Strikeforce Grand Prix: 6 Reasons You Will Not Want to Miss This Event

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, the next leg of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, may seem pointless now that Alistair Overeem is out of the tournament and into the UFC, but in reality you do not want to miss this event if you are a fan of mixed martial arts.

Why is the event worth watching? Read and find out!

The American Debut of Maximo Blanco

Maximo Blanco is the former lightweight King of Pancrase (he vacated the title in April 2011) and is considered to be one of the best lightweight fighters outside of the UFC.

The native of Venezuela will meet Pat Healy in the first fight of the main card.

This fight is important in the grand scheme of things because if Blanco doesn't win, it'll prove, yet again that "prospects" on the Japanese circuit have a very difficult time being successful in the United States.

The Gracie Name Will Live on or Die

Roger Gracie will fight against Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal in a light heavyweight bout at this event.

Gracie is undefeated so far and Lawal is coming off the first loss of his career. The fight is important because if Gracie loses to Lawal, the last hope of the Gracie family will be snuffed out and the Gracie name, which has been suffering since Royce Gracie's loss to Kazushi Sakuraba at the 2000 Pride Grand Prix, will finally succumb to the haters and revisionists.

There is also another reason this fight is important which is...

Wrestling vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

On MMA forums across the Internet, the biggest question is which is the better base for MMA, wrestling or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Just how hotly contested the question is can be seen in the results of a poll done by MMAjunkie.com in which 43 percent said BJJ was the better base and 42 percent said wrestling, with less than 50 votes separating the two.

The fight between Roger Gracie—arguably the most accomplished submission grappler in the world—and Muhammad Lawal—an NCAA Division I champion and Pan-Am gold medalist in freestyle wrestling—will add more fuel to the fire and give both sides ammunition for their arguments.

Trial by Fire for Prospect Luke Rockhold

Middleweight Luke Rockhold is one of Strikeforce's best prospects with a 7-1 record, all wins being finishes.

He will have a huge test when he faces Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza for the Strikeforce middleweight title. This is a massive step up in competition for Rockhold in what is truly a trial by fire for the young fighter.

The Rise (or Fall) of Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier is perhaps the brightest rising star of the Strikeforce roster. He has converted his Olympic-caliber wrestling into success in mixed martial arts and is currently undefeated.

With the departure of Alistair Overeem from Strikeforce, a spot was left open and Cormier, the alternate, was chosen to fill it. The wrestler with therefore face perennial Brazilian dark horse Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the semi-finals of the tournament.

This will be an important fight to be sure, for if Cormier wins it's possible that he may even win the tournament, making the fight with Silva all the more important.

The Swansong of the Old Guard: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

The main event and second semifinal bout of the tournament Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov almost sounds like it's from a previous era of MMA, but in some way it is.

Barnett and Kharitonov are some of the last old guard fighters from Pride who are still prominent in the current heavyweight MMA scene. These fighters won't have much time left in the limelight so being able to see them fight (when it still matters) is a treat that no MMA fan should scoff at.