Strikeforce Tournament Series Picks

Strikeforce Tournament Series Review by the MMA Blaster

You have to give it to Strikeforce for deciding to hold a legit tournament on Friday night, 11-16-07. The United States hasn't had a big tournament in some time due to the UFC's stance that they won't hold tournaments anymore. (Don't tell them that TUF is a tournament). I like the idea of the lottery that Strikeforce is implementing.

They basically will have four balls numbered one to four that will be drawn by the fighters. The fighters will then seed themselves in the bracket. You definately want the first fight so you have extra time to recover, but you probably want to fight someone that you are comfortable with first. Those taking part in the tourney are Yuki Sasaki, Trevor Prangley, Jorge Santiago and Falaniko Vitale. The alternate bout is between Sean Salmon and Dennis Hallman.

This card is also stacked with Cung Le (see previous story) v. TUF alum Sammy Morgan, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-9) and Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (25-11). World Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Brian “The Mad Stork” Schwartz will make his MMA debut against Lemont Davis (8-4 according to Strikeforce, 0-0 according to Sherdog) in a 175 lb. catch weight.

Picks

Tournament Victor-- Trevor Prangley. He is riding a five fight win streak which includes wins over vet Yuki Kondo, Andrei Semenov (26-9), and Anthony Ruiz (17-10). I think he will use his wrestling skills to grind out the victory.

Buentello v. Overeem- Buentello. The Head Hunter is bigger than Overeem (who has fought mainly at 205) and I see him using it to his advantage to get the win. This fight will be a stand-up war and could very well be the fight of the night.

Le v. Morgan--I have the Cung Le legend continuing with a brutal KO by high kick in the second. Hey, we can all dream, can't we?

Alt. Bout- Salmon v. Hallman- I really want Salmon to get the victory here. It would give him the momentum running into his fight with Mayhem Miller. I think the younger Salmon will relax and avoid the submissions that will be coming at him.