(George Galanis is a freelance journalist, MMA fan and BPL contributor.)

Alistair Overeem defeated Fabricio Werdum in the main event of Strikeforce's event in Dallas, winning a unanimous decision and showing why nearly everyone agrees that he's the best heavyweight fighting in the Strikeforce promotion.

Overeem however, did not demolish Werdum, the way many expected. Instead, he fought a safe and cautious fight and won a unanimous decision. The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Overeem, who defended his performance afterward.

"Fabricio is one of the best grapplers in the world — I consider him the best grappler in MMA. So we don't want to play with him on the ground," Overeem said.

Werdum appeared to get the better of the first striking exchange, but when he shot for a takedown, Overeem easily avoided it. It became clear within the first minute of the fight that Werdum would continually go to the ground and attempt to take advantage of his superior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, while Overeem would insist on keeping it standing. Several times in the first round Werdum went to the ground and tried to engage there, and every time Overeem would do his best to keep the fight standing. Most of the first round was fought on the feet, as Overeem was getting the better of the exchanges, and so Overeem won the first round.

In the second round Werdum tried even harder to keep the fight on the ground, including stalling several times by going to the ground and staying there for a few extra seconds when the referee ordered him to stand back up. Overeem did end up on the ground inside Werdum's guard for two extended periods of time, but both times Overeem stayed out of trouble. Overeem also landed some hard knees and clearly got the better of the striking exchanges.

Werdum, seeming to realise he was losing the fight, came out strong in the third round and became more aggressive in the striking exchanges. Overeem held his own, however, and as the round wore on it appeared that he was going to be satisfied to win a decision. Late in the third round Overeem and Werdum became tangled on the ground, but Werdum never came close to threatening Overeem with a submission until the last couple of seconds of the fight, when he tried a desperation knee bar.

At the end of the fight, the fans in Dallas loudly booed. They came to see a wild heavyweight brawl, but what they saw was a contrast in styles that featured some displays of great skill but not a lot of excitement.

With the victory, Overeem improves to 35-11 in his MMA career, and he'll next take on Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the second round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

In the co-main event Josh Barnett, the former UFC heavyweight champion whose repeated failed steroid tests nearly derailed his career, finally returned to the cage, making short work of Brett Rogers and advancing to the second round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

It was an impressive showing for Barnett, who showed why his version of catch wrestling is, when used effectively, one of the best fighting styles in the world. Barnett dominated Rogers on the ground and got him to tap to an arm triangle choke in the second round.

Rogers got things started with a leg kick, and Barnett immediately shot inside for a takedown. Showing impressive strength, Barnett picked Rogers up and slammed him to the ground, ending up in side control and eventually transitioning to full mount. Rogers looked like a fish out of water on the ground, and Barnett looked like he was right inside his comfort zone. Rogers survived the round without taking too much punishment, and by the end of the round, the fans were booing Barnett for failing to do much damage, but it was definitely Barnett's round.

At the start of the second Barnett landed one punch, grabbed hold of Rogers and threw him right back onto the ground again, with Barnett landing in full mount. Once Barnett sunk in the choke, Rogers tapped quickly, clearly not knowing how to get out of it.

Barnett will take on Sergei Kharitonov in the second round of the heavyweight tournament. Based on his performance, Barnett has to be the favourite for that fight. The victory was the 30th in Barnett's MMA career, and one that showed he still has some fight left in him.