Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK Saturday, January 12, 2013 Heavyweights: Daniel Cormier (-1750) vs. Dion Staring (+1050) Fight Breakdown: Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier makes his last appearance in the hexagon as he takes on Dion Staring in a three-round heavyweight bout, which is the co-main event at Saturday’s Strikeforce finale. Cormier (10-0) is a former U.S. Olympian in freestyle wrestling, and his grappling prowess has transferred well into mixed martial arts, as he’s currently undefeated in his young MMA career despite the fact he has been thrown into the fire right off the bat. The 33-year-old is coming off massive wins over Josh Barnett (unanimous decision), Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (KO) and Jeff Monson (UD) that helped him claim the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and a big win over Staring – despite Staring being a complete no-name – could give him an immediate title shot at either UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, his training partner at American Kickboxing Academy, or UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones following his bout with Chael Sonnen. Staring (28-7) is making his Strikeforce debut in this fight. He’s a complete unknown, and not much is expected out of him in this fight. A member of the Blackzilians, the 34-year-old has power and a submission game, and he’s a tough out, but there’s just no way his wrestling matches up at all with Cormier, who probably has the advantage on the feet too. There just aren’t many ways for Staring to win this fight outside of a fluke punch or in-fight injury to Cormier, and most believe he’s being brought in as cannon fodder for Cormier to get a huge win and head into the UFC on a roll. Fight Prediction: Cormier is going to absolutely demolish Staring. He’s going to either knock him out, or he’s going to take him down and beat him up so bad with ground and pound that he submits to punches. Or he may even outright submit him with a rear-naked choke. Either way, there is no way Staring is going to beat Cormier, so expect this thing to be quick and painful, but Cormier is going to get his hand raised at the end of the day, and he’s going to go into UFC with massive hype behind him. Adam’s Pick: Cormier (-1750) via first-round TKO (click for latest MMA odds) Adam’s Recommended Play: He’ll win, but the juice is too high on Cormier, who opened as one of the biggest favorites in MMA betting history and continues to climb. Pass on this fight, and look for other spots on the Strikeforce card to bet on instead.
