After more than 15 months, three previous events and six fights (plus a few reserve bouts), we’re down to the final two men in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier are set to square off in a five-round, non-title bout this Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose in the main event of the organization’s 40th show.
The event will also feature a lightweight title bout between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, which has become a bit of an afterthought with most people expecting Melendez to easily defend his championship.
The Barnett-Cormier winner won’t immediately become the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, which was vacated when Alistair Overeem bolted for the UFC. But on a pre-fight conference call last week, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that the winner will get a “nice belt” for his troubles.
“I look forward to wrapping the belt around the waist of one of the guys here,” Coker said.
With the recent announcement that Strikeforce is retiring its heavyweight division, almost all of its top fighters have already made the move to the UFC, leaving just Saturday’s competitors. Coker confirmed last week that the winner will fight one more time in Strikeforce in a feature fight against a yet-to-be-decided opponent, but it’s unclear what will be next for the loser.
Both fighters should expect to be UFC-bound eventually, but with the winner under contract for one more fight and Strikeforce shows occurring less frequently than their counterparts under Zuffa, who knows when these last couple big guys move into the big show.
If indeed the loser is freed up to sign with the UFC sooner, it could mean an attractive consolation prize for the man who doesn’t get his hand raised Saturday. But don’t expect either to “throw the fight.”
Barnett for one said he’s happy continuing to fight in Strikeforce and isn’t concerned about what’s next after Saturday.
“Thinking too far ahead gives me a headache,” Barnett said. “My manager can think about that stuff ad nauseum.”
Cormier agreed with his opponent.
“Josh hit it on the head. Everything will play itself out,” Cormier said. “Scott and the guys at Zuffa have done a great job. My job is to win this fight and then whatever happens, happens.”
Before the two square off this weekend to finally put a cap on the Heavyweight Grand Prix, here’s a quick look at the events leading up to Saturday and how each fighter got to the final:
– Feb. 12, 2011: Antonio Silva upset Fedor Emelianenko in the second of two quarter-final bouts to kick off the eight-man tournament, while Sergei Kharitonov knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the other opening-round fight. (Shane del Rosario and Chad Griggs also won reserve bouts.)
– June 18, 2011: Josh Barnett defeated Brett Rogers by second-round submission in his first fight of the tournament, while Daniel Cormier defeated Jeff Monson in what was effectively deemed a reserve fight (even though Monson came in as a late replacement for Cormier’s original opponent del Rosario, who had to withdraw after a car accident in May). In the other quarterfinal fight, Overeem defeated Fabricio Werdum by decision, but later pulled out of the tournament (and eventually left Strikeforce altogether) after a contract standoff over fight scheduling. Cormier was selected as the alternate and replaced Overeem in the tournament.
– Sept. 10, 2011: Barnett defeated Kharitonov by first-round submission and Cormier upset Silva by first-round knockout in their respective semifinal bouts to book their spots in the final.
NOTES: Del Rosario, who hasn’t fought since his Strikeforce win in February 2011, will make his UFC debut next Saturday against Stipe Miocic at UFC 146, the organization’s all-heavyweight card … After losing his Octagon debut to Travis Browne last month, Griggs will drop down to light-heavyweight and take on Phil Davis on Aug. 4 … Strikeforce announced last week that its next show will be July 14 in Portland, Ore., where Luke Rockhold will defend his middleweight title against Tim Kennedy. Robbie Lawler will also face Lorenz Larkin in another 185-pound tilt.
