Antonio Silva vs. Valentijn Overeem Prediction – Strikeforce

ANTONIO SILVA vs. VALENTIJN OVEREEM

Fight Overview:  Antonio Silva, who was gunning for a shot against Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem, draws his less successful brother instead.  Overeem is very inconsistent but has a lot of offensive tools, so Silva shouldn’t look past him.

Overeem’s Strengths:  Overeem has effective, powerful striking and dangerous submissions.

Overeem’s Weaknesses:  His standup defense, chin, and submission defense are all questionable.

Silva’s Strengths:  He has good boxing, wrestling, ground and pound, and submissions.

Silva’s Weaknesses:  He is slow, both in terms of movement and hand speed, and isn’t capable of dominating any one area.

The Verdict:  Silva is just too much for Overeem.  He is the more effective striker, more durable, a better wrestler, and has better submissions.  He could get caught, but as long as he sticks to a gameplan and doesn’t get reckless, he is better than Overeem at everything.  Silva by submission.