In a GP with Fedor, Barnett, Werdum, Overeem and Pezão. the great champion of the tournament was the unknown Daniel Cormier. The North American, who started the fight as a reserve, reached the final this Saturday (19) and gave Josh Barnett no chance, dominating the fight during the five rounds and taking the fight with a unanimous decision from the judges.
Daniel Cormier dominates Josh Barnett and wins Strikeforce GP
Called up to replace alistair overeem, who had migrated to the UFC, in the semifinal against Antonio Pezão, Cormier showed his knockout power and eliminated the Brazilian favorite. In the big decision, the AKA athlete arrived to face veteran Josh Barnett and was not intimidated by the underdog label again. With a mix of efficient boxing and a good takedown game, Daniel neutralized his opponent's actions.
After winning the first round with striking, Cormier showed the strength of his wrestling in the next round. With beautiful takedowns, Daniel worked on top and opened a huge cut on Barnett's face. History repeated itself in the third and fourth rounds, with Cormier working with punches and takedowns, and Josh, very timidly, trying to respond with high kicks.
In the fifth round, with victory in his hands, Cormier cooled down the duel and kept the fight in the clinch most of the time to control and fight and win by unanimous decision from the judges.
Melendez suffers, but defends belt
In the second most important fight of the night, Gilbert Melendez put the lightweight belt on the line against Josh thomson, closing a trilogy with a victory for each athlete. And in a fiercely contested duel full of alternations, the champion defended the belt in a split decision from the judges (48×47, 47×48, 48×47).
Beans finish in 33 seconds
Before Mike pyle, who had knocked him out in 2009, Rafael Feijão didn't give the North American a chance. In the first few moves, the Brazilian knocked down with a knee and then pulled his opponent towards the guillotine, forcing Pyle to give up the fight. After the triumph, Feijão asked for a new opportunity for the title, vacant after the departure of Dan Henderson for the UFC.
Other Brazilians
In addition to Feijão's victory, the event featured three more Brazilians in action. Guto Inocente debuted in the organization on the right foot and defeated Virgil Zwicker in a unanimous decision by the judges. Gesias Cavalcante and Yuri Vilefort ended up being beaten by Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Quinn Mulhern, respectively, both in the judges' split decision.
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