Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision
Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and Cormier completely dominated him for five rounds. Cormier was never in trouble at any point in the fight. He controlled the striking game despite Barnett’s huge reach advantage. He closed the distance easily and used his quickness to outstrike Barnett on the inside. He consistently landed combinations damaging Barnett over and over with his uppercut. Any time he felt his opponent building a bit of momentum on the feet, he used his Olympic caliber wrestling to put Barnett on his back and dominated the fight on the ground as well. Barnett’s only opportunity to win the fight came when he latched on to Cormier’s leg and attempted a heel hook but he was never able to get a decent grip and Cormier slipped away easily. Considering the UFC’s history of handling organizations it purchases, one would have to expect that Cormier will make his way into the octagon for his next fight because the Strikeforce heavyweight division is basically non-existent at this point and Cormier is one of the fastest rising fighters in MMA. Considering Barnett’s history, his future is much less clear but provided his post fight PED testing comes up clean, he has earned another chance to compete at the highest level.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Josh Thompson via Unanimous Decision
Gilbert Melendez nearly lost his belt last night. I scored the first three rounds for Melendez with the first round being the closest of the three. But Josh Thompson dominated the last two rounds and had the fight continued past the fifth round, Thompson would have won the fight. By the end of the fight, I was looking for ways to justify scoring the fight in favor of Thompson but the scoring system is what it is and based on the criteria as they exist, Melendez was the winner. But that didn’t stop one of the judges from giving the fight to Thompson and even though it was the wrong way to score the fight, Thompson deserved the split decision. The first three rounds were basically a boxing match with Melendez barely getting the best of Thompson in the exchanges. He repeatedly stuffed the challenger’s takedown attempts and landed a takedown of his own to seal the second round. After the fight, Melendez claimed that he knew he won the first three rounds and that he started to “cupcake it” after that. If that’s the case, his face payed for his lack of effort. Over the last two rounds, Thompson began to dominate the exchanges and his cardio was clearly better than the champion’s. Thompson landed a right hand that proved to be the most powerful strike of the fight early in the fourth round. At the end of the round, he took Melendez’s back and in the most dangerous moment of the fight for either fighter, attempted to finish with a rear naked choke. The fifth round was more of the same with Thompson’s cardio continuing to be the difference and Melendez unable to keep pace. After the fight, Thompson seemed surprised at the decision but it was really the only one that could have been made. In his post-fight interview, Melendez tried to explain his performance by saying that he had a hard time getting motivated to train as hard as he normally would for the fight because he felt that he had nothing to gain by beating Thompson again. Whatever the case, Thompson proved that he deserved a third chance at Melendez and he also proved that he is back as a contender at the highest level of the lightweight division.
Rafael Cavalcante defeats Mike Kyle via 1st Round Guillotine Choke
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante made a statement with an explosive first round stoppage of Mike Kyle. He hurt Kyle with a knee early in the round and latched onto a guillotine while Kyle was trying to recover. Kyle tried to slam his way out of it but only succeeded in pushing the choke in deeper and was forced to tap. The performance by Feijao was impressive but we did not get to see if he had improved the main deficiency in his game, which has been his cardio. With the heavier divisions in Strikeforce currently in flux as the UFC cherry picks fighters to bolster its roster, the future for both of these fighters is unknown but I expect that Feijao will eventually make his way to the octagon.
Chris Spang defeats Nah-Shon Burrell via 1st Round TKO
In a matchup of up and coming welterweights, Chris Spang scored an impressive knockout over Nah-Shon Burrell. Burrell came out more aggressive throwing looping right hands and controlling the center of the cage. Spang seemed to struggle initially with the distance and unorthodox style of Burrell but once he figured it out, he closed the distance quickly and started landing combinations. Spang then landed a big left hand that hurt Burrell but didn’t drop him. Instead of going crazy as one might expect from a young fighter, Spang stayed under control and continued to throw combinations of punches and knees. He battered Burrell around the cage who showed a great heart and chin in trying to stay in the fight despite being hit with several huge strikes. Eventually, Burrell could not stay on his feet and Josh Rosenthal stepped in to mercifully end the fight. Burrell will need to study his technique and come back with a tighter defensive game. He clearly has the athleticism to compete in MMA but he has now had two consecutive losing performances in Strikeforce and needs to come back strong if he hopes to continue competing at this level. Spang, on the other hand, found an opponent willing to engage in a striking match with him and he showed that he’s dangerous in that aspect of the game. If he continues to develop his overall game, he has a chance to make an impact in the 170 pound division.
