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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce's Heavyweight World Grand Prix kicks off on February 12 in New Jersey, but the second set of quarterfinal bouts is now expected to come on April 9.
According to Josh Gross at ESPN.com, Strikeforce will bring the Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett bouts on that date, though no venue is yet set.
However, while locations in the U.S., Canada and Brazil are in play, Gross says Japan is the front runner for the event. The April card will also mark the return of Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, likely against Tatsuya Kawajiri.
Penick's Analysis: If Strikeforce pulls off the event in Japan, especially with Barnett on the card, their commitment to drug testing their own event will be heavily scrutinized. Regardless of whether or not he tests clean, it's not going to look good for the organization supposedly conducting their own testing when they're running an event not under the control of a commission. That goes doubly so if the CSAC rules not to re-license Barnett in California. That said, if they can pull it off it will make for a unique Strikeforce event, and will get the Japan card out of their system so they can bring the semifinals and the finals to their main crowd in the U.S.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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