(I’ve got 25, 25, do I hear 26 for this authentic Cuban-born champion? I’ve got 25, do I hear 26? 26?! 26?!!! Sold at 25!) 

After battering and busting up Urijah Faber en route to his 29th straight victory, newly-crowned interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao proved to the world at UFC 149 that his win streak was the product of hard work and dedication, not the culmination of years spent crushing cans that seemed to be the case for a certain somebody making his long awaited debut just one fight before. This is not to say that Hector Lombard doesn’t push himself as a fighter — by all accounts he does the exact opposite, in fact — but to say that Lombard was the first fighter to come to the UFC on a huge win streak, only to have said streak invalidated almost immediately would be a bold faced lie (Jason Reinhardt, anyone? How about our buddy Sean McCorkle?).

But when guys who have spent years fighting below their level come up short on the big stage, it just makes it all the more impressive to see the Barao’s and Ryan Jimmo‘s of the world succeed in living up to their hype. Simply put, it’s no coincidence that most of the guys with the greatest win streaks in the sport are all champions, and the rest are either made up (I shall refer you to the infamous tale of Craig Rehage as my primary example) or busted as soon as the fighter faces some legit competition.

However, when trying to determine which champion has the most impressive win streak of them all, we surprisingly found ourselves at odds. Some of us went with the obvious choice in Anderson Silva, some of us thought that Jon Jones’ streak was more impressive, and ReX thought that Ronda Rousey’s run stood atop them all before snatching a copy of her ESPN magazine shoot and running off to our executive bathroom. He has yet to return.

So as is often the case when we are struggling to decide upon an issue, we will hand the power over to you, Potato Nation. After the jump, you will find a survey. The topic: “Which Current Champion Has the Greatest Win Streak in MMA?” You WILL vote on this poll, and you WILL leave us your convincing arguments in the comments section. Sound good?

(Eh, it was funnier when Roy Nelson did it. / Photo via Pro Elite)

Last night, news of a former UFC star’s long-awaited return began circulating on the Internet. Of course, I’m talking about Logan Stanton’s surprise appearance at the UFC 149 weigh-ins. In a far-less-important related story, there were also reports about ex-UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia being signed to fight Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce. Since being humiliated by pudgy boxer Ray Mercer in June 2009, Sylvia has gone 7-1 in eight different regional promotions (with six wins by stoppage due to strikes), and maybe the time was right for a high-profile comeback. If you’ll recall, Cormier himself wasn’t against the idea.

Unfortunately, those reports were bullshit, as UFC president Dana White confirmed with the UG. “Long story, but yes, Tim is not with Zuffa,” White said. Sources indicate that negotiations were in fact going on, but for some reason Sylvia and Zuffa couldn’t come to terms. We’ll update you if more details come out. Cormier is still without an opponent for his September 29th Strikeforce swan song.

(“Put up or shut up! Time to DOUBLE up!“)

During the broadcast of Saturday’s Rockhold vs. Kennedy show — possibly while I was taking a leak before the main event — Strikeforce announced that Heavyweight Grand Prix Winner Daniel Cormier‘s final appearance for the promotion will take place on a September 29th card at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. No opponent has been named for Cormier yet, and frankly, this speculation about a rematch with Josh Barnett has to be bullshit, right? We hope? (SAVE US, TIM.) Win or lose, Cormier is expected to transition to the UFC following the match.

As it turns out, September 29th is going to be an MMA double-header, with UFC on FUEL TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic: Seriously? also scheduled for that day in Nottingham, England. The card will be broadcast live in the afternoon for North American fans.

(No, really Clay. Make yourself comfortable. Props: @JoeLauzon)

The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.

Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8 a.m. Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery below. Enjoy.

(THIS is what intimidation looks like.) 

Let’s be honest, Potato Nation. Tim Sylvia is probably one of the most toughest motherfuckers you know. True story: While in college, I once sent a him a private video message in which I made fun of his fight with Ray Mercer, his appearance on Blind Date, and his nickname, “Fatty Boom-Boom,” for a good twenty five minutes. I’m not sure how, but the very next day, he showed up to my school, slept in my dorm room, beat the fuck out of my roommate and took his bed, then proceeded to smack all of my teachers, professors, RA’s, and deans before my very eyes.

All we’re saying is, “The Maine-iac” does not give a fuck; he simply gets shit done. And although he has yet to persuade Dana White into giving him another chance in the UFC, it looks like newly crowned Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier would be more than willing to offer him a fight in MMA’s #2 promotion, telling the following to Sherdog’s “Beatdown” Radio:

I think anytime you get to fight a guy that held the UFC title, it’s a big deal. If Tim Sylvia’s the guy that they put across the cage from me, then that’s the guy I will fight on that day.

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In June 2010, we posted a list of the ten greatest fighters who had yet to take a loss. By November 2011, none of their perfect records were still intact, proving once again what a cruel bitch this sport is. Half of the fighters on our original list — Shane Carwin (#1), Megumi Fujii (#2), Ryan Bader (#6), Evan Dunham (#7), and Lyle Beerbohm (#10) — have even lost *twice* since then. So we decided to start over from scratch and come up with a new ranking of undefeated MMA fighters. Check it out, and let us know who you think will hold onto their ’0′ the longest. -BG

#1: DANIEL CORMIER (10-0, six wins by first-round stoppage)

Notable victories: Jeff Monson at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum (UD), Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (KO R1), Josh Barnett at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier (UD)

Next fight: TBA

The former collegiate wrestling star and Olympic competitor went through hell to get to where he is today. Less than three years after kicking off his MMA career, Cormier battled his way to a career-defining matchup against ex-UFC champ Josh Barnett — a catch-wrestling savant with four times as many fights on his pro record as Cormier — in the finals of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. But Dan didn’t need to turn the meeting into a grappling match. As he also demonstrated against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in his previous outing, Cormier packs enough speed and punching-power to win fights with his striking alone. It’s only a matter of time before he enters the UFC to take on the best in the world, and we have a feeling he’ll make an immediate impact.

#2: MICHAEL CHANDLER (10-0, eight wins by stoppage)

Notable victories: Patricky Freire at Bellator 44 (UD), Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58 (sub R4), Akihiro Gono at Bellator 67 (TKO R1)

Next fight: TBA

Michael Chandler is the perfect example of how a tournament can transform a fighter from unheralded prospect to breakout star. After winning his first two Bellator appearances by swift first-round stoppage in 2010, Chandler was invited to participate in the promotion’s season four lightweight tournament. The Xtreme Couture product sliced through it, starting with a first-round submission of Polish prodigy Marcin Held, and ending with a decision win over knockout artist Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in the finals. Then, Chandler did the unthinkable — he took the lightweight belt from Eddie Alvarez, choking out the formerly untouchable Bellator champ in the fourth round of an insane Fight of the Year candidate last November. (A follow-up non-title match against Akihiro Gono was little more than a one-minute showcase of his killer instinct.) In eight months, Chandler went from 5-0 up-and-comer to newly-minted champion with a win over a top-ten ranked opponent. Is it okay if we use the “meteoric rise” cliché, just this once?

(Wait, so if Cormier got his ass kicked by Antonio Silva in September, would *he* be fighting Cain Velasquez in a UFC pay-per-view co-main event this weekend? Mind = blown… / Photo via MMAWeekly)

As if a broken hand wasn’t a big-enough pain in the ass, newly crowned Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier is contractually obligated to take one more match under the Strikeforce banner before making his inevitable assault on the UFC. But since Strikeforce’s current heavyweight roster only consists of guys who Cormier already beat and guys who the guys Cormier beat already beat, this is a problem. Who the hell is Daniel Cormier going to face next? And is there any way it won’t be a complete waste of his time?

The only logicial solution is if the UFC sends one of their guys over to Strikeforce to throw down against Black Fedor. And yeah, Cormier’s already been thinking about that. Here’s what he told MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour (via MMA Mania):

“I think if there is a ‘plus-one’ [fight] and Zuffa’s going to send someone over it is going to have to be someone that is very good you know? Maybe Carwin, as he’s coming back. He’s a guy with a lot of name value and I don’t necessarily know if that’s a step up [from Josh Barnett] but that is somebody with name value. Or, if one of the guys loses from the card this weekend. But then it really limits because if Frank Mir loses I’m pretty sure he is not going to want to come to Strikeforce to fight me where if he loses he has everything to lose. When Cain beats Bigfoot Silva, what are they going to do, send [Silva] back to Strikeforce to fight me again? Nothing really adds up right now, I don’t know, I don’t know how to guess what they are going to do. There just is not that many step ups out there better than Josh Barnett.”

(Props: @JoshLBarnett)

Now, if that happened to my hand, it would be a wrap — you wouldn’t be able to stop me from sobbing. But Josh Barnett is cut from a different cloth than you or I. Despite suffering this uncomfortable-looking break within the first 30 seconds of his Strikeforce headlining fight against Black Fedor/Bro Cop on Saturday, the Warmaster bravely battled on for five agonizing rounds, only letting the pain show after the match was over. That’s what you call a savage and a true champ. Daniel Cormier also re-broke his hand early in the fight, but until he provides us with x-ray evidence, we’re going to have to proclaim Barnett the winner of their unofficial Gnarly Hand Injury contest.

Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)

Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett’s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.

It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.

(The time for talking is over. The time for looking into a camera and screaming has just begun. Photo via Esther Lin/SHO Sports.)

If you had told me 16 months ago that the Strikeforce 2011-2012 Heavyweight Grand Prix would conclude with an unheralded reserve-fighter ending up in the finals, and tournament favorite Alistair Overeem nowhere to be seen due to promotional poaching and a subsequent drug-test scandal, I would have said “Yeah, that sounds about right, actually.”

The good news is, Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier is a hell of a matchup — a classic generational battle between a battle-tested old veteran and a hungry up-and-comer. (As it turns out, Barnett is only like a year-and-a-half older than Cormier, but work with me here.) Also on the main card: Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson fight for Strikeforce’s lightweight title for the third time, while light-heavyweights Mike Kyle and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante throw down in a rematch of their own.

Handling the play-by-play for the tonight’s Showtime broadcast of Strikforce: Barnett vs. Cormier is our own Elias Cepeda, who will be posting live results after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you feel in the comments section. You ready for war? Because guys, we are always ready for war.

(Video via YouTube.com/AllElbows)

It may have lost some steam along the way, but the Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce’s little engine that could, is pulling into the station this evening. Tournament finalists Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will slug it out to decide who rules the now-defunct Strikeforce Heavyweight division and get their face plastered on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. Cormier, the two-time Olympian, tipped the scales at 238lbs; his opponent, Josh Barnett, will enjoy a 10lb advantage when they climb into the cage. Those of you ballsy enough to bet “other” as the tournament winner way back in January ’11 are on the verge of a mega-payout this evening.

Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will defend his title in a rubbermatch against Josh Thompson. Rumors swirled online that a serious knee injury would sideline “The Punk” from tonight’s bout, but he was able-bodied enough to step up on the scale. Both men tallied a weight of 153lbs and will look to settle the score in San Jose.

We’re liveblogging the crap out of this thing tonight, so join us back here for the festivities.

Full weigh-in results are after the jump.

(Come on…hasn’t Mark Hunt suffered enough?)

Tomorrow night in San Jose, Josh Barnett will face the greatest challenge of his post-PRIDE career when he meets Daniel Cormier in the finals of Strikeforce’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix. (FYI, we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime main card starting at 10 p.m. ET, so don’t make any big plans.) Barnett’s comfort-level in the cage and catch-wrestling expertise have led him on a four-year winning streak, and one more victory could earn him an improbable return to the UFC. In honor of this pivotal moment for the Warmaster, we decided to round up his five greatest submissions. Enjoy, and shoot us your predictions for Barnett vs. Cormier in the comments section…

(Josh Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt; UFC 32, 6/29/01)

Barnett’s first submission in the Octagon came against gigantic kickboxer Semmy Schilt, who had made his UFC debut the previous month by smashing Pete Williams. Wisely, Barnett avoids the standup game entirely, immediately taking the Dutchman to the mat. Schilt is absolutely helpless underneath the Babyface Assassin, and eventually gives up mount. Barnett waits for the right moment then attacks Schilt’s arm, giving up position in the process. It doesn’t matter — Barnett sinks the armbar at the 4:21 mark of the first round and establishes himself as a fearsome heavyweight grappler.

(From the moment Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier awoke cuffed to drain pipes on opposite ends of a dirty bathroom, they knew that a showdown was inevitable.) 

Oh, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, how you’ve managed to elude us. Like that of Tim Sylvia’s UFC campaign, there were times, more often than not, that we laughed at the idea of you ever being taken seriously. Let’s just say that if your story were to be committed to paper, it would undoubtedly surpass that of Homer’s Illiad & Odyssey combined, and although it turns out we were correct to chuckle at “The Maine-iac’s” unfortunate plight, it seems that you are finally going to follow through on what you promised us so long ago. Yes, after teasing us with an original finale date of March 3rd (an event that was quickly changed to support the Tate vs. Rousey fight), you managed to make us wait yet another two and a half months before setting a final date of May 19th. Nearly one year after you began.

But we’re not here to complain, we’re here to celebrate your conclusion. Luckily, Hanuman Productions shares our somewhat-subdued-but-still-present excitement, and have created a sweet trailer to try and get us fully amped for Josh Barnett‘s clash with Daniel Cormier once again.

Check out the trailer after the jump. 

(Be warned, Dana, Barnett only comes as a package deal.) 

Well, you can add Josh Barnett to the small list of people that Dana White has said will never fight in the UFC again, but will now likely fight in the UFC again. Money does strange things to people, doesn’t it?

Believe it or not, the man who once offered to urinate in DW’s mouth for a steroid test, and stated that he believed “a trained monkey” could do the UFC President’s job will almost definitely be getting a call from the UFC if he is able to walk away victorious from his upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament final match with Daniel Cormier on May 19th. Here’s what The Baldfather had to say:

The way that Showtime wants to do it is when that fight finally happens, whoever wins it, they wanna do another fight on Showtime, so that guy would probably come to the UFC. We’ll see what happens, you know? Josh and I have been playing nice with each other for a little while, since he got into the UFC. It’s more than just, ‘Does he win? Does he do this?’ You gotta be able to come to terms with the guy and be able to deal with him. If he wins the fight, I can’t see why he wouldn’t come here, unless we weren’t able to make a deal with him.

By Elias Cepeda

(The California State Athletic Commission’s methods may have not been considered normal, but at least now no one can say they just gave Barnett a slap on the wrist.)

Current Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix participant and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was issued a conditional license to fight in the state of California once again by the California State Athletic Commission Monday during a special meeting called to consider his case. Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test for steroids in 2009 as he readied to fight Fedor Emlianenko in the now defunct Affliction fight promotion. His license to fight in California was subsequently suspended and a later appeal for it to be lifted was denied.

Since that time, Barnett has been licensed and fought in both Ohio and Texas. However, Strikeforce has the next round of their heavyweight tournament scheduled to take place in California in mid-May, and Barnett is slated to face off against Dan Cormier. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for April but, as they explained today, that would not have been enough time to allow Strikeforce to effectively promote the card. So a special meeting was requested and approved for Barnett. Before today’s meeting, Barnett was subjected to, and passed, another drug test.

(Will Lesnar vs. Overeem bash out a place on the list, or will it inevitably fall short of the hype?)

Between Junior Dos Santos’s knee injury, Strikeforce phasing out their heavyweight division in 2012, and the general lack of UFC heavyweight fights lately (just three in their last five events, to be exact), it seems like MMA’s big-man scene is in hibernation mode.

But starting with Friday night’s UFC 141 main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem — promoted as the “biggest” fight of the year — and continuing on to Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier in March, the action among 265′ers is about to start heating up. With that mind, we decided to pay tribute to the greatest and most important heavyweight MMA fights from this past year. Enjoy, and let us know if we left out any of your favorites…

#6. DANIEL CORMIER vs. ANTONIO SILVA
Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, 9/10/11

What happened: The smaller man fought like a giant. Cormier landed his punches at will and easily shrugged off Silva’s attempts to take the fight to the ground. Entering the tournament as an alternate, Cormier punched his ticket to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals with a hook/uppercut combo that stiffened the Brazilian Frankenstein.
What we learned: Undersized doesn’t always mean outgunned — and a big chin doesn’t always mean a strong chin.

(We know Josh, we’re frustrated too.) 

I’m going to level with you for a second, Potato Nation. As I write this, it’s nearing five o’clock on what has been a dull and dreary Friday here in the Adirondacks. I’ve spent nearly all of my money on a bunch of ill-advised Christmas gifts and I’m looking to throw the rest into a bar tab starting pronto, so I apologize for my rather apathetic candor whilst delivering this news.

It has recently been announced that a date for the long anticipated finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament has been set at last, and a location has also been determined. March 3rd, at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. UFC/ PRIDE veteran Josh Barnett will face undefeated prospect Daniel Cormier. In two and a half freaking months. If you recall, this Goddamned tournament began over 10 months ago.

(“How much will you gimme fo this crown? What about if I throw in the gloves?.” PicProps: Sherdog)

TATAME recently caught up with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal while he was in Belem, Brazil helping former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida prepare for his upcoming UFC 140 championship bout with Jon Jones and according to the former Strikeforce 205-pound champ, he still has at least one fight scheduled under the SF banner.

If he could choose his opponent for the card, he says it would be the man who handed him his sole loss.

“I wanna fight [Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante] again because now I’m healthier. Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m ready,” Mo says. “[I'd fight him] he same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.Hopefully [I'm fighting him in January]. I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.”

As far as his future with Strikeforce goes, Lawal says he isn’t wasting time thinking about all of the “what ifs,” because as he puts it, whatever happens is going to happen and worrying won’t do anything to change it.

(Photo courtesy of Tracy Lee/Yahoo!Sports)

Don’t assume that just because American Kickboxing Academy teammates Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch refuse to fight each other that there is a policy in place at AKA like the one that Greg Jackson instituted regarding his charges competing against each other.

In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite.

AKA co-founder Javier Mendez explained to Yahoo! Sport’s Dave Meltzer recently that he doesn’t have an opinion on his fighters fighting each other and that he doesn’t get involved in the decision making process when it comes to fights being offered to two of his guys like they have been by UFC president Dana White to Koscheck and Fitch.

“My standpoint is it is up to the fighters,” said Mendez. “I back both my fighters with whatever decision they make. If they both agree and the organizations want it, then it will happen and it’s nothing personal.

And Mendez isn’t the only one at the California gym who doesn’t bat away any suggestion of an inter-team showdown. Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier has expressed an interest in facing UFC heavyweight champ and main training partner, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez if the money is right and if it doesnt harm their friendship.

(Exhibit ‘G’ in the murder case against Dana White and the Fertittas)

In spite of the fact that Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva’s stock in the heavyweight division dropped a few points following his knockout loss to Daniel Cormier in the semi-finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix, his manager, Alex Davis is confident that his client’s next fight will be in the UFC’s Octagon.

“He has a contract with Strikeforce, but Strikeforce is now controlled by the UFC and we’re watching Strikeforce fighters going to the UFC all the time,” Davis told TATAME in a recent interview. “UFC’s heavyweight division is big, but they could have even more [top talent] and I’m sure Bigfoot will be in the UFC real soon. There’s a lot of great fights for him inside the Octagon, and he’ll shine there.”

(With a head that big, it’s no wonder “Bigfoot” has sore shoulders)

Chael Sonnen told me during an interview a couple years back that guys who go into a fight 100 percent healthy either didn’t train hard enough or they’re liars.

What he was referring to was the growing number of fighters who make excuses for losses or less than stellar wins after the fact by revealing that they were nursing an injury during the fight or training camp, since pretty much everyone has some kind of ailment or boo-boo come fight day.

Well, we can add another name to the list. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva tells Tatame that he had a shoulder injury and was on anti-inflammatories when he was upset by heavyweight grand prix alternate Daniel Cormier Saturday night at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov in Cincinnati. Apparently the first jab he ate from the AKA fighter made him feel uncharacteristically dizzy and it was this bit of vertigo that led to him getting knocked out.

“This hurts me more than it does you.” PicProps: Esther Lin

Bad news for all you rabid Daniel Cormier fans: the big guy confirmed yesterday that his right hand is indeed broken after he used said hand to bludgeon Bigfoot Silva into La-La Land and out of the heavyweight grand prix:

Cormier worked his way from an alternate slot in the Strikeforce GP to a finals matchup with Josh Barnett, but his victories may be all for naught if he doesn’t heal quickly enough.

(“Cormier has been fighting how long and he made how much?!” -Photo courtesy of Ric Fogel/ESPN.com)

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett’s $150,000 salary accounted for 16 percent of the $942,150 payroll of Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov event in Cincinnati. The man Barnett defeated, Sergei Kharitonov and his fellow HWGP finalist Daniel Cormier both tied for the second best paid fighters of the night with $100,000 a piece for their efforts, followed closely by Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal who received a flat fee of $85,000 for his win over Roger Gracie, who got $80,000.

Newly-crowned Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold netted $50,000 for his win over Ronaldo Souza, who took home $70,000 and no belt.

Great belt, or the greatest belt? PicProps: AnnieSHOSports/Twitter

After another fun night of heavyweight action, the Strikeforce Grand Prix finals are set: Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier will fight to be recognized as the best heavyweight in the world, except for those guys in the UFC. Or the guys that have left Strikeforce in the past few months. Whatever.

Anywho, you may have seen pictures of the GP championship belt that showed up last week, and heard that Coker and company are still lukewarm about the idea of calling the GP winner the Strikeforce champion. We thought that didn’t really make sense, and Josh Barnett agrees. At the Strikeforce press conference Saturday night, Barnett tried to twist Coker’s arm a bit, asking: “Why don’t we sweeten the pot?” Barnett asked. “Why don’t we put that title on the line between me and Cormier?”

Coker, bless his heart, didn’t want to commit to that, and you have to wonder: “Why?”

(Props: shosports)

In case you missed the action on Saturday night. After the jump: Full videos of Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov and Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Check ‘em out while they last…

King Mo, during the UFC application process post-fight interview. Props: Showtime Sports

Last night, the real story behind “Barnet vs. Kharitonov had nothing to do with the heavyweight grand prix. It had nothing to do with the middleweight championship of a sinking organization. Last night, as with every other Strikeforce show since the promotion was purchased by Zuffa, was little more than an audition. It was about who will get a UFC contract when Strikeforce goes under, and who will have to go through TUF. The fans knew it, the announcers knew it, going as far as confirming the Belfort vs. Le rumor, and the fighters definitely knew it.

Despite Strikeforce’s best efforts to hype Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov as a potentially close fight, we all knew what to expect: A repeat of Kharitonov vs. Monson, except with a far superior version of Jeff Monson. Because of this, it’s hard to be impressed with anything that Josh Barnett does at this point. The tournament’s biggest names and most intriguing matchups for Barnett- Fedor, Werdum and Overeem- were all removed well before last night. Barnett has become such an overwhelming favorite to win that when he wins, he’s simply living up to expectations. He was paired up against an opponent with weak grappling credentials, knew he would dominate the fight once Kharitonov was on the ground, and fought accordingly. At least the tournament was set up so that he would get to face a competent grappler in the finals.

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was interviewed recently by Full Contact Fighter and the UFC heavyweight champion dropped an interesting nugget about a hypothetical fighting situation that could happen one day.

Velasquez says that if push came to shove and he was matched up with his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier in the future, he would fight him, but only if there were ranking or title implications on the line and that the sentiment is a mutual one he’s spoken about with the wrestling standout.

Man, it’s been a crazy week, huh? Between the UFC 137 lineup shuffle and the announcement of Alistair Overeem’s entry into the UFC, you may have forgotten that the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Finals are going down tomorrow night at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. We’ll be liveblogging the action starting at 10:30 p.m. ET, so don’t be a stranger.

MMAFighting was on the scene yesterday for the “Barnett vs. Kharitonov” press conference, and released the above highlight video. Skip to the 1:33 mark to see Daniel Cormier give away his gameplan against Antonio Silva; lots of laughs there. Later, King Mo says what everybody’s thinking: “I was hoping more people [would be] out here, more media, and more questions, but really I guess y’all don’t care about us that much. I’m just keeping it real. Me and Roger [Gracie] gonna put on a good fight, it’s gonna be a good card. I think people are gonna miss out on it because everybody’s worried about other issues instead of the fights this weekend. I’m just being real.”

Also on the card, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defends his middleweight belt against Luke Rockhold — who hasn’t competed since February 2010 due to injuries — and Maximo Blanco makes his promotional debut against Pat Healy. The complete lineup is after the jump.

(Well, at least he went out on a high point.)

So much for determining the best heavyweight outside of the UFC. We heard rumblings about this earlier today, and now it’s official: Alistair Overeem will not be competing in the remainder of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. The reason seems to be entirely due to scheduling, as Zuffa and Showtime want to run the tournament semi-finals on September 10th, while Overeem feels he won’t be physically ready to compete by then. Said Dana White:

“Sept. 10 was the date Showtime wants us to go, so it’s the date we’ve got to go. It’s unfortunate that Alistair is unavailable, but situations like this are why there are alternates in the tournament.”

What the deuce? Is DW taking orders from Showtime now, or is he just using them as a scapegoat? Would Showtime really be so short-sighted that they would go forward with the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semi-finals without its biggest star, just so they could stick to a date on a schedule? PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME WHO TO BE MAD AT.

If you missed Keyboard Warriors Monday, hey thanks. Nice to know someone actually appreciates all I do to entertain you jerkfaces. For the rest of you: hey guess what i did?

Yup, prepare yourselves for KBW #3! In the aftermath of the weekend’s Strikeforce action, Dana takes the time to address the heavyweights, evaluate their performances, and fill them in on his short terms plans. And his long term plans. Say what you will, but Big Daddy White dreams big, son.

If you are interested in 100% made up conversations between characters that are mostly fabrications, come on in and enjoy. Feel free to comment your little hands off. If you don’t like comedy … well, i’ve got nothing for you.

Why do you keep coming here again?

As always, thanks to Christopher and those jokers at WithLeather.

[RX]