Strikeforce ‘Fedor vs. Silva’ Preview

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Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix (Reserve Bout)
Chad Griggs vs. Gian Villante

The Matchup: Two virtual unknowns square off in this one, but that will change, perhaps for both, as these two heavyweights have both talent and tenacity. Griggs’ most notable win came in August in his Strikeforce debut, where he outlasted powerful former World Wrestling Entertainment star Bobby Lashley. He struck from the bottom and punished constantly, and Lashley basically quit at the end of the second round after running out of gas. Griggs is definitely a tough customer.

Villante has impressive wrestling chops -- he competed at small-school powerhouse Hofstra University, in addition to being a star football player -- but Griggs has some ability to match up well with wrestlers. He has knockout wins over Homer Moore and John Marsh, both whom were good takedown artists.

Villante, a former Ring of Combat champion, is small for a heavyweight at 220 pounds, but he has an excellent sense of timing with his takedowns and the natural core strength to manhandle bigger opponents. Villante and Griggs are two solid prospects, and this is the kind of matchup one likes to see on a big stage.

If anything, Griggs has proven he is not fazed by being taken down and threatened. Lashley’s overpowering shots and top control only seemed to motivate him to fight back harder. He may be a little more comfortable with the stand-up game than Villante, who tends to wing punches a tad wild, even though he has decent power in his shots. Look for Villante to battle for an early takedown and spend a lot of energy controlling Griggs, who has some good escapes and positional awareness from the bottom. With a weight advantage of about 15 pounds, Griggs might be tough to keep here and control.

With heavyweights, a stout shot standing is often a game-changer. If the fight gets past the middle of the second round, it will become a battle of conditioning, which is where errors and mental fatigue come into play.

The Pick: Expect Griggs to rally back after a slow start and close the show with knees, elbows and whatever else is available en route to a close decision win.