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After semifinal win, Strikeforce's Josh Barnett campaigns for shot at regular title | MMAjunkie.com

Following his main-event victory over Sergei Kharitonov (18-5 MMA, 1-1 SF) at Saturday's "Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov" event, Barnett (31-5 MMA, 2-0 SF) publicly stated his case for the tourney winner getting the regular title:

"All right, Scott," he said. "I love you, but you're my man. Why don't we sweeten the pot? Why don't we put that title on the line between me and Cormier? Either one of us is a grand champion. Either one of us is the kind of guy who will hold it proud, hold our pants up with it, and people will look at us and say, 'Those guys are champs. That's the kind of people we want representing our company; that's the kind of guy I want to look up to and say, 'Hey, you want to see a fighter? You want to see a real bad ass? He's right there. You see the gold around his waist? That's not a joke; that's a reality. The people he had to step over to get it? He earned it.'

"I think (with) that tournament belt, (they did) a beautiful job. That's an amazing belt, but Strikeforce needs a real champ. They need a champ like me and Cormier. One of the two of us has to be it. Because besides us, who is it?"

Barnett: I’ve Sparred with K-1-Level Guys, Can Stand with Anyone

Barnett would eventually trip the Russian and take the fight to the floor for the finish, the American looked somewhat shaky early on while standing in the pocket with the heavy-handed Kharitonov. While Barnett appeared to be mildly hurt by some of the Kharitonov’s punches, “The Warmaster” asserted afterward that he was simply biding his time.

“You’ve got to [engage in the standup]. Every fight starts on the feet. If you want to send me to K-1, I can fight over there. I’ve sparred and trained with guys who are K-1 grand prix-level guys and done just fine,” Barnett said in an interview with Showtime Sports following his win. “[Kharitonov] landed a couple of OK shots. He threw a nice jab and an uppercut, but I didn’t let any of it really land clean. You’re going to get hit. That’s the name of the game. [The plan was to] draw him in enough and [let him] overextend and then take him down.”

Strikeforce grand-prix's conclusion determined by Daniel Cormier's hand recovery | MMAjunkie.com

CINCINNATI – What has five fingers and will determine the future of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix?

It's the hand that led Daniel Cormier to a semifinal-round victory – and the same one that could keep him out the finale.

Cormier, who entered Saturday's semifinals as an injury replacement for tourney favorite Alistair Overeem, picked up an impressive victory at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena. But it came at a cost.

In the night's Showtime-televised co-headliner, Cormier (9-0 MMA, 6-0 SF) blasted former EliteXC champ Antonio Silva (16-3 MMA, 3-2 SF) with a thunderous right hand early in the fight. Silva crashed to the mat and quickly regained his composure, but he was never the same fighter. And that proved to be a blessing for Cormier, who'd score additional knockdowns before a knockout stoppage late in the first round.

"I kind of hurt my hand on the very first right hand when he went down," said Cormier, who entered the night's post-fight press conference with his hand bandaged. "When he got up, I was like, 'How am I going to get through 15 minutes with my hand hurting like it was?' But I kept going. I kept throwing it."

Cormier Requests Respect, Says Barnett Takedowns 'Not Happening'

Stepping up as a short-notice replacement for recent UFC signee Alistair Overeem, Cormier (Pictured; file photo) assaulted Antonio Silva in the semifinals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix, knocking out the enormous Brazilian with precise punching at the U.S. Bank Area in Cincinnati.

Speed was not the only attribute that the American Kickboxing Academy standout showed against Silva, however. The two-time freestyle wrestling Olympian also displayed fight smarts, patience and a an apparent realization that his long-heralded potential has now flourished into a scary all-around skill set.

“I just want some respect. I’ve always said that I’m trying to find validation in MMA [to prove] that I’m not wasting my time,” Cormier said in an interview with Showtime Sports following his victory, “and a win over a guy who’s a consensus top-five in a fashion like that ... I think I should finally gain some respect. [Silva] is a good fighter. He’s going to beat a lot of people.”

Cormier initially cracked “Bigfoot” early with an overhand right that looked like a carbon copy of the shot that teammate Mike Kyle used to floor Silva this past December. Just like Kyle, Cormier injured his right hand on Silva’s massive skull.

“It was the same overhand right [that Kyle used]. It landed right on the chin,” said Cormier. “[Silva] has got such a big head, you know? It’s kind of hard to miss, but it’s hard, and it kind of jacked my hand up.”

New Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold never doubted AKA's ability to sweep | MMAjunkie.com

CINCINNATI – Prior to claiming the Strikeforce middleweight title, Luke Rockhold made a bold prediction.

A few days after Brazilian fighters swept their American counterparts at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, Rockhold told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) he expected revenge.

In fact, he promised he and his American Kickboxing Academy teammates would sweep their Brazilian opponents at Saturday's "Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov" event. Following an AKA clean sweep, no one's doubting him now.

"I had confidence in my camp," Rockhold told MMAjunkie.com after Saturday's event at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena. "Everyone was just rising to the occasion. We were just pushing each other really hard through this camp.

"Yeah, AKA. Don't step on our turf."

Rockhold (8-1 MMA, 7-0 SF), of course, did his part by upsetting champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (14-3 MMA, 4-1 SF) via unanimous decision. The fighter, who's spent the majority of his career developing under the Strikeforce banner, fought in a featured bout on the night's Showtime-televised main card. While the media's cageside scoring ranged from 48-47 for Rockhold to MMAjunkie.com's 49-46 score for Souza, the judges saw it more clearly and awarded the new champ the victory, 50-45, 48-47 and 48-47.

"I felt good about it," said Rockhold, who dealt with facial cuts and a steady trickle of blood from his nose throughout the fight. "I know got a little rocked, but I came back strong, and I thought I won some rounds. I think the third or the fourth, I can't remember exactly which one, it was a little slow for me. But I believe I won most the rounds. I pushed the pace. I was confident about the victory.

"It was really close. I think it was a lot closer than a lot of people judged it. I didn't know how much blood I had on my face and how I looked exactly, so I was a little worried about that factor. But I felt good about winning the fight."

In addition to Rockhold, the famed AKA team saw main-card fighters Daniel Cormier and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, as well as preliminary-card competitor Mike Kyle, also earn victories.

[kingrobert]

Josh you have been the man and a top 5 HW for a very long time. Do you not realize that the belt means nothing in StrikeForce? I totally agree with you about the belt but Coker doesnt run StrikeForce anymore. Im sure in a matter of the next year StrikeForce wont even exist.

[Trodden]

Cormier earned a lot of respect from me. I never thought low of him, but you have to admit, he dominated a guy Fedor struggled with. I know the two fights are separate incidents that don't deserve comparison, but you have to admit he looked amazing against a guy who shut down one of the best of all time. If you don't respect Cormier for that, you probably never will.

Barnett also looked amazing, but he fought a guy who was never known for having a good ground game. I hope Cormier fights again. Barnett v Cormier would be a great fight.

[end it with a left]

I didn't know with a head that large that Silva could even be knocked out lol. That was definately impressive of Cormier

[lwbrewer]

With a head that size I agree how would ya knock him out, but it took Cormiers hand to do it lol.

[dexter]

It would be stupid not to give the -now vacant HW title- to the winner of a tournament designed to find the best HW.