UFC President Dana White predicts Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett will win the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix. If White is correct, that means the top heavyweight in the sport will likely not be licensed in the three most important states in the U.S.
Feb 18, 2011 - Dave Metlzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting UFC President Dana White has predicted UFC blacksheep and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett will win the entire Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix tournament. It's hard to believe given the utter disdain White holds for Barnett, but apparently it's true. Here's Meltzer in his own words:
Silva will face the Overeem vs. Werdum winner while Kharitonov faces the Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers winner. For the record, Dana White is predicting Barnett, who he hates, to run the table. He believes Werdum will catch Overeem on the ground, but Barnett, who has never been submitted, will be strong enough to avoid Werdum’s strength.
Certainly Overeem vs. Werdum is your classic match dependent upon whether or not Werdum can get it to the ground. Rogers has a good punch, but unless Barnett has slipped a lot, and we don’t know because it’s been years since Barnett was in with elite competition, he has to be the favorite.
Before the tournament began I would've called this prediction highly dubious. As Metlzer notes, Barnett hasn't faced elite competition in years. 2006, to be precise, where he lost to former PRIDE and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Shockwave 2006. Since that time he's faced a continuous stream of fighters that are ostensibly not on the level of a Josh Barnett in the best case and deeply unimpressive in the worst. I'd also be slightly more forgiving of the poor strength of Barnett's schedule had he dispatched his opposition more quickly. Yet, he went three rounds with Hidehiko Yoshida (I think he carried Yoshida in this bout) and went to a decision with non-contender Jeff Monson. He also took far too long to put away Gilbert Yvel from an insanely superior position.
Yet, in the aftermath of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva, maybe White is on to something. I still favor Alistair Overeem over Fabricio Werdum given that Overeem was handily winning their first contest before a late mental lapse. The major question marks hanging over Overeem's head are real, but neither Antonio Silva nor Werdum are exactly the type of fighters to answer them. But a Werdum win is certainly not out of the question. Either way, Barnett is likely a strong contender against Werdum and probably competitive against Overeem. Barnett's tendency to slug too long may cost him, but a win against Overeem is a very real possibility.
Sergei Kharitonov looked impressive against Andrei Arlovski late in their fight, but Barnett's movement and angles as well as vastly superior, sramble-friendly ground game make him a tall order for the Golden Glory fighter. Brett Rogers could knock out Barnett, but few take the possibility seriously.
So, we have Barnett very likely winning his side of the bracket. With the exception of Alistair Overeem, Barnett stands a very good chance of beating Silva or Werdum on the other side of the bracket, thereby taking the whole thing. Again, all of this speculation is predicated on the idea that Barnett can still compete at a world-class level, something very much in doubt.
The larger point, though, is that folks have been saying the winner of the tournament will be the number one heavyweight in MMA. I've always found that notion a little hard to swallow. But if it is true and if Barnett does win the entire tournament, we'll have a number one heavyweight in MMA who won't be allowed to compete in California, Nevada or New Jersey.
For Barnett, that'd be some career resurgence. For Strikeforce, I won't call that disaster, but I'm not sure that's progress either.
6 comments
Comments
Barnett's prospective victory
would be liable to vituperative criticism, simply because of his steroid infractions. There’s a decent chance Barnett could win the entire tournament, but I question Dana White’s motives here – a win for Barnett isn’t progress at all; there are far more marketable fighters than Barnet who are still left in the competition.
'No matter what your ideology may be, once you believe you are in the possession of some infallible truth, you become a combatant in a religious war."
by Yxas on Feb 18, 2011 12:11 PM EST reply actions
And if he beats Werdum, maybe no one will feel inclined to rank him #1
But what if he beats Overeem in the finals? I think that changes the equation considerably.
Follow me on Twitter: @MMANation.
by Luke Thomas on Feb 18, 2011 12:17 PM EST up reply actions
That's a very big if
especially given that we’re not sure how Barnett will fare against high level fighters. If he does beat Overeem in the finals then it’d be feasible to argue that he is #1, although I do think that’s applicable to whoever may defeat Overeem in the finals.
'No matter what your ideology may be, once you believe you are in the possession of some infallible truth, you become a combatant in a religious war."
by Yxas on Feb 18, 2011 1:16 PM EST reply actions
Eh I think ‘Reem will make it past Werdum this time and win it all, but I wouldn’t look past Silva either.
Check out my Upd@te Streams
by JeremyShane on Feb 18, 2011 3:58 PM EST via mobile reply actions
"Barnett who Dana hates"
Haha, Dana is hoping for Barnett to win because if he does, he can claim that the gran prix was illegitimate because a former 3 time roid abuser won it.
Oh and Barnett has been submitted before…in ADCC competition.
The World of Combat Sports is not as good as it was Yesterday, a Legend is done, very sad day
...I bet this is what the Old Timers felt like when Muhammad Ali retired from Pro Boxing
I love you homie.
by Chorongota on Feb 18, 2011 6:52 PM EST reply actions
I think Barnett gets to the finals
But Overeem crushes him there
The only good bug is a dead bug!
Head Kick Legend
by Anthony Pace on Feb 19, 2011 4:38 AM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed