Overeem Destroys Todd Duffee at Dream's Dynamite! 2010

Alistair Overeem once again made his claim as the top heavyweight in the world.  I wonder if Fedor was watching.  Todd Duffee looked to be in great shape but didn't have the skill to stay in there with Overeem.  Overeem dodged Duffee's attack and then stuffed his takedown attempt before landing several brutal knees in the clutch and then stepping back for a left right knockout combination that sent Duffee to the floor.  Hopefully, Overeem will defend his Strikeforce title next.  Although he has now become Strikeforce, Dream and K1 world champion, Strikeforce is where the most competition is for him.  The likes of Fabricio Werdum, Emelianenko and Antonio Silva are awaiting him.  As for Duffee, he should go back to the UFC where he could be a star competing against guys like Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez.  He's got a better chance there than in the ring with killers like Overeem and Fedor.  The replay of the Dream Dynamite event will be tonight at 9pm EST on HD Net.

Tonight - Alistair Overeem gets his First "UFC" Fight against Todd Duffee

Okay so it's actually a Dream fight at Dynamite! 2010 but it's against one of the brightest UFC prospects around of recent times.  Unfortunately, Duffee is no longer a UFC prospect as he got the boot recently for uncertain reasons.  For Overeem, this is a great opportunity to defeat a class UFC fighter and show his ranking as heavyweight king is not an illusion.  It's one of a few intriguing fights on the Dream card but has significant ramifications in the heavyweight division.  Both Overeem and Duffee have taken the fight on short notice / preparation.  Overeem just had a grueling K1 tournament which he won and Duffee just took the fight recently.  Expect Overeem to be the more savvy striker but the question will be who controls the fight as both are monstrous heavyweights.

Older Fighters Dominating at the Top Levels Like Never Before

With conditioning levels possibly higher than ever before we are seeing older fighters competing and in some cases dominating at the highest levels.  In MMA, you have fighters like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson in top form in their 40s while others are still peaking into their mid 30s like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.  In boxing, Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson are still dominant in their 40s while you have Sergio Martinez as a consensus top 3 pound for pound fighter at 35.  The landscape is changing, fighters are no longer washed up in their 30s.  I think a lot of the credit has to go to conditioning levels being like never before.  Fighters are in great shape and take care of themselves extremely well these days.  Who knows how much longer Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko or Sergion Martinez can figh at the top levels.  Regardless, don't put it past them to be great into their 40s if they wish to continue fighting at that point.  It will also be interesting to see how other current pound for pound greats like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and GSP will do into their mid 30s and beyond.  Not everyone agrees with this given examples from the past relating to older fighters but I think we are in a unique time period.

Penn Takes Huge Step Up Against Jon Fitch

Fitch will have a huge size and wrestling advantage against BJ Penn when they meet in the New Year.  However, BJ has faced big wrestlers before and certainly has fought bigger guys (Lyoto Machita at light heavyweight included).  The x-factor will be Penn's ability to control the fight and keep it standing.  Everyone expects Fitch to dominate on the ground since Penn has somehow lost his allure on the ground.  He's supposed to be a superb bjj fighter and we need to see his ground game come back if he wants to dominate again.  I think the fight against GSP has hurt Penn's confidence on the ground but GSP can do that to anyone (including brilliant wrestlers like Fitch, Matt Hughes and Kos).  The fight seems to favor Fitch with his size and wrestling advantage but I think BJ has a great chance in this one especially with his superior striking.

Amir Khan Looking to Unify Titles and Then go After Mayweather

Amir Khan will likely face someone like a Lamont Peterson next in England before he looks to unify the 140 lb title against the winner of Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.  The hope is that some time in 2012 Khan will get his shot at Floyd Mayweather for the pound for pound title.  Khan's training partner, Manny Pacquiao, knows all to well the difficulties of getting a fight with Mayweather.  However, for Khan (who is a huge draw), Mayweather may be the only real option at that point.  If Khan delivers and unifies the 140 lb division he'll become an instant top 5 pound for pound boxer.  The only challenges around his weight class will be Manny Pacquiao (who he trains with) and Floyd Mayweather.  There is the outside shot of another challenge to Juan Manuel Marquez assuming he is still in top form but not much else.  Fortunately for fight fans it will be an interesting 2011 before we have to cross that hurdle.

Overeem to face Duffee and Fedor Emelianenko to face Antonio Silva

Alistair Overeem never stops fighting.  Just off of a big K1 championship, he is now off to Japan to fight Todd Duffee at Dyanamite! 2010 for Dream.  Duffee was a top prospect in the UFC until he pissed off Dana White and got booted.  This should be a great test for Overeem against a monster wrestler with solid striking.  It's almost like a fight in the UFC for Overeem which should be exciting no doubt.  It also looks like Fedor might be coming back soon against Antonio Silva in January or Feb.  Fedor has no other options with Overeem booked in Japan and Fabricio Werdum out with injury.  Fedor needs to fight asap.  At 34, he is probably no longer in his prime and fans would love to see him make the most of his remaining time in the sport.  The big Silva is a solid striker and bjj fighter who should be a great test for Fedor.

GSP to Fight Jake Shields Next

GSP will fight Jake Shields next in what should be an interesting fight with Jake Shields being one of the best ground fighters in the world. A win against Jake Shields for St. Pierre would certainly make me doubt my selection of Anderson Silva as pound for pound king. I think the Shields fight will be far closer than anyone is expecting. GSPs striking is far superior but his ground game isn't at the same level as Jake's in my opinion which is what will make this fight close. Jake had no fear of Martin Kampman's ground game. Martin is an amazing ground fighter and was dominated by Shields on the ground.

Pacquiao Fight with Mosley Probably Best Option

Despite the comments of most of those in sports (especially ESPN), the Mosley fight makes the most sense for Pacman. Don't get me wrong it's not a great fight but it is the BEST option for him given that Mayweather is unavailable. Juan Manuel Marquez got destroyed by Mayweather easily and hasn't beaten anyone good since. Don't give me the BS that tiny Katsidis or Juan Diaz were any where near close to who Mosley has fought recently (Cotto, Margarito, Mora). Their only common opponent was Mayweather and Mosley did better. None of them did well. Berto is not a name yet unfortunately and Sergio Martinez is too big. So, stop whining about the choice since it's probably the best option available.

St Pierre Beats Undeserving Koscheck

In what I thought was always a terrible fight, outmatched Josh Koscheck lost to Georges St. Pierre once again. Unfortunately, Josh should never have got this fight but somehow did. St. Pierre now has one fight left against Jake Shields - the fans want this one badly. If Georges cleans up in that fight then he needs to move up to take on Anderson Silva. However, he absolutely needs to fight Jake no matter what the so called pundits think. Jake is undefeated for many years and has beaten the best. We have to see the showdown with Goerges now. Koscheck was a huge waste of time. Josh should have fought Fitch (he would have lost thoroughly even to Fitch in my opinion).

GSP knows Silva would destroy anyone at 170 and is on another level altogether. The only guy at 185 even that could touch Silva was steroid induced freak. Silva still beat him. GSP is very weary of that but needs to make the move even if it isn't against Silva right away.

Amir Khan Proves He Has a Chin against Marcos Maidana

Amir Khan defeated Marcos Maidana in a 12 round decision and in doing so took Maidana's best shots and never went down once. Khan, as expected, showed he was a far superior boxer but to Maidana's credit he kept coming and never relented for the entire fight. Maidana caught Khan with some super hard shots but couldn't put Khan away. By taking shots from arguably the hardest puncher in the sport Khan showed he has an awesome chin. Khan went on to win a unanimous decision. For Khan, now is the time to move on to bigger and better fights. He should learn and grow from the Maidana fight. The ghosts of Breidis Prescott are a thing of the past. Khan is primed to become the pound for pound king and he needs to continue to grow and develop. He certainly has the work ethic and focus to do it. Khan will probably take a fight in England and then meet the winner of the Timothy Bradley - Devon Alexander tilt. That will prove who is the best at 140 pounds. For Maidana, I think a rematch with Victor Ortiz would be a great fight for the fans but I see him taking on another solid 140 pounder. He's just never going to be good enough to beat a skilled fighter like Khan unless he gets lucky. In fact, he got lucky with Khan but it wasn't enough.