Let’s be honest, Potato Nation. Tim Sylvia is probably one of the most toughest motherfuckers you know. True story: While in college, I once sent a him a private video message in which I made fun of his fight with Ray Mercer, his appearance on Blind Date, and his nickname, “Fatty Boom-Boom,” for a good twenty five minutes. I’m not sure how, but the very next day, he showed up to my school, slept in my dorm room, beat the fuck out of my roommate and took his bed, then proceeded to smack all of my teachers, professors, RA’s, and deans before my very eyes.
I think anytime you get to fight a guy that held the UFC title, it’s a big deal. If Tim Sylvia’s the guy that they put across the cage from me, then that’s the guy I will fight on that day.
(THIS is what intimidation looks like.)
Let’s be honest, Potato Nation. Tim Sylvia is probably one of the most toughest motherfuckers you know. True story: While in college, I once sent a him a private video message in which I made fun of his fight with Ray Mercer, his appearance on Blind Date, and his nickname, “Fatty Boom-Boom,” for a good twenty five minutes. I’m not sure how, but the very next day, he showed up to my school, slept in my dorm room, beat the fuck out of my roommate and took his bed, then proceeded to smack all of my teachers, professors, RA’s, and deans before my very eyes.
I think anytime you get to fight a guy that held the UFC title, it’s a big deal. If Tim Sylvia’s the guy that they put across the cage from me, then that’s the guy I will fight on that day, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I said that I would like to actually continue my progression, but there aren’t many guys that are a step up from Josh Barnett. I don’t know. I just would like to keep progressing in my career and fighting guys that are better than the last guy. I don’t know who that’s going to be. It doesn’t really matter. I’ll give Showtime their fight and see where I stand in the UFC division when I’m done.
Did someone say SUPERFIGHT?!
Cross your fingers and pray that Cormier’s upcoming hand surgery goes smoothly, because this is the fight that we want, no, need to see by the end of the year. Sylvia wants his shot, we want to see him fail, and Cormier would probably like an easy paycheck. Plus, it’s not like Strikeforce has any other fights to offer their champ…at all.
Hell, we say they let Sylvia weigh in at three, four, or even five hundred pounds if he feels compelled to do so. We haven’t seen a heavyweight freakshow fight this intriguing since Fedor/Zuluzinho. For the love of God, somebody please make this happen.
As he mentioned, Cormier is fresh off a victory over top ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett, whereas Sylvia is on the heels of a plodding UD victory over some guy, so it’s pretty obvious that these two are on a collision course with each other in the near to immediate future. If Sylvia can walk away victorious from his upcoming fight with 14-10 Randy Smith on June 16th, then there will be nothing separating them from a heavyweight clash of epic proportions. Nothing.
So we ask unto you, Mr. Sylvia; when desiny calls, will you pick up the phone?
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett’s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett‘s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
If Cormier looked great last night it was only because Barnett forced him to. Josh had DC in trouble on more than one occasion, visibly hurting him in the second frame with a right hand-left knee combination, and later working dutifully for leg-locks on the ground. He too will have to nurse a broken hand suffered in the opening frame, but hopefully he’ll find his way to the Octagon soon.
The rubbermatch between Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson was far more evenly contested and therefor far more difficult to judge. The old rivals started off slowly in a pair of cautious opening rounds. Both men found a home for their fists in those first two frames, but with the more active hands and several short-lived takedowns the champion edged out Thomson on the cards. “The Punk” came alive in the third, turning up the heat in a pivotal swing-round that could arguably have gone either way on a night where the scorecards bore little resemblance to the action taking place inside the cage.
Thomson took control in the championship rounds. Another slick trip takedown in the fourth round ended with the challenger taking Melendez’s back and threatening with several rear naked choke attempts. “The Punk” outlanded the champion two-to-one in significant strikes in the final round, taking Melendez down and maintaining top-control to close the bout.
Thomson suffered from repeated unintentional eye pokes throughout the bout, and a potential point deduction would have yielded a majority draw in a bout that either man could have been awarded under the Unified Rules. Under Melendez’s hometown ‘Stockton Rules‘, however, that belt is changing hands. “El Nino” got busted up in the exchanges and looked far more worse for wear after the fight. Though Thomson wasn’t exactly unleashing hell from above as the final bell rang, momentum had clearly shifted in his direction in the latter half of the battle. No matter who you had ahead, there will be no fourth fight and Melendez is keeping the strap.
In a far more decisive battle, Rafael Cavalcante evened the score in his rematch with Mike Kyle. Only seconds into their bout, “Feijao” connected with a knee to the grill that sent Kyle flying back against the cage. The Brazilian swarmed him on the ground with a torrent of hammerfists, many to the back of the head, before Kyle worked his way back to his feet. Perhaps inspired by Jon Jones pulling guard at UFC 145–not!–Feijao jumped around MAK’s waist and sunk in a guillotine. Kyle stayed standing for a bit before attempting to slam his way free of the choke, but Feijao rolled with the momentum and cranked away for the tap once they hit the ground.
In the evening’s opening tilt, late-replacement Chris Spang needed less than a round to dispatch Nah-Shon Burrell and even up his family’s MMA record over the weekend. Spang dropped Burrell halfway through the first then threw more high knees than a Rockettes performance. Fortunately for Burrell, he was out on his feet for much of the abuse, and referee Josh Rosenthal mercifully called the bout once Burrell collapsed his way out of Spang’s thai clinch and sprawled out on the canvas.
Also, if you didn’t catch the Virgil Zwicker-Carlos Inocente throwdown in the prelims, do yourself a favor. The only part of Zwicker’s body that Inocente doesn’t smash was his heart. It’s an entertaining scrap that casts Zwicker as the loveable anti-Sapp.
Main Card (on Showtime): -Daniel Cormier def. Josh Barnett by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
-Gilbert Melendez def. Josh Thomson by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
-Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante def. Mike Kyle by submission (guillotine choke) at :33, R1
-Chris Spang def. Nah-Shon Burrell by KO at 1:35, R1
Preliminary Card (on Showtime Extreme): -Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Cesias “JZ” Cavalcante by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
-Carlos Augusto “Guto” Inocente Filho def. Virgil Zwicker by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Gian Villante def. Derrick Mehmen by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-Quinn Mulhern def. Yuri Villefort by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
-Bobby Green def. James Terry by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
It may have lost some steam along the way, but the Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce’s little engine that could, is pulling into the station this evening. Tournament finalists Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will slug it out to decide who rules the now-defunct Strikeforce Heavyweight division and get their face plastered on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. Cormier, the two-time Olympian, tipped the scales at 238lbs; his opponent, Josh Barnett, will enjoy a 10lb advantage when they climb into the cage. Those of you ballsy enough to bet “other” as the tournament winner way back in January ’11 are on the verge of a mega-payout this evening.
Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will defend his title in a rubbermatch against Josh Thompson. Rumors swirled online that a serious knee injury would sideline “The Punk” from tonight’s bout, but he was able-bodied enough to step up on the scale. Both men tallied a weight of 153lbs and will look to settle the score in San Jose.
We’re liveblogging the crap out of this thing tonight, so join us back here for the festivities.
It may have lost some steam along the way, but the Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce’s little engine that could, is pulling into the station this evening. Tournament finalists Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will slug it out to decide who rules the now-defunct Strikeforce Heavyweight division and get their face plastered on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. Cormier, the two-time Olympian, tipped the scales at 238lbs; his opponent, Josh Barnett, will enjoy a 10lb advantage when they climb into the cage. Those of you ballsy enough to bet “other” as the tournament winner way back in January ’11 are on the verge of a mega-payout this evening.
Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will defend his title in a rubbermatch against Josh Thompson. Rumors swirled online that a serious knee injury would sideline “The Punk” from tonight’s bout, but he was able-bodied enough to step up on the scale. Both men tallied a weight of 153lbs and will look to settle the score in San Jose.
We’re liveblogging the crap out of this thing tonight, so join us back here for the festivities.
Main Card Bouts: Mike Kyle (203) vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (206)
Nah-shon Burrell (170) vs. Chris Spang (169)
Preliminary Card Bouts:
JZ Cavalcante (156) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156)
Virgil Zwicker (204) vs. Carlos Inocente (205)
Gian Villante (205) vs. Derek Mehmen (205)
Quinn Mulhern (170) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)
James Terry (156.25) vs. Bobby Green (155)
Tomorrow night in San Jose, Josh Barnett will face the greatest challenge of his post-PRIDE career when he meets Daniel Cormier in the finals of Strikeforce’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix. (FYI, we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime main card starting at 10 p.m. ET, so don’t make any big plans.) Barnett’s comfort-level in the cage and catch-wrestling expertise have led him on a four-year winning streak, and one more victory could earn him an improbable return to the UFC. In honor of this pivotal moment for the Warmaster, we decided to round up his five greatest submissions. Enjoy, and shoot us your predictions for Barnett vs. Cormier in the comments section…
Barnett’s first submission in the Octagon came against gigantic kickboxer Semmy Schilt, who had made his UFC debut the previous month by smashing Pete Williams. Wisely, Barnett avoids the standup game entirely, immediately taking the Dutchman to the mat. Schilt is absolutely helpless underneath the Babyface Assassin, and eventually gives up mount. Barnett waits for the right moment then attacks Schilt’s arm, giving up position in the process. It doesn’t matter — Barnett sinks the armbar at the 4:21 mark of the first round and establishes himself as a fearsome heavyweight grappler.
Tomorrow night in San Jose, Josh Barnett will face the greatest challenge of his post-PRIDE career when he meets Daniel Cormier in the finals of Strikeforce’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix. (FYI, we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime main card starting at 10 p.m. ET, so don’t make any big plans.) Barnett’s comfort-level in the cage and catch-wrestling expertise have led him on a four-year winning streak, and one more victory could earn him an improbable return to the UFC. In honor of this pivotal moment for the Warmaster, we decided to round up his five greatest submissions. Enjoy, and shoot us your predictions for Barnett vs. Cormier in the comments section…
(Josh Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt; UFC 32, 6/29/01. Fight starts at the 1:45 mark.)
Barnett’s first submission in the Octagon came against gigantic kickboxer Semmy Schilt, who had made his UFC debut the previous month by smashing Pete Williams. Wisely, Barnett avoids the standup game entirely, immediately taking the Dutchman to the mat. Schilt is absolutely helpless underneath the Babyface Assassin, and eventually gives up mount. Barnett waits for the right moment then attacks Schilt’s arm, giving up position in the process. It doesn’t matter — Barnett sinks the armbar at the 4:21 mark of the first round and establishes himself as a fearsome heavyweight grappler.
(Josh Barnett vs. Yuki Kondo; Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show, 8/31/03)
Following his steroid-related exile from the UFC, Barnett headed to Japan where he’d spend the next five years of his career. His first big fight was this Pancrase openweight title match against Kempo black belt Yuki Kondo. Once again, Barnett exploited his opponent’s lack of grappling ability, at one point pulling off a double-suplex on the outmatched Japanese fighter. Kondo was a game opponent, but eventually succumbed to a rear-naked choke in the third round; skip to the video’s 14:30 mark for the finish.
Barnett’s PRIDE career began disappointingly with a pair of losses to Mirko Cro Cop — one by injury, one by decision — but he hit his stride in 2006 with three consecutive submission wins. Here’s the second of that streak, against Aleksander Emelianenko in the opening round of PRIDE’s 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. Departing from his usual game-plan, Barnett spent the majority of the match standing and slugging with the Russian knockout artist, producing one of PRIDE’s most underrated classics. Eventually, Barnett goes back to his bread and butter, taking Aleks down, softening him up with knees to the dome, then finishing him with a keylock about two minutes into the second round.
(Josh Barnett vs. Mark Hunt; Pride Critical Countdown Absolute, 7/1/06)
You can thank Barnett for exposing the Super Samoan’s achilles heel; this was the beginning of depressing four-year stretch that saw Mark Hunt lose five out of six fights by some kind of armlock. At the time, Hunt had won five straight fights under the PRIDE banner, and went into the OWGP’s quarterfinal round with a reputation as an indestructible tank with a titanium-reinforced chin. But once Barnett scored the takedown, Hunt was operating on borrowed time. Babyface nailed the kimura, and made it look easy.
(Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov; Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, 9/10/11)
In fact, all of Barnett’s fights have looked easy lately. His Strikeforce debut against Brett Rogers looked more like a light training session against an XXL Bubba grappling dummy, and during his most recent performance in the Strikeforce heavyweight GP semifinals, he put an end to Sergei Kharitonov’s brief resurgence in trademark fashion. After giving Kharitonov about 45 seconds to try to knock him out, Barnett clinches up, scores the trip takedown, and goes into boa-contrictor-playing-with-terrified-mouse mode. Kharitonov rolls to get out of mount — giving up his back — then rolls again, giving up his neck to an arm-triangle. At the video’s 17:02 mark, the camera cuts to Daniel Cormier who doesn’t look too confident about what he’s just witnessed. Now, Cormier is saying that Barnett’s mileage is starting to catch up with him. We’ll see about that, won’t we?
(From the moment Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier awoke cuffed to drain pipes on opposite ends of a dirty bathroom, they knew that a showdown was inevitable.)
Oh, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, how you’ve managed to elude us. Like that of Tim Sylvia’s UFC campaign, there were times, more often than not, that we laughed at the idea of you ever being taken seriously. Let’s just say that if your story were to be committed to paper, it would undoubtedly surpass that of Homer’s Illiad & Odyssey combined, and although it turns out we were correct to chuckle at “The Maine-iac’s” unfortunate plight, it seems that you are finally going to follow through on what you promised us so long ago. Yes, after teasing us with an original finale date of March 3rd (an event that was quickly changed to support the Tate vs. Rousey fight), you managed to make us wait yet another two and a half months before setting a final date of May 19th. Nearly one year after you began.
But we’re not here to complain, we’re here to celebrate your conclusion. Luckily, Hanuman Productions shares our somewhat-subdued-but-still-present excitement, and have created a sweet trailer to try and get us fully amped for Josh Barnett‘s clash with Daniel Cormier once again.
Check out the trailer after the jump.
(From the moment Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier awoke cuffed to drain pipes on opposite ends of a dirty bathroom, they knew that a showdown was inevitable.)
Oh, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, how you’ve managed to elude us. Like that of Tim Sylvia’s UFC campaign, there were times, more often than not, that we laughed at the idea of you ever being taken seriously. Let’s just say that if your story were to be committed to paper, it would undoubtedly surpass that of Homer’s Illiad & Odyssey combined, and although it turns out we were correct to chuckle at “The Maine-iac’s” unfortunate plight, it seems that you are finally going to follow through on what you promised us so long ago. Yes, after teasing us with an original finale date of March 3rd (an event that was quickly changed to support the Tate vs. Rousey fight), you managed to make us wait yet another two and a half months before setting a final date of May 19th. Nearly one year after you began.
But we’re not here to complain, we’re here to celebrate your conclusion. Luckily, Hanuman Productions shares our somewhat-subdued-but-still-present excitement, and have created a sweet trailer to try and get us fully amped for Josh Barnett‘s clash with Daniel Cormier once again. Check it out below, and let us know if it did its job.
So there you have it, the final trailer for the the final relevant heavyweight fight of Strikeforce’s career. We’ve probably asked you this before, but it’s been so long that we’ve definitely forgotten: who do you got for this one?
(The California State Athletic Commission’s methods may have not been considered normal, but at least now no one can say they just gave Barnett a slap on the wrist.)
Current Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix participant and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was issued a conditional license to fight in the state of California once again by the California State Athletic Commission Monday during a special meeting called to consider his case. Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test for steroids in 2009 as he readied to fight Fedor Emlianenko in the now defunct Affliction fight promotion. His license to fight in California was subsequently suspended and a later appeal for it to be lifted was denied.
Since that time, Barnett has been licensed and fought in both Ohio and Texas. However, Strikeforce has the next round of their heavyweight tournament scheduled to take place in California in mid-May, and Barnett is slated to face off against Dan Cormier. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for April but, as they explained today, that would not have been enough time to allow Strikeforce to effectively promote the card. So a special meeting was requested and approved for Barnett. Before today’s meeting, Barnett was subjected to, and passed, another drug test.
(The California State Athletic Commission’s methods may have not been considered normal, but at least now no one can say they just gave Barnett a slap on the wrist.)
Current Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix participant and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was issued a conditional license to fight in the state of California once again by the California State Athletic Commission Monday during a special meeting called to consider his case. Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test for steroids in 2009 as he readied to fight Fedor Emlianenko in the now defunct Affliction fight promotion. His license to fight in California was subsequently suspended and a later appeal for it to be lifted was denied.
Since that time, Barnett has been licensed and fought in both Ohio and Texas. However, Strikeforce has the next round of their heavyweight tournament scheduled to take place in California in mid-May, and Barnett is slated to face off against Dan Cormier. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for April but, as they explained today, that would not have been enough time to allow Strikeforce to effectively promote the card. So a special meeting was requested and approved for Barnett. Before today’s meeting, Barnett was subjected to, and passed, another drug test.
According to California statutes, the burden to show fitness for licensure fell on Barnett. He made his case by emphasizing time passed since his last positive test (he also tested positive for anabolic steroids in Nevada in 2002), the tests he has subsequently passed, and his charitable and coaching work. Barnett mentioned everything from his organizing with the Red Cross a benefit concert for victims of the recent Japanese tsunami, to his support of women’s MMA to his coaching of youth wrestling, but still denied ever having “intentionally or knowingly” taken steroids.
After opening remarks from California Deputy Attorney General Karen Chappelle and Barnett’s attorney, “The Baby-Faced Assassin” made his own. “This is truly an international sport. I can fight anywhere in the world but I want to fight in California…. Hopefully I can convince you to allow me back in this great state and do what I love,” Barnett told the commission.
However, other remarks in his statement, describing his “utter shock” at his positive test in 2009 appeared to confuse several members of the commission as well as draw the ire of Ms. Chappelle. When questioned by the commission why he would have been shocked by his 2009 positive test, Barnett said that he had never “intentionally or knowingly” taken steroids. A commissioner followed by asking if Barnett was contending that the 2009 test results were not accurate.
While Barnett said that he “could not speak to the test” he maintained that he had never knowingly taken steroids and that there was a whole host of possibilities that could explain the results, including tainted supplements.
Ms. Chappelle seemed to feel that Barnett’s answers were somehow attempting to call in to question the validity of the 2009 test. She pointed out that her office had subpoenaed drug experts from the testing laboratories to prepare for an appeal process in 2009 but that, when he had the chance, Barnett chose not to appeal the test results. She said it was her understanding that Barnett would simply apologize for the 2009 positive test in this meeting and ask to be licensed once more.
Barnett’s attorney attempted to clarify and save face, stating that Barnett simply wanted to appear to ask to be able to fight on the strength of the fact that he has passed several tests since 2009, and has done community work.
The commission had three main options with Barnett: They could once more deny his application to fight in California. They could grant him an unconditional license to fight, or they could grant him a conditional license to fight, whereupon they could attach particular mandates to his license.
Barnett was grilled for a bit longer on the details of his community work and how, exactly, he feels he is smarter and better prepared to avoid future positive drug test results, but ultimately, the commission decided to go with the third option.
Commission Chair John Frierson explained succinctly, “we need good fighters in the state of California…I speak with the Governor often and he always asks me, ‘why don’t we have more big fights?’,” before entering a motion to grant a conditional license to Barnett.
Eventually, the motion was seconded and voted in favor of and Barnett was granted a license to fight in California, on the condition that he be subjected to random biological fluid tests prior to any fights in the state, with the timing to be at the discretion of the state’s staff.
Strikeforce executive Scott Coker was in attendance at the commission hearing but did not speak.
After the decision was rendered, Barnett once more addressed the commission, saying, “I intend to make everyone on the commission…believers. I hope to see you at fight and I hope to change your opinions.”
Commission Chair Frierson replied, “Please don’t let us down. We need good fights and we need good people.”
