Saturday, September 10, 2011, Strikeforce went live from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, for Strikeforce – Kharitonov vs. Barnett, featuring the semi-final round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
In the evening’s main-event, Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett (31-5-0) was simply too much for Russian striker Sergei Kharitonov (18-5-0) as the American catch-wrestler sought the takedown early with great success, tripping Kharitonov to the mat from the clinch and securing full-mount immediately. True to form, Barnett worked methodically from the mount to score well placed punches, before catching Kharitonov with an arm-triangle choke, forcing the tap at 4:28 of the first round.
Daniel Cormier (9-0-0) was all the buzz after the co-main event, as the tournament alternate not only upset but completely dismantled veteran big-man, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (16-3-0). A big over-hand right akin to that of teammate Mike Kyle floored Silva early and it was clear that Cormier’s intention was to keep it standing as he quickly backed out of “Bigfoot’s” guard. Returning to the feet, Silva had no answer for the former Olympian’s well-timed combinations as he battered the Brazilian with a thudding upper-cut that collapsed him to the mat, rendering the Team Nogueira representative defenseless.
A former champion in Muhammed “King” Lawal (8-1-0) returned to form, knocking the previously undefeated Roger Gracie (4-1-0) out with a counter right hand that caught his man just behind the left ear; while Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (14-3-0) was upset by AKA’s Luke Rockhold (8-1-0) who was crowned the new Strikeforce middleweight champion after a grueling 5-round affair that saw Rockhold get the unanimous decision nod from ringside judges.
Other results from the card can be found below:
1 Dominique Steele def. Chris Mierzwiak via Decision (Unanimous) rd3 5:00
2 Alexis Davis def. Amanda Nunes via TKO (Punches) rd2 4:53
3 Jordan Mein def. Evangelista Santos via TKO (Elbows) rd3 3:18
4 Rafael Cavalcante def. Yoel Romero Palacio via KO (Punches) rd2 4:51
5 Mike Kyle def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via Decision (Unanimous) rd3 5:00
6 Pat Healy def. Maximo Blanco via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) rd2 4:27
7 Muhammed Lawal def. Roger Gracie via KO (Punches) rd1 4:33
8 Luke Rockhold def. Ronaldo Souza via Decision (Unanimous) rd5 5:00
9 Daniel Cormier def. Antonio Silva via KO (Punches) rd1 3:56
10 Josh Barnett def. Sergei Kharitonov via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) rd1 4:28
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