Fedor-Werdum Event Recap Video & Quotes From Current STRIKEFORCE Champs On Historic Event

Posted on | July 1, 2010 | 1 Comment

STRIKEFORCE CHAMPIONS IMPRESSED WITH WERDUM’S UPSET WIN OVER FEDOR

“Anybody Can Be Beaten”

SAN JOSE (June 29, 2010) – Fabricio Werdum pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in mixed martial arts (MMA) history this past Saturday night at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., with his first round submission victory over heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. According to current STRIKEFORCE World Champions Alistair Overeem, Gilbert Melendez, “King” Mo Lawal and Nick Diaz, the Fedor loss proves that no one is unbeatable in MMA.

Here’s what the fighters had to say about Wedrum’s victory and the other SHOWTIME® televised fights:

Alistair Overeem – STRIKEFORCE Heavyweight Champion
On Fedor-Werdum:
“It was unexpected, a big surprise. I’m sure (Werdum) trained hard for it. He looked sharp and I’d like to congratulate him on an excellent performance.

“Fedor has done great things in the past and anybody can get caught. Everybody is human and this just proved that. It doesn’t tarnish his legacy at all.

“It’s just a little bit awkward because I wanted to be the one to beat him. I believe that a lot of people would still love to see me fight Fedor, but only time will tell if that fight is sidetracked. I’d fight Werdum…I’d fight Fedor… I said I would challenge the winner of the fight, so it just seems logical for me to fight Werdum.

Cyborg-Finney:
“I don’t think anyone can beat Cris Cyborg. Maybe a guy – maybe?”

“King” Mo Lawal – STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion
On Fedor-Werdum:
“I think it’s a big deal, it’s historic. Werdum trained hard for the fight and he was ready. No one is unbeatable in MMA, anything can happen and Werdum made it happen.

“For Fedor, a loss is a loss. Back in the day, all the great fighters had losses. Now all the greats of today have losses. That doesn’t make him any less of a fighter. If anything, it makes you improve. Ten years of being undefeated is a big deal and one loss isn’t going to diminish all those years that he went undefeated.

On Le-Smith:
“Cung went out there and looked great, he looked fresh. He did his thing, his hands looked good. He had a smart game plan – he went to the body, did kicks, did everything. Cung and Scott had a great fight, and Cung did his thing the second time. We’ll see if there’s a rubber match. I think that Cung changed it up a little bit. He used his hands more. Scott’s a tough guy, but I think Cung would win the rubber match.

On Cyborg-Finney:
“Cyborg can lose. Anybody is beatable. Fedor just lost, so anybody can be beaten.

On Thomson-Healy:
“That fight was the fight of the night, I think. It was a great fight. Josh pulled it out in the last round, but man, that guy Pat Healey is a tough, tough dude. He’s tough – that’s the word for him. He was winning the fight, he won both rounds. Pat is going to be a force to reckon with in STRIKEFORCE.”

Gilbert Melendez – STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Champiom
On Fedor-Werdum:
“I think it was awesome. I think it was great Jiu-Jitsu, a strong triangle. He almost had Fedor once. Fedor was lucky enough to get out and then he somehow put himself in again and Werdum did not give him a second chance – that was that.

“This just proves that he’s human. He’s been the best for so long. It was just a matter of time. I don’t know if this messes him up at all. Who knows what will happen nine times out of ten.

“I think this sets the table for a couple great matches in Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. There will be demand for a rematch between either (Alistair) Overeem and Werdum and a rematch between Werdum and Fedor. Those three guys can battle it out now – Fedor, Werdum and Overeem. It makes it a little bit more exciting in the heavyweight division.

On Le-Smith:
“I think Cung Le looked amazing. He looked like a real mixed martial artists. He came in serious and in shape. He was really sharp, his hands were way better than last time. He was hitting hard and I thought he looked great. As for Scott Smith, he had the right idea of coming forward out the gate, but he should have stopped him a little bit more and not chased him so much. He paid for it. Cung Le proved he was the better fighter. I don’t know if I want to see a third one, but it’s up for a rubber match right there. In the rubber match I’d go with Cung Le for sure.

On Cyborg-Finney:
“I don’t think anyone can beat Cyborg. I think she is just ahead of her time. I think in years to come there will be women to challenge her and to beat her, but, right now, I think she’s way ahead of the game.

On Thomson-Healy:
“Thomson vs. Healy definitely surprised me. Healy showed he was really strong at wrestling and really strong in that clinch out there and he was really able to control Josh with that. But, that muscle and endurance really comes out and you could see in the third round that they both were tired, but Healy couldn’t hold on much longer and Josh was able to capitalize and finish him. I though Josh won the first round, Healy won the second and it was going to come down to that third round.

“I thought it was really great of Josh and it showed a lot of heart. I want that dude to win – I need Josh to win three-to-four more fights so we can get that big rematch and get these fans pumped up again. I really want to see Josh do well and I think he could have done a little bit better, but that’s amazing how he came back and choked that dude out.”

Nick Diaz – STRIKEFORCE Welterweight Champion
On Fedor-Werdum:
“I feel like that kind of upset happens when there is lack of training and that Fedor didn’t train with the right people for this fight. I feel like he made an obvious mistake. There was no reason for him to stay on top like that and hold (Werdum) down like he did. I felt like he was just impatient. And I feel like that just comes from lack of training.

“I think Fedor is still great. It’s just that he (screwed) up. He didn’t train right for this fight. I think if he did he would have been more relaxed and he wouldn’t have been in that triangle choke like he was. How long can you stay on top like that? You can only stay on top for so long.

“I don’t know much about Werdum. Maybe he can go a long way, but if there was a rematch I can easily see it going the other way and Fedor beating him down. It was headed that way the other night with Fedor moving in on him. I can see him just putting a beating on him if they stayed up.

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