Strikeforce picks, Vegas-style: Fedor still a huge favorite over Hendo

Fedor Emelianenko's lost two straight, the second one pretty badly against Antonio "Big Foot" Silva, but the betting public still trusts in the former heavyweight king. On the Las Vegas betting boards, Fedor is a sizable minus-250 favorite to win tonight's fight in Chicago (Showtime 10 p.m. ET/PT).

"The MMA Insiders" host Kevin Iole and myself talked about how Fedor needs to approach Hendo (3:35 mark). Strikeforce announcer Frank Shamrock also appeared on ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas to speak about his experience in dealing with Henderson's strengths (5:22 mark).

This is one of Strikeforce's five-fight slates in recent memory. The odds say so with nothing bigger than a minus-250 favorite. All the underdogs have a solid shot at pulling the upset. Who has the best shot? Cagewriter says Paul Daley. If Daley stays off the ground, and that's a big if, his striking is too crisp for the inexperienced Tyron Woodley.

Bloody Elbow's cast of writers made their selections on all the fights. BE also tabs Daley as its top choice to pull off the upset. Six prognosticators chose Woodley and five sided with Daley.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):
Dan Henderson (+200) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (-250) - Heavweight

Robbie Lawler (+150) vs. Tim Kennedy (-180) - Middleweight

Paul Daley (+170) vs. Tyron Woodley (-200) - Welterweight

Miesha Tate (Even) vs. Marloes Coenen (-130) - 135 pound title fight

Scott Smith (+190) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (-240) - Welterweight

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Fedor loses again! Henderson?s power turns out the lights

Facing a third straight loss, Fedor Emelianenko tried some new tricks before and during his fight against Dan Henderson. But his opponent was simply better and a little more resilient in the main event of Strikeforce's event at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Just seconds away from possibly losing the fight after a Fedor barrage, Henderson kept his wits, pulled off a nifty escape and landed an uppercut that changed the fight. That one punch plopped Fedor straight down on his face where Henderson landed three more shots and referee Herb Dean chose to save the fallen former champ at 4:12 of the first round.

From 2000-08, Emelianenko was considered one of the top three mixed martial arts fighters, if not the top fighter, in the world. He reeled off 31 wins without a legitimate loss (only loss due to fight stopped because of a cut) .

But it's been a rough run recently for the former PRIDE king. He lost via shocking submission to Fabricio Werdum, was dominated by a massive heavyweight in Antonio Silva and Saturday, he was stopped via strikes for the first time in his career by the Strikeforce light heavyweight champ, who came into the fight giving away 16 pounds.

Henderson (28-8) fought 18 times in PRIDE in Japan, so he's well aware of Fedor's place in the sport.

"I've been a huge fan of Fedor forever and I respect him so much as a fighter, and what he has done for the sport," Henderson told Showtime's Gus Johnson. "For me, [this win] is a huge accomplishment compared to a lot of the things I've done in this sport."

The finish was as shocking as it was exciting, simply because it happened so quickly.

Henderson, 40, got off to a quick start, but Emelianenko seemed to get back into the fight when he drilled his opponent with a nice combination that backed him up. Then Fedor landed a thudding left uppercut that dropped Henderson near the cage. Emelianenko went in for the kill without securing top control. He got off three shots that grazed Henderson, but the former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler used his grappling to grab Fedor's right knee and pull him off. Henderson immediately jumped behind him and unleashed a vicious right uppercut under Fedor's right arm. The impact was delayed for a split second and then Fedor fell flat on his face. Henderson jumped on top, landed two more rights and a left. That's when the referee arrived to save Fedor. All that in roughly nine seconds.

Fedor (31-4, 1 NC) told Johnson, he thought the fight was stopped prematurely.

"I think it was early. I don't want to say anything bad about the referee, but it seemed to me like it was early," Emelianenko said through an interpreter. "I was clearly hit, but wasn't hit flush, directly. It seems like I could've continued."

It was hard to say either way. Fedor did appear stunned as he sat up after the finish, but far from rocked.

Fedor, 34, was non-committal about his future, saying it's God's will whether he fights again. Ultimately, it probably won't be Emelianenko's choice. Emelianenko was reportedly making $1.5 million for this fight. With three straight losses, it's hard to imagine Dana White and company retaining his services.

Henderson's future is also in doubt. This was the last fight on his contract and he'd be a natural to slide back over to the UFC where he was 5-2 during two stints with the bigger promotion. Henderson left the UFC back in 2009, signing a big deal with Strikeforce. He could easily move back into the UFC's 205 or 185 division and be an immediate title contender.

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Three Stars from UFC 133: Evans, Belfort and MacDonald

After another successful event in Philadelphia, the UFC has another light heavyweight contender, a "Phenom" back to his old ways and a young Canadian who continues to impress.

No. 1 star -- Rashad Evans: With a 15-month break between fights, Evans was expected to experience ring rust in his bout with Tito Ortiz. Ring rust must mean overwhelming power and precise striking to Evans, because that's exactly what he showed in the bout that ended with a second-round TKO. Next up? The winner of champ Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson, meaning that no matter who wins at UFC 135, MMA fans are in for another fun round of trash talk.

No. 2 star -- Vitor Belfort: In all of Belfort's highlight reels, you can see a young, curly-haired Belfort take out his opponents with dominating strikes. The curls are gone, but he showed that he still has that power, taking out Yoshihiro Akiyama in less than two minutes. Now, he wants a chance to redeem himself against middleweight champ Anderson Silva after getting knocked out in February.

No. 3 star -- Rory MacDonald: At just 22, MacDonald already has three UFC wins under his belt. On Saturday night, he showed just why fans should be so excited about his future, TKOing Mike Pyle in the first round. His only loss is to Carlos Condit, and since then, he has rattled off wins over Nate Diaz and Pyle.

Tell us your Three Stars in the comments or on Facebook.

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