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Strikeforce ‘Barnett vs. Cormier’ Live Results and Play-by-Play




Sherdog.com will report from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., at approximately 8:00 p.m. ET with play-by-play and live results of Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Cormier”, headlined by the heavyweight grand prix final between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, and featuring the Strikeforce lightweight title rubber match between champion Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card.

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Bobby Green def. James Terry via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)



Yuri Villefort vs. Quinn Mulhern


Round 1
Mulhern comes forward swinging but Villefort catches a low kick and sweeps him to the ground. Mulhern’s right back up and throwing hands again, backing Villefort into the fence and driving some knees into the Brazilian’s body. Villefort escapes, scores a one-two combo and takes a chopping leg kick. Mulhern shoots a single-leg and Villefort goes down willingly, keeping an open guard and attacking with elbows off his back. Mulhern, now bloodied, postures up and passes to side control on Villefort’s right side. He stalls out and stands again, minding Villefort’s upkicks. He tries to pass again but Villefort keeps him in check. Mulhern nearly secures Villefort’s back, but Villefort slips out and gets to his feet, where Mulhern presses him into the fence and works knees inside. Villefort scoops a leg and drags down Mulhern, who throws up a leg immediately to look for a gogoplata. Villefort slugs him in the face with a left and Mulhern ditches the attempt. Tight guard from Mulhern with 30 seconds left, now toying with rubber guard. Villefort puts a right hand on the body and an elbow up top before the horn.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Mulhern
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Villefort
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mulhern

Round 2
Mulhern walks straight forward through hard punches from Villefort and drags the Brazilian down against the fence with a single-leg. Villefort gets his back to the fence and tries a guillotine which Mulhern quickly slips out of. Villefort uses a butterfly guard to fend off Mulhern’s advances, throwing elbows as they scoot along. Mulhern stands and passes to side control, then full mount. He tries to take the back but Villefort stands and slips out the backdoor, then turns the corner and drags Mulhern to the ground. Villefort can’t keep control of the back but stays in top position as Mulhern closes up his guard. Mulhern tries an omoplata, then an arm-triangle, and Villefort is forced to abandon top position momentarily. Villefort stands and then goes back to his opponent’s guard, where he’s struck with elbows from a busy Mulhern in the closing seconds.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Mulhern
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Mulhern
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mulhern

Round 3
The welterweights trade big right hands before Mulhern shoots for a takedown. Villefort turns him away this time but Mulhern presses him into the cage when they stand. Villefort wants the single-leg now, but Mulhern denies it and gets on top. A north-south choke won’t stick for Mulhern and he’s stuffed back to Villefort’s guard. Good pass from the rangy Mulhern to wind up in side control on the left side, creeping up to north-south again. Villefort flips over, then quickly puts his back on the canvas again, still stuck under Mulhern, who’s grinding with short elbows from side control. Villefort explodes out, then sits down on a single-leg try and forces Mulhern to the floor. Mulhern goes for a heel hook from underneath. Villefort twists with it and extracts his leg, then wraps up the waist to try and keep Mulhern on the floor. Mulhern throws up another omoplata; Villefort is stuck this time and has no choice but to put his back on the mat in order to get his arm free. Mulhern takes the back and socks Villefort with right hands as Villefort tries to stand. Villefort gets up with Mulhern now stuck to his back and tries to slam him loose just as the final horn sounds.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Mulhern (30-27 Mulhern)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Mulhern (29-28 Mulhern)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mulhern (30-27 Mulhern)

Official result: Judge Steve Morrow scores the bout 30-27 for Mulhern, while Ralph McKnight has it 29-28 for Villefort. Judge Abe Belardo sees it 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Quinn Mulhern.

Gian Villante vs. Derrick Mehmen


Round 1
Mehman scores with a couple right hands early, but Villante turns it right around by clubbing “The Caveman” with a nasty uppercut. Mehman goes down at the fence and Villante tries to pound him out, then settles for a waistlock to control the action on the ground. Mehman recovers and quickly motions to ref Josh Rosenthal that he feels the fight should be stood up. Villante isn’t doing much on top at first, but he’s got Mehman trapped. Mehman finds some space and powers back to his feet with 2:50 left in the round. Right hand to the body lands for Mehman, but his follow-up left hook is blocked. Villante goes with a hard leg kick, another uppercut. Mehman must have felt the leg kick because he checks the next one. Villante lands the uppercut again and then shoves Mehman to the ground when he tries to tie up. Big right hand over the top knocks Mehman backward and Villante comes in behind it to tie up with underhooks. They split and Mehman has some long punches blocked, then gets slapped with a right high kick.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Villante
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Villante
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Villante

Round 2
Villante is covering up to block Mehman’s power punches and easily shuts down a double-leg try. Villante goes on the attack now, swinging some right hands; when he backs off from the exchange, Mehman is pawing at his left eye, which has a cut and swelling beneath it. Midway through the round and Villante comes out of an exchange rubbing his left eye. Ref Josh Rosenthal halts the action for a moment but Villante doesn’t appear seriously impaired and they quickly get back to work. Villante is stringing together jabs and sweeps the leg out from beneath Mehman with one hard left hook-low kick combo. More jabs from Villante and Mehman tries to return fire but can’t quite get in close enough.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Villante
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Villante
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Villante

Round 3
Villante looks justifiably confident at the start of the third, walking Mehman down with his hands at his sides. Mehman circles, still trying to land hard punches, but he’s either missing or having his shots blocked almost every time. Villante throws a right uppercut-left hook-right low kick combo that has Mehman staggering backward. Mehman rushes forward, winging punches, but again Villante does well to cover up and avoid damage. Villante’s attack has slowed now but he’s still pushing in on Mehman, only backing away to avoid the Caveman’s wild punches. Villante ducks in, scores the uppercut, dips out. More jabs from Villante now with 80 seconds left in the bout. Mehman steps in and lands a knee to the body. Villante dodges a wide right from Mehman and socks him in the face with a straight punch. Mehman dives for a double-leg with 30 seconds left and holds Villante against the fence. He nearly takes Villante’s back but time runs out.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Villante (30-27 Villante)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Villante (30-27 Villante)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Villante (30-27 Villante)

Official result: Judge Bruce Rasmussen scores the bout 29-28, while Ralph McKnight and Susan Thomas-Gitlin both see it 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Gian Villante.

Guto Inocente vs. Virgil Zwicker


Round 1
Inocente opens up with a cracking outside leg kick and Zwicker pushes him toward the fence, throwing bombs up top. Inocente scores with a combo, gets clinched up and then reverses. The 205-pounders disengage and Zwicker lands a right hand, misses with a turning kick. Inocente keeps the heavy leg kicks coming, mixes it up with one to the body and then zaps Zwicker with a head kick. Zwicker lands a double-leg but gets swept immediately, then threatened with a guillotine. The Brazilian lets go of the choke and Zwicker gets back to his feet, where he’s met by a spinning kick to the body and big knees in the Thai plum. Zwicker looks dazed as he stumbles against the fence. He tries to tie up but Inocente denies him this time, punishing Zwicker with more knees to the body and head. Zwicker lands an uppercut but only after he’s taken another half-dozen knees, including a big one to the face. They break off with 90 seconds to go and Inocente stalks forward. Leg kicks, a head kick and more knees to the face land for Inocente, but Zwicker still won’t go down. In fact, it’s Zwicker hitting a big takedown with 35 seconds left in the round, but Inocente easily gets back to his feet. Outside leg kick from Inocente, stiff jab from Zwicker and the horn sounds.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-8 Inocente
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Inocente
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Inocente

Round 2
Zwicker takes some hard kicks to the body but rushes Inocente to the ground after a slipping a high kick. Inocente keeps Zwicker in guard and Zwicker lands an elbow before standing and trying to pass. Inocente upkicks, sweeps and gets to his feet, where he slugs Zwicker with a crisp punching combo and another hard knee to the face. Both men look tired midway through the bout, breathing with their mouths open. Inocente gets a waistlock, goes for a suplex and settles for wrestling Zwicker down. Zwicker puts a hand on the mat to avoid knees to the head, so Inocente drives a couple into his ribs. A hard spinning back-fist from Inocente lands flush, but Zwicker just keeps coming forward. Zwicker catches a kick, can’t capitalize. He stuffs a trip from Inocente and lands some middling right hands from the back before the Brazilian gets to his feet. Zwicker misses with a spinning back-fist but comes in behind it and clinches Inocente into the cage. Inocente turns it around and lands a couple hard elbows. The Brazilian turns and begins walking to his corner with a few seconds left in the round. Zwicker shoots a double but can’t do much before the horn.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Inocente
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Inocente
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Inocente

Round 3
Zwicker catches a kick, throws a flurry and clinches up, but it’s Inocente scoring with knees in the clinch. Zwicker catches another kick and slugs back with a hard right hand. Now it’s the “Rezdog” moving forward, sticking punches in the face of Inocente. Both men look exhausted as they clinch around the cage, Inocente scoring with uppercuts and knees up the middle. Zwicker grabs another kick and wraps up Inocente, who turns the position around with a collar tie and drills Zwicker’s legs with knees. Zwicker lands a leg kick, misses a spinning shot and gets cracked with a left hook as he turns around. Zwicker is just exhausted but he keeps coming, putting Inocente on the fence with underhooks. It doesn’t last long, as Inocente circles out. Zwicker misses a spinning back-fist, then lands a jab that has Inocente moving backward. Inocente reverses the momentum with a one-two and a leg kick. Zwicker lands a right hand and Inocente replies with a hard jump knee. Zwicker is still moving forward at the end and they finish in the clinch.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Inocente (30-26 Inocente)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Inocente (30-27 Inocente)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Inocente (30-27 Inocente)

Official result: Judges Abe Belardo and Steve Morrow score the bout 29-28 while judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin sees it 30-27, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Guto Inocente.

Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg


Round 1
Vallie-Flagg is on the offensive early, slugging with big punches up top and a head kick, though none land clean. JZ backs him off with some crisp counters, but Vallie-Flagg is soon on the advance again, flicking high kicks and a trio of leg kicks, the latter of which land well. JZ plows down Vallie-Flagg with a big double-leg and hops on the American’s back as they work at the base of the fence. He can’t secure the back, tries a neck crank from the side and then goes to the front. Vallie-Flagg has his back to the fence and JZ tries a guillotine. It doesn’t work, but he gets off a few solid knees to the body before Vallie-Flagg scrambles back up. Straight, stiff punches come from Vallie-Flagg now and JZ replies with short hooks. Brief clinch from JZ, then Vallie-Flagg comes forward to strike with a short elbow in the pocket. JZ lands a nice right straight-left hook; Vallie-Flagg retorts with a chopping leg kick and catches a kick from JZ, but can’t do anything with it. Vallie-Flagg comes off the fence with a jump knee to the body, thuds a kick to JZ’s body. JZ cracks Vallie-Flagg with a right high kick and pushes in, but Vallie-Flagg lands another jump knee. JZ goes down just before the horn as he’s push-kicked just as he throws one high.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cavalcante
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cavalcante
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cavalcante

Round 2
JZ absorbs a kick to the body as he comes in to shoot, but he completes the takedown and advances to half-guard. He holds Vallie-Flagg on the ground for a minute but the American gets to his feet when JZ tries to mount. Both men swing hooks but it’s JZ who lands clean with the left, then drives a couple into his man’s body. Vallie-Flagg lands a combo, grazes with a head kick and is verbally warned by ref Dan Stell for push-kicking at the Brazilian’s knee. Two minutes left in the middle period and Vallie-Flagg shuts down a double-leg try, then push-kicks JZ away. Left hand lands for Vallie-Flagg, and JZ replies with a leg kick and a left of his own. It’s Vallie-Flagg on the attack, scoring with right hooks and kicks to the body. A hard right rattles JZ’s head with a minute to go but JZ clinches up instantly. Vallie-Flagg pushes him off, lands an uppercut in close quarters, then an elbow. Vallie-Flagg is throwing an overhand right with murderous intent but JZ is staying out of the way of that particular shot. Vallie-Flagg misses with a front kick at the horn and JZ taps him with a late left hand, then immediately apologizes.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg

Round 3
Vallie-Flagg clinches up, gets turned around and slams right hands into the ribs of JZ as the Brazilian works for a double-leg against the fence. They split off and Vallie-Flagg slugs him a couple more times, but JZ comes back with some solid jabs. Vallie-Flagg pushes JZ into the fence now, cracks him with short elbows and drills a few knees into JZ’s thighs. Vallie-Flagg scores with a right hook, left hook and a push kick to the face. JZ wants to tie up but gets turned around and elbowed in the fence. Vallie-Flagg digs an underhook with his left arm and elbows right a right. Vallie-Flagg’s still throwing the hard punch combos with two minutes to go while JZ is clearly fading. Clinch for Vallie-Flagg now, more elbows and knees inside. JZ pushes Vallie-Flagg’s head back with a right straight but Vallie-Flagg won’t be slowed. He keeps pushing forward, throwing combos and muscling JZ into the fence again. Vallie-Flagg comes off the fence, misses a high flying knee but scores with a follow-up left hook. A pair of elbows, an uppercut and Vallie-Flagg finishes throwing hands. JZ throws late again and this time grazes ref Stell with a left.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg (29-28 Vallie-Flagg)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg (29-28 Vallie-Flagg)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Vallie-Flagg (29-28 Vallie-Flagg)

Official result: Judge Bruce Rasmussen scores the bout 29-28 for Cavalcante, while Ralph McKnight has it 29-28 for Vallie-Flagg. The final judge, Abe Belardo, sees it 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Isaac Vallie-Flagg.

Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Christopher Spang


Round 1
Spang lands a quick right hook but Burrell flurries back straight away. Burrell tests the range with probing left hooks as Spang backpedals, then comes forward with an outside leg kick. Spang kicks to the body, goes too high with one up top and Burrell ducks under. Now it’s Spang clinching up with an underhook, getting turned around and then turning Burrell back into the cage for a double-leg try. Spang switches to a single-leg, can’t get it and settles for a few knees to the body. The Swede breaks off with a short left, then zaps Burrell with a left hook a moment later. Burrell hops back up, still dazed, and Spang attacks with knees to the body and face. More left hands from Spang, more knees in the clinch, but Burrell won’t go down. Burrell is blocking the knees better now but he still looks wobbly as he stumbles backward into the fence. Spang is relentless, pummeling away with uppercuts and knees. Spang pulls Burrell off the fence with a Thai plum and delivers one last knee that sends Burrell to the ground and ref Josh Rosenthal into action. Chris Spang gets the evening’s first stoppage at 3:25 of the opening round.

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Mike Kyle


Round 1
Cavalcante gets Kyle leaning with a big overhand right and cracks him with a knee to the face. Kyle is at the base of the fence, grabbing for a leg to try and recover. The Brazilian pounces, unloading with punches to the head. Just as Kyle gets to his feet, Cavalcante grabs a guillotine under his right arm and jumps guard with the choke locked on. It’s tight, and Kyle can’t peel it off, so he tries to slam his way out. The choke only gets deeper as Cavalcante hits the ground and rolls on top, forcing Kyle to tap out. Referee Marcos Rosales waves this one off just 33 seconds into the first round.

Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson


Round 1
Melendez pushes in from the center, both men in the orthodox stance. They parry punches, Thomson trying to back the champ off with front kicks but Melendez giving him no quarter. Thomson trips Melendez to the ground but he pops right back up, throws a leg kick. Melendez shoots, can’t get it, throws a knee up the gut. He presses in again and Thomson just misses with a knee this time. It’s a double-leg from Melendez now and he dumps Thomson down at the base of the fence. Melendez wraps up the legs and tries to step into mount but Thomson avoids it, even if he can’t get out from underneath. Thomson posts and stands, briefly grabbing the fence for a little help. Thomson ducks low and eats an uppercut, they clinch and he lands a knee before splitting. Thomson ties up again, hits a knee to the body and breaks. Thomson switches back and forth in his stance, changing angles as he moves along the fence in the last 40 seconds of the round. A nice straight one-two from Thomson is followed by a kick to the body. Melendez catches the next body kick and pushes Thomson to the ground at the end of the frame.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Melendez
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-10
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez

Round 2
Melendez pumps his jab and shoots a single-leg but gets stood up by Thomson, who puts his back to the fence and pushes the champ away with a front kick. Thomson goes high with an awkward right kick that’s blocked. Melendez walks him into the fence and throws a pair of uppercuts to the body before clinching. He lets Thomson loose, comes forward again with feinting hooks and steps out of the way of a Thomson high kick. More pawing punches from Melendez, then he misses with an overhand right. Thomson backs up Melendez with a flurry, gets stuck with a jab and then slugged with an uppercut. Thomson wheels away after a right hand lands, grabbing at his left eye. Ref Dan Stell gives him a break but Thomson only takes a few seconds to recover. When they resume, the lightweights start throwing heavy leather in the pocket, Melendez getting the better of the exchange. The champ shoots a double-leg, lifts Thomson into the air and drops him down at the base of the fence with a minute left. Thomson puts his back to the cage and posts to stand back up. When he gets to his feet, Melendez slugs him in the face with a hard right hand. Thomson tries a single-leg at the end of the round and gets stuffed by Melendez, who delivers some hard elbows as he hops backward, a few of which land on the back of Thomson’s head.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Melendez
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez

Round 3
Melendez goes back to sticking his jab in Thomson’s face while the challenger has a high kick blocked. Thomson denies a shot from Melendez but gets mugged with right uppercuts on the fence afterward. Thomson finds his mark with straight right hands and clinches Melendez into the fence, dropping for a shot before Melendez circles out. Melendez ties up, elbows Thomson in the face, breaks away and eats a right hand from the challenger. Lead right uppercut lands for Thomson and Melendez gives him one back a moment later. Thomson trips Melendez down but Melendez rolls backward and pops back to his feet to deliver another stiff uppercut. Melendez ducks a combination as he backs Thomson toward the fence again. Uppercut to the body from Melendez, then a left hook up top. Though his right eye is swelling rapidly, the champ is doing well to slip Thomson’s punches as he gets inside to pop Thomson with punches and elbows. Thomson complains of another eye poke, but ref Stell orders them back to action. Melendez sprawls all over a shot from Thomson, gets backed off by a push kick. Thomson strings a few punches together before the end of the round but most of his late offense is slipped by the champ.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Melendez
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez

Round 4
Melendez puts his left hand in Thomson’s face and tries to follow through with a big right that misses. Straight right hand from Thomson buckles the champ’s legs a bit, but Melendez stays up. Melendez wants another double-leg against the fence and gets it, planting Thomson on his rear. Again, Thomson quickly posts and stands, wearing a smile. Melendez walks through a push kick from Thomson and lands a hard, short left. Another double-leg attempt on the cage from Melendez; this one stifled by a wide base from Thomson. Another punch from Melendez has Thomson wiping at his eye and shaking his head, but there’s nothing from the ref. Thomson trips Melendez to the ground in the middle of the cage with 90 seconds left on the clock and Thomson goes down the champ’s guard. Melendez turns to stand and gives up his back, and Thomson wastes no time in hopping on. Thomson wants the rear-naked choke with a body triangle on, but he can’t get his arm under Melendez’s throat. Melendez survives the neck crank and pries Thomson’s hands off, but he finishes the round with the challenger stuck to his back.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Thomson
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Thomson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Thomson

Round 5
Melendez is on the attack to begin the final frame, pushing in on Thomson with jabs. Thomson flurries and grazes Melendez with a pair of hooks, but Melendez dumps him down on the fence again. Thomson gets up even quicker this time and the lightweights stare one another down with four minutes left in the bout. Melendez eats a right hook, wades into the pocket and takes another on the end of a Thomson combination. Melendez walks his challenger into the fence, lands a left and takes a right on the temple. Thomson scores with a punch-kick combo but gets sprawled on with the takedown attempt behind it. The next time Thomson comes forward, Melendez sticks a hand in his face to push away. The ref sees this eye poke and Thomson takes 10 seconds to compose himself. They get back to action with 90 seconds left and Thomson is going hard, throwing hooks, uppercuts and knees in close quarters, countering Melendez’s combinations well. Melendez shoots a double on the cage, gets stuffed and eats a one-two. Thomson sees a combo coming and shoves Melendez to the ground with under a minute to go. Melendez is busy till the end with punches from his back while Thomson just stays heavy on top, holding the position.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Thomson (48-47 Melendez)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Thomson (48-48 Draw)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Thomson (48-47 Melendez)

Official result: Judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin scores the bout 48-47 for Thomson, while Bruce Rasmussen sees it 48-47 for Melendez. Judge Ralph McKnight scores it 48-47 for the winner by split decision and still Strikeforce lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez.

Strikforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final
Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier


Round 1
Referee Josh Rosenthal is the third man in the cage for tonight’s main event. The big men touch gloves and Barnett snaps off some range-finding jabs. He slips on a kick but stands back up quickly. Barnett wades into the pocket and gets tied up but Cormier quickly disengages. Now it’s Cormier pushing forward, looking for a big punch. Some are getting through for Cormier, and now he catches Barnett ducking low and knees him in the face. Barnett wings punches and gets caught ducking again, and Cormier shoves him away. Right straight goes through for Cormier and Barnett’s nose is reddened already. Cormier flurries and clinches, can’t hold Barnett there for long. Barnett fakes a tie-up and kicks Cormier in the shin. Again, Cormier clinches but doesn’t do much. He snaps Barnett’s head back with an overhand right, comes forward with an uppercut-hook combo. Barnett misses with a front kick right next to Cormier’s face and Cormier responds with a three-punch combo that’s partially blocked. An awkward clinch as the round enters the final minute and neither man scores big. Left-right hook connects for Cormier. Barnett catches a kick and shoves Cormier backward, landing a right hand and a stiff knee before Cormier presses him into the cage for the last 10 seconds.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cormier
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier

Round 2
Cormier opens up with a couple quick flurries, tagging Barnett with a particularly hard right hand. Barnett puts a kick on Cormier’s body and counters the next combo with a short right hand. Cormier lands a one-two and gets backed off by a step-in knee. Barnett is leaning off to the left to avoid Cormier’s big left hands, and he comes back with a hard outside leg kick. Barnett clinches behind a knee but takes an uppercut for his trouble. Cormier grabs a high single-leg and pulls Barnett to the ground with little effort. Barnett closes up guard and throws elbows from his back, but Cormier’s got more power on his shots from the top. Barnett has a cut along his hairline on the right side now and another above his left eye. Barnett begins to throw up a triangle but goes back on defense when Cormier slams him with a few more elbows. Barnett throws up his legs, hunting for an armbar, but Cormier stands up and dives back into the veteran’s open guard. Barnett’s face is stained with blood now and it’s clearly affecting his vision as he wipes at his eyes. Cormier isn’t helping, either, sticking his hand in Barnett’s face and exploding with more hard elbows just before the horn.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cormier
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier

Round 3
Barnett moves Cormier into the cage but Cormier circles away. They do it again and this time Barnett comes in behind a knee to clinch up. Cormier gets an underhook and shoves Barnett away, but Barnett keeps coming forward, looking to back Cormier into the cage. Cormier gets a single-leg, Barnett defends and Cormier goes high, hurling Barnett into the air and dumping him to his back away from the fence. It’s side control for Cormier on Barnett’s right side, but Barnett powers back to his feet, quickly slipping out of a loose guillotine attempt. Cormier gets Barnett to cover up after a nice left-right cross combo. The legs of Barnett are looking increasingly unstable, but he’s still throwing punches and even a hard knee. Cormier connects with a partially blocked right high kick and Barnett covers up against the fence. Punches and knees from Cormier land but Barnett blasts back with an uppercut. Cormier gets a rear waistlock and looks to suplex Barnett, but the catch-wrestler keeps his base and elbows Cormier in the side of the head as they stall out on the fence. Barnett finishes the round peppering punches under Cormier’s armpit.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cormier
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier

Round 4
Again, Barnett pushes forward to start the round, trying to put Cormier on the fence. Cormier weathers a couple combinations and a knee to the head, gets pressed into the fence for a few seconds and circles out. Barnett throws a long left, ties up behind it, gets shoved off and Cormier sticks a combo in his face. Cormier has a left high kick blocked, but connects on the right side seconds later. Barnett leaps in with a knee to the body and tries to clinch again, but Cormier isn’t making it easy, denying underhooks and pulling Barnett’s head down. Barnett whiffs on a spinning back-fist, misses with a left-right and denies a single-leg. Cormier stays on the takedown attempt and puts Barnett down on the second effort, and Barnett rolls for a heel hook. Cormier gets to his knees and crawls away, and his leg slips out of the hold. Top position for Cormier now and Barnett’s face is an absolute mess as he holds the Olympian in his closed guard. Ref Rosenthal wants them on their feet with 30 seconds left. Barnett lands a knee, puts Cormier on the fence with a forearm across the throat and the horn blows.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cormier
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier

Round 5
Barnett attacks with punches and a knee to the gut, and Cormier motions to the ref about something. It’s a wet spot on the mat which Rosenthal quickly wipes down. The big men get back to work and Barnett puts Cormier on the fence with an underhook. Cormier breaks out, has a left high kick blocked and takes a kick to his right leg. Barnett lands a left, steps out of the way of a right high kick and then charges with a combo, but Cormier circles out. Cormier’s offense has slowed but he’s still moving quickly, cutting angles around the larger Barnett and making “The Warmaster” whiff on a spinning punch. Cormier hits a takedown, Barnett gets up and Cormier lifts him into the air for another slam. Barnett keeps his balance and gets shoved into the fence with 90 seconds remaining in the bout. Barnett tries to muster some offense in the last minute of the bout but Cormier just holds him on the fence, then jogs away from Barnett’s final punches.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Cormier (50-45 Cormier)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cormier (50-45 Cormier)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier (50-45 Cormier)

Official result: Judge Steve Morrow scores the bout 49-46, while judges Abe Belardo and Susan Thomas-Gitlin see it 50-45, all for the winner by unanimous decision and now Strikeforce heavyweight world grand prix champion, Daniel Cormier.

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