Valentijn Overeem may always be “the other Overeem”, but you cannot deny that the man has been fighting for a long time and deserves a lot of respect. This is a man that fought anywhere and everywhere, back when rules were optional and blood was better. He’s competed over fifty times, he’s finished almost thirty opponents. The only reason Overeem isn’t as big a star as his brother (Alistair Overeem) is simple: for all his experience, Valentijn’s MMA record is barely positive. Currently, he stands at 29-25.

Most young fighters don’t have twenty-five fights period, let alone twenty-five losses. So many fans did wonder “what’s left?” when Overeem debuted in Strikeforce. Thankfully, Valentijn proved that there’s still something left in that gas tank. Overeem defeated Ray Sefo via first-round neck crank and extended his current win-streak to three straight fights.

His opponent, Chad Griggs, made a name for himself when he was put into the role of a sacrificial lamb to former World Wrestling Entertainment “superstar” Bobby Lashley. In a way, Lashley was Strikeforce’s answer to Kimbo Slice: someone with a great look and a big pre-established fan-base but who was as green as a forest when it came to MMA. However, it should be noted that Strikeforce did try to build up Lashley slowly, allowing him to try and work out the kinks against several unheralded foes.

When he fought Chad Griggs, Lashley did what he always does: he took his opponent down and tried to force a stoppage. But Griggs displayed admirable toughness, and eventually Lashley gassed himself out. With one big salvo, Chad Griggs clinched a great comeback and Lashley hasn’t fought in Strikeforce since. Even better, Griggs proved that he wasn’t a one-trick pony in his next fight, when he engaged Gianpiero Villante in a great back-and-forth war before stopping and dropping him in under three minutes.

In trying to decide who’s going to win this match, you really only need to ask one question. It’s a simple question, it’s been asked many times to many fighters. It’s a question for Valentijn Overeem: which version of you is going to show up?

Valentijn Overeem has won almost thirty times, he’s lost almost thirty times. He has eleven (T)KO wins, he has nine (T)KO losses. He has seventeen submission wins, he has fifteen submission losses. Does it get more night-and-day? I honestly don’t think it does.

The reason this fight is so interesting is because both men have been counted out so much recently. Everyone assumed Valentijn debuted in Strikeforce simply because his brother Alistair Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. But Valentijn proved that he can still be an entertaining fighter that can finish an opponent quickly and viciously. Likewise, Chad Griggs was thought of as a journeyman, a sacrificial lamb, and has repeatedly proven that he’s a good brawler with a big heart, a solid chin, and formidable punching power.

Right now, I think this fight is too close to call. Either one of these fighters could win by knockout. Overeem could win by submission, he’s got plenty of wins by submission and the only time Griggs ever lost was to a submission. But is that enough of an advantage? Maybe it will be, although maybe it won’t be. I’ll say this, though: this has the makings of a very wild brawl.

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.

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.

The quarter-finals are set to begin first at the IZOD center on Feb. 12 first with former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski taking on PRIDE and K-1 veteran Sergei Kharitonov, with Emelianenko and Silva set to headline the N.J. event.

Additional heavyweight’s will be featured on the Showtime broadcast, though not officially part of the stellar Grand Prix, they may have a chance to vie for a spot in the tournament should a fighter fall out due to injury.

Chad Griggs who defeated Bobby Lashley in his last appearance in Strikeforce will be featured in a special reserve match with 7-1 Gian Villante.

An Overeem–not the Overeem–will be making his debut inside the cage as Valentijn will take on former kickboxing world champion Ray Sefo in a reserve match as well. Valentijn was scheduled to make his debut in the organization last December against Antonio Silva however bowed out due to injury and Mike Kyle stepped up to the plate. Overeem counts Randy Couture amongst his 16 career submission victories. Sefo is a perfect 2-0 since transitioning to MMA.

Finally a special attraction which will pit two stars from the Strikeforce Challenger Series will also go down at the IZOD center as Lavar Johnson takes on Shane Del Rosario. Johnson survived a brutal shooting in 2009 and was left in critical condition however survived to fight another day, and has gone 2-0 in 2010, both knockouts. Del Rosario remains undefeated in his career, and is currently 5-0 with the San Jose based promotion and is coming off of an impressive first-round TKO over Hawaiian striker Lolohea Mahe last July.

The full lineup in it’s order is as follows:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva (quarter-final)
Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov (quarter-final)
Shane Del Rosario vs. Lavar Johnson (reserve match)
Valentijn Overeem vs. Ray Sefo (reserve match)
Chad Griggs vs. Gian Villante (reserve match)

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the full lineup? East coast, buy your tickets. Sound off in the comment section below.

MMA Weekly reports that Valentijn, the older brother of current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, has been forced out of his upcoming bout with the only man to ever hold the Heavyweight Championship of the now-defunct EliteXC promotion, Antonio Silva. The exact injury he suffered has not been disclosed.

The man I’ve come to call “the other Overeem” will celebrate his fifteenth year as a professional Mixed Martial Artist when the calendar turns to 2011. Throughout his long career, Overeem has experienced virtually everything one could ever hope and even dread to experience as an MMA fighter. He’s fought over fifty times. He’s fought all over the world, and several times he’s competed in high-profile matches against high-profile competition in high-profile promotions. He once held a seven-fight win-streak, and fought seven times in one year. He’s also lost almost as many as he’s won, at one point even losing six fights in a row.

Clearly, this is a man with a gigantic amount of experience. Unfortunately, this is also a man with a gigantic amount of missed potential. Valentijn Overeem is the very definition of a high-and-low fighter. He’s 2-0 in his last two, 2-2 in his last four, and 4-6 in his last ten matches. Overeem clearly knows how to put some wins together, and he’s looked incredibly dominant at certain points in his career, but when this man loses, he loses big and loses often.

But at the end of the day, I suppose he’s warranted a spot in Strikeforce. If the UFC is willing to bring back stars like Gilbert Yvel and Paul Buentello, then Valentijn Overeem certainly isn’t hurting anybody by stepping into the Strikeforce cage and seeing how much is left in his tank. In fact, I think Valentijn and “Bigfoot” could have had a pretty exciting fight if it had happened. I think that Silva ultimately would have won, most likely by a crushing KO, but still, the fight would have been well worth watching.

It’s hard to say where Valentijn goes from here. He’s had an amazingly long career, and that’s both a positive and a negative. I don’t think we’ll ever see Overeem challenge his brother for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, and I honestly don’t think that Valentijn will ever emerge out of the shadow of Alistair to the point where I’ll stop referring to him as “the other Overeem”. But at the end of the day, Valentijn Overeem is an exciting fighter with a history of looking to either knock someone out or get knocked out himself. No matter how you feel about him or about Strikeforce giving him a shot in their promotion, you’ve simply got to respect the man’s will and tenacity. While I won’t hold out any high hopes for Valentijn Overeem, I’ll certainly tune in to see how he does when/if he ever does get the chance to step inside the Strikeforce cage and test his skills.

And what about you, fans and friends? How do you feel about Valentijn Overeem and his chances in Strikeforce’s growing and wildly-competitive Heavyweight division?

Honestly, what does Valentijn Overeem have going for him leading into this fight? The most interesting thing about him is that he is likely the absolute best example of an MMA fighter having an up-and-down career. This is a man that’s had a seven-fight win-streak but also a six-fight losing streak. He famously defeated MMA legend Randy Couture all the way back in 2000, but he’s been (T)KO’d nine times and submitted fifteen times. That is a staggering number. Overeem has competed all over the globe and had a stint in the legendary PRIDE FC promotion…but he lost every single one of his PRIDE fights. His record of 28-25 is all I’ll ever need to know in order to loudly proclaim that Valentijn is a poor, poor, poor alternative to Alistair.

Meanwhile, Antonio Silva has lost twice in his five-year career and is coming off of the biggest win of his life, a three-round out-boxing of formerly-feared striker and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Silva has been calling out everyone and anyone that’s at or near the top of the division: he’s set his sights on everyone from Brock Lesnar to Fedor Emelianenko, and he’s been less than kind in his challenges. While I’ve been quick to dismiss Silva’s claims and have even strongly opposed the things he’s said about Lesnar and Fedor, I don’t doubt for one second that Valentijn Overeem will be an all-too-easy “test” for Antonio Silva.

My main problem with this fight is that it’s an incredibly blatant attempt to get Alistair Overeem riled up and ready to step back into the Strikeforce cage now that he’s off to Japan again for whatever K-1 tournament is going on right now. I don’t like the fact that Strikeforce seems to have so little faith in Alistair that they’re willing to literally sacrifice his brother to “Bigfoot” in order to get their champion motivated.

Put aside the fact that Valentijn is completely undeserving of a fight in Strikeforce for a moment. At the end of the day the man is a human being, he’s had a long MMA career and it’s never truly worked out for him. Of course he’s going to agree to this fight, it gives him one last chance to grab the spotlight that has mostly eluded him for his entire career. But does the man really deserve to be dished out on a silver platter, most likely to get KO’d, just so Strikeforce can have an interesting championship match in the future?

I’ll say it right now: I really don’t like this match. It doesn’t make sense: Valentijn has done nothing in recent history to warrant a stint in the second-biggest MMA promotion in the United States. “Bigfoot” Silva needs to be fighting the best in the division now that he’s finally proven that he’s ready for it. And it appears that Strikeforce sees Valentijn as nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. Look for Silva to surprise absolutely no one and (T)KO Valentijn.

But what do you think, fans and friends? How do you feel about this match? Does “the other Overeem” stand any chance against Antonio Silva?

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.

While a bout pitting Antonio Silva, who is the only viable heavyweight in Strikeforce, with current champion Alistair Overeem would make the most sense, it looks like that rather than taking on Overeem 2.0, Silva will be relegated to be putting fist to face with his older brother, Valentijn come December 4.

As Fabricio Werdum is recuperating following elbow surgery after coming off the biggest win of his career with the submission victory over Fedor, Emelianenko’s many troubles with the whole M-1/Strikeforce debacle, Alistair’s upcoming K-1 Grand Prix run, it looks like the only fight left out there for Antonio Silva would be Valentijn–though Josh Barnett just joined the Strikeforce ranks, he has some prior obligations with the Japanese wrestling circuit as well as a possible fight which will come before years end.

Antonio Silva is coming off the biggest win of his career, when he took on former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski last May, besting the Belorussian striker on points enroute to a unanimous decision victory. He has since called out the best of the best in the Strikeforce heavyweight division. Instead, he’ll get Valentijn.

An Overeem none-the-less, the PRIDE veteran lays claim to a notable victory over UFC Hall of Famer and former champion Randy Couture, and most recently notched a KO victory over veteran Cătălin Zmărăndescu (try saying that 5-times fast) and is currently riding a two-fight win streak. Valentijn holds a pedestrian 28-25 record in mixed martial arts as a professional, and will undoubtedly be looking for the biggest win of his career, should he best Silva in their upcoming bout.

The bout was first reported by MMAJunkie.com

The heavyweight battle is expected to take place on the main card of the evening under the main event pitting legends Dan Henderson and Renato “Babalu” Sobral against one another in a light heavyweight bout on December 4, at the Scottrade Center in St Louis, Missouri.

So, MMA peeps, what say you about this match up? Has Strikeforce duped Silva with a bout with Valentijn, or is this a legitimate heavyweight bout of true competitors? Sound off in the comments section below.

Monson lost a unanimous decision to “Rock” Pedro Rizzo (17-9) at Bitetti Combat 4 in Rio de Janeiro September 12.  The same night, Teixeira  submitted “Chocolate” Leonardo Lucio Nascimento (7-7) in a guillotine choke in the first round.

Rizzo will matchup versus “Python” Valentijn Overeem (26-21) in the main event in São Paulo.

Overeem comes in to the fight off a first round loss to Rafal Dabrowski (3-1) at Beast of the East in Gdynia, Poland November 14.

“Ninja” Murilo Rua (17-10-1) also returns to Bitetti Combat versus Jason Jones (3-8-1).

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.

Seventh-ranked middleweight “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (17-6) grounded Olympic gold medalist judoka Makoto Takimoto (4-5) at will with single- and double-leg shots, then rained a dominant G’n'P over three rounds to pick-up a unanimous decision in his first fight since December 2007.

In other lightweight tournament match-ups, PANCRASEism’s Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) tapped eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes‘s H.I.T. Squad pupil Clay French (16-3) in an Achilles lock at 31 seconds of round one.

IFL Champion “Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-10-1) suffered a surprise second-round knockout by Cage Force Lightweight Champion and former Shooto rookie champion Mizuto Hirota (10-2).

Finally, in an ugly-as-sin slog, Grabaka’s Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) won a unanimous decision over Slovenian “Zelva” Bojan Kosednar (6-2), who earned two yellow cards for holding and grabbing the ropes.

Yokota saw yellow too for causing Kosednar to see stars with a low blow.

In undercard fights, heavyweight Dong Yi Yang (3-0) TKO’d Polish judoka Pawel Nastula (1-4) in a strange decision by the referee.

In the second round, Nastula worked an armbar, but released it for Yang to rise.  Nastula remained grounded and pointed to his cup, prompting to referee to call the fight at 2:15.

Europe Top Team light heavyweight Moise Rimbon (13-7-3) tapped Aussie kickboxer Peter Graham (0-2) in rear naked choke at 42 seconds of round two.

Valentijn Overeem (26-22) knocked out Yoshiki Takahashi (28-24-3) at 2:43 of round one with a flying knee.