Strikeforce Results: Was the Heavyweight Grand Prix a Success or a Failure?

A little over a year ago, Strikeforce kicked off its inaugural Grand Prix tournament that brought together the best heavyweights in the world.

The Pride-like nostalgia stemming from the return of the tournament format had the MMA world buzzing for months.

Unfortunately, the general interest level in the tournament nosedived after the quarterfinal bouts.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong with the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

With that said, was it a success or failure?

For Strikeforce, it's hard to call the Grand Prix a success. Fans never really got to see the blockbuster matchups they were hoping for. Strikeforce certainly isn't to blame for the lack of marquee fights.

Fedor Emelianenko was defeated handily. Alistair Overeem was removed from the tournament and released from Strikeforce due to an alleged scandal involving Golden Glory Gym. Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski were both eliminated in the first round.

From strictly a business perspective, the outcomes of certain fights didn't go the way the promotion would've liked. To top it all off, the tournament was won by Cormier, an alternate for Overeem who was still relatively unknown to the casual viewer in his bout with Barnett.

There are certainly a lot of positives that can be taken away from the tournament.

The Strikeforce Grand Prix served as Cormier's coming out party as a rising superstar in the heavyweight division. Who would've guessed an alternate with only eight professional bouts under his belt would win it all?

The tournament also helped open casual eyes to world class veterans like Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Silva. With Silva already signed to a UFC contract, fans have started expressing interest in seeing Barnett and Kharitonov compete on the big stage.

Things may not have gone according to plan, but thanks to Strikeforce, the heavyweight division has reemerged as arguably the most stacked weight class in the world.