Strikeforce
Josh Barnett also getting one more fight in Strikeforce after Heavyweight Grand Prix
May 22, 2012 - 9:50:10 AM Josh Barnett also getting one more fight in Strikeforce after Heavyweight Grand Prix

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When a new deal between Strikeforce and Showtime was reached last November, it was announced that the winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix would get one more fight in the organization as a sendoff while the rest of the heavyweight division was folded over to the UFC.

Of course, at the time, the Grand Prix finals was expected to happen by March. The finals was delayed even further by a hand injury to Daniel Cormier, who defeated Josh Barnett last Saturday night to win the Grand Prix. He suffered another hand injury in that fight, meaning his one-off will be coming late in the year if it happens in 2012 at all.

But he's not the only one getting one more fight in Strikeforce. According to a report from USA Today, Barnett will also be getting one more fight inside of Strikeforce. Per the report, Zuffa officials confirmed the plans for each of them to get one more bout in the organization.

With the rest of Strikeforce's heavyweight roster already in the UFC, there aren't a ton of options for either Barnett or Cormier currently outside of the Zuffa umbrella, but the plan is for them to each fight one more time.

Penick's Analysis: This was a move made to appease Showtime, but it really doesn't make sense to keep either of them in Strikeforce. Cormier is ready to move to the UFC and compete with the best in the division now, and anyone they find outside of Zuffa is going to be considerably further down the ladder than Barnett. The same applies for Barnett, though it was never a guarantee the UFC was going to bring him in. This added fight in Strikeforce may be a way for Zuffa to give him a final contracted fight without bringing him into the Octagon.