In recent news reported by both Sherdog and MMA Fighting, the April 9th Strikeforce event that was planned as the second stage in the Heavyweight Grand Prix may be at risk. According to numerous sources through the two news outlets, Strikeforce is not going to have the second set of heavyweight fights on that card for a variety of reasons.
April 9th was the planned date for Fabricio Werdum to meet Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett to fight Brett Rodgers. However, the show has not been officially announced by the organizations. With exactly 6 weeks left before the night of the event, it seems as if those fights are not going to occur. Sources from within fighters’ camp report that nothing has been confirmed at this point. Along with this, if the fight is set to take place in California that will rule out Barnett’s participation because he is still not liscensed in the state.
Additional venue complications have come into play as well. The San Jose HP Pavilion arena is off the table as a possible location because it is already booked by the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. This arena is owned by the same organization that owns the Strikeforce promotion.
With the Grand Prix fights possibly off the table for the event, Strikeforce has already made moves to create a big card for MMA fans. Cesar Gracie students Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez have both been asked to prepare for possible competition at the event. Along with these two fighters, Roger Gracie may face off with former light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi.
Both news outlets, Sherdog and MMA Fighting, have reported that the event may be announced by Strikeforce sometime this coming week. Still, the participation of the Grand Prix competitors is up in the air as the deadline for various steps in event preparation creep closer and closer. The next coming days are very important in how the Strikeforce April 9th event and the Heavyweight Grand Prix plays out.
