411's Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov Report 9.10.11

Posted by Mark Radulich on 09.11.2011

Josh Barnett defeated Sergei Kharitonov via RD1 submission to reach the Grand Prix finals! Elsewhere, Daniel Cormier defeated Antonia Silva via RD1 KO to reach the Grand Prix finals, Luke Rockhold defeated Ronaldo Souza to win the Strikeforce Middleweight title, King Mo defeated Roger Gracie via RD1 KO and more! Checkout 411’s complete Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov report for all the details!

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
9.10.11
U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio

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Besides Samer's unfortunate departure we'll also be reviewing the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals event as well as breaking down all of the news from this past week including but not limited to:

Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem
The Curious Case of Nick Diaz vs BJ Penn
GSP vs Carlos Conduit Condit
Vitor Belfort vs Cung Le
Cain Velasquez vs JDS and BENDO vs Guida on Fox
and Tito Ortiz vs Lil Nog as well other matches and news items.

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MAIN CARD (Showtime)
Josh Barnett (261lbs 30-5) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (256.5lbs 18-4) - heavyweight-tournament semifinals
Daniel Cormier (247lbs 8-0) vs. Antonio Silva (264.5lbs 16-2) - heavyweight-tournament semifinals
Champ Ronaldo Souza (185lbs 14-2-0, 1NC) vs. Luke Rockhold (185lbs 7-1) - Middleweight Title Fight
Roger Gracie (205lbs 4-0) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (205lbs 7-1)
Maximo Blanco (155lbs 8-2-1, 1NC) vs. Pat Healy (155lbs 27-17)

PRELIMINARY CARD (HDNet)
Mike Kyle (205lbs 19-8-1) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (205lbs 8-0)
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (205lbs 10-3) vs. Yoel Romero (205lbs 4-0)
Jordan Mein (170lbs 22-7) vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (170lbs 18-14)
Alexis Davis (135lbs 10-4) vs. Amanda Nunes (134.5lbs 7-1)
Chris Mierzwiak (185lbs 3-0) vs. Dominique Steele (184.5lbs 3-1)

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Hey 411 readers, thanks for joining 411's live MMA coverage tonight!

So the next few weeks will be testing the strength of every fight fans DVR's as we've got multiple cards from the UFC almost weekly from now until mid October, weekly Bellator cards, the odd HDNet stuff, Mayweather vs Ortiz for you boxing folks and a whole lotta love from other organizations. The fall is looking pretty stacked and frankly my loves, I'm damn excited for it. Actually I almost plotzed when I found out that December 30th would feature a fight between two of my favorite fighters, Lesnar and Overeem. As I told the boss, Mr Larry Csonka, I won't be covering that fight as I will be too drunk and emotional to get through it...

...so how about that Nick Diaz fellow?



You know who is probably mad as hell at this nutcase for blowing an opportunity that just about everyone else in the "dying cancer patient" (as King Mo called it) Strikeforce organization has clamored for?



Anywho...I didn't come here to tell you that so without further dudes, let's make with the fussin' and a fightin'.

PRELIMINARY MATCHES ON HDNET FIGHTS:

INTRODUCTION:

Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten welcome us to the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rice breaks down both version of tonights card. It's the strongest undercard in Strikeforce history, so says Kenny Rice.

Middleweight bout: Chris Mierzwiak (185lbs 3-0) vs. Dominique Steele (184.5lbs 3-1)

ROUND ONE Steele presses forward tagging Mierzwiak in the face but then gets taken down. Mierzwiak looks to have locked Steele up in an inverted triangle. Steele escapes and they stand back up. Mierzwiak and Steele scramble up and down. Steele attempts a flying knee. Mierzwiak attempts a takedown but Steele goes for a guillotine. Another scramble and this time Mierzwiak scores a direct hit with a flying knee. Mierzwiak takes Steele's back and locks in the rear-naked choke. Steele fights and fights and fights some more and eventually flips over into Mierzwiaks guard. Steele doesn't stay long and they back standing again. Mierzwiak ends the round ramming Steele in the fence.

SCORECARD: Mierzwiak 10-9

ROUND TWO And we start off very similarly to how Round 1 started. Steele presses forward throwing punches and gets taken down after a flying knee attempt. Steele reverses and gets top position. Steele hammers on Mierzwiak from guard. Mierzwiak scrambles and Steele goes for a guillotine. Mierzwiak scrambles again and Steele slams him down. Steele works for half guard. Steele takes Mierzwiak's back as he stands up. They clinch against the fence. Steele nearly drops Mierzwiak. Steele presses his advantage and then does in fact drop his opponent. Steele looks to be trying a mounted crucifix while hammering on Mierzwiak's face. Mierzwiak turtles up and survives to round 3.

SCORECARD: Steele 10-9

ROUND THREE The round has barely begun before they are clinched against the fence. Back in the middle Steele slugs Mierzwiak's and drops him like a hot pan. Steele smothers Mierzwiak from guard. Mierzwiak tries for an arm bar but Steele slips away and takes his back in the process. Mierzwiak stands and Steele presses him against the fence. Steele drives Mierzwiak to the mat. Mierzwiak attempts another arm bar but Steele pulls away and punishes Mierzwiak. Mierzwiak manages to convert and take Steele's back. Steele fights off a rear-naked choke. Steele flips over and continues to smother Mierzwiak until the horn sounds.

SCORECARD: Steele 10-9

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Dominique Steele by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27X2).

Amanda Nunes = Female Junior Dos Santos by virtue of her Rocky theme music...which of course is awesome sauce.

Women's Bantamweight bout: Alexis Davis (135lbs 10-4) vs. Amanda Nunes (134.5lbs 7-1)

ROUND ONE The ladies are scrapping from the jump! It's clinch and punch all over the cage. ROADHOUSE! Nunes keeps trying to back off and hammer Davis but Davis is clinching for her life. Nunes has Davis pressed against the fence. Nunes gets a single leg takedown. Nunes is in half guard. Davis is trying to spin out. She does and they are back on their feet. They release the clinch and resume socking each other in the mush. Davis is backing Nunes up now. Nunes presses Davis against the fence. Nunes knees Davis in the clinch. Davis switches up and drives Nunes back. Nunes switches as the round ends.

SCORECARD: Nunes 10-9

ROUND TWO Davis has had enough of this and drives Nunes back punching all the way. Nunes turn it around and takes Davis down. Davis looks for a triangle but Nunes pulls away. Davis reverses and presses Nunes against the fence. They trade knees in the clinch. Davis is controlling Nunes now. Nunes looks like she is fading. Davis lands two short punches before the ref resets them. More punches and we're back to Davis pressing Nunes against the fence. Davis is forcing Nunes to wear her like a burlap sack, which is draining Nunes of precious oxygen. Nunes drags Davis to the center of the cage and judo throws her to the mat. Unfortunately, Davis gets full mount and commences to smash Nunes to bits. Nunes flips over and Davis finishes her off with strikes from the back. The Lioness has been tamed.

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Alexis Davis by TKO (strikes) at 4:53 of round 2.

Welterweight bout: Jordan Mein (170lbs 22-7) vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (170lbs 18-14)

ROUND ONE Cyborg misses a kick but does a nice dance move. Cyborg lands a kick. Mein returns fire. Cyborg is finding a home for his vicious low kicks. Mein kicks him back. Both men are punching but are having trouble finding their distance. Mein and Cyborg trade punches. Cyborg lands a kick that topples Mein. Mein recovers quickly. Cyborg stalks Mein and tries to finish him off before the round ends.

SCORECARD: Santos 10-9

ROUND TWO Mein and Cyborg are trading jabs. Cyborg nearly dislocates Mein's knee with an inside leg kick. Mein misses with a high head kick and nearly gets clobbered by Cyborg. Mein peppers Cyborg with body shots but Cyborg covers up, minimizing the damage. Cyborg misses a spinning high kick. Mein lands a good counter punch. Cyborg grazes Mein with a kick in the chest. Hard round to call as it was fairly even.

SCORECARD: Santos 10-9

ROUND THREE The fighters are trading punches. Cyborg lands a hard kick. Mein lands a good combination of punches. Mein follows up with a series of elbows driving Cyborg against the fence. Cyborg covers up and allows Mein to abuse him until the ref steps in. Nice come back for Mein. I suspect we'll be seeing Mr. Cyborg on another HDNet card soon...probably Shark Fights.

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Jordan Mein by TKO (strikes) at 3:18 of round 3.

Light Heavyweight bout: Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (205lbs 10-3) vs. Yoel Romero (205lbs 4-0)

ROUND ONE Cavalcante and Romero dance around for a spell. Both men can't seem to land either kicks or punches. Cavalcante finally lands a kick that sends Romero reeling back. The crowd is booing and rightly so. Mergliotta looks bored. Seriously 5 minutes of shadow boxing. Huzzah! Cavalcante lands another kick. Romero gets some sort of warning. Romero shoots and Cavalcante nearly falls on top of him.

SCORECARD: Cavalcante 10-9 (and I'm being generous)

ROUND TWO Cavalcante plants a kick in the chest. Romero kicks him in the nuts (well at least he landed something finally). Cavalcante throws a high kick and bounces off of his duff. Romero finally wakes up and swarms all over Cavalcante. Romero is hammering into oblivion. Cavalcante recovers and Romero tackles him. They clinch against the fence. Cavalcante breaks free. Romero runs through Cavalcante's attacks and presses him against the fence. Romero throws a knee and Cavalcante uses that opportunity to drive Romero down. Romero pops back up and drives Cavalcante against the fence. Cavalcante throws a high and finishes with a spinning back fist. Cavalcante and Romero trade shots and Romero gets rocked. Cavalcante finishes him off with punches, the last of which looked like he ran him through with a sword.

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante by KO at 4:51 of round 2.

HDNET FIGHTS PRELIMINARY STRIKEFORCE MAIN EVENT:

Light Heavyweight bout: Mike Kyle (205lbs 19-8-1) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (205lbs 8-0)

ROUND ONE Kyle and de Lima trade strikes. Kyle lands a low leg kick. De Lima is having some degree of difficulty finding a way inside. Kyle is easily able to counter de Lima. Kyle lands a double jab. Kyle is breaking down de Lima's defenses. Kyle lands a double jab that stumbles de Lima. Kyle lands a hard, looping left. Front kick from Kyle. Kyle is striking at will and de Lima is backing up in a circle.

SCORECARD: Kyle 10-9

ROUND TWO Both men trade leg kicks. De Lima is landing more leg kicks this round. Both men have spent the majority of the round taking turns kicking each other in the leg. Kyle takes de Lima down and gets his back. Kyle spins around knees de Lima in the family jewels; and the ref does nothing. De Lima upkicks Kyle in the face and the same thing happens. Not sure what the point of having a ref in the cage is at this point. Oh yeah, and the round ended.

SCORECARD: Kyle 10-9

ROUND THREE Kyle comes out jabbing. De Lima kicks Kyle in the knee, twice. De Lima is chopping at Kyle with leg kicks. Kyle lands a hard left. Kyle takes de Lima down. Kyle smothers de Lima from half guard. De Lima is cut. Kyle ends the round tenderizing de Lima's chest with strikes.

SCORECARD: Kyle 10-9

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Mike Kyle by Unanimous Decision (29-28X2, 30-27).

Well that was a mixed bag if I've ever seen one. Now off to Showtime for the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix!

SHOWTIME HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND PRIX MAIN CARD MATCHES:

INTRODUCTION:

As I watch the intro for the Showtime fights and see folks like Fedor, Henderson, Nick Diaz and Jason Miller I find myself wondering, why exactly hasn't anyone bothered to edit the darn intro video and make it current. I'm just saying, I mean the WWE cans somebody on Monday and by Tuesday they are off the intro video. WTF?

So anywho, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock welcome us to the show. They inform us that Barnett is the clear favorite to win the tournament (seriously, Bigfoot = chop liver apparently). Pat Miletich joins the broadcast.

Lightweight bout: Maximo Blanco (155lbs 8-2-1, 1NC) vs. Pat Healy (155lbs 27-17)

ROUND ONE Blanco and Healy exchange punches until Blanco kicks Healy, knocking him over. Blanco works from half guard. Healey escapes and they resume trading strikes. Blanco lands a head kick and follows up with knees to the face. Healey shoots and is stuffed. Blanco is in full guard with Healey against the fence. Healey looks for an armbar and then an ankle lock. Blanco repeatedly kicks Healey in the face while on the ground (did someone not explain to this guy what the rules are?). The doctor is in to check on Bam Bam. Healey is fine enough to continue and Blanco loses a point. Blanco lights Healey up until Healey catches a kick and slams Blanco to the mat. Healey works Blanco over from the back.

SCORECARD: Draw due to point deduction

ROUND TWO Blanco is evading Healey's strikes. Blanco nails Healey. Healey wallops Blanco back and down he goes. Healey takes his back and goes for a rear-naked choke. Blanco escapes. Healey goes a for a kick, slips and falls down. Healey takes Blanco down again. Blanco stands up but Healey drags him back down and reapplies the rear-naked choke. Blanco taps out! Go Bam Bam go!

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Pat Healy by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:24 of round 2.

Light Heavyweight bout: Roger Gracie (205lbs 4-0) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (205lbs 7-1)

ROUND ONE Both men are slow to engage. King Mo is throwing some fairly ineffective jabs to the body. Gracie comes in and gets shoved away by Lawal. King Mo flicks off a left hook. Gracie kicks, Mo catches and tags him. Gracie dodges a right hook. Lawal is looking for a one punch KO. Both men are evading each others strikes. With 30 seconds to go King Mo crowns Roger Gracie and ends the fight. Gracie is in dreamland. Welcome back your highness!

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal by KO at 4:33 of round 1.

Middleweight Championship bout: Champ Ronaldo Souza (185lbs 14-2-0, 1NC) vs. Luke Rockhold (185lbs 7-1)

ROUND ONE Souza and Rockhold exchange leg kicks. Souza shoots, Rockhold sprawls and Souza goes flying across the cage. Souza wraps around him again and drags him down to the mat. Souza smashes Rockhold in the face while tightly wrapped around his waist. Souza remains pressed against Rockhold, who cannot get off the fence. Finally Souza lets him free. Rockhold lands a teep kick. Souza comes forward with a series of kicks and punches. Rockhold attempts a flying switch kick. Rockhold lands a flurry and Souza shoots to avoid further punishment. That ends the round.

SCORECARD: Souza 10-9

ROUND TWO Rockhold comes out throwing more spin kicks. Rockhold comes forward with a series of strikes but Souza responds and drives Rockhold right back. Rockhold is nearly dropped by Souza who tagged Rockhold at will. Rockhold throws another fancy switch kick. Rockhold keeps throwing punches and kicks but many are not finding their mark. They clinch against the fence. Rockhold repeatedly knees Souza in the thigh. Souza switches and puts Rockhold against the fence. Rockhold gets away. Rockhold lands another flurry. He has managed to keep Souza back peddling for the majority of the round. Rockhold lands one more kick and that's the end of round 2.

SCORECARD: Rockhold 10-9

ROUND THREE Souza starts off throwing kicks but not necessarily connecting. Rockhold returns fire but hits Souza in the cup. Souza and Rockhold lock up. Souza back trips Rockhold. Rockhold keeps Souza at bay and stands up. Souza returns with a punch-kick combo. Rockhold plants one on the chin but is unfazed. Rockhold is swinging for the fences, praying he hits something. Souza does an Anderson Silva impression, dropping his guard. However, Rockhold still manages to land one on his chin. Rockhold wins another round.

SCORECARD: Rockhold 10-9

ROUND FOUR Souza and Rockhold are going toe to toe. Rockhold kicks Souza in his side. Souza counters with a right. Souza with a front kick that misses. Rockhold presses his advantage. Souza returns by clinching against the fence. Rockhold turns Souza around. Souza drives Rockhold across the cage. Souza with an uppercut. Souza shoots but Rockhold evades and tries to take his back. Souza escapes and they resume standing. Rockhold throws a spinning back kick, Souza catches and Rockhold actually gets a momentary takedown. Rockhold has Souza pressed against the fence.

SCORECARD: Rockhold 10-9

ROUND FIVE The fighters exchange kicks to the body. Rockhold is steady jabbing. Souza comes forward with a flurry. Rockhold lands a series of strikes. Souza clinches and presses Rockhold against the fence. Rockhold is driven down but bounces up. Souza is persistent and forces Rockhold down. Souza gets top position. Rockhold slides out. Souza plants one Rockhold's chin. Rockhold walks through Souza's offense. Rockhold lands a 360 degree kick. Souza is throwing whatever he can at Rockhold and it's all missing. Souza tries one last push but time runs out.

SCORECARD: Souza 10-9

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Luke Rockhold by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 48-47X2).

I don't know about 50-45 but I do agree that Rockhold won, without issue. Fair play to Mr. Rockhold (now vacate your title and challenge Anderson Silva : P )

SEMIFINAL HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND PRIX MATCH

Heavyweight bout: Daniel Cormier (247lbs 8-0) vs. Antonio Silva (264.5lbs 16-2)

ROUND ONE Silva mauls Cormier to start and drives him against the cage. Cormier turns away. Cormier knocks Bigfoot on his tushy. Cormier doesn't stay long with Bigfoot on the ground and lets him back up. Cormier rocks Silva with every punch that lands. Silva shoots and Cormier sprawls. Bigfoot appears to employing the Werdum Jiu Jitsu method where you pray that your opponent jumps into your guard. Bigfoot throws a body kick, which is caught. Cormier trips Silva down. They stand up again. Cormier tags Silva once, twice, three times a lady and finally KO's the giant. Well that was a short-lived rocket ship to stardom for the other A. Silva.

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Daniel Cormier by KO at 3:56 of round 1.

I'm happy for Dan, sad for Silva. And while I'm not trying to be all sour grapes about this I just want to point out that Silva had to get through Fedor while Cormier's journey started with Jeff Monson…Jeff Monson, the guy who M-1 thinks is just beatable enough to book against Fedor in November…just sayin'.

SEMIFINAL HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND PRIX MAIN EVENT MATCH

Heavyweight bout: Josh Barnett (261lbs 30-5) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (256.5lbs 18-4)

ROUND ONE Kharitonov comes out swinging, backing Barnett against the cage. Barnett ties up Kharitonov and hammers him with some elbows before taking him down. Barnett is in full mount. Barnett starts to ground and pound while Kharitonov tries to buck him off. Kharitonov attempts to KO Barnett from the bottom. Barnett alternates between smothering and hammering. Kharitonov rolls over, giving up his back. Barnett is throwing short punches and hammerfists while Kharitonov is content to turtle up. Kharitonov rolls back over and gets submitted with 30 seconds to go.

OFFICIAL RESULT: WINNER – Josh Barnett by submssion (head-&-arm triangle) at 4:28 of round 1.

Is it just me or does Josh Barnett win the same way EVERY time? Well if ain't broke, etc, etc.

So Barnett vs Cormier is how this saga ends…meh. I mean it will probably be a lovely match and the winner will most likely be very close to title shot against the UFC champ but I'm having some difficulty mustering much excitement for this particular match. Ah well, such is life.