Strikeforce Confirms Emelianenko vs. Overeem Unlikely in 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010


By Kelsey Mowatt  Faced with the realization that Fedor Emelianenko would not be able to rematch Fabricio Werdum in 2010, the former Pride champion and his management M-1 Global announced earlier this week, that they're hoping for a bout with Alistair Overeem next. Problem is, however, that the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion has already made commitments to compete in the upcoming K-1 tourney, likely preventing Overeem from taking another MMA bout this year.
Strikeforce’s Director of Communications, Mike Afromowitz, recently confirmed to FCF that:
“After Fabricio Werdum revealed that he had sustained injury after the Fedor fight and would be out of action for an extended period of time, Alistair asked us for permission to fight in K-1's end of year events.  We agreed to allow him to do so, so he won't be available to fight Fedor until early next year.”
Since losing by first round submission to Werdum on June 26th, Emelianenko and M-1 have called for a rematch, however, Werdum recently underwent elbow surgery and will be unable to compete for several months.
Negotiations between M-1 Global and Strikeforce regarding Emelianenko’s next fight are ongoing.