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**Rauno** · 12-06-2011, 08:03 PM

Quote:

The hand Daniel Cormier broke on Antonio Silva's skull is taking its time to heal, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today said the end of the promotion's heavyweight grand prix is waiting on that paw.

"We'll take it on a week-by-week basis," Coker said.

At the moment, the finals of the eight-man tournament are expected to late place in "late first quarter," or March.

"That's the month that we're shooting for," he said.

Coker said Cormier (9-0 MMA, 6-0 SF) is soon due back at the doctor for a follow-up visit. The fighter had a protective cast removed several weeks ago. Presumably, the fighter will receive a timeframe for when he can start hitting things and prepare for Josh Barnett (31-5 MMA, 1-0 SF), who awaits him in a five-round fight for the heavyweight-grand-prix belt.

The undefeated Cormier stepped into the tournament as an alternate one month after an impressive decision win over Jeff Monson at "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum." He filled a spot vacated by Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who was cut by the promotion (and later signed by the UFC).

Cormier went on to knock out Silva in the semifinals of the grand prix, which took place in September at "Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov." In the headliner, Barnett advanced to the finals with a first-round submission victory over Sergei Kharitonov, which set up the meeting in the finals.

Cormier or his representatives at American Kickboxing Academy could not be reached for comment on the status of his hand. In a previous interview with "Inside MMA," he said he isn't wasting any time in preparing for Barnett.

"For a guy like Josh Barnett, for me not to be working hard for him at this point, trying to do a basic seven to 10 week camp is disrespectful to him, and it doesn't give me the best opportunity to win the fight," Cormier said.

The grand-prix finals originally were targeted for the end of this year, though the schedule was pushed back by the buyout of Strikeforce by UFC parent company Zuffa and Cormier's injury.

MMAJunkie

**Rusty** · 12-06-2011, 09:48 PM

Barnett better hope he can outstrike him since the only time it'll go to the ground is when Cormier wants it to.

I'm glad Daniel has made it this far. Noone thought much of him when he was the alternate that Fedor was going to replace in the tournament.

Once he gets to the UFC and diets down to 205 Jones might finally have competition. Cormier is gonna be a beast

**slapshot** · 12-06-2011, 09:57 PM

I herd Dana SF and showtime hammered out a model and are now going to rebuild strikeforce mostly I think they don't want to be responsible for killing womens mma, lol.

**TheLyotoLegion** · 12-07-2011, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyRenegade

Barnett better hope he can outstrike him since the only time it'll go to the ground is when Cormier wants it to.

I'm glad Daniel has made it this far. Noone thought much of him when he was the alternate that Fedor was going to replace in the tournament.

Once he gets to the UFC and diets down to 205 Jones might finally have competition. Cormier is gonna be a beast

Which will be never, if he's smart.

I like Cormier and I'm not a fan of Barnett because of what he's done in the past but he seems like a very likeable dude if you know nothing about MMA so I hope Cormier wins but I'm very interested in this fight, Barnett has so much experience under him and it'll be interesting to see how Cormier does against a guy like him.

Fedornumber1! · 12-07-2011, 01:34 PM

Crazy how its gonna take a whole year to finish one little tournament....Most people probably forgot about it already

**Rauno** · 12-07-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedornumber1!

Crazy how its gonna take a whole year to finish one little tournament....Most people probably forgot about it already

I've been starting forget about Strikeforce in general. I was a huge fan of the company but there's absolutely nothing going on anymore.

kantowrestler · 12-07-2011, 02:12 PM

Well that's what happens when a promotions top talent go to another promotion. The fact of the matter is Strikeforce is in the process of shutting down. Once it's done all the best talent will go into the UFC, some will get cut, and lower guys will probably become a part of the UFC's expansion.

Voiceless · 12-07-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyRenegade

Once he gets to the UFC and diets down to 205 Jones might finally have competition. Cormier is gonna be a beast

I doubt that. He might be a good wrestler, but his striking is rather sloppy and not nearly a versatile as Jones'. I'm not yet impressed by his performance and I think he will have quite some trouble once he enters the UFC, regardless whether he does it at HW or LHW.