Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem is being called the best striker in MMA.

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Michael David Smith lays out an interesting argument:

Overeem beat Peter Aerts at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Seoul, advancing to the Final 8 of the world's foremost kickboxing organization. Werdum won the heavyweight title at ADCC 2009, the biggest no-gi grappling competition in the world.

That doesn't mean much of anything for Overeem's or Werdum's rankings in the MMA heavyweight landscape, because kickboxing and grappling aren't MMA. But it does mean something for Strikeforce: It means that in addition to being able to say they have the best heavyweight fighter in MMA in Fedor Emelianenko, they can also credibly say they have the best heavyweight striker in MMA and the best heavyweight grappler in MMA.

And for those who were worried by Alistair Overeem's manager Bas Boon's remarks calling M-1 Global various names and implying that his client wouldn't be fighting for Strikeforce anytime soon, MMA Convert updates the story:

Alistair Overeem’s manager and Golden Glory head, Bas Boon, dropped a bomb on us a couple weeks ago when he called M-1 ‘a bunch of crooks’ and insinuated Alistair wouldn’t fight on any Strikeforce/M-1 Global co-promoted cards.

And the good news is Bas says all the bad blood between him and M-1 won’t get in the way of this fight happening as long as the money is agreed upon and guaranteed.

I will never take an opportunity from a fighter to fight Fedor especially if the money is right and guaranteed. But there is an old bill to settle, everybody knows the story:

Please understand that I will always support and agree with Alistair [Overeem] or any other Golden Glory fighters to fight against Fedor at any time any place…as long as the money is agreed upon and guaranteed. It does not matter if the fight takes place is in Russia, Holland, Japan, America or any other country.

This is very good news for Strikeforce and MMA fans. Sure I'd much rather be seeing Fedor vs Brock Lesnar next, but if Strikeforce can succeed in matching up Fedor with Rogers, Werdum and Overeem they will be providing a legitimate roster of opponents for MMA's #1 heavyweight.

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Make sure to join us at Bloodyelbow.com tonight for FieLDS K-1 World GP 2009 Final 16 live on HDNet - Sat. Sep. 26 at 3:30 AM EST. Lots more pictures after the jump.

HT: k-1.co.jp

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Live on HDNet at 3:30 AM EST on Saturday, September 26th

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The K-1 World Grand Prix 2009  Final 16 will take place on September 26th at 3:30 AM EST live on HDNet from Seoul Olympic Park in Seoul, Korea. If you haven't been a fan of K-1 in the past because you've seen a few events that just didn't "click" with you, this is an event that could potentially sway you to the dark side with a fan like myself. Are you one of those casual fans that boos at UFC events because people are "hugging" and "humping"? Fall off the face of the earth, but first... watch the K-1 WGP 2009 Final 16. Do you love knockouts? That's probably a dumb question among fight fans, but K-1 will feed your hunger. Is Melvin Manhoef a god? Obviously this is a rhetorical question.

In any case, here's a full length preview of Saturday's event and what you can expect from each match-up. Badr Hari headlines the event against Belarussian Zabit Samedov while former PRIDE fighter and current Strikeforce heavyweight fighter Alistair Overeem takes on the "Dutch Lumberjack" Peter Aerts in the co-headliner bout.

Badr Hari (71-9-1, 58 KO's) is considered by many K-1 fans to be the most dangerous striker in the sport today. With an over 80% knockout percentage, Hari is by far one of the most successful finishers in the promotion. He's been labeled as the "bad boy" of K-1, and he plays the role of the heel to perfection with his confidence in interviews leading up to bouts. He also tends to be fairly controversial as he did punch and foot stomp a downed Remy Bonjasky in the second round of last year's World Grand Prix final. Many fans claimed Bonjasky acted to win the Grand Prix, and Hari has vocally stated the same sentiments. Both men could meet once again in the final on December 5th with wins here.

Zabit Samedov (69-9, 30 KO's) comes into this bout following an impressive performance at K-1's World Grand Prix Poland leg by dispatching of three opponents to win the tourney, including Ukrainian Sergei Lascenko. Many fans believe he has a solid underdog shot at defeating Hari as Samedov has beaten some tough competition in the past. He's only lost twice in the last two years, both to recognizable K-1 fighters Tyrone Spong and Errol Zimmerman. Hari has only lost to champion Remy Bonjasky and MMA fighter turned K-1 contestant Alistair Overeem in the last three years. It should be a decent main event bout to get Hari into the GP Final, but Hari should be able to put on a spectacular performance of aggression and tenacity.

In the event's co-main event, Alistair Overeem ( 3-3 kickboxing, 29-11-0-1 MMA) will battle K-1 legend Peter Aerts (95-27-1, 65 KO's). Overeem's move to K-1 was likely for the large dollars that K-1 was throwing at him, but his beefy physique gives him the physical assets to be a real force within the promotion. Most notably, he knocked off K-1's "bad boy" in Badr Hari at Dynamite 2008!!! and nearly defeated K-1 champion Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 WGP 2009 in Yokohama. He's gained considerable power at the cost of foot speed, but as he showed against Badr Hari -- one punch can truly change the tide of the fight.

Aerts presents an unique challenge for Overeem in that Aerts will likely make use of the leg kicks immensely. Aerts is a three-time K-1 WGP champion, but he hasn't one a title since the mid to late 90's. Over the course of his career, he's been through a series of letdowns with knee injuries and losses in final bouts that have caused his career to be less than he probably expected. He has, however, only lost four times within the past 4 years. Semmy Schilt and Badr Hari have given him problems, and he'll likely face-off against one of them once again this year if he can get past Overeem. This should be a true test to see if Aerts still has what it takes, and he has a good shot at defeating the bulkier Overeem. His experience should be key here, but the beast that is Alistair Overeem will be a formidable challenge.

More after the jump...

Check out our FieLDS K-1 World GP 2009 Final 16 coverage.

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"This year is the K-1 year and then after this I am world heavyweight champion in America of Strikeforce, which is a pretty big promotion," Overeem said [at the 6:30 min mark]. "Fedor Emelianenko signed with them two months ago and I'm hoping to fight him next year in America."

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