Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Results: Barnett, Cormier roll Posted by Drew Ellis (09/11/2011 @ 11:36 am)  Well, I was wrong.
Sometimes things just don’t go your way when picking MMA fights and Saturday was that example. I was 1-3 in my Strikeforce picks, with my lone win being Josh Barnett choking out Sergei Kharitonov. It was a great win for Barnett, who now advances to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals against the surprise contender, Daniel Cormier. Cormier, the Olympic wrestler, used his striking to topple Antonio Silva and advance to the finals. He landed a pair of big punches early in the fight, with the second one sending Silva to the ground. From there, Cormier finished the fight with a pair of big hammer fists. Cormier has now propelled himself into the heavyweight spotlight and a battle with fellow wrestler, Josh Barnett, should make for an interesting championship. Cormier may have the edge with his striking and wrestling ability. That could help him stay off his back against Barnett, who should have a submission edge on the relatively new fighter. In the other two featured bouts, Luke Rockhold upset Ronaldo Souza to win the Strikeforce Middleweight title. I didn’t give Rockhold much respect entering the bout, but he grinded a nice win over Souza, using his striking and submission defense to keep the fight in his favor. Question is, does this give Rockhold a chance to move to the UFC for a unification bout? Or does he still not catch the eye of the UFC brass? Muhammed Lawal returned to action by KO’ing unbeaten Roger Gracie. King Mo’s big right hands ended the fight in the first round and gave him one of his most impressive wins to date. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Results, Strikeforce Tags: Antonio Silva, Barnett vs. cormier, Daniel Cormier, heavyweight finals, Josh Barnett, King Mo, luke rockhold, MMA results, muhammed lawal, roger gracie, Ronaldo Souza, Sergei Kharitonov, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, strikeforce middleweight championship, Strikeforce Results, top 10 heavyweights, top 10 light heavyweights, top 10 middleweights, Zuffa
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (09/10/2011 @ 11:00 am) The semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix take place on Saturday night and also a pair of intriguing side bouts. Here are my picks for the four bouts that will be featured on tonight’s Showtime card. Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov – I think Barnett will be smart and handle Kharitonov similar to how he did Brett Rogers. Look for Barnett’s wrestling to eventually lead to a submission finish in the second or third round. Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier – Silva vs. Overeem would have been a bigger draw for Strikeforce, but now their champ is with the UFC. Still, Silva has shown some improving skills and I think he will be able to handle Cormier, who is still developing his skills. Cormier can wrestle, but Silva is stronger and should have better conditioning. I look for Silva to out-strike and out-grapple Cormier to earn a decision victory. Strikeforce Middleweight Championship – Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold – Rockhold is a nice little fighter, but Souza should have no trouble with him. The submission wizard should find a way to work his magic in this fight and force a tap. Rockhold hasn’t faced a lot of tough talent and is just proof that Strikeforce doesn’t have much of a middleweight division. Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Bout – Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie – King Mo hasn’t fought in over a year and young Roger Gracie is off to an impressive start to his career, submitting the likes of Trevor Prangley and Kevin Randleman. Lawal is going to want to keep this fight standing, but he has a strong wrestling background that may ultimately lead to his demise. I see the better-conditioned Gracie using his skills to get the fight to the ground and choking out the former Strikeforce champ. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, Strikeforce Tags: Antonio Silva, Barnett vs. kharitonov, Daniel Cormier, grand prix semifinals, heavyweight division, heavyweight semifinals, Josh Barnett, luke rockhold, MMA heavyweights, mma picks, mma predictions, muhammed lawal, roger gracie, Ronaldo Souza, Sergei Kharitonov, silva vs. cormier, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, strikeforce light heavyweights, strikeforce middleweight championship, strikeforce picks, strikeforce predictions
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Odds: Barnett, Silva Favored Posted by Drew Ellis (09/04/2011 @ 4:36 pm) The semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix takes place this upcoming Saturday night and we have the latest odds on the big matchups. Bullz-Eye.com has the odds for the two semifinal contests, which features Josh Barnett and Segei Kharitonov and Daniel Cormier taking on Antonio Silva. Barnett walks into his bout as the favorite with a betting line of -280 against Kharitonov, who has odds of +220. Barnett (30-5) is coming off a second-round submission win over Brett Rogers while Kharitonov (18-4) knocked out Andrei Arlovski in less than three minutes of his quarterfinal match. In this semifinal, Barnett has the grappling edge while Kharitonov appears to have the KO power in his striking. Whoever can dictate the location of the fight will likely get the victory. In the other semifinal, Silva (16-2) is the favorite to win with odds of -175 while his opponent Cormier (8-0), has odds of +145 to win. Silva defeated Fedor Emelinanenko by second round TKO to reach the semifinals while Cormier is filling in for Alistair Overeem, who was removed from the tournament due to his unwillingness to fight in September because of an injury. Cormier is a strong wrestler with some good submission skills while Silva has started to put together a complete fight game. Silva has big punches and a smother grappling style. He looked the most impressive of any fighter in the quarterfinals, but now fights somewhat of an unknown in Cormier, who has just eight pro fights. The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will take place from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday. The show will air live on Showtime at 10PM ET. Posted in: Betting Odds, Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce Tags: Antonio Silva, cormier vs. silva, Daniel Cormier, fight lines, fight odds, gambling odds, Heavyweight Grand Prix, Josh Barnett, kharitonov vs. Barnett, mixed martial arts, MMA, mma betting odds, MMA heavyweights, mma middleweights, mma money lines, mma wagers, muhammed lawal, Sergei Kharitonov, strikeforce heavyweights, strikeforce lines, strikeforce middleweight championship, strikeforce odds, top 10 heavyweights
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Preview: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum Posted by Drew Ellis (06/16/2011 @ 2:46 pm)  So just how far along has Alistair Overeem come over the last few years?
The Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion looks to prove he deserves to be in the discussion for top heavyweight in the world on Saturday when he takes on Fabricio Werdum in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Werdum holds a submission win over Overeem back in 2006 as part of PRIDE. Since then, both men have had highs and lows, and both seem to be at a peak in their careers. Here is a look at both fighters and my pick for this contest. Alistair Overeem (34-11) – The Strikeforce kingpin has looked unbeatable in recent years due to his overwhelming kickboxing skills. Standing 6-foot-5 and beefed up to 253 pounds, Overeem brings thunderous power to every kick and punch he throws. He has won his last three fights by knockout, all coming in the first round. Prior to that, he scored three-straight submission victories, and he actually has 19 submission wins to his credit in his lengthy career. Overeem’s last loss came in 2007 to fellow Grand Prix fighter, Sergei Kharitonov. His biggest weakness in this bout will be his submission defense against a fighter with the skills of Werdum, but his striking will be far superior. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) – Werdum broke into the top heavyweight discussion after being the man to end Fedor Emelianenko’s lengthy winning streak last June. Now, Werdum looks to prove that his win was for real as he hopes to beat Overeem for a second time. Werdum is a grappling specialist with mediocre striking. In this fight, he will be facing a much larger Overeem than he faced years ago. Getting his opponent to the ground this time may be a great challenge. Werdum can’t possibly win this fight on his feet either, so pulling guard may have to be an option for him. Who Will Win: I think both men are different fighters than they were years ago, and Overeem has advanced further than Werdum. I look for Overeem to stay off his back on keep the fight standing, where he should be able to pick apart Werdum and earn a second round TKO. |
