Strikeforce: Ten Things We Learned From Barnett vs. Kharitonov

Recapping the stories coming out of Cincinnati

JOSH BARNETT IS REALLY, REALLY TALENTED

Most everyone already knew this, but I feel like it can’t be said enough.

Whenever the topic of Barnett comes up, his tainted past always leads the way. While that is totally understandable, more attention needs to be paid to his exploits in the cage.

“The Warmaster” has  won eight straight after easily dispatching Sergei Kharitonov on Saturday night. He’s 31-5 overall, with three of his losses coming to Mirko Cro Cop in his good days.

Barnett is unquestionably a top 10 heavyweight – maybe even top 5 – but his name rarely comes up when we’re talking about the best big men in the sport. Maybe that will change if he claims the Grand Prix title.

THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF DANIEL CORMIER

Daniel Cormier has come a long way in a very short period of time.

Just two years ago, the former Olympian made his MMA debut. Saturday night, he cold-cocked Antonio Silva, a legitimate top 10 heavyweight fresh off beating Fedor Emelianenko.

Long gone is the questionable conditioning and heavy reliance on wrestling. In their place are tremendous speed and footwork for a heavyweight and improving striking. When added to the world-class wrestling Cormier has always possessed, you have the makings of a very dangerous heavyweight fighter.

Every fight for Cormier from here on out will be a stiff test; facing Barnett in the finals will be the toughest fight of his career. If he keeps improving by leaps and bounds as he has to this point, he just might end up winning the whole thing.

ROCKHOLD PROVES HE BELONGS

Luke Rockhold told me when I spoke to him before this fight that he was going to “open some eyes” in his middleweight title fight with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Saturday night, the 26-year-old did just that, taking the gold from the champion with a unanimous decision victory.

Rockhold showed no real ill effects of his long layoff or previous injuries. He dictated the tempo and location of the fight for most of the 25 minutes, pressing Souza and remaining on his feet for the most part.

Rockhold’s superior striking was the difference. While Souza relied on single power shots throughout, Rockhold mixed things up, blending kicks with multiple punch combinations. In the end, it was enough to secure him the decision, and the middleweight title.

THE JUDGING DISCUSSION

The Rockhold-Souza fight was a back-and-forth contest that could have been scored 48-47 either way without many people offering a legitimate complaint. But where did that 50-45 come from?

The middle three rounds were close and the final one clearly belonged to Rockhold, but the first round?

I’m all for not being overly generous when it comes to takedowns that don’t really go anywhere, especially when used to try and steal the round. That said, the striking was relatively close – Rockhold had volume, Souza had impact — and the champ collected three takedowns.

Two of the three judges saw the round in favor of Souza, and rightfully so. What that first judge saw that tipped his scales in favor of Rockhold is beyond me, and until we get some transparency and consistency in judging, we’re going to keep having these head-scratching scores.

HOW GOOD COULD KING MO BECOME?

If you ask Daniel Cormier, he’ll give the vast majority of the credit for his success to the team at American Kickboxing Academy. Now that Mo Lawal has made AKA the home base for his overall training, how good could the former light heavyweight champion become?

Like Cormier, Lawal is a world-class wrestler with very good athleticism. The more he keeps working with the coaching staff and proven veterans at the San Jose gym, the more those secondary skills are going to come along.

He showed improved boxing technique Saturday night in his knockout win over Roger Gracie, being able to land the overhand right finisher because he was looking to the body with the left to start. As he continues to sharpen those tools, don’t be surprised if Lawal starts making the same developmental leaps his friend and teammate Cormier has shown in the last two years.

TWO WINS IN FOUR WEEKS FOR HEALY

Pat Healy didn’t like the fact that he fought once between June 2010 and February 2011, then waited another six months to get back into the cage.

When Josh Thomson fell out of his fight on this card, Healy lobbied to replace him, looking to build on the win he collected over Eric Wisely back in August. Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby gave him the thumbs up, and Healy made the most of it, using his size and grappling advantages to submit Maximo Blanco.

It’s a very good win for Healy, who has now collected three straight victories. He’s a tough out for anyone and definitely should be in the thick of the title chase after picking up his second win in four weeks.

THE INAUSPICIOUS DEBUT OF MAXIMO BLANCO

Yeah, he should have been disqualified for the group of kicks he dropped in Pat Healy’s face midway through the opening round. But here’s the thing: it’s not like we’re talking about a knee as the guy is starting to get back up off the ground.

Blanco knew Healy was on the canvas and started kicking him in the face; it was a clear foul that should have cost him the fight.

Anyone who wants to argue that he was unsure because it was his first fight in North America and under the Unified Rules can save it; Blanco prepared for this fight at in Albuquerque, so he had ample time and resources to help him brush up on the rules.

He also needs to make the move to featherweight, pronto.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SHINE ON PRELIMINARY CARD

Both Mike Kyle and Rafael Cavalcante delivered impressive performances in collecting victories in their preliminary card fights on Saturday night.

Kyle, who has alternated between heavyweight and 205 throughout his career, needs to look at his performance against Marcos Rogerio de Lima as an indication of where he should make his permanent home. His striking was crisp and his conditioning was not an issue.

Meanwhile, the former light heavyweight champion got back into the win column with an emphatic technical knockout win over Yoel Romero.

After an uneventful and annoying opening frame, Cavalcante caught Romero flush with a spinning backfist late in the second round. While Romero managed to get back to his feet, Feijao could sense the finish was in front of him and continued his assault, pounding out the stoppage.

The matching victories set up numerous possibilities for the organization moving forward. Mo Lawal talked about his desire to avenge his loss to Cavalcante, while I’m sure “Feijao” would like to do the same against Kyle.

NEXT. BIG. THING.

I told you so.

Jordan Mein lived up to his advance billing on Saturday night, surviving a shaky opening round to come back and finish Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos under a storm of standing elbows in the third. The victory is the sixth consecutive win for Mein and his fifth this year alone.

Mein appeared on The Next Big Thing podcast here on Heavy MMA a couple weeks back to talk about this fight, and said he was looking forward to beating “Cyborg” at his own game. Saturday night, he did just that.

FRANK SHAMROCK HAS GOT TO GO

It wouldn’t be a Strikeforce event recap without me touching upon the offerings from the announce table.

I’m going to spare Mauro Ranallo this time around, though I still don’t know why he gets so excited all the time. Pat Miletich is a good analyst.

But Frank Shamrock has got to go. Now. Please.

You cannot have an analyst who:

(1) is unaware of the rules, as Shamrock admitted he was when Maximo Blanco repeatedly kick Pat Healy in the face.

(2) goes through stretches where he sounds disinterested in the fights, offering little commentary whatsoever.

It honestly seemed like he was either mailing it in or missing Gus Johnson on Saturday night. Whatever the case may be, Shamrock either needs to shape up or be shipped out. He doesn’t bring anything insightful to the announce table, and actually seems to be getting worse with each passing event.