Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery takes place tonight at 10PM ET on Showtime with some interesting fights. The promotion is looking to erase the memory of the live brawl on CBS during its last show and to do so, they need some solid fights out of their heavyweights tonight. Here is my take on the bouts and who I think will win.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship – Alistair Overeem (32-11) vs. Brett Rogers (10-1) – Overeem hasn’t fought for Strikeforce since 2007, yet somehow is still their heavyweight champion. Despite the long layoff from the promotion, he has fought overseas a number of times, with his last seven fights ending in the first round and all six wins ending in less than two minutes. Rogers is coming off his first MMA loss, to Fedor Emelianenko last November. The key for him in this fight will be what did he learn from that loss. Overeem likes to attack and end the fight early, as does Rogers, but Overeem has the experience to know not to put himself in a bad position. I think experience pays off in this fight as Overeem is able to defeat Rogers by TKO late in the first.

Heavyweight Bout – Andrei Arlovski (15-7) vs. Antonio Silva (13-2) – Arlovski has fallen on hard times, getting quickly knocked out by Rogers and Fedor in his last two fights. This will be his first bout in nearly a year and he understands the importance of a win, as he has switched up camps and went to Jackson’s MMA and American Kickboxing Academy for training. Silva is a good fighter, but he hasn’t beaten anyone of note in his career. He could land a big punch on Arlovski’s weak chin, but look for the Bela-Russian to work combos and leg kicks to eventually earn a TKO in round three.

Middleweight Bout – Ronaldo Souza (11-2) vs. Joey Villasenor (27-6) – Souza is a legendary fighter on the ground that has transitioned that into a solid MMA career thus far as he continues to develop his stand-up game. Villasenor has the experience edge, but he seems to be unable to climb to the peak of the sport when he gets his chance. This is a big fight for both fighters with current champion Jake Shields seemingly set to leave Strikeforce for the UFC, so a win may set up a potential title fight in the future. Look for Souza to score the takedowns and get in more dominant positions to earn the decision win.

Light-Heavyweight Bout – Roger Gracie (2-0) vs. Kevin Randleman (17-14) – Kevin Randleman was once a monster in MMA but as the sport has evolved, Randleman has not. He has poor submission defense and he tires early after putting to much into his strike attempts. While Gracie has little MMA experience, he is a jiu-jitsu wizard that has won both of his fights by first round submission. Look for Gracie to avoid the early eruption from Randleman and score a choke in the opening frame.

Light-Heavyweight Bout – Rafael Cavalcante (8-2) vs. Antwain Britt (11-3) – In a fight like this that features two strikers, the one that can score takedowns could be the one that wins, but both of these guys are stubborn and will want to keep in on their feet. Britt seems to have a slight edge with quickness and unless Cavalcante swallows his pride, look for Britt to win by TKO in round two.