The Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix took a big hit in the name recognition department recently, when the promotion’s heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was scratched from the semifinals of the event due to a toe injury.

Strikeforce wasted little time in finding a replacement for Overeem, as the undefeated (8-0) Daniel Cormier was moved into the September 10^th event. Cormier’s opponent will be Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

Odds have not been posted for the Silva versus Cormier fight, but it’s probably a safe assumption that Silva will be the favorite when the two meet at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. 

Silva will enter the cage coming off a doctor stoppage victory over Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of the tournament. Cormier’s last fight was a solid unanimous decision victory over Jeff Monson in June of this year.

Even though he will enter the fight with the odds stacked against him, Cormier is not a fighter who should be dismissed as a mere tournament replacement.

He is an accomplished athlete, having represented the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic games as a freestyle wrestler (he captained the 2008 team, but was unable to compete due to kidney failure) and while he has a strong wrestling base to fall back on, he is not a one-trick pony.

Cormier trains at American Kickboxing Academy with fellow wrestlers turned MMA competitors, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.  

During his time at AKA Cormier has been working with Velasquez on becoming a better MMA fighter.  Cormier recently spoke to MMAJunkie.com about his training and development and how he will not panic if Silva puts him on his back:

"I start on my back a lot in training, and I'm comfortable, as is Cain. You saw when Brock (Lesnar) put Cain on his back. He didn't panic. We just got up. I'm not just a wrestling guy. If I was, you wouldn't see the improvements that I've made in the standup—and Cain's standup, and Koscheck's standup."

The change in opponents for Silva is not insignificant as he went from facing a 6’5” kickboxer with a great deal of name recognition to facing a 5’11” wrestler who only recently made his full Strikeforce debut. To use a cliché, all the pressure is on Silva in the bout, while Cormier is essentially freerolling.

A fighter with nothing to lose is a dangerous commodity. If you don’t believe that, ask Rick Story, who recently saw his run through the UFC welterweight division come to an end at the hands of last-minute replacement Charlie Brenneman, or ask Silva himself, as he was given a 17 percent chance to win in his bout against Fedor.