Hello again fans and friends, I’m proud to announce that my special series “A Closer Look” has made its return, thanks to the much-hyped and heavily-anticipated Strikeforce “Overeem vs. Werdum” event, which takes place this Saturday. I’ll be giving a fight-by-fight breakdown of all five major fights scheduled to air on Showtime, since all of them have potential, a few of them have championship implications, and two of them are part of Strikeforce’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix. So let’s begin with Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs. ...

Fighters.com will be on the scene to report live play-by-play action, any post-fight findings and any special announcements as per the Strikeforce organization, so stay tuned for more. For preliminary action you can check out HdNet at 7:30pm EST, and for the main-card fighters, tune into Showtime, beginning at 10pm EST. Preliminary fights (HdNet): -Jason McLean vs. Kevin Roddy (145-pounds) Round 1: Kevin Roddy gets brownie points from me by coming out to Korn. Don't judge me. Inside low kicks traded by both men in early action. Low kicks are landing for McLean. Uppercut misses for Roddy. Kevin catches a kick and works McLean to the cage, then breaks away. Roddy continuing to paw away with the jab. Tentative first few moments of action here. And just as I say that Roddy storms through with a flurry and throws a high kick, though it's deflected. McLean lands a solid takedown in the final moments of the round. 10-9 for Roddy based on aggressiveness. Round 2: High kick again for Roddy deflected. A four punch combo lands for Kevin, however Jason takes it well. It looks like McLean is having a hard time with the reach advantage, with Roddy continuing to extend the jab and land some solid low kicks. McLean answer with a flurry, though there's little there. Roddy catches the shorter fight with a kick to the boys and the action is halted temporarily. "Oh's" resonate in the arena once the replay airs. McLean drops Roddy with a stunning right hook. Kevin regains his composure and scrambles to get back to his feet. Straight to the body lands for McLean, followed by an overhand right. McLean catches another low kick at the bell, however takes the round 10-9. Round 3: Anybody's fight at this point. High kick misses again for Roddy who's missing the shorter McLean. He should abandon them at this point. Right hook lands for Jason, who goes for a takedown. In a scramble, Roddy lands on top in half-guard. Roddy mounts and unleashes some great ground and pound. Roddy takes his back and is fishing for a rear-naked choke. Jason is defending well. McLean rolls him over and Roddy quickly throws up an arm bar, though he doesn't have enough time. Fighters.com scores the round for Roddy 10-9, and 29-28 for the fight. Official Result: Jason McLean takes a split-decision (29-28, 28-29, and 29-28) -Josh LaBerge vs. Anthony Leone (145-pounds) Round 1: Again, brownie points are awarded to Leone for his choice of the classic "Notorious B.I.G" as his walkout anthem. Anthony feeling the love from the crowd here, as the New York native. Hard low kick lands for LaBerge. Another one catches Leone's attention. Both men jockey for position against the cage, and eventually break away. Boo's from the crowd wake up these featherweights, as they exchange in a quick flurry. Leone beginning to work in low kicks. Anthony initiates a takedown and catches a nice kneefollowed up by some hard hammer fists from Laberge. Leone is bleeding bad, however secures LaBerge's back and scores the takedown. He settles in half-guard and eventually works to side-mount. Looks like he's just holding for position here so far. Fighters.com scores the first round to Laberge, 10-9, based on damage. Round 2: Doctor's are taking a good look at Leone and his nasty cut, which appears to be on the bridge of his nose. Could be broken, and they stop the fight. Official Result: Rd. 1 at 5:00 TKO/Doctors Stoppage, winner LaBerge. -Don Carlo-Clauss vs. Sam Oropeza (155-pounds) Round 1: Don Carlo extremely reminiscent of UFC fighter Clay Guida with his robust mane of hair. "The Carpenter" would be proud. Oropeza the crowd favorite here. Sam works Carlo to the cage and works in some short punches to the body and knees as well before breaking away. Spinning back fist BARELY misses for Oropeza. Sam looking much more fluid on his feet, looking to pick his spots and bouncing around on his toes. Solid hook to the body lands for Sam. Don Carlo continues to trudge in with hooks though nothing lands. A high kick from Orpeza catches Carlo with his knee as he's diving on a takedown. Sam follows him to the ground, takes his back and unleashes a heavy dose of ground-and-pound. Referee has seen enough and calls a halt to the bout. Official Result: Sam Orpeza defeats Carlo via TKO at 4:10 of the opening round. -Igor Gracie vs. John Salgado (170-pounds) Round 1: These fighters are on the money tonight. Salgado walks out to Rage Against the Machine, my man. Igor gets a load ovation from the crowd. Igor presses Salgado against the cage, eats a knee however takes John's back and hoists him for a ride, slamming him to the canvas. Igor immediately works to the back and searches for a rear-naked choke. Salgado defending well so far, and the Brazilian has a body triangle cinched up. Igor still hunting for that neck, though Salgado will not let up. The crowd boos the inactivity. Round ends with the Gracie fighter mounted and landing a few blows, though none of them "telling". 10-9 for Igor. Round 2: Low kicks traded early before Igor takes Salgado back to the ground with ease. Igor jockeys for position on the ground before transitioning to full mount very smoothly. Short punches to the body land for the New Yorker. Salgado scrambles and is in half-guard, however only momentarily before the Igor has him mounted yet again. He's looking for an arm-triangle choke from the mount, before transitioning to side-mount to tighten the hold. Looks deep. And before you know it, Salgado is left unconscious on the mat. Fight's over. Official Result: Igor Gracie submits Salgado with an arm-triangle choke in Round 2, at 3:04. -John Cholish vs. Marc Stevens (155-pounds) Round 1: Stevens gets a warm reception from a responsive New York supportive crowd. This marks his first apperance inside the cage since his stint on "The Ultimate Fighter". His opponent Cholish earns my respect with his Beastie Boys walkout tunes. John has the crowd on his side, as he is a product of the Renzo Gracie academy. A knee to the head prompts Stevens to shoot in, however is out muscled to the ground by Cholish, who settles in full guard. Cholish fishes for a guillotine choke early, the crowd roars as we all know Stevens' problems with the particular submission in the past. John pushes away and lands some good strikes on the ground before Marc stand back to his feet. Cholish has Marc in a Muay Thai plumb, landing knees to the body, though Marc deflects most of them. Back in the center, Stevens looks for a high kick, but nothing there. John takes Marc down again, and this time ends up in side mount. Stevens regains half-guard, however Cholish is out working him on top with short punches and superior position. 10-9 Cholish, handily at that. Round 2: A low kick early from Stevens is answered by another takedown by the Renzo Gracie protege. Short hooks on top from Cholish. Stevens looks for a triangle, though John shrugs it off and settles in half-guard. Cholish brings Marc's head against the cage, and begins opening up with hooks to the head. Pace slows and the Referee stands them up. Kick to the body lands for Cholish. Marc catches a leg and takes Cholish down. In a scramble, John secures a leg and quickly forces a tap from a knee bar. Good stuff from Cholish, looking super impressive in his organizational debut. Official Result: Second round Knee Bar submission 3:57 -Ray Sefo vs. Valentijn Overeem (heavyweight reserve bout) Round 1: Round 1: Over hand right from Overeem countered by quick right hand from Sefo. Ray quick with the jab early on, keeping Valentijn at bay for the time being. Valentijn shoots and scores a takedown and has him pinned against the cage in side mount. Overeem immediately begins working Sefo's neck, and with more brute strength then technique submits the Xtreme Couture product with a neck-crank in less than two-minutes in. Official Result: Valentijn submits Sefo at 1:37 of the opening round with a neck-crank. -Chad Griggs vs. Gian Villante (heavyweight reserve bout) Round 1: Yves Lavigne the third man in the cage as the next heavyweight contest is underway. Clinch early with Griggs getting the better of the exchange with some sharp hooks on the inside. Gian answers with knees to the body. Fast pace early on from the heavyweight, who would have known? Both men throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other. Griggs drops Villante with a right hook swung from the hip. Gian works back to his feet and is dropped again with a right hand. Some more punches follow, but it's all academic. Extremely exciting performance turned in by Chad. Official Result: Chad Griggs earns the TKO win at 2:49 of the opening round. -Lavar Johsnon vs. Shane Del Rosario (heavyweight reserve bout) Round 1: Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre for Johnson, good on you, sir. Punches traded early and Del Rosario clinches quickly and presses Johnson against the cage. Johnson scores the trip takedown and Rosario is on his back. They work back up the feet and Shane fires off a high kick. Johnson lands a good knee to the head followed by a strong hook to the body. Back against the cage, Shane is landing short hooks to the body then a knee high, though it misses the mark. High kick rocks Johnson and he clinches with Shane who later works the American Kickboxing Academy product to the mat, and quickly mounts. Ground and pound from up top scores for Del Rosario. Shane works for an arm bar from mount, locks it up and forces the tap. Official Result: Del Rosario submits Johnson via arm bar at 4:31 of the first-round, keeping his undefeated record intact. -Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov (heavyweight grand prix quarter-final match) Round 1: Russians flags galore as Sergei makes his way to the cage. Arlovski has the loudest applause this evening, with nearly everyone applauding him with a standing ovation. When you have your own walk out song dedicated to you, you know you've made it (Arlovski). Andrei looks extremely focused, but only time will tell if his demeanor will hold up. A high kick from Arlovski and a quick right hand land flush. Short uppercuts on the inside from "The Pitbull". Sergei stalking the Belorussian, though has only landed some punches to the body. And just like that, Sergei lands a vicious combination against the cage, rocking Arlovski with a right hook. He's relentless. He follows up with a barrage of strikes eventually dropping the former heavyweight champion. Additional blows leave Andrei out cold. Sergei makes an impressive Strikeforce debut with the vicious knockout, and hands Arlovski his fourth straight loss. Official Result: Sergei defeats Andrei 2:49 of the first-round via knockout. With the win, Kharitonov now moves onto the semi-finals of the tournament and will face the winner of Josh Barnett/Brett Rogers. -Antontio Silva vs. Fedor Emelianenko (heavyweight grand prix quarter-final bout) Round 1: Scratch that. Fedor receives a ruckus ovation from the crowd here in East Rutherford. It's obvious here who the crowd favorite is. Dan Margliotta is the third man in the cage, and he'll need to be against these two hard hitting bruisers. Silva pawing away with a jab while Fedor wades in with hooks. Antonio tests the chin early with a big right hand, but Emelianeko is un-phased. Another right hand lands for "The Last Emperor" and he clinches, though Silva muscles him against the cage. Referee separates them and they meet back in the center. Both men winging punches, and Fedor doing his best Anderson Silva impression by bobbing and weaving out of the way. Antonio presses Fedor against the cage. Fedor holds on to a guillotine choke, and "Big Foot" pulls him to the ground. Fedor in half-guard searches for a kimura, though Silva uses the momentum to work back to his feet where he meets the Russian with a big right hand. Slugging against the cage, Silva eventually works the former PRIDE champion to the ground. Round ends with the Brazilian on top with a late takedown. Silva 10-9. Round 2: Silva scores a takedown early and immediately settles into half-guard. Like a blanket the Brazilian is smothering Emelianenko. You can really see the size difference when both men are locked up on the ground togethor. Silva works to side mount, and eventually mounts the Russian. He takes his back briefly, but Fedor is surviving. Heavy ground and pound on top and it looks like Margliotta could be close to stopping this. Fedor surviving and Silva locks up an arm triangle choke. It looks deep, but the Russian survives. He's still in this, and is looking to ride out the clock as Silva settles in half-guard again. Silva drops back for a knee bar, Fedor escapes and looks for one of his own, and the Brazilian reminds everyone he's okay as he waves "no" to the crowd. Fight's over. Fedor took some serious damage in that second-round and his right eye is swollen shut. Official Result: Silva wins via TKO/Doctors Stoppage at 5:00 in the second-round. Antonio will now move on to the semi-finals and will face the winner between Alistair Overeem/Fabricio Werdum. ...

A heavyweight Grand Prix is underway, and East Rutherford, N.J. will be in for a treat as they will be featured for an all-heavyweight cast at the IZOD Center. The main event of the evening will pit for PRIDE heavyweight champion and all around mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko as he takes on former EliteXC titleholder Antonio Silva. Along with heavy-handed stars, Strikeforce has now released the full-main card lineup with six additional fighters set to be featured on the Showtime broadcast. ...

While strikeforce looks to end the year with a good night of fights in the form of their upcoming “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” event, the show has gone far from smoothly. Jesse Finney pulled out of the event with a serious injury. One of the bigger attractions of the event, former football great Herschel Walker, also recently had to bow out due to a cut he suffered in training. And now another interesting match-up has gone the way of the dodo, as it’s recently been revealed that Valentijn Overeem has also been pulled from “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” due to injury-related reasons. ...

It was a strikeforce bout that had been rumored to be in the works for a while, and recently it’s been made official. Antonio Silva, the first and only EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, will be taking on an Overeem December 4 at Strikeforce’s “Henderson vs. Babalu II” event. The only thing is…it’s not the Overeem everyone wants him to face. “Bigfoot” will be facing Valentijn Overeem, brother to Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, in a fight that seems to have one simple purpose: to get an Alistair/Silva rivalry started by feeding “the other Overeem” to the rising Heavyweight star. ...

After much speculation pointed Antonio Silva to be the next fighter to take on "The Last Emperor", or Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight title, it looks like Silva may be getting what he asked for--well, sort of. The Brazilian heavyweight fighter who hails from American Top Team, was said to be in talks to take on the last and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, before the fighter's management company M-1 Global, and Strikeforce were unable to come to head with new contract negotiations. It appears, as such, that the Russian fighter will not be fighting for the remainder of 2010 accordingly. ...

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger “Snowman” Jeff Monson (28-2) and The Pit’s Glover Teixeira (8-2) will matchup at Bitetti Combat 5 in São Paulo December 12, according to Tatame. ...

Fighters.com's Sixth-ranked lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) popped Rodrigo Damm (8-2) with an overhand right in the first round Sunday night in Saitama, north of Tokyo, then slid a rear naked choke around the BJJ player's throat for the tap at 3:13 of the round. Mitsuoka advanced to the second round of the Sengoku lightweight tournament, the winner of which will fight second-ranked "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (29-3). Gomi headlined Sengoku's fourth battle with a narrow decision over DEEP Lightweight Champion Seung Hwan Bang (5-2). It was Bang who provided the bang in his stand-up exchanges with the notorious big-puncher Gomi. But, Gomi edged Bang with stinging leg kicks and championship conditioning for the decision. ...