In February of 2011, a very promising heavyweight grand prix kicked off in Strikeforce, hosting eight notable heavyweights. This tournament had so much promise, but was a failure in retrospect.
The tournament was announced with eight participants, all notables in their own right. Included in the tournament were Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov. All of these men are legitimate heavyweight threats, so the fans were understandably excited.
The opening of the tournament featured three reserve bouts, which were won by Chad Griggs, Shane del Rosario and Valentijn Overeem. This will be examined later.
The first round came and went. Sergei Kharitonov knocked Andrei Arlovski’s head off, exposing the long-time veteran’s deteriorated chin. The former UFC champion was out. Not a big deal, but it set the pace.
Former consensus No. 1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko fought Antonio Silva in the next bout. Emelianenko was coming off his first loss in over a decade to Fabricio Werdum, but Strikeforce was banking on him to make it out of the first round.
Well, Antonio Silva decided that he was a solid mixed martial artist and beat the legend out of Emelianenko. So, already early in the tournament, a fan and promotional favorite had been ousted in brutal fashion.
Later, Josh Barnett easily defeated an overwhelmed Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem won a snoozer over Fabricio Werdum. At that event, tournament reserves faced off, with Griggs beating Valentijn Overeem and reserve newcomer Daniel Cormier set to face Shane del Rosario, who was hurt and replaced by Jeff Monson. Are you thoroughly confused yet?
After the first round, despite having reserve bouts if anybody was unable to continue, the Strikeforce brass was already discussing Fedor being allowed to reenter the tournament if anybody would have been unable to move on in the tournament.
So what? Those reserve bouts were useless? You are telling me that you had six men vie for a reserve spot, then turn around and attempt to give it to a guy that was brutalized in his first attempt at winning the tournament?
Well time goes on, and because Strikeforce did not hold the tournament bouts on the same card, the tournament was stagnant. Strikeforce’s Emelianenko discussions were scrapped and a new contender was thrown in the mix.
Alistair Overeem was injured and subsequently pulled from the tournament. Yes, the Strikeforce champion pulled out of a tournament, for which his title was not on the line.
Daniel Cormier, a guy who won a single reserve bout against a guy who was not involved in the initial reserve bouts, received the nod and is set to face Antonio Silva.
Some time goes by, and finally the semifinals are held. Reserve Daniel Cormier decided he wanted to win the tournament he was not initially in, knocking Silva’s block off. Meanwhile, Josh Barnett dominated Sergei Kharitonov and punched his ticket to the finals.
Cormier was injured for an extended period of time, but finally the match is set for May of 2012.
Oh, did I mention that the UFC began absorbing Strikeforce’s heavyweight division anyways, making this entire tournament useless? Yeah, in fact, Werdum, Overeem and several others have already fought or are scheduled to fight in the UFC soon.
Anyways, the stage is set for one of the most poorly-run, confusing and waste of a tournament to conclude. Long-time steroid abuser Josh Barnett will take on tournament replacement Daniel Cormier in the championship with absolutely nothing on the line.
I think this is the last we will see of tournaments under the Zuffa banner.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com