STRIKEFORCE will make its second trip to the Buckeye State this year when it brings the STRIKEFORCE WORLD GRAND PRIX: HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT semi-finals to U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10., live on SHOWTIME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The World Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists will be determined when former UFC heavyweight champion “The Baby Faced Assassin” Josh Barnett takes on Russian sensation Sergei Kharitonov, and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva battles tournament alternate Daniel “DC” Cormier.
The card will also feature STRIKEFORCE middleweight champ Ronald “Jacare” Souza defending his title against top contender Luke Rockhold, as well as a light heavyweight collision between Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal and Roger Gracie. A fifth yet-to-be announced fight will air on the SHOWTIME portion of the event.
The main card action will air live on SHOWTIME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
“Cincinnati is an incredible sports town and we’re excited to bring the World Grand Prix: Heavyweight Tournament to the great fans here,” said STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker. “We’re going to see who advances to the tournament finals. Barnett vs. Kharitonov pits two incredible finishers against one another, and ‘Big Foot’ is looking to keep the momentum rolling after his big win over Fedor when he meets unbeaten Daniel Cormier. When you add in the middleweight title fight and the other great bouts, you can see that we’ve pulled out all the stops for our return to Ohio.”
Having defeated seven straight opponents, including a slick submission win over Brett Rogers in the previous round of the Grand Prix, Josh Barnett (30-5) feels he is the only man that has what it takes to win this tournament. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who holds career victories over legends Randy Couture, Dan Severn and Minotauro Nogueira, looks to advance and book a spot in the finals when he takes on Golden Glory product, Sergei Kharitonov (18-4). Born in Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, Kharitonov still serves active duty for the Russian Airborne Troops while training full time. Though he most recently defeated Andrei Arlovski to earn this fight, he also holds notable wins over Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
Brazilian-born heavyweight Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (16-2) is on a tear through the division thanks to recent wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Arlovski and Mike Kyle. Silva, who holds black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and karate, will need everything he’s got when he matches up with American Kickboxing Academy’s top heavyweight prospect, Daniel Cormier (8-0). The former Oklahoma State University wrestler, who was also a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling team, steps in as an alternate for the injured Alistair Overeem, and hopes to make the most of this massive opportunity.
Team Black House fighter and current STRIKEFORCE middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (14-2, 1 NC) is currently riding a four-fight win streak that includes victories over Tim Kennedy and Robbie Lawler. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt looks to successfully defend his belt for the second time when he takes on Santa Cruz’s Luke Rockhold (7-1). An American Kickboxing Academy standout and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Rockhold seeks his seventh consecutive victory and the STRIKEFORCE 185-pound crown.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-1) is looking to make his way back up the light heavyweight ladder and reclaim his throne. The former champ had won seven straight before running into Rafael Cavalcante last August, but he’s now back hungrier than ever to return to the win column. Having wrestled at Oklahoma State University, Lawal will have to rely on his takedowns and heavy hands when he squares off against second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roger Gracie (4-0). A member of the famed Gracie family, Roger is undefeated and recently scored a victory over former UFC and PRIDE® star Kevin Randleman.
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Sergei needs to finish within the first 10 or 20 seconds or he’s gonna get laid on. If he can time an uppercut, which is usually how he wins, hell win for sure.
It’s going to suck ass without the Overeem!
Dude Overeem shouldn’t have even gotten the decision in his last fight against Werdum. Werdum outstriked Overeem by a lot and out grappled him look at the fightmetrics.
You can’t control the octagon when your on your back, legs in the air inviting another fighter to come lay between your legs….so you can submit them. Werdum had a crappy game plan which made him look like an ass. Overeem won that fight based purely on the fact that he landed better power shots, stuffed takedowns and his opponent laid down most of the fight. Bring back soccer kicks…..
wat r u talking about josh, i agree that werdum standed and traded but every time overeem connected a clean shot he would dive to the canvus like a little pussy. fightmetrics is a load of shit, it scores all the little tip tap shit over the real shots.
idk wtf u r talking about, werdum was getting the better of reem on the feet-although reem did land the heavier blows- but he felt more comfortable on the ground n didnt mind looking like a fool trying to bait reem to meet him there. theres a reason why reem didnt look so good in that fight n imo if werdum didnt flop so much the judges would have given him the fight.
I would’ve liked to see the results of the tournament with Overeem still competing but I also want to see how Cormier does against Silva. I think Silva would have beat Overeem though.
i lost all intrest in this tounament when overeem was ruled out, him and fedor were the only exciting fighter in the comp, Cromier as a replacement is an absoulte joke, but i guess there is noone else on the roster to step up…except for hendo, too bad his already booked
lol your stupid. Cormier will beat Big Foots ass. And there’s no good comp left?? Sergei is a freakin beast.
cormier is good but idk if he’ll beat big foot.
im not sold on Big Foot. He only looked good against Fedor cause he had 30 pounds on him and Fedor isn’t a wrestler. Cormier has the right camp and skills to be the champ.
i thought he looked good against werdum in his loss to him and i thought he looked pretty good against arlovski.
yeah sergies alright, ill agree with ya there, he did knock out alovski in his last outing, but then again who hasent these days. Cromier is rubbish though, did you see his striking against monson? pathetic, couldnt wven finish a guy who couldnt lift his arms up. so what he is a all american ncaaa or what ever wrestler, there a dime a dosen, wrestling will only get you so far these days.
follow me on twitter @joshuachan72
only 2 guys in 54 fights have ever tkod munson. maybe u should follow someone on twitter who knows more about mma. oh btw munson submitted sergei.
haha, why is this guy still trying to get people to follow him on twitter.
relax mate, how bout you post a comment when your other browser tab isnt on wikipedia searching the fight records of the person your writing about.
yea in the beginning all i wanted to see was Fedor vs Overeem.
Bring back Chad Griggs for this card !!
Griggs is a beast. The heavies need to watch out for this guy.
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