It was the trump card that Strikeforce had prior to the UFC merger. The UFC had all of the best fighters in the world, but the one division they did not have all of the elite, was heavyweight. In a last-ditch effort to build ratings and credibility, Scott Coker announced an eight-man heavyweight tournament that would take place over the next few months. This weekend the tournament came to a finish with a somewhat less than expected finish.
Strikeforce may not have had all of the best heavyweights out there, but they did have more than enough premier fighters to make for a very interesting tournament. Plus, the old-fashioned tournament-style was nostalgic for many old-school MMA fans, reminiscent of the days of PRIDE. The original bracket was set-up as follows:
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva
- Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
That line-up of fighters was more than enough to draw interest from even the most uneducated of MMA fans. Unfortunately, from the outset there were a number of setbacks that hurt the tournament, two of which stand-out above all others: 1) The UFC bought Strikeforce and 2) The anticipated fight outcomes did not happen.
When the tournament started with Silva defeating Fedor, you knew things were going to go sideways fast. Next Overeem (at the time reigning Strikeforce champ) lost via decision. Then Werdum had to pull-out with injury, and was substituted by the less credible, but still exciting, Daniel Cormier.
The original tournament bracket was devised to allow for a final between Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, who at the time were considered to be two of the top heavyweights in the world, despite respective controversies (re: Fedor: recent loss to Werdum; Overeem only had one fight not in Japan in the last number of years). This would have been one of the biggest fights, at any weight class, at the time – designed for ratings, and expected to pay massive dividends. What happened in the final was a replacement ended up facing a fighter with no credibility – Cormier vs. Barnett.
This brings us to last night. The finale at last! While it was delayed, and there was less hype than the tournament started with, the main event was still poised to be exciting. Despite Barnett’s constant failed steroid tests, he is still a former champion (sort of) and one of the top fighters in the weight class in the world. Daniel Corimer, while less experienced on the MMA stage, has been around the block and back on the international wrestling circuit and has been complementing his flawless MMA record with finishes.
The victory would go to Cormier at the end of the night, and he would be crowned heavyweight tournament king. A well deserved five-round decision, Cormier kept Barnett on his toes the whole fight and proved that he is going to be a fighter to watch moving forward.
The main two questions still to be determined are:
- Will Cormier now graduate to the UFC? Or will he carry the weight of the division on his shoulders (similar to Gilbert Melendez at lightweight) within Strikeforce?
- Is this the end of Josh Barnett in ZUFFA (re: Stirkeforce and/or UFC)? Dana White has a personal disdain for ‘roiders, and Barnett is one of the most habitual offenders to this regard.
I will be taking the sit-and-wait approach to all of the above.
At any rate, I think the end of this tournament sounded a swan-song for the heavyweight division for Strikeforce, and its only a matter of time before it dissolves. So, I enjoyed this event as one of the last I may ever see at heavyweight in Strikeforce and look forward to some dymanic match-ups in the UFC moving forward.
…and that is the last word.
