Daniel Cormier has arrived!
The former Olympian and heavyweight prospect made a big splash Saturday, dominating top ten heavyweight Antonio “Big Foot” Silva en route to a first round stoppage. The win thrust Cormier, a replacement for Alistair Overeem, into the finals of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix.
There he will meet Josh Barnett, who also scored a first round win in his Saturday matchup. After suffering some blows on the feet, Barnett brought Sergei Kharitonov to the mat and won via an arm triangle submission.
Earlier in the night, Luke Rockhold recovered from a takedown and some early, heavy shots to defeat Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Thanks to his fluid striking and conditioning advantage, Rockhold was able to outpoint Souza and win the title in his first fight against top-level competition.
Full Strikeforce results follow:
Dominique Steele b. Chris Mierzwiak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Alexis Davis b. Amanda Nunes via TKO (punches) at 4:53 of Round Two
Jordan Mein b. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos via TKO (elbows) at 3:18 of Round Three
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante b. Yoel Romero Palacio via KO (punches) at 4:51 of Round Two
Mike Kyle b. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Pat Healy b. Maximo Blanco via submission (RNC) at 4:27 of Round Two
Muhammed “Big Mo” Lawal b. Roger Gracie via KO (punch) at 4:37 of Round One
Luke Rockhold b. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
Daniel Cormier b. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva via KO (punches) at 3:56 of Round One
Josh Barnett b. Sergei Kharitonov via submission (arm triangle) at 4:28 of Round One
