Brett Rogers was no match for the experience and grappling of Josh Barnett. Barnett is one of the most controversial characters in the sport, but no one will deny the fact that he's vicious on the ground. Barnett scored a big takedown at the start of the second round and quickly slapped on an arm-triangle choke. He finished Rogers at 1:17 of the round to advance to the semifinals of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix.
"We can talk, but I still got a tournament to fight bit by bit, inch by inch and one by one. I'm gonna take 'em down one by one," said Barnett, showing off his pro wrestling verbal chops. "I'm going to add one skull to the collection, until the next, until the next. Until I'm standing on top of a pile of bodies with a pile of gold in my hand!"
Barnett's had a terrible history with athletic commissions in the U.S. He's still not licensed in the state of California, where he tested positive for PED's back in July of 2009. He also tested positive in Nevada back in 2002. Barnett, 24 at the time, had just won the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture.
Tonight, Rogers (11-3) spent 5:17 of 6:17 on the floor. Barnett mounted him in both rounds. Much of the first round was spent softening up Rogers. The big man from Minnesota was gassed at the start of the second and ate a huge left hook. Barnett grabbed hold of the stunned Rogers and dumped him hard via lateral drop. It took just a few seconds for Barnett to lock on the choke and Rogers lasted only five more ticks before he tapped.
Barnett (31-5) landed both of his takedown attempts and was good on 44-of-56 strikes. He'll face Russian Sergei Kharitonov in the semifinals. Kharitonov destroyed Andrei Arlovski in the opening round back in February.
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