Strikeforce heavyweight GP picks, Vegas-style: Barnett and ?Big Foot? try to survive the semis

Kevin Iole joined me on ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas on "The MMA Insiders" to discuss the lack of publicity for Saturday's Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix card in Cincinnati. Iole also picks the major fights using the Las Vegas betting odds.

Strikeforce heavyweight GP betting odds:

Josh Barnett (-335) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (+275) - Heavyweight GP semifinal #2

Antonio Silva (-155) vs. Daniel Cormier (+125) - Heavyweight GP semifinal #1

Luke Rockhold (+325) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (-400) - Strikeforce middleweight title

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (-160) vs. Roger Gracie (+140) - Light heavyweight

Evangelista Santos (+125) vs. Jordan Mein (-145) - Welterweight

Pat Healy (+105) vs. Maximo Blanco (-125) - Lightweight

Rafael Cavalcante (-145) vs. Yoel Romero Palacio (+115) - Light heavyweight

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-heavyweight-GP-picks-Vegas-style-B?urn=mma-wp6745

Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall

Cormier takes out ?Big Foot? with vicious KO at Strikeforce Grand Prix

Daniel Cormier doesn't look like the prototypical new age, massive heavyweight, but he proved Saturday that athleticism and technique will usually beat the giants of the division. Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, flashed excellent boxing in dropping Antonio "Big Foot" Silva twice in less than four minutes. On the second occasion, Silva couldn't recover and referee Greg Franklin jumped in to save him at 3:56 of the first round at U.S Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH.

Cormier, a late replacement for the deposed Alistair Overeem, advanced to the finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix. The 5-foot-11, 247-pound Cormier was ecstatic seconds after the fight.

"It was great man," Cormier shouted to the crowd during his postfight interview. "I fought one of the top five heavyweights in the world and knocked him out. Give me some respect now!"

Even with his wrestling background, Cormier has constantly had to address the issue of dropping down to light heavyweight. But Saturday was a prime example of what a skilled heavyweight can do against one of the big boys of the division. Fighting out San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy, Cormier's growth as a fighter was on full display. His hands were relaxed from the start and he threw punches in bunches.

Silva is a massive 6-foot-4 and probably fights in excess of 280 pounds on fight night. Against Cormier, he looked like a statue. The smaller fighter worked effectively behind a double jab. Just 45 seconds into the fight, Cormier dropped Silva with a well-placed overhand right. Silva stayed on his back and Cormier wisely chose to stay out of his guard to get the fight back on the feet.

The next two minutes looked like Cormier was putting on a boxing clinic. Silva was too slow to defend himself. He nearly went down again after getting drilled by a left hook with 3:30 left. A little over two minutes later, Cormier dropped the hammer on Silva with a beautiful three-punch combo.

"I hit him with the jab, left hook, uppercut," said Cormier, speaking of the finishing flurry. "He's no Cain Velasquez and that's who I train with everyday."

Velasquez, the UFC heavyweight champ, is the No. 1 big man in the world right now. If Cormier truly hangs in the gym with that beast, we know why he's so good. Cormier landed an amazing 26-of-38 (68 percent) strikes. He delivered this upset as a plus-125 underdog.

Overeem, the pre-tourney favorite and former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, was dumped from the tournament because an injury and management squabble with Zuffa, the parent company of both Strikeforce and UFC. That dispute was settled this week and Overeem was signed to a new deal with the UFC. He faces Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas at UFC 141.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Cormier-takes-out-Big-Foot-with-vicious-KO-at-?urn=mma-wp6801

Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry  Vitor Belfort 

Chris Camozzi Returns to Fight Francis Carmont at UFC 137

After a brief hiatus from the Octagon, middleweight Chris Camozzi (Pictured) will make his return to the big leagues against Francis Carmont at “UFC 137: St-Pierre vs. Condit.” The former “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ contestant holds a 15-4 professional record and posted a 2-1 mark during his initial stint with the world’s premier mixed martial [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/88775/chris-camozzi-returns-to-fight-francis-carmont-at-ufc-137/

Dos Caras Jr   Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin 

Junior Dos Santos Interview - UFC

Heavy-handed Junior Dos Santos steps back into the Octagon? against a man considered to be an equally dangerous striker, Shane Carwin. Will Junior's speed advantage be enough to hand Carwin his first KO loss? Watch UFC 131 Live on Pay-Per-View and www.UFC.tv on Saturday, Jun 11th at 6/9PM PT/ET.

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc/junior-dos-santos-interview-video_8d42cdb57.html

Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

Rafael Feijao Knocked Out Yoel Romero With A Broken Arm

You didn’t see it on Showtime, but former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael Feijao scored a big knockout victory against Yoel Romero on Saturday night’s Strikeforce card. The sequence of events that led to the finish were brutal, but what made the knockout even more impressive was the fact that Feijao did it with a [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/UBR9ATuVc60/

Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye Tony Fryklund

Tavares hooks Fisher with a TKO at UFC 134

Thiago Tavares continued the Brazilian win streak going at UFC 134 with a TKO of Spencer Fisher in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.

Tavares worked Fisher against the cage for most of the first round, controlling Fisher and keeping him from landing any significant strikes. Tavares followed the same gameplan in the second round, but was more aggressive. He was able to take Fisher's back, and then transition to full mount. He let strikes rain down on Fisher's head until the bout was stopped 2:51 into the second round.

Afterwards, he jumped on the fence and waved a Brazilian flag as the raucous crowd chanted, "Thiago!" It was clearly a special moment for the fighter born and raised in Brazil.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Tavares-hooks-Fisher-with-a-TKO-at-UFC-134?urn=mma-wp6291

Rob Broughton  Mike Brown  Junie Browning Paul Buentello 

Luke Rockhold Explains Why He Thinks He Deserved to Beat 'Jacare' Souza

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CINCINNATI -- MMA Fighting spoke to Luke Rockhold on Saturday following his Strikeforce middleweight title win over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, how he felt after the grueling fight, what he would like to do next and a questionable judge's scorecard.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/11/luke-rockhold-explains-why-he-thinks-he-deserved-to-beat-jacare/

Manvel Gamburyan Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia

Barnett moves to Strikeforce GP finals with submission win

CINCINNATI -- Josh Barnett earned a berth in the finals of Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix with a first-round submission of Sergei Kharitonov on Saturday night.

The fight started with fireworks, as both fighters landed damaging jabs until Barnett took Kharitonov to the ground. He took full mount, and pressured Kharitonov with short elbows and hammer fists. Kharitonov tried to respond with strikes from the bottom and by rolling away, but Barnett continued to smother. In the final minute, he transitioned to an arm triangle, and Kharitonov had no choice but to tap at 4:28.

Now, Barnett will move on to face Daniel Cormier, who scored a massive upset over Antonio Silva tonight, in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals. No date or location is set for that event. From there, the consequences of winning this tournament are less clear. Strikeforce's heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem signed with the UFC and will fight Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30. Strikeforce has not given many clear signals on what will happen next for the fighter who wins this once-prestigious tournament.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Barnett-moves-to-Strikeforce-GP-finals-with-subm?urn=mma-wp6750

Ryan Gracie Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin

Strikeforce card brings a little more clarity to messy 205 division

With its champion Dan Henderson in limbo, it's anyone's guess at what Strikeforce's light heavyweight division will look like at the end of the year.

The picture should clear up a bit more tomorrow night as several 205-pound contenders square off in Cincinnati on the undercard of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals. It's imperative that Mo Lawal and Rafael Cavalcante avoid upsets to stay in the mix.

"King Mo" Lawal takes on upstart MMA newcomer in Roger Gracie. Yes, he's from the famed Gracie family, and to no one's surprise he has a brilliant submission game. Gracie also has just four MMA fights under his belt. King Mo (7-1) doesn't have much more experience in terms of fights, but his toolbox is full of more weapons.

In an excellent Strikeforce preview, USA Today built a strong case for Lawal:

CASE FOR LAWAL -- Other than jiu-jitsu, superior to Gracie in every way. Has showcased his strength with knockout punches and high-impact slams. Superb wrestling gives him the ability to take down virtually anyone he faces. Adept at avoiding submissions and staying in good positions.

Lawal has been wise in bouncing around the country from camp to camp. He got high marks from the folks at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Ca.

Cagewriter's Maggie Hendricks did a great profile on Cavalcante's opponent Yoel Romero Palacio. The 34-year-old Cuban is just 4-0 in MMA and yet "Feijao" is a small favorite at minus-135. That tells you a lot about former Olympic silver medal wrestler's potential.

"I know he's a very good wrestler. He's an elite wrestler. I don't know why, I always fight with wrestlers, man," Cavalcante told MMAFighting. "I keep my game plan, I'm training a lot with my conditioning coach, with my training partners. I don't care if it's his first fight in Strikeforce or not. I always train for the worst thing. I train with the best in the world. In MMA it's like *snaps* that, you know? I never underestimate anyone."

That said, Feijao (10-3) can't afford to lose the fight. Feijao dealt with King Mo's wrestler just fine. His heavy hands and massive size should be able to get him by Romero Palacio.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-card-brings-a-little-more-clarity-to?urn=mma-wp6735

Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan

Ed Herman has Revenge and the Top 10 in Mind

From a near two-year stint spent serving shots at your local saloon and bouncing the drunk and disorderly to a primetime slot on cable television and two first-round stoppages in your reinvigorated mixed martial arts career? life is pretty good for Ed Herman. After a knee injury that lingered far longer than it should and three [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/09/05/ed-herman-has-revenge-and-the-top-10-in-mind

Luiz Cane  Dos Caras Jr   Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro