Strikeforce
Daniel Cormier wants Shane Carwin in final Strikeforce bout, Carwin says he's not moving from UFC
May 22, 2012 - 1:00:36 PM Daniel Cormier wants Shane Carwin in final Strikeforce bout, Carwin says he's not moving from UFC

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Daniel Cormier is locked up right now in Strikeforce after winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix. He'll be fighting once more in the organization, as per the agreement with Showtime, but with no clear options for an opponent he's not sure who that will be against.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour on Tuesday, Cormier had one name on his mind, while still expressing doubt as to what might actually happen.

"I think if there is a plus one and Zuffa's going to send someone over it is going to have to be someone that is very good you know? Maybe Shane Carwin, as he's coming back," Cormier said (transcribed by MMAMania.com). "He's a guy with a lot of name value and I don't necessarily know if that's a step up [from Josh Barnett] but that is somebody with name value. Or, if one of the guys loses from the card this weekend. But then it really limits because if Frank Mir loses I'm pretty sure he is not going to want to come to Strikeforce to fight me where if he loses he has everything to lose."

"When Cain Velasquez beats Bigfoot Silva, what are they going to do, send [Silva] back to Strikeforce to fight me again? Nothing really adds up right now, I don't know, I don't know how to guess what they are going to do. There just is not that many step ups out there better than Josh Barnett. Especially that Josh Barnett. That Josh Barnett was 248 pounds, was in shape, was going hard, we had every intention on getting it down Saturday night, but that dude Saturday night came to fight. There are not too many guys that are a step up from that Josh Barnett that showed up on Saturday."

Unfortunately for Cormier, the one name he named is not coming to Strikeforce, either. Shane Carwin responded on Twitter that he's returning in the fall, but added the following:

"I'm not going to Strikeforce so he will need to come the UFC."

Penick's Analysis: This is the exact thing I commented on this morning in regards to Barnett getting another fight as well. The level of opponent available for these two is much lower than each other, and the UFC is not likely to bring someone over. It's a real issue for them both, because they deserve to be fighting the level of guys in the UFC. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen until they're in the UFC, so they're stuck with one fight that isn't going to be on par with anyone else in the top of the division.

[Shane Carwin art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]