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Josh Barnett vs Daniel Cormier - Finally, after more than a year from it’s start the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix is to conclude this weekend as long time veteran Josh Barnett takes on tournament alternate Daniel Cormier. Much like many modern tournaments in MMA this one has had it’s share of upsets and drawbacks despite an intriguing initial lineup of participants. Most notable being the loss of Fedor Emelianenko and the departure of Alistair Overeem when he was released from Strikeforce shortly after the organization was purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa. With the abscence of Overeem, Cormier was brought in to fill his spot and he would take full advantage of the opportunity by knocking out Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the first round of their bout. The win for Cormier was an upset and the biggest of his career both literally and figuratively despite having one of the best wrestling based backgrounds in the sport.

Josh Barnetts arrival to this point has been a long and winding one with more than it’s share of unexpected detours. 2012 will mark the 14th year of Barnetts career in MMA which has seen him fight a who’s who list and compete in almost every notable organization. The one time UFC heavyweight champion has long been viewed as one of the divisions premier fighters but has sabotaged himself with numerous failed tests for performance enhancing drugs. Taking that into account it’s a relief to many that Barnett is still currently in this tournament. Josh had a relatively easy path to the finale dispatching of both Sergei Kharitonov and Brett Rogers via arm triangle choke with little trouble. If unsuccessful this may very well be Barnetts last appearance on the big stage. Two fighters with two distictively different personalities and at different places in their respective careers, a win for either is a valuable one that could propel the winner into the mix of the UFC heavyweight title picture.

916Chris’ pick – This is not the matchup Strikeforce had in mind when formulating this tournament but it’s an interesting one nonetheless. It goes without saying that Barnett is the vastly more experienced of the two as well as the more well rounded. However Barnetts game has always been a grappling based, wrestling one and against Cormier, the former Olympian, Josh will not have the advantage he often does. Barnett is the better striker but that has never been a strong aspect of his arsenal. Cormier on the other hand showed that if nothing else he has one punch KO power on the feet in his upset of Bigfoot. Logic dictates Barnett should emerge victorious but logic is the last word one would use to summarize his career. Thus I’m going with Cormier to turn the tables on Josh by taking him down time and again and pounding out a decision win. I look forward to Ducs pick as Barnett is the furthest thing from a “safe” bet.

 

Duc’s pick - I made decent change last Tuesday betting on the Korean Zombie with +350 odds (UK bookmakers when will you ever learn?)  Now will I take a leap of faith again this Saturday and bet on Daniel Cormier?  Not with the odds being virtually even for both fighters.   I disagree with Chris view that Josh Barnett has the advantage in the striking game, I think Cormier has shown within the past few fights that he has made tremendous leaps in his striking to be considered to be a more of a threat on the feet than Josh.  Daniel won’t even attempt to take this fight down to the ground and will just out strike Barnett to a TKO.

• *Like I said in my prediction, it was all about the Korean zombie.
• *Kenny Florian is growing on me as an analyst, loved his excitement and humor (my cover of cranberries zombie is right on point – Kenny, the song consists of 3 fucken chords).
• *Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen on UFC on Fuel pre/post fight show make a great pair, they are like a Hollywood buddy cop movie come to life.
• *Chael Sonnen and his superman haircut, WTF.
• *MMA judges don’t look at body shots, Fabio Maldonado was buckling Igor with virtually every body shot he threw yet he lost 30-27 on one judges score card.
• *UFC better take advantage of the hype from this event and put Korean Zombie vs Jose Aldo on Fox, if not then Dana has officially lost it.
• *Did Amir Sadollah deserve to win?  No.   Did Jorge Lopez deserve to lose?  Yes.
• *What a great show, I am sure 78 people who got to watch it on Fuel will agree with my assessments.
• *Korean zombie….  Seriously, where da white women at?

Donald Cerrone vs Jeremy Stephens – I can’t recall for sure but this may be the first time I’ve done a prediction article for just one fight. So why the occasion, well first off unfortunately my cable provider, Comcast/Xfinity doesn’t offer Fuel TV so I can’t be guaranteed I will get to see this event. That said, the real reason I’m doing a prediction for this fight is because it’s two of my favorite fighters in MMA and a matchup that should provide plenty of fireworks. Of course I expected the same of Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit and we all saw how that turned out. Regardless of that disappointment I am optimistic that these two will bring the ruckus because more often than not that’s what they do. “Cowboy” was riding high on a 6 fight winning streak before running into Nate Diaz whom halted Cerrones momentum with a loss via unanimous decision. In his last outing Stephens was defeated by Anthony Pettis by split decision. “Lil Heathen” is a middle of the pack type in the UFCs loaded 155 pound division who has fared well except when taking on some of lightweights upper tier. Both Cerrone and Stephens prefer to ply their trade on the feet and neither are reluctant to engage their opponent in a test of wills. In a weight class steeped in talent two losses in a row could be the end of the road for hopes of a title shot so a win is crucial in this showdown of two of lightweights more entertaining fighters.

916Chris’ pick - As previously mentioned these are two of my favorite fighters so I hate having to pick against one or the other but it comes with the territory. I actually think this isn’t too tough of a call based on the stylistic matchup. Stephens definitely brings the heat with his hands and is one of lightweights biggest hitters but that can be both a benefit and deficit in his game. When Lil Heathen lands he has the ability to put his opponent out with one shot but far too often he relies on attempting to do so and when unsuccessful often leaves himself to be caught with counters or taken down. In his loss to Diaz, Cerrone was outworked and outboxed rather than mixing up his usually varied attack. They say a fighter learns more from a loss than a win thus Cerrone should look to use his full arsenal against Stephens en route to a decision win. But hey, if the fight turns out as I anticipate the fans will be the real winners.

Duc’s pick – I don’t care about this fight, but I will go with Cerrone cause he banged Brittney Palmer.   However, this card is all about the Korean Zombie….

The Good

Shobox - A couple weeks ago I talked about how ShoBox benefited by going back to basics and what the program was built on, young prospects being tested, often against other prospects. This past Fridays episode featured two bouts that had four fighters with only one loss amongst them coming into the night. The opening contest had undefeated Badou Jack taking on fellow unbeaten Alexander Brand. It was a competitive if not awkward fight at times mostly because of Brands unorthodox style that gave Jack alot of problems. After 8 rounds Jack would be awarded a debatable split decision. Even if you disagree with the verdict the positive is it was close on all scorecards.

The main event saw unbeaten Cuban amateur standout Yudel Jhonson square off against late replacement Willie Nelson. No, not that Willie Nelson. Nelson was stepping in for Jhonsons originally scheduled opponent Freddy Hernandez who withdrew due to injury. Coincidentally Nelsons sole loss took place on a previous episode of ShoBox. This was another fight that while not as close as the opener featured plenty of back and forth action. Surprisingly it would be Nelson who would have the first big moment in the 2nd round as he hurt Jhonson with a right hand, who stumbled to the ground after a delayed reaction. Jhonson got up and was never in danger for the remainder of the round as Nelson did not pursue a finish. Speaking of finishes, it appeared as if Nelson would be in the 4th after being dropped hard with a left that sent him crashing backwards to the canvas. Remarkably Nelson immediately got up and survived the round. Nelson would turn things in his favor once again in the 5th after buzzing Jhonson with a flurry of left and rights. From that moment forward it appeared as if Jhonson lost confidence and fought as such allowing Nelson to control the remainder of the bout en route to an upset win by unanimous decision. That’s two in a row for ShoBox, here’s to hoping they stick to a working formula.

The news came out on Monday that UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be unable to defend his title against Urijah Faber at UFC 148 on July 7 due to an injury to his ACL. It’s an unfortunate situation all around as the current season of The Ultimate Fighter has been centered around Cruz and Faber as coaches on the show building to their rubbermatch. Cruz has not fought since October of 2011 and will likely be out for over a year now before he nexts competes in the octagon. Faber is still slated to fight on the card for the interim title though an opponent has yet to be named as of this writing. No matter what the UFC decides to do it will be a letdown from the originally scheduled plan but the question that bears mention is this an isolated incident or signs of a bigger problem for the UFC?

It was just last year when UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre was sidelined with a similar ACL injury which has kept him out of action for more than a year. Then there was Alistair Overeems elevated testosterone levels which lead to his removal from challenging Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 146. Last week the company announced that the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen would have to be removed from it’s intended location in Brazil to Las Vegas due to a scheduling conflict which was a big hit to the Brazilian fans. UFC looked to build it’s brand with their deal with FOX last year but by the looks of the low ratings of the recent UFC on FOX 3 that is not working out as hoped just yet. Speaking of the aforementioned Ultimate Fighter, ratings have hit their lowest points more than once during the current season. Add in the retirement of the companies top pay-per-view draw Brock Lesnar and one is left to wonder if the UFC has reached it’s peak in popularity and is starting to see a steady decline in business.