Also on the card along with the two heavyweight semi-final bouts is a middleweight championship fight with reigning champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defending his belt against upstart challenger Luke Rockhold. In addition to this defense by the Manaus native, another BJJ Superstar will also make his case as the much-revered Roger Gracie tests his skills against former Strikeforce 205 champion Muhammed “King Mo” Luwal. A lightweight bout featuring Pat “Bam Bam” Healy taking on rising prospect Maximo Blanco completes the main card.
The action will kick off at 9PM Texas time on the SHOWTIME network with the prelims (feat. former 205 champ “Feijao” Cavalcante against Olympian Yoel Romero and more) also airing LIVE prior to the main card on HDNET.
Let’s take a look at the card and give you guys some predictions before tomorrow night’s event. Feel free to chime in to the comments with your own picks.
Strikeforce World Grand Prix Semi-Finals – Main Card Predictions (Showtime)
Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinal bout: Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Analysis – This bout is a very intriguing matchup between Barnett, the master catch-wrestler and submission specialist, and Kharitanov, a striking specialist trained in the vicious art of Dutch Muay Thai. They’re both really good at what they do and it’s going to be a treat to see who is able to impose their will.
Both fighters dominated their matchups in the semi-final round, with “The Baby-Faced Assassin” Barnett smothering the hell out of Brett Rodgers and the former Russian Paratrooper Kharitanov obliterating Andrei Arlovski.
This round won’t be so easy for either man.
What it may come down to is who will win the strategic battle to get the game to the point where they are more dangerous. With that in mind, timing will be key for both fighters as they seek to keep the fight in their respective range. Patience is going to be key as either man times his shot (grappling) or shots (striking) in this one.
To that end, patience will be key and Josh Barnett will bide his time well in order to get this fight to the ground in the later rounds to win the fight where he is strongest.
Who Wins – Josh Barnett by Unanimous Decision.
Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinal bout: Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier
Analysis – The second semi-final pits “Bigfoot” (Antonio Silva) against an Olympic wrestler in Daniel Cormier for a shot at the finals later this year.
This presents another intriguing matchup with the crux of the battle either being Silva’s size or Cormier’s speed depending on who you talk to.
Silva was last seen absolutely demolishing Fedor Emelianenko in the last round of the tourney. By all accounts, he was supposed to face Alistair Overeem in a battle of big men before this most recent change. Now he faces Cormier, a man much smaller than he, but one that will test his overall skills like few other fighters can. Cormier is an Olympian as a wrestler and a developing striker that dominating that aspect of the bout in his last bout against Jeff Monson. Granted, Bigfoot is no Snowman on his feet either though.
This is a tough fight to call. I think Silva has the advantage with KO power while Cormier has it on takedowns. Cormier is faster though and that could get him the decision if he fights smart and keeps this on the outside. Somehow I don’t see it going that way though. Bigfoot will hurt him within two rounds.
Who Wins – Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva by TKO, RD2
Middleweight Championship bout: Ronaldo Souza (c) vs. Luke Rockhold
Analysis – This bout will prove to be another showcase for the middleweight champ, imo. Luke Rockhold is a credible enough challenger having gone 7-1 in his career with wins over talented grapplers like Jesse Taylor and Paul Bradley but Jacare is no one-dimensional wrestler. He’s one of the best grapplers that’s ever lived. Add to that the ring rust of over a year on the shelf and this win should be served up on a silver platter for the champ. This should be an easy win for him.
Mark my words, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will be taking on the very best middleweights in the world in the UFC by this time next year. It’ll be an interesting ride too considering he’s also proven himself more than capable with wins over guys like Tim Kennedy and Robbie Lawler. Everything he’s doing now is merely a warmup.
Who Wins – Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by Submission, RD2
Light Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie
Analysis – Next up, we have “King Mo” versus Roger Gracie. So I guess that means wrestling versus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu right?
Only in theory.
It’d be great to see this if it was a pure grappling match but it’s not. Unless there’s a slip and Lawal somehow ends up on the bottom, this will be as big of a test as ever for the rest of Gracie’s developing game. King Mo may not be Badr Hari just yet but he’s certainly more dangerous on his feet than Trevor Prangley or Kevin Randleman, two opponents Gracie has wins over.
Look for Lawal’s strength, experience, endurance, and top control to be the difference in this one.
Who Wins – “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal by TKO, RD2
Lightweight bout: Pat Healy vs. Maximo Blanco
Analysis – What we have here for the opening bout of the Showtime card is a battle of two lightweight wrestlers. Team Quest member Pat “Bam Bam” Healy and Maximo Blanco both have similar skill sets. The difference is that Healy can be considered a wily veteran while Blanco is still fairly green but a rising prospect who has seasoned himself over in Japan.
It’s experience versus potential but “Bam Bam” should win out in this one by virtue of being used to the higher level of experience.
Who Wins – Pat “Bam Bam” Healy by Decision.
Strikeforce World Grand Prix Semi-Finals – Preliminary Card Quick Picks (HDNet)
Light Heavyweight bout: Mike Kyle vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Who Wins – Marcos Rogerio de Lima by decision.
Light Heavyweight bout: Rafael Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero Palacio
Who Wins – Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante by decision.
Welterweight bout: Evangelista Santos vs. Jordan Mein
Who Wins – Jordan Mein by TKO, RD3.
Women’s Bantamweight bout: Alexis Davis vs. Amanda Nunes
Who Wins – Amanda Nunes by TKO, RD1.
Middleweight bout: Dominique Steele vs. Chris Mierzwiak
Who Wins – Chris Mierzwiak by TKO, RD2.
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