This Saturday, the world will witness the return of the greatest heavyweight fighter on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko, as he returns to MMA action since his crushing knockout victory over Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Day of Reckoning earlier this year. His upcoming fight against Brett Rogers will also be his debut match after signing with Strikeforce and this fight will determine whether Emelianenko has what it takes to lead the promotion’s heavyweight division, although I’m pretty sure all of you will answer me with a resounding yes.

But Emelianenko’s fight with Rogers won’t be the only fight that will be garnering a lot of attention. Three other huge fights are scheduled for the main card of Saturday’s historic event at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. This includes the American return of Antonio Silva since being suspended from competing in the United States, a match to determine Strikeforce’s brand new Middleweight Champion after the title was vacated by former champion Cung Le and finally a match that was supposed to take place at DREAM.11 until Gegard Mousasi suffered an injury during his exhibition match against Fedor Emelianenko.

For this preview, I will be trying out a new format as I will be previewing all four fights on the main card in one entry. It will not be as elaborate as my other previews, but it is something I would like to play around with. As always, comments are welcomed at any time and if you feel I should stick to this format or utilize the format that I use for UFC previews, then do let me know.

Anyways, onto the preview!

Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum

Antonio Silva is known to fans as Bigfoot and after one look at this man, you can tell that the name suits him a lot. Standing 6’4″ tall and weighing in at 267 pounds, Silva is an intimidating fighter who has competed in HERO’S and BodogFight and had a dominating run as EliteXC’s first and only Heavyweight Champion. Mixing powerful strikes with decent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, this fighter is a nightmare for anyone who dares to step into the ring against. Silva may have been dominating, but was met with a terrible roadblock when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone. As a result, not only was he fine $2,500, he was also suspended from competing in MMA for a year. Despite that, he continued to compete in SENGOKU over in Japan where he defeated the likes of Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao and Jim York, but now that his suspension is over, he will now return to compete in the United States and standing in his way is Fabricio Werdum.

Fabricio Werdum is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and another feared heavyweight who has competed in several big organizations, including PRIDE and the UFC before making his way over to Strikeforce. Werdum is also a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and has also captured the ADCC World Heavyweight Championship twice, making him a formidable grappler. Werdum has picked up a lot of notable wins throughout his career, including wins over Alistair Overeem, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gabriel Gonzaga, Brandon Vera and just a few months ago, a win over Mike Kyle at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. Werdum is looking to make it to the top of Strikeforce’s heavyweight division and a win over the former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion would move him closer to a potential shot at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title currently held by the fighter he once defeated back in PRIDE, Alistair Overeem.

This is the kind of fight where you would have a very good idea what each fighter is looking to do. Silva has heavy hands and therefore, would love to stand and trade strikes with Werdum, while Werdum would want to take the fight to the ground. On the striking front, both men are versed in the art of Muay Thai, with Silva also adding karate to his martial arts background, so he might have the upper hand in this fight against Werdum. However, some will expect Werdum to knock Silva down and control the fight on the ground, although it will be a tough task to take Silva down. Nonetheless this will be a tough fight between these two skilled heavyweights and we will find out this weekend just who will be walking out with the victory.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Gegard Mousasi is a phenom. This man is near-invincible to beat at the moment with a strong 13-fight winning streak, beating many many big names along the way. While Mousasi has competed in PRIDE, BodogFight and M-1, Mousasi’s true calling came when he signed with DREAM in early 2008. There he took part in the promotion’s Middleweight GP and plowed through his opponents, defeating Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef and heavy favorite Ronaldo Souza to become the first DREAM Middleweight Champion. He even fought a match under K-1 Rules when completely destroyed Musashi at Dynamite!! 2008. He entered the Super Hulk Tournament and defeated Mark Hunt within a matter of minutes, then went over to compete in his first American fight at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, where he obliterated Renato Sobral to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has fought in several big organizations before, including WEC, PRIDE and the UFC. It was in PRIDE where Sokoudjou made a name for himself, knocking out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in under a minute in both fights. After PRIDE was purchased by Zuffa, Sokoudjou made his way over to the UFC where he fought the likes of Lyoto Machida, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Luis Cane. After being released from his UFC contract, Sokoudjou competed at Affliction: Day of Reckoning in a competitive battle against Renato Sobral, but loss to Babalu after submitting to an anaconda choke. Sokoudjou then headed over to DREAM to take part in the Super Hulk Tournament where he defeated Jan Nortje in a controversial fight when Sokoudjou continued pounding Nortje on the ground despite the referee stopping the fight. (Sokoudjou later apologized and regretted his actions.)

This match between Mousasi and Sokoudjou was scheduled to take place at DREAM.11 as one of the semi-finals in the Super Hulk Tournament. Unfortunately, due to an injury suffered during his exhibition fight against Fedor Emelianenko, Mousasi was forced to pull out of the match and the tournament. Sokoudjou was then matched up against Bob Sapp, who lost to Ikuhisa Minowa during the quarter-finals, and defeated him easily. With Mousasi all healed up, this sets up the match between the two light heavyweights this weekend. Mousasi combines powerful strikes with excellent groundwork with many fans comparing him to Fedor in terms of power and skills. Sokoudjou is also a great striker, but is a strong judoka with a great grappling base. This will be an exciting fight between these two young warriors and while the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title will not be on the line, both of these fighters will be giving it their all in becoming Strikeforce’s top light heavyweight fighter.

Strikeforce Middleweight Title: Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller

Well-versed in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jake Shields is one of the top welterweights in the world today. However, after an amazing run throughout his career as a welterweight, scoring wins over the likes of Hayato Sakurai, Yushin Okami, Jeremy Jackson and Nick Thompson, the former Shooto Middleweight Champion and the first and last EliteXC Welterweight Champion decided to pursue a career as a middleweight fighter. His first test as as middleweight was against EliteXC’s final Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler as both men fought at a catchweight of 182 pounds. Shields proved to be the better fighter, landing many strikes and scoring the win with a guillotine choke. Shields now has a chance to make an impact when he will finally compete for the Strikeforce Middleweight Title.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller on the other hand is an extraordinary, eccentric and fun loving character. Combining an unorthodox style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and a bit of wrestling with very flashy entrances that is reminiscent of the retired Genki Sudo’s flashy entrances, Miller has become one of the most popular fighters in American and Japan where he competes for DREAM. Miller was once a permanent fixture for Icon Sport before making the jump to DREAM, where he picked up a victory over Katsuyori Shibata, a loss against Ronaldo Souza and a no contest in a rematch against Souza after an illegal soccer kick to the head that split Souza’s head wide open. While Miller awaits another rematch against Souza and continues to torture bullies with the help of his friends in MTV Bully Beatdown,, he will have to prepare himself for what could be a tough challenge ahead of him.

Cung Le, the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, was forced to vacate his title after he decided to commit to his acting career, taking a sabbatical from MMA. This leaves the title up for grabs with two very talented fighters going for the belt. This will be an interesting fight to see what type of strategy Miller will use on Shields and for Shields, this will be an opportunity to defeat another top middleweight fighter. It is interesting to note that Jacare himself, Ronaldo Souza, has signed with Strikeforce a few months back, which means that the possibility of a rematch between Miller and Souza could be possible in a Strikeforce ring and who knows? If Miller wins the title this weekend, he might be able to defend that title against Souza and possibly capture the DREAM Middleweight Title if that title is up for grabs. Nonetheless, Shields vs. Miller will be a great fight and the world waits to find out who will be crowned the brand new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers

When the name Fedor Emelianenko comes up, admiration would be the best word to describe the way fans would react to his name. Emelianenko is pound for pound the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world today and possibly the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. Many have called him the Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan of MMA for a reason. He is that good. Since losing a controversial stoppage to Tsuyoshi Kosaka many years ago in RINGS, nobody has been able to stop this Russian juggernaut dubbed The Last Emperor. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, Hong Man Choi, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Mark Hunt and Andrei Arlovski are the many big names that have fallen prey to this legendary warrior. Now, Emelianenko has entered Strikeforce to prove himself and cement his name as the best heavyweight in the world.

His opponent for his debut fight in Strikeforce is Brett Rogers. Known for his mohawk and tough guy persona, Brett Rogers is a fighter who is very strong when he’s on his feet. Using his strong boxing and Muay Thai skills, Rogers has picked up wins, everyone of them via knockout, over many fighters and has never gone the distance. However, he has only fought a handful of fighters with name value. These include James Thompson and Andrei Arlovski, whom he easily knocked out in under a minute in a huge upset.

Emelianenko would provide a very tough test for Rogers as Rogers has never faced a fighter as tough as Emelianenko before. Emelianenko’s boxing is second to none and his sambo is one of the bests in the world. Rogers however has zero ground skills, which will be a troublesome experience if this fight does go to the ground, but if he can rock Emelianenko with his strikes, he might have a chance of winning the fight as Arlovski was able to weaken Emelianenko for a brief moment during their fight in January. An upset can never be ruled out in this fight, but no doubt that Emelianenko will give Rogers a fight so tough that Rogers will have to wonder what he has gotten himself into.

Located just outside of Chicago, the Sears Centre will play host to the Strikeforce debut of Fedor Emelianenko and a trio of other highly anticipated matches. While the card is not huge by any means, it is sure to be an exciting event and a great way for Strikeforce to show that it can hang around with other promotions around the world, especially since it is being shown on national television in America. While many would be critical of Strikeforce’s product, there’s no doubt that fans will be watching in anticipation as to what Strikeforce has in store for us this weekend. All that is left is to tune into Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers for a great night of fighting action this weekend!