Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett’s epic Strikeforce championship battle last Saturday night not only precedes Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir’s own UFC 146 title fight this coming weekend, it also presents a high standard on how heavyweight fights should be fought.
And heavyweights are all that matter this coming UFC 146 on May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with all its main card featuring bouts between the No. 1 promotion’s top heavyweights.
While it’s true that there have been more thrilling and fan-friendly heavyweight matches in MMA’s short history, the timing and quality presented by Cormier vs. Barnett compel any true fight fan to compare it with what Dos Santos and Mir can bring.
The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists fought only last Saturday, and their impressively technical and courageous fight is still fresh in the minds of MMA fans.
As fresh as the memory of Barnett’s blood-splattered face.
Olympian wrestler Daniel Cormier outstruck and outwrestled the catch wrestler Barnett to win the concluding match of the 16-month-long protracted Strikeforce tournament. The newly-crowned champion delivered vicious elbows in the ground-and-pound, and even landed a stunning headkick in the standup.
The bloodied Barnett was dominated but was not without a fight, landing his own punches and knees throughout the 25-minute tiff. Fighting to the bitter end, the former UFC champion also highlighted his renowned grappling prowess by threatening with a kneebar in the fourth round.
Also remarkable was that neither fighter committed a glaring and costly error throughout the consummated five-rounder. (Unless you nitpick and count Barnett’s missed spinning backfist strike or two.)
The two heavyweights are definitely not your fumbling giants; they are true professional MMA combatants who have developed their athleticism and technical proficiency to a highly-advanced degree.
Both fighters proved that they truly are in the upper tier when it comes to game completeness—among elite fighters in any division, in any MMA promotion.
It remains to be seen how Dos Santos and Mir will fare compared to the main event stars barely a week ago.
The coming UFC heavyweight title fight may likewise prove exciting, with a finish via knockout or tap out. Both elite protagonists are also very capable of treating the fans to a highly technical fight round after round—if it lasts long enough.
The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final has served as a one-week advance front act for UFC’s own “Heavyweight Grand Prix.” But, it may outshine whatever Dos Santos and Mir—and the rest of the heavyweights in the other UFC 146 main cards—have to offer.
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