Strikeforce Barnett vs. Cormier

Hello readers, sorry for not posting any new articles on the site. So two weeks ago Strikeforce also known as UFC's sister promotion had an event that showcased the finale of the Heavy Grand Prix between former UFC Heavyweight Champ Josh Barnett against former collegiate wrestler Daniel Cormier. Before I talk about that fight, the fight I do want to talk about is the co-main event which consisted of Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson. Melendez is the current Strikeforce lightweight champion, and if you are any type of MMA fan, you would know that these two fighters were going for the rubber match. Quite potentially one of the greatest fights of this year.


In all of the three fights that these two warriors have gone through, they have all gone to a decision. Meaning that they have fought fifteen rounds in the cage (Unlike the UFC, Strikeforce fights in a hexagon). In their first meeting, Thomson won the fight and had the title for about a year and a half until the rematch and Melendez won by decision. So at this point this fight was to prove who the best fighter was. Watching the fight, in all my years of watching MMA, this fight by far was the hardest to score. I thought that Thomson had the slight edge, but again when you leave it in the hands of the judges, you never know what will happen. Melendez won by a split decision victory, however, I believe because this last fight between them was so close they might have to make it a Melendez vs. Thomson IV.

Getting back to the Heavyweight Grand Prix Finale, Cormier was a last minute fill in for former champion Alistair Overeem. Essentially in many people's opinions, not many people had Cormier going far in the tournament. However, in the first fight, he knocked out recent UFC signee Antonio Silva. Now if you do further research like anyone who really cares about the sport you will see that Cormier wasn't even in the beginning of the bracket. He filled in after Overeem was released by Strikeforce.




So essentially it made it somewhat easier for Cormier to go through the tournament because he needed two fights in order to win the tournament and become the Heavyweight Champion (Opps....Spoiler Alert). So getting into the fight, it was another great fight where they both put in all they could. In this case however, Cormier came out victorious and the new Heavyweight Champion. Here is the twist, Strikeforce is removing their Heavyweight division, however, Showtime is owed a heavyweight fight. The remaining Heavyweight fighters are going to the UFC. So when it comes to who will challenge Cormier for the title, so far the name I have heard is Shane Carwin. People I will post about this weeks TUF: Live Finale, as well as this past weekends UFC 146 Dos Santos vs. Mir. Have a great day fighters and post any comments that you have and want to see for this