Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 June 2012 06:49 Written by PunchDrunkGamer Wednesday, 6 June 2012 06:49

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Fighter of the Month: May 2012 – Daniel Cormier

By Christopher Jester

 

 

 

 

Fighter of the Month: Daniel Cormier

Event: Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier (May 19, 2012)

Opponent: Josh Barnett

Result: Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)

 

 

Why He Deserves It?

 

May was the month of heavyweights, and only one heavyweight stood out above the rest –  Daniel Cormier. Cormier fought a hard five-round battle against tough, burly MMA veteran and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett to get a decision victory. Do not let the decision withhold the true reason why he is at the top this ballot of great fighters for this month. Daniel Cormier is a true heavyweight contender to watch out for going forward.

 

When the Strikeforce Grand Prix tournament was originally announced, the fans were excited because it was near guaranteed that the winner would be the undisputed best heavyweight in the world. Withstanding a few setbacks such as Alistair Overeem, who was the clear favorite of the tournament, being removed from tournament, on the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum card Cormier put on a great performance against Jeff Monson. Winning the fight by unanimous decision and making everyone turn and ask just who this guy was. The performance was good enough for Cormier to become an alternate/replacement for Overeem in the Grand Prix tournament.

 

The rest is history. Blitzing through Antonio Silva, and now in the finals against one of the toughest heavyweights in the world in Josh Barnett, Cormer was ready to shock the world. And indeed he did. From the beginning to the end of the fight, Daniel Cormier did whatever he wanted to do to Josh Barnett. He landed his stout blows throughout every round – from hooks to knees, to uppercuts and kicks. Cormier’s stand-up game had improved leaps and bounds since his earlier fights. In the end, Barnett’s face showed proof of that.

 

Cormier even proved that he could survive where critics thought he might fail, and that was on the ground. In the second round he landed an amazing slam, and in the fourth round he passed his test on the ground by getting through a kneebar attempt from Barnett. Getting back into guard and slicing down elbows would silence the critics on that matter.

 

Daniel Cormier came into the Strikeforce Grand Prix as a dark horse to win this whole thing. But now that the tournament is over he is now the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, and one of the best heavyweights around.

 

With one more fight left in Strikeforce, it is inevitable that Daniel Cormier will be paid a kind visit by the UFC brass very soon. There in the UFC, he will be awarded those top 10 fights that he surely desires and deserves. In any case, Daniel Cormier will be a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight. He’s already proven that.

 

PunchDrunkGamer would like to congratulate Daniel Cormier for becoming our May Fighter of the Month!

 

Runner-Up(s):

 

* Cain Velasquez – It is not that no one counted Velasquez out after his knockout loss to Junior Dos Santos, but people did question whether he would ever be the same after such a defeat. At UFC 146, Velasquez was hell bent on making sure no one ever doubted him again. Velasquez pummeled Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in the co-main event of UFC 146. It turned into a bloody massacre when Velasquez landed a series of deadly elbows on the ground. The bloody faucet would still continue to leak even after Velasquez scored a TKO victory in the very first round, proving that he is not only back but he’ll likely be the next challenger for Junior Dos Santos’s title.

 

* Junior Dos Santos – The UFC wanted to make a big deal about bad blood between JDS and Frank Mir since Mir had beaten Dos Santos’s mentor, Big Nog, twice. It just didn’t seem that way in press conferences and in front of the media. Dos Santos couldn’t have been nicer. Now that cannot be said about what happened in the Octagon. In typical Junior Dos Santos fashion, he lit up Frank Mir on the feet. The first and unsuccessful takedown from Mir was telling. It told how the rest of the story would go as Mir would have to stand up with JDS and he failed miserably at this feat. After staggering at the end of the first round, it took no time for Dos Santos to put him out of his misery in the middle of the second, scoring a TKO victory and defending his UFC heavyweight title.

 

* “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung – The Korean Zombie had never looked more technical than he did the night of May 15 on Fuel TV. Jung went through this fight with a clinical expertise that made Dustin Poirier look like he was not ready to fight someone of Jung’s caliber. Masterful on the ground with elbows, and butterfly guards, “The Korean Zombie” looked like he was on a whole other level and Poirier just couldn’t match his pace. This fast, action-filled bout ended in the fourth round when Jung intercepted a single-leg takedown by Poirier, and clinched up a brabo choke. Seconds later, Poirier was unconscious and “The Korean Zombie” scored a submission victory.

 

 

Follow Christopher “sLapDatSuCKa” Jester on Twitter @sLapDatSuCka

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