It was a historic evening as Daniel Cormier, the man who originally wasn't even supposed to be in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament, waltzed into the cage, where he picked apart his opponent, the veteran Josh Barnett, for five full rounds en route to a unanimous decision win at Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Cormier" in San Jose, Calif., on Sat., May 19, 2012.

With most of Strikeforce's heavyweights having made the exodus over to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), it would stand to reason that "DC" would be following the crowd into the Octagon.

Not so fast.

Cormier still has one fight left on his Strikeforce contract and, apparently, the promotion expects him to honor it. During a visit with HDNet's "Inside MMA," the new champion was asked who he thinks his next challenger might be.

To put it bluntly, he has no idea:

"Yeah, it's gonna happen this year. All my intention is to fight again, before the end of 2012. I have no idea who it's gonna be. There's a whole bunch of quality heavyweights over at the UFC. But, outside of those guys, I just cannot imagine who it would be. It's gonna be difficult for them to convince someone to come over and fight in Strikeforce. I think a lot of those guys have fought at the highest level of the sport and wouldn't wanna actually, in essence, take a step back. But if they do, I'll be waiting, ready and ready to scrap. Whoever they send over, I guarantee we'll put on a good fight, and you know, we'll mix it up."

If what Cormier said is true, it's a decision that is, quite frankly, baffling. The Strikeforce heavyweight cupboard is all but bare.

Continue reading this post »

If you can't bring Josh Barnett to the UFC, bring the UFC to Josh Barnett.

That may be the reality of "The Warmaster's" future, following a five round shellacking at the hands of Daniel Cormier last Saturday night (May 19, 2012) in the final of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament, his first defeat in over five years and one that snapped an eight-fight winning streak.

So where does he go from here?

Well, for now, nowhere. That's because USA Today reports that Showtime, as part of their existing deal with Strikeforce prior to the ZUFFA purchase, will exercise its right to hold on to the part-time pro wrestler for one more fight inside the Hexagon before deporting him to the Las Vegas fight club.

But against who?

With concrete plans to dissolve the Strikeforce heavyweight division, both Barnett and Cormier are marooned in San Jose until the S.S. Octagon can send over a dinghy with a pair of 265-pound sailors to rescue them. Not that there's any rush, mind you, as both competitors are recovering from mangled mitts and could be on the shelf for the rest of the year.

No rush.

Continue reading this post »

After his dominating victory over Josh Barnett this past Sat., night (May 19, 2012), Daniel Cormier won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix title and in the process, staked his claim as a very dangerous fighter that all heavyweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ranks will have to contend with very soon.

In the interim, Cormier, who is undefeated at 10-0, still has business outside the Octagon to tend to. That's because even though he won the grand prix title and there are basically no more heavies in Strikeforce to contend with, the former Olympic wrestle tells The MMA Hour that he still has to compete once more with the San Jose-based promotion before he can make his eventual jump to the UFC.

But who can possibly fit the bill to face off against the current tournament champion?

"I think if there is a plus one and Zuffa's going to send someone over it is going to have to be someone that is very good you know? Maybe Carwin, as he's coming back. He's a guy with a lot of name value and I don't necessarily know if that's a step up (from Josh Barnett) but that is somebody with name value. Or, if one of the guys loses from the card this weekend. But then it really limits because if Frank Mir loses I'm pretty sure he is not going to want to come to Strikeforce to fight me where if he loses he has everything to lose. When Cain beats Bigfoot Silva, what are they going to do, send him (Silva) back to Strikeforce to fight me again? Nothing really adds up right now, I don't know, I don't know how to guess what they are going to do. There just is not that many step ups out there better than Josh Barnett. Especially that Josh Barnett. That Josh Barnett was 248 pounds, was in shape, was going hard, we had every intention on getting it down Saturday night, but that dude Saturday night came to fight. There are not too many guys that are a step up from that Josh Barnett that showed up on Saturday."

There are essentially no more heavyweights remaining with the Strikeforce organization and any big man that has any relevance in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, all fight for the UFC. So to say the options are limited is an understatement.

Perhaps the UFC can bring in one of their own big men to contend with Cormier, or they can try to convince Showtime to scratch the whole "plus one" fight stipulation and bring him over and have him fight the winner of this weekend's (May 26, 2012) UFC 146 main event between Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir to unify the titles once and for all.

Anyone have any other ideas?

Strikeforce fighter payouts for those who competed at the "Barnett vs. Cormier" event this past Saturday night (May 19, 2012), which aired on the Showtime network from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., were released earlier today by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).

Leading the fiscal charge was mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Josh Barnett, who cleaned nearly a quarter-milliion greenbacks ($200,000) for advancing to the finals of the promotion's heavyweight grand prix. However, the "War Master" didn't get the full job done, losing to tournament replacement Daniel Cormier -- who earned just half of Barnett's salary ($100,00) -- via clear-cut unanimous decision.

Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez wasn't far behind, taking home a second-best $175,00 for earning a split decision nod over Josh Thomson ($90,000) after 25 minutes of action in their defining trilogy match.

That's not all.

Check out the complete list of Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Cormier" salaries and payouts after the jump:

Continue reading this post »

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight contender Mike Kyle has had his ups and downs in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Lately, however, he's been trending more towards the latter.

On Dec., 4, 2010, at Strikeforce: "Henderson vs. Babalu 2," Kyle lost to Antonio Silva in the second round via technical knockout after dropping "Bigfoot" early in their heavyweight fight. The loss snapped "Mak's" five fight winning streak and to add injury to insult, he suffered a broken hand in the process.

Ready to get back on the horse, Kyle returned to 205-pounds and was penciled in to face Gegard Mousasi four months later, but another broken hand forced him to pull out of the fight. It was re-booked five months later, but this time it was Mousasi who withdrew from the bout.

Kyle went on to defeat Marcos Rogerio de Lima at Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Kharitonov" on Sept. 10. 2011 to get himself back in the win column.

Hoping the third time would be the charm, Kyle and Gegard were booked to face off at Strikeforce: "Tate vs. Rousey" this past March. Once again, the fight was scratched as Kyle was forced to withdraw due to another injury.

On a recent episode of TheSHOOT!, Kyle talked about his climb up the ranks of the 205-pound division, including a rough patch in his life that he says drove him to the 'deep end' following his suspension after his controversial fight against Brian Olsen at WEC 20 in 2006.

Continue reading this post »

Before next weekend's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title fight between Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC 146, which features all 265-pounders on the main card, there will be another important clash going down in the land of the giants as the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament, which began over a year ago, finally reaches its conclusion.

In the finale, Josh Barnett will take on late entry Daniel Cormier, who was a last-minute replacement for Alistair Overeem after "The Reem" dropped out of the tournament in late 2011.

Cormier defeated Jeff Monson in a tournament reserve match and then proceeded to demolish Antonio Silva by brutal first round knockout to earn his place in the final. Barnett, on the other hand, breezed through Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov by submission to secure his spot.

The two men who are the sole remaining heavyweights in Strikeforce, will meet inside the Hexagon this Saturday night (May 19, 2012) in San Jose, California to see who will be crowned the tournament champion, and for all intents and purposes, earn promotion bragging rights.

Though the winner will likely remain in Strikeforce for one more fight, it is very possible that both men will receive UFC contracts down the line -- even Josh Barnett -- who's had his differences with the powers that be over at Zuffa in the past. UFC President Dana White has stated he would have no issue bringing Barnett back into the UFC ranks, as long as they continue to play nice with each other.

Appearing on The MMA Hour, Barnett talks about a possible jump to the UFC and gives his assessment on his upcoming opponent, Daniel Cormier.

Check it out:

Continue reading this post »

Undefeated (9-0) Strikeforce Heavyweight Daniel Cormier will face what will undoubtedly be his toughest test to date in his young mixed martial arts (MMA) career as he takes on Josh Barnett this Saturday (May 19, 2012) in the finale of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, will look to derail the red-hot Barnett (who is on a nine-fight win streak himself) and earn the grand prix title in a tournament which at one time had fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem participating in it.

The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) trained fighter stepped up as a reserve and replaced "The Reem" after the former K-1 kickboxing champion was yanked from the tournament by the powers that be over at Zuffa, only to sign with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two months later.

Now, looking to make the most of his opportunity, the wrestling prodigy looks to take out one of the most seasoned veterans in the heavyweight division and earn his one-way ticket to the UFC, though he may have to fight once more in Strikeforce should he prove victorious this Saturday night.

Appearing on "The MMA Hour," Cormier, looks ahead to his showdown with Barnett this weekend in San Jose and says "The Warmaster" will be making a huge mistake if he's basing "DC's" potential as a challenge based solely on his limited amount of fights.

Check it out:

Continue reading this post »

Event: Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Cormier"
Date: Sat., May 19, 2012, at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime
Location: HP Pavilion in San Jose, California

Main Event:

265 lbs.: Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier for the Heavyweight World Grand Prix Championship

Main Card (Showtime):

155 lbs.: Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson
205 lbs.: Rafael Cavalcante vs. Mike Kyle
170 lbs.: Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Chris Spang

Preliminary Card (Showtime Extreme):

155 lbs.: Gesias Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
205 lbs.: Virgil Zwicker vs. Guto Inocente
205 lbs.: Derrick Mehmen vs. Gian Villante
170 lbs.: Quinn Mulhern vs. Yuri Villefort
155 lbs.: Bobby Green vs. James Terry

For all the latest news and notes on the upcoming Strikeforce event on Showtime check out our comprehensive news archive right here.