Strikeforce

On Saturday night, Josh Barnett faced off against Daniel Cormier in the final round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix, and Cormier showed he is a top heavyweight with a unanimous decision victory over Barnett at the end of five rounds.

Here's what we learned from the bout.

What We'll Remember about This Fight

In general, Daniel Cormier's domination of Barnett is the most memorable. Many were torn on which fighter would win, but none thought there would be an easy unanimous decision victory for either combatant.

What We Learned about Barnett

He had gone undefeated in four years, and had a legitimate claim to being one of the top heavyweights in the world. Unfortunately, he found out—the hard way—that he was not one of the top five heavyweights in the world in the tournament final.

What We Learned about Cormier

He is everything—and more—that his fans expected of him. His striking and wrestling were both too much for Barnett, and the two-time Olympic wrestler showed he is one of the best heavyweights on the planet.

What's Next for Barnett

We're not sure if he'll end up in the UFC or not, but Strikeforce will not be the next organization we see Josh Barnett fight in.

What's Next for Cormier

One more "mystery opponent" in Strikeforce, and then he will move over to the Octagon and the UFC.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on twitter @TimMcTiernan.

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the Strikeforce Grand Prix Finals in San Jose, CA, Gilbert Melendez looked to defend his Strikeforce lightweight title and win the trilogy with Josh Thomson.

Melendez was in danger in the fourth round, and Thomson nearly finished him, but in the end Melendez pulled out the split-decision victory.

Here's what we learned from the bout.

What We'll Remember about This Fight

The near finish by Thomson in Round 4. In the fourth round with less than a minute to go, Thomson took the back of Melendez and locked in a body triangle and was working for the rear-naked choke. The sequence was easily the closest the fight was to being finished.

What We Learned about Melendez

Nothing we didn't already know. Melendez is a top fighter, and has good striking, wrestling and BJJ. He would fit right in in the UFC lightweight division.

What We Learned about Thomson

He's a lot more game than many were expecting. Most were expecting Melendez to absolutely rush through Thomson, but Thomson proved that he belongs in there with the best of them. He'll fit in the UFC lightweight division too.

What's Next for Melendez

Either the UFC, or a fight against a UFC fighter. There's nothing left for him in Strikeforce.

What's Next for Thomson

He's in the same position as Melendez, as there's not a lot left in Strikeforce for either fighter.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on twitter @TimMcTiernan.

After tonight's battle between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, Strikeforce will cease to have a point in the MMA world. 

No, really, it'll be the most pointless promotion in all of MMA. Can anyone honestly say what important role the organization will occupy after tonight? It's quite sad because Strikeforce used to be great.

Originally, it was just a large regional promotion that put on exciting, intriguing fights and just happened to be on Showtime, so it was more visible than other promotions. 

It was an example of viability and cunning to all those promotions who sought to operate outside the UFC and be successful. Strikeforce wasn't trying to compete with the UFC. They were just trying to be themselves.

But then things changed. 

Strikeforce signed the free-agent, then-number one heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. In addition, Strikeforce grabbed the contracts of numerous name fighters that were working for EliteXC, a pretender to the MMA throne that collapsed once their cash cow, Kimbo Slice, was proven to be a farce.

These moves made Strikeforce a perceived threat to the UFC. They were no longer just a minor league promotion with exposure. They were trying to succeed in the major leagues; that was their new purpose.

Unfortunately, they failed.

Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum. Instead of doing a rematch, Strikeforce took on a noble endeavour, creating the greatest heavyweight tournament the world had ever seen. Instead, it was a spectacular train wreck. 

The fighter fans were most interested in—Emelianenko—was destroyed in the first round (as I predicted would happen in my very first article on Bleacher Report). The next-most popular fighter—Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem—turned in a lackluster decision win against Fabricio Werdum and then wound up in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, and things were never quite the same after that.

Now, over a year after the heavyweight grand prix started, it's finally about to be finished (although one of the entrants, Daniel Cormier, wasn't even in the original tournament).

What will Strikeforce's point be once the fight is over?

It won't have one. 

Can it really go back to being a regional promotion now that it's been in the limelight for so long? Will Showtime really want to decrease their product's importance? And how can they be considered only regional when they have some of the world's best like Gilbert Melendez and Tim Kennedy?

But at the same time, it's obviously not going to compete with the UFC since Zuffa owns it. 

Now, some would say that Zuffa will use Strikeforce as a minor league, but they've shown no indications of doing this save for signing Nate Marquardt to Strikeforce.

Thus, Strikeforce really has no place in MMA anymore—it's pointless! 

All the promotions of the MMA world occupy a role, no matter how small. MFC and Tachi Palace Fights allow new stars to develop their skills and UFC cast-outs to resurrect their careers. Bellator keeps the UFC on its toes by providing competition. After all, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney makes a strong case for the viability and future of his promotion.

Can Strikeforce boast of filling any of these important roles?

No. 

It's not a proper feeder league like Shark Fights or Ring of Combat, and it's not a competitor like Dream or Bellator. Strikeforce is simply nothing but a jumbled mess of contractual obligations that's keeping some of the world's best fighters from competing where they belong: the UFC. 

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Sometimes, a fight just speaks to you. It comes out of the mind of UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby and implants itself immediately in your heart. It can happen in any art form—music, movies, you name it. Occasionally it disappoints in unspeakable ways (looking at you, Under Siege 2. Suck it, Chinese Democracy). Other times? You can find yourself moved in ways a sporting event should never move a grown man.

For me, Josh Barnett's fight with Daniel Cormier is one of those bouts that connects with my soul as a fan. I'm not sure exactly what it is that has tickled my fancy. More than anything, though, it's the not knowing.

Usually, we have a pretty good idea what's going to happen in a fight. Sure, we are often completely, embarrassingly and bafflingly wrong. But the important point is that we think we know. With this fight, will it be the the final bout of Strikeforce's epic Heavyweight Grand Prix? I can't even begin to guess.

We know Daniel Cormier is an amazing wrestler. But beyond those talents, ones developed under the watchful eye of the best American wrestler of the modern era, John Smith, and honed on the world level, a fighter of diverse skill is emerging.

Cormier could have easily padded his record with ground-and-pound smashings of lesser lights. That's the normal progression for a superior wrestler making his way in MMA. Instead, he made it a point to stand and trade with opponents, putting his reputation at risk to prepare himself to be a complete fighter. It's paid off. He's battle tested and ready now, in all areas, having confronted his weaknesses instead of running from them.

But what can you say about Josh Barnett? He's only one of the top five heavyweights of all time, a man who's stared across the cage at the great ones. The last time he was in the cage with an Olympic-class wrestler? That man's name was Randy Couture, and Barnett wrecked him (there's the small matter of a subsequent failed steroid test; who wants to bring up ancient dirty laundry?).

Barnett may have a decided disadvantage in wrestling pedigree. What he does have is more than a decade of bending other men, and their appendages, to his will. He will test Cormier is ways no one has before. Can he, at 34 years of age, muster up what it takes to beat the sport's top heavyweight prospect?

I really, truly, have no idea. And that's what makes this fight so troubling. And so damn appealing. When they close the cage door, we'll finally know. That's worth all the anticipation. All the wondering. It's worth everything. It's why we watch.

Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix Saturday is also a grand finale for the heavyweight division. Though there may be one more fight left in the league for the participants in the main event, Strikeforce is set to move on without a heavyweight division after that.

So, can Strikeforce really keep driving even while the wheels are falling off? Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker seems to think so.

Coker, who is one of just a handful of former executives still retained by Strikeforce after the takeover, is convinced that we'll see Strikeforce on Showtime "for many years to come." 

Coker also explained in the same recent Heavyweight Grand Prix conference call that the company has "a great relationship with Showtime."  

Coker's remarks focusing on the renewal of Strikeforce's cable television deal with Showtime also belie the main reason why the UFC hasn't completely consumed the brand just yet. 

The "business as usual" promises made by Zuffa President Dana White back in March 2011 seemed hollow from the start, and subsequent changes proved White's words were pure hype.

Multiple moves made since the purchase transformed Strikeforce into an entity obviously being groomed for ultimate demolition. Still, the league hung on despite losing a slew of popular fighters to the UFC. 

Rather than take the structure down like one of those controlled explosions instantly reducing everything to dust, Zuffa seems to be taking their sweet time removing one brick at a time from Strikeforce's foundation.

The bigger and bolder promotion that snatched up the second-tier fight club for a song is under a more intense microscope these days, and their past evisceration of PRIDE went a long way to taint the UFC's image. Those scars are still fresh.

MMA fans might seem more ready, willing, and able to see Strikeforce lumped in with the UFC these days, but Zuffa's brass is still slow playing this one.

Few people were privy to intimate details of the purchase agreement hatched to make the Zuffa/Strikeforce deal happen, but it's probably a pretty safe bet that there was something in that contract to prevent a complete collapse of Strikeforce.

Additionally, there are some fringe benefits Zuffa enjoys by keeping the other fight club a going concern. For one, women's MMA is starting to gain a foothold with fans, and keeping Strikeforce running allows Zuffa to be on the cutting edge of developing the women's field.

Dana White's been outspoken about not wanting to add women to the UFC, and he's taken some heat for that stance. Thanks to the dynamic fighting of women's MMA sensation Ronda Rousey, White and Lorenzo Fertitta are coming around to the idea that girls really can fight. If they folded Strikeforce into the UFC completely, White would have to eat crow and let the ladies fight in the octagon. 

The Showtime exposure is also key, as indicated by Coker's confidence in that partnership. Zuffa is trying to ensure that the sport of MMA continues to be seen as "the fastest growing sport in the world." They even claim their own operation is "the fastest growing sports organization in the world."

So, keeping the Strikeforce train rolling down the tracks will keep a brand of mixed martial arts under the Zuffa label on a major cable network sharing the spotlight with boxing. The Showtime team also had their own independent media machine, which is a big plus for Zuffa, even though they still supplement that PR production and marketing on their own. 

As much as Strikeforce's doomsday seems imminent, it could actually be a long way off at this pace. What's more likely is that the league will wind up in a situation like the WEC, hosting lighter-weight fight cards and maintaining a long, healthy, independent history until it simply is no longer feasible or desirable for any reason to keep the entity separated from the UFC.

While some might see the UFC's acquisition of the best fighters in Strikeforce as the beginning of the end, it's really not. It's actually the beginning of the metamorphosis. The competitor is now part of the team, and it's taking on the look of the guy who gets picked last every gym class. That's where the UFC wants their underling: underneath them when it comes to quality.

If the intent was to actually build Strikeforce into a powerhouse, the league would be adding more superstars instead of siphoning them off to fight in the UFC.

Keeping the league in a confined space where it can't grow into an upstart threat to the UFC's domination might seem silly to fans who want to see everything blended together, but right now Zuffa wants and may actually need Strikeforce to stay independent.

As fighter contracts begin to expire, there will be more Strikeforce guys making the exodus to the UFC, but not enough to kill the whole business model. Whatever the ultimate plan is, if Strikeforce winds up getting folded into the UFC completely, it's going to take a lot longer than most MMA analysts are speculating. 

While we watch and wait, Scott Coker is doing his level best to maintain the legitimacy of his operation. He takes the tone of someone who knows something we don't. He goes to great lengths to defend and promote what's left like a trained executive should.

Whatever agreement he signed to keep his job may hold the clue to why Strikeforce is still allowed to live on while so many other Zuffa acquisitions suffered a much different fate. 

Now, if Coker suddenly decides to quit or gets his walking papers for some reason, that's when Strikeforce fans can really panic. Then the speculators pointing to imminent disaster for Strikeforce will have something to really back up their claims. Meanwhile, enjoy the show while it lasts. 

All of the main card fighters for Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Finale have made weight, as reported by MMAjunkie.com, who was present at tonight's weigh-ins. 

All but one of the preliminary fighters made weight. James Terry, who is set to face Bobby Green in a lightweight bout on the event's very first fight, initially weighed in at 135 pounds.

Such a massive discrepancy was likely caused by a miscalibrated scale. However, after the second weigh-in, Terry still missed weight at 156.25. He has approximately two hours to miss the weight. 

The rest of the fighters weighed in as follows:

Main Card

Josh Barnett (248) vs. Daniel Cormier (238)

Champ Gilbert Melendez (153) vs. Josh Thomson (153)

Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (206) vs. Mike Kyle (203)

Nah-Shon Burrell (170) vs. Chris Spang (169)

Preliminary Card

Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante (156) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156)

Virgil Zwicker (204) vs. Guto Inocente (205)

Derrick Mehmen (205) vs. Gian Villante (205)

Quinn Mulhern (170) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)

Bobby Green (155) vs. James Terry (156.25)

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Strikeforce Heavyweight Josh Barnett has not lost a fight since 2006. He has a career record of 31-5 with 19 of those wins coming by submission.

As Barnett heads into the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final on Saturday night against Daniel Cormier (9-0), the buzz about whether or not he deserves to be back in the UFC has started to pick up once again.

"The Warmaster", as Barnett now likes to be called, was kicked out of the UFC in 2002 after he tested positive for a banned substance following his win over Randy Couture. He subsequently failed two more drug tests later on in his career.

Dana White, at one point was firmly against bringing Barnett back into the UFC. White had this to say about Barnett in 2010:

"All of us are going to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It's how you deal with those mistakes. You take a guy like Josh Barnett. This guy's tested positive three times and denies every time that he's taken steroids, okay? He comes out with an interview last week basically saying, 'I don't care about anybody else; the only person I care about is myself. I got some fans out there and thanks for following me or whatever, but I'm not fighting for you. I'm fighting for me and I'm doing everything for me.' This is a guy who single-handedly put a company out of business -- single handedly put a company out of business for doing what he was doing and has zero remorse for it. Couldn't care less. [He's like,] 'I don't care that you bought tickets to that fight and were planning on going. I don't care that Fedor flew all the way in from Russia to fight me and trained and spent his own money to do this. I don't care that this company, Affliction, believed in me and was allowing me to make a living and I put them out of business. All I care about is me. Those are the guys that I have zero tolerance for. And that's why he's not in the UFC and never will be."

Dana has always been respected for how he comes out and says what's on his mind. He is generally not a man who wavers on his decisions, but after blasting Barnett a couple of years ago, this is what he had to say just last month:

"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 doe 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."

Dana's flip-flopped stance on Barnett would make any politician envious. The difference here is that MMA fans have also learned to forgive and forget to make the sport as interesting as possible.

Unlike other sports, it appears people in the MMA world are more forgiving if an athlete fails a drug test once, twice, or in this case, three times.

There are, however, stricter drug testing procedures in the UFC now compared to when Barnett was last in the UFC (2002).

If Barnett is clean, and somehow learned from his mistakes, the UFC could certainly use his talent and charisma going forward.