There are a lot of good fights scheduled for this weekend but the Strikeforce HW GP takes the cake. The Heavyweight semi-finals will commence and the finals will be determined. On top of that Jacare defends the middleweight title against a pretty unknown opponent in Luke Rockhold. Check out below who we think will come out victorious.

Strikeforce Heavyweight GP: Main Card

Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Barnett has been one of the top heavyweights in the world for some time now. He has wins over a lot of solid fighters but never really won the big fight. Sergei is sort of in the same boat but he has been a lot less active than Barnett in MMA fights in recent years. One of the biggest differences is that Sergei has never been accused of using steroids. On the other hand Barnett has been a multiple time offender and it is difficult to tell how much his drug use has affected his recent performances. This is a really tough fight to call but I am going to say Sergei wins by KO and shocks the Strikeforce brass.
 Joe’s Prediction: Sergei by (T)KO.

Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier
Since joining Strikeforce, Silva has shown us why he is a dangerous heavyweight fighter. He debuted with the promotion against Werdum and lost but Bigfoot has come back with 3 straight wins against strong fighters. His most recent victory was against Fedor in the opening round of the GP. Cormier on the other hand has the right skills to defeat Bigfoot. His biggest weakness is his lack of experience inside the cage. Cormier only has 7 pro fights under his belt and this is definitely the biggest fight to date. For this fight I think Silva will use his size to wear Cormier down and squeak out a victory late in the fight, possibly with a submission.
Joe’s Prediction: Antonio Silva by Submission

Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold
The Strikeforce middleweight title will be defended for the second time by current champion Jacare this weekend. Souza has already defeated Tim Kennedy to win the title and defended once against Robbie Lawler. Rockhold will present a entirely different set of challenges for the champion. He is currently 5-0 in his Strikeforce career but this is by far his toughest fight to date. Luke is a great ground fighter but Souza is one of the best in the world. I expect Rockhold to try and keep the fight standing but Souza will be a little more effective and eventually take him down and submit him.
Joe’s Predicition: Jacare by submission.

Roger Gracie vs. “King Mo” Lawal
Gracie and Lawal are returning to the Strikeforce cage after some time off. Both are big time prospects for the LHW division and the winner could see themselves stepping up for a title shot with a convincing win here. Lawal will probably want to keep this fight standing as he most likely has an advantage there. If he can wipe away the ring rust early he should be able to keep it standing and claim a victory over the large Gracie fighter. Taking this fight to the ground may be a big mistake for the former division 1 wrestler.
Joe’s Prediction: King Mo by Decision.

Pat Healy vs. Maximo Blanco
Healy has stepped in on late notice to replace Josh Thompson who was injured about a month ago. He will be facing a very tough fighter who ran through the Japanese promotions in Blanco. This could be the fight of the night as I expect this fight to start off with both fighters trading punches. I think Blanco may have the better hands and this will lead to Healy looking for the takedown. Unfortunately, I think he will get caught coming in.
Joe’s Predicition: Maximo Blanco by (T)KO.

Strikeforce Heavyweight GP: Prelims:

Mike Kyle vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima – Kyle by KO
Rafael Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero Palacio – Yoel Romero Palacio by Decision
Cyborg Santos vs. Jordan Mein – Mein by Decision
Alexis Davis vs. Amanda Nunes – Nunes by Decision
Dominique Steele vs. Chris Mierzwiak – Steele by Decision