I have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to possible upsets in MMA. Although anything can happen in the cage, I just don’t see an upset happening in any of the two Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals matches this upcoming Saturday. Below is a breakdown of the MMA Odds over at the BetDSI Sportsbook and analysis of the two biggest fights on the main card.
Josh “The Baby-Faced Assassin” Barnett vs Sergei “The Russian Mercenary” Kharitonov
Strikeforce Betting Lines:
SERGEI KHARITONOV +245
JOSH BARNETT -305
Barnett is the favorite coming into this fight, as he should be considering he is on a 7 win streak and has recently beaten Brett Rogers (arm-triangle choke) and Mighty Mo (kimura). His greatest strength is his wrestling and submissions, which is evident as 18 of his 30 wins came via submissions. An interesting fact about Barnett is that he was awarded a BJJ Black Belt in 2009 on competition merit and overall knowledge, even though Barnett had never trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu! Either way, not training in BJJ did not stop him from winning Gold in the 2009 World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship and 1st place in the 2010 World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship.
Can Sergei hold his own against a submission artist of this caliber? Unlikely. Kharitonov can stand and bang with the best, and might be able to overpower Barnett on his feet, but what happens when the fight goes to the floor? A tiger can overcome an anaconda on the ground but not in the water. I see Barnett eliminating most of the tiger’s threat by getting the fight to the ground so that he can implement a snake-like submission.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva vs Daniel “DC” Cormier
Strikeforce Betting Lines:
DANIEL CORMIER +140
ANTONIO SILVA -170
The MMA Odds makers over at the BetDSI Sportsbook place Silva as the betting favorite. Bigfoot is on a 3 win streak and has recently beaten Andrei Arlovski, former WEC/UFC fighter Mike Kyle, and Fedor Emelianenko respectively. Weighing 264lbs, being 6 feet 4 inches and sporting 3 Black Belts (BJJ, Karate, Judo) makes him a real threat to anyone.
Daniel Cormier, although fairly new to the MMA scene (2009), already has racked up an 8-0 record. He has become a real threat as well with his college/pro wrestling background and heavy hands. DC will be looking to get his first big win against a ranked heavyweight contender, but Silva’s BJJ skills will squash those fleeting dreams. I see Silva getting the fight to the floor so that he can score enough points to take home the win, that’s if he doesn’t KO or submit DC first of course.
Follow me @GregRiotMMA
