Strikeforce HW Fabricio Werdum

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In a fight that ultimately could determine who will face the winner for Brett Rogers vs. Fedor Emelianenko, it was a night of size and power against technique.  Werdum showed incredibly heart surviving an early onslaught from Silva in the first round.  Werdum was repeatedly hurt with Silva punches and his experience helped him weather the storm as Werdum absorbed some vicious ground and pound in the first round.  However, he was able to land some effective shots of his own. 

In the second round, Werdum was hurt again by Silva but was able to slowly implement his gameplan to get the fight to the ground.  It appeared that Silva was beginning to slow down as Werdum was able to execute two takedowns.  However, Werdum wasn't really able to capitalize on the takedowns although we did get to witness some solid transitions from two big heavyweights.

In the third and final round they traded leg kicks to open up.  Both guys seemed kind of tentative but Werdum was able to land some knees in the clinch.  Silva really slowed down in the third round and Werdum was able to take advantage.  Werdum used an effective 1-2 combo to close the distance and clinch with Silva and execute takedowns.  Which seemed to drain Silva, but Werdum was never really able to threaten with any submission attempts.  However, Werdum was able to control almost all of the third round.  Werdum takes it via 29-28(3x) for a Unanimous Decision.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers