE: Fedor has issued a statement through M-1 Global about wanting the fight: "This is an important match for me and something that I personally want to happen,” says Fedor. “There have been conversations about putting this match-up together in the past and now is the time to begin making this bout possible."
RELATED STORY: FEDOR NEWS: M-1 Global says Fedor Emelianenko rematch with Fabricio Werdum required; fights in Japan or Russia possible by year's end: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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