Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, without a doubt, delivered a thrilling culmination to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix last night when they fought in its final match at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. There is no doubting, too, the promotion’s heavyweight division—before considered its deepest division—is now officially in limbo.
Perhaps we can compare Cormier’s beatdown on Barnett with the fate of the division the fight belongs to. The most significant difference being that the heavyweight division is now moribund, while winner Cormier and even loser Barnett’s respective careers are still very much alive and kicking.
The exciting and courageous battle shown by both heavyweight fighters is a fitting tribute to Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. Sadly, that fight is also the final nail on its coffin—well, almost.
According to Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com, the promotion’s president, Scott Coker, said last December that we’ll “see one more fight where the winner [between Barnett and Cormier] will fight a top-rated heavyweight, and then we’re going to go back to focusing on our other weight classes.”
It’s anybody’s guess on who that other top-rated heavyweight is.
In hindsight, credit should be given to Strikeforce’s heavyweight division for hosting Fedor Emelianenko’s fourth fight in the USA (which resulted in a win over Brett Rogers). Though, it should also be blamed for initiating The Last Emperor’s first series of losses, causing him to contemplate retirement.
It seems that Fedor and Strikeforce’s heavyweight division are retiring at the same time.
Also, kudos to the division for bringing in Alistair Overeem to fight in the States for the first time, where he recorded another win over Vitor Belfort.
Here’s hoping that Strikeforce’s heavyweight division also serves as a springboard into the UFC for Cormier and Barnett.
If Strikeforce’s last heavyweight match will actualize as stated by Coker, hopefully Cormier will fight again with guns blazing. May he light up the fireworks for his heavyweight division one last time, before Zuffa finally extinguishes it.
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