Daniel Cormier thinks Josh Barnett's best days are behind him, MMA has advanced
Posted on May 18, 2012, 01:34 PM by Mike Drahota
Daniel Cormier seems to be supremely confident heading into his Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix Final bout with Josh Barnett tomorrow night. Cormier has a right to be confident, but he is indeed facing a man who has 31 wins to his his name and has not lost since he last fought Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in 2006. Still, Cormier thinks that, although Barnett is a masterful submission technician, the game of MMA is starting to pass him by, and all of the wars he's participated in will begin to take their toll upon his body. Cormier said the following:
"Maybe after the fight, people will say, 'He's slowing down. He's not what he used to be.' But guys don't slow down on their own. Somebody has to actually show them that the time has come, where it's starting to catch up, all the battles and all the wars." - via MMAJunkie.com
Cormier wants to be the man to prove this to the world, to show that his Olympic-level wrestling coupled with world-class striking training at AKA with Cain Velasquez will simply be too much for the elder Barnett to handle. Cormier believes Barnett's best wins are long gone, and “The Warmaster” is not quite as good as he was back then. He continued:
"No knock on Josh, but everybody that fought in that era is starting to slow down. So I think it's going to take a guy to bring it out of him, to show him that it is mileage, and time is starting to catch up to him. Barnett beat all those guys, but a lot of those big wins are back before 2005, so it's not like all these wins are recent. A lot of those wins are way back in the day, so Josh is a completely different fighter than he was."
Cormier thinks that the Heavyweights from Barnett's heyday were simply too one-dimensional, focusing on only some of the tools that it takes to be a complete Mixed Martial Artist. He believes Barnett to focus too much on the submission aspect of the game, and that this alone will not be enough to take him down on Saturday. He summarized it:
"Back in the day, if a guy had a leg lock, he could be a world champion. Well, the game's changed now, and it's advanced. All that stuff doesn't really pertain to me."
The stage has been set for the Heavyweight Grand Prix to finally end. Cormier believes his youth and talent will help him topple the experience and grappling of the old-school Barnett. Who will come out on top in this clash of two generations, and how will they fare in the UFC once the dust has settled?
Further Reading:Strikeforce: Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier Lowkick.com Staff Predictions
Outer Photo: CombatLifestyle.com
Daniel Cormier seems to be supremely confident heading into his Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix Final bout with Josh Barnett tomorrow night. Cormier has a right to be confident, but he is indeed facing a man who has 31 wins to his his name and has not lost since he last fought Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in 2006. Still, Cormier thinks that, although Barnett is a masterful submission technician, the game of MMA is starting to pass him by, and all of the wars he's participated in will begin to take their toll upon his body. Cormier said the following:
"Maybe after the fight, people will say, 'He's slowing down. He's not what he used to be.' But guys don't slow down on their own. Somebody has to actually show them that the time has come, where it's starting to catch up, all the battles and all the wars." - via MMAJunkie.com
Cormier wants to be the man to prove this to the world, to show that his Olympic-level wrestling coupled with world-class striking training at AKA with Cain Velasquez will simply be too much for the elder Barnett to handle. Cormier believes Barnett's best wins are long gone, and “The Warmaster” is not quite as good as he was back then. He continued:
"No knock on Josh, but everybody that fought in that era is starting to slow down. So I think it's going to take a guy to bring it out of him, to show him that it is mileage, and time is starting to catch up to him. Barnett beat all those guys, but a lot of those big wins are back before 2005, so it's not like all these wins are recent. A lot of those wins are way back in the day, so Josh is a completely different fighter than he was."
Cormier thinks that the Heavyweights from Barnett's heyday were simply too one-dimensional, focusing on only some of the tools that it takes to be a complete Mixed Martial Artist. He believes Barnett to focus too much on the submission aspect of the game, and that this alone will not be enough to take him down on Saturday. He summarized it:
"Back in the day, if a guy had a leg lock, he could be a world champion. Well, the game's changed now, and it's advanced. All that stuff doesn't really pertain to me."
The stage has been set for the Heavyweight Grand Prix to finally end. Cormier believes his youth and talent will help him topple the experience and grappling of the old-school Barnett. Who will come out on top in this clash of two generations, and how will they fare in the UFC once the dust has settled?
Further Reading:
Comments
MMA has advanced but so does Barnett, he doesn't have any glaring holes in his game either.
Great wrestling, world class submission game, decent bu underrated striking, solid chin, decent cardio.
Thats true but I think Cormier is gonna be a huge star. There is just something about him, and he knocked out bigfoot!! and his jaw is like a cinder block!
bernett is an old man. he used steroids and he looks like a big jelly fish.
barnett
Barnett has a more well rounded game than Daniel. A pretty absurd statement from a guy who's only big win was of Big Foot and Monson.
Josh = 15 years of MMA vs DC = 3 years of MMA.
15 years in mma means this guy is will past his prime and is on the way out. DC is part of the next generation of fighters and can only improve; whereas Barnett is probably a couple of fights away from retirement.
Thinking about it, mma has come a long way in the last few years. Since cormier started mma, Barnett has fought infrequently. In the last 3 years the only person Barnett has fought with a decent ground game was a lhw. Barnett won't get him down and cormiers stand up has really improved. That combined with his ridiculous punching power is how I see the fight going.
Do you think Barnett has not been training? DC is 33 vs JB 34, the age difference isn't a factor. Daniel would have to be training for another 10 years to light Josh's blue angels on fire.
Age may not be a factor, but the wear and tear of a fifteen year career vs a much fresher three year career will be the game changer in this one.
I don't understand what Daniel is talking about, Daniel was wrestling all of those years Josh was fighting which causes just as much wear and tear as MMA. His whole argument is just nonsense, they are basically the same age. He is saying "my lack of experience is going to be what gets me the win" it is just silly.
Josh hasn't been talking beatings during most of those fights either. Guys that fight like Wanderlei don't have the same longevity. I would not be surprised if Barnett eventually becomes UFC champ.
I think Josh will win the fight,
- I don't think Daniel is a better striker than Kharitonov, last Josh's opponent
- Age is not the factor
-On the ground... well, for me its for Josh (in Pride days, used to be a guy Pawel Nastula, world judo champ, the guy was a beast on the ground but he lost to Josh, Minotauro, Emalienko because of experience.
-As for me, the only way Cormier can win this fight is to keep it standing. so its going to be up to Daniel's takedown defence
Josh hasn't said anything negative about Cormier. Cormier better hope he wins or his best days will be behind him.