A replacement for Alistair Overeem in the semifinals of the Strikeforce Grand Prix, Daniel Cormier is now one win away from the winning the tournament after knocking out Antonio Silva in a dominant performance.
Cormier dropped Silva with a right hook early in the fight. The world-class wrestler had no desire to follow Silva to the ground, though, as he continued to bully his much bigger opponent and then wait for the referee to stand Silva up.
After easily stuffing a few takedown attempts, Cormier blasted Silva with an uppercut. Silva dropped to the canvas and Cormier finished the fight with a hammerfist that was likely unnecessary.
Cormier will now move to the Strikeforce Grand Prix finals, where he will meet Josh Barnett, who said he plans to take Cormier down after his submission victory over Sergei Kharitonov.
“Not happening,” the former Olympic wrestler, Cormier, responded.
After nine professional fights, 32-year-old Cormier remains undefeated. A dominant win over Barnett would likely have the UFC brass calling for Cormier to leave Strikeforce for Zuffa’s premier organization.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com and LowKick.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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