Before Saturday night, the question was not if Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva would beat incumbent tournament alternate Daniel Cormier, but how. The big Brazilian's frame dwarfed the Americans, weighing in at 6 foot 4 and 265 compared to Cormier's 5'9 (5'10" with a bump on his head) and 247. Plus, Silva had dethroned Fedor Emelianenko in a dominating performance in the first round of the Grand Prix, whereas Cormier was taking a spot vacated by former Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem by pasting a past his prime, slow and aged Jeff Monson.
After Saturday night, the only thing that can be concluded is why Bigfoot stopped Fedor, he never let him touch him on his chin. Had he, his losing streak might have ended at 1.
Coming to us from Cinncinati, Ohio, the semi-finals of Stirkeforce's World Grand Prix came to us live on Showtime, in Canada on Super Channel. In the Main event, Josh Barnett took on Russian Sergei Kharitonov. After an opening minute or so which featured both fighters standing and trading for a feeling out process, Barnett secured a takedown, that as luck would have it, ended up with the former UFC heavyweight champion (newly christened "The War Master" by his next of kin) landing in a perfectly positioned full mount on the Russian. From there, Barnett used his catch wrestling mastery, securing a arm triangle position after pasting Kharitonov with a barrage of shots, making the Golden Glory product tap at 4:28 of the opening round.
Next for Barnett : A matchup with Daniel Cormier. Barnett told Mauro Ranallo post fight he was looking forward to "taking down an Olympian".
Next for Kharitonov : Perhaps a rematch with Fabricio Werdum, or even going and signing with M-1 Global in Russia for a matchup with the winner of Fedor and Jeff Monson.
The co-main event featured Cormier, again replacing Alistair Overeem taking on the Brazilian Bigfoot Silva. You could clearly tell the size difference in the early going, with Silva having to bend his knees to look in the eyes of Cormier. Silva rushed in with a flurry, getting his opponent against the cage while the former Olympian pulled away and brought the action to the centre of the cage. After almost a minute, Cormier tagged Silva with a right hand, and through a scramble, was not able to do anything, imploring the big Brazilian to stand back up. Silva obliged, getting backed up and hitting Silva with a left hand. Silva hit with an uppercut before trying to secure a takedown which was stuffed by Cormier. After another minute or so with a few exchanges, featuring a trip by Cormier on the Brazilian, The AKA product shut up his naysayers with a hook uppercut combination, dropping Bigfoot and finishing off with a hammerfist before referee Rob Franklin (brother of Rich) put an end to the fight at just under 4 minutes of the opening round.
Next for Cormier : A chance to shut Josh Barnett up and eat his words at "taking down and Olympian".
Next for Silva : Realizing his victory against Fedor will probably be his crown jewel. After that, perhaps a fight with either Sergei Kharitonov or Fabricio Werdum.
Honorable Mention : Luke Rockhold said that the AKA team would get a measure of revenge against Brazilian fighters on Saturday night in the wake of the Brazilians impressive 8-1 record at UFC 134 in Rio, and they did not disappoint. The team that's famous for housing such notables as Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez ran the table, going 4-0, buoyed no doubt by Rockhold's unanimous decision victory over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza that secured him the Strikeforce World Middleweight Championship. Pat "Bam Bam" Healy's grit and determination are not one to be taken lightly either. Taking the fight on short notice replacing former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Josh Thompson, a kick to the head during a scramble from his opponent, Maximo Blanco, left the 28 year old veteran of 50 plus fights a little stunned with a broken nose. He went on to dominate Blanco, improving to 28-17 winning via rear naked choke midway through the middle stanza.
I laid an 0fer, going 0-2 for my first winless card since "Daley vs. Diaz" where I went 0-1-1. It brings me to a record of 39-23-2 for the year. Hope I can turn it around for "Fight Night" coming up shortly.
Comments? Questions? leave one at the bottom of the page or email me mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com also follow me on twitter at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until Next time, fight fans!
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