Former UFC champion Josh Barnett tipped the scales at 248 pounds for his showdown with the unbeaten Daniel Cormier (238) in the tournament final at Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Cormier” on Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The six other men slated for main card duty, including Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (153) and challenger Josh Thomson (153), also met their contracted weight requirements without incident at Friday’s official weigh-in.
Sherdog Fantasy MMA: Strikeforce "Barnett vs. Cormier" Free Fan Pick’EmBased at the American Kickboxing Academy, Cormier advanced to the final with a stirring knockout victory over former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva in September. The 33-year-old Lafayette, La., native has delivered seven of his nine wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. One of the sport’s more decorated amateur wrestlers, Cormier -- a two-time national champion and three-time All-American in college -- made two Olympic teams before crossing over to mixed martial arts.
Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Cormier” -- which airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT -- will also feature a rematch pitting former light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante (206) against Mike Kyle (203) and a welterweight duel pairing Nah-Shon Burrell (170) with Christopher Spang (169). Two hours prior, Showtime Extreme will carry the five preliminary bouts: Gesias Cavalcante (156) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156), Virgil Zwicker (204) vs. Carlos Augusto Filho (205), Gian Villante (205) vs. Derrick Mehmen (205), Quinn Mulhern (170) vs. Yuri Villefort (170) and James Terry (156.25) vs. Bobby Green (155).
Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Cormier” Weigh-in Results:
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final
Josh
Barnett (248) vs. Daniel
Cormier (238)
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
Gilbert
Melendez (153) vs. Josh Thomson
(153)
Rafael
Cavalcante (206) vs. Mike Kyle
(203)
Nah-Shon
Burrell (170) vs. Christopher
Spang (169)
Gesias
Cavalcante (156) vs. Isaac
Vallie-Flagg (156)
Virgil
Zwicker (204) vs. Carlos
Augusto Filho (205)
Gian
Villante (205) vs. Derrick
Mehmen (205)
Quinn
Mulhern (170) vs. Yuri
Villefort (170)
James
Terry (156.25) vs. Bobby Green
(155)