Video: Highlights from stellar Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov card

If you were busy doing something nowhere near as important as watching fights last night, and missed Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, here are the highlights from a top-to-bottom fantastic card. Strikeforce commentator Mauro Renallo is slightly excited in this clip, so you may want to turn the sound on your computer down.

The main card featured two submissions, two knockouts and a tight five-round decision. Daniel Cormier delivered an upset, Mo Lawal provided a comeback after more than a year off, and Pat Healy started things off with a come-from-behind victory. Really, what more can you ask from a card?

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History rewritten: Strikeforce belt says Overeem was a figment of your imagination

It was probably just an effort to make Daniel Cormier feel like he was part of the gang, but it's interesting to see the belt being offered up as the prize for the winner of Strikeforce's heavyweight Grand Prix.

Notice anyone's name missing? That's right, the pre-tourney favorite and first round winner, Alistair Overeem is missing from the ledger of the original eight combatants. No big deal, right?

Most fans won't blink an eye because Overeem's short-lived exile is over and Zuffa delivered a bigger fight for "The Reem" than we could've ever imagined against Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.

With the Strikeforce tourney semis just days away, who winds up with this hardware? Can Cormier pull the major upset or is it Josh Barnett's to lose?

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Duane Ludwig?s quest to set the record straight

Duane Ludwig is going into surgery today to repair a compressed disc in his neck, but healing up from his win over Amir Sadollah at UFC on Versus 5 is not his only project. Ludwig also wants the Nevada Athletic Commission to correct the time of his knockout of Jonathan Goulet, which would give Ludwig the fastest KO in MMA.

To reach that goal, Ludwig has enlisted the help of his fans and other fighters. Via Twitter, he has asked fans to "like" his Facebook petition, and send emails to the commission. Todd Duffee, the current record holder with a KO of Tim Hague in seven seconds, even supports Ludwig, as shown in their picture together. Ludwig claims that the knockout happened in four seconds.

In 2006, Ludwig knocked Goulet out almost immediately from the bell, but the official timer recorded the time as 11 seconds. UFC commentator Joe Rogan picked up Ludwig's cause at the time, and still stumps for a time change every time he interviews Ludwig after a fight.

Ludwig isn't just relying just on a Facebook and email campaign to get Nevada officials to change their mind:

"The UFC sent me a copy of the DVD, so I'm going to send that off to the commission with a letter and then with a link to the Facebook [petition] I have," he said. "Hopefully that gets locked down. That would be cool."

It's a smart move to use both tactics. Though Facebook campaigns have worked to get Betty White on "Saturday Night Live," video evidence is probably more important to the good people of the Nevada Athletic Commission.

If you want to support Ludwig in his quest, like the Facebook page here, and find the email address to the NAC here.

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Jackson vs. Jones UFC 135 promo is kinda awesome

The news about UFC 135 this week has centered around Quinton Jackson's allegations of a spy planted in his camp. Does that make you want to watch the fight, or would you prefer a well-done promo video?

The UFC sometimes is formulaic in their promotional videos, but this one doesn't fit that category. It builds up drama while still showing off the best of Jackson and Jon Jones.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Heavyweight showdown: Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem on Dec. 30
? City of Vancouver blames NHL for Stanley Cup riots
? The 10 best and worst fashions from the 2011 U.S Open

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Strikeforce card brings a little more clarity to messy 205 division

With its champion Dan Henderson in limbo, it's anyone's guess at what Strikeforce's light heavyweight division will look like at the end of the year.

The picture should clear up a bit more tomorrow night as several 205-pound contenders square off in Cincinnati on the undercard of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals. It's imperative that Mo Lawal and Rafael Cavalcante avoid upsets to stay in the mix.

"King Mo" Lawal takes on upstart MMA newcomer in Roger Gracie. Yes, he's from the famed Gracie family, and to no one's surprise he has a brilliant submission game. Gracie also has just four MMA fights under his belt. King Mo (7-1) doesn't have much more experience in terms of fights, but his toolbox is full of more weapons.

In an excellent Strikeforce preview, USA Today built a strong case for Lawal:

CASE FOR LAWAL -- Other than jiu-jitsu, superior to Gracie in every way. Has showcased his strength with knockout punches and high-impact slams. Superb wrestling gives him the ability to take down virtually anyone he faces. Adept at avoiding submissions and staying in good positions.

Lawal has been wise in bouncing around the country from camp to camp. He got high marks from the folks at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Ca.

Cagewriter's Maggie Hendricks did a great profile on Cavalcante's opponent Yoel Romero Palacio. The 34-year-old Cuban is just 4-0 in MMA and yet "Feijao" is a small favorite at minus-135. That tells you a lot about former Olympic silver medal wrestler's potential.

"I know he's a very good wrestler. He's an elite wrestler. I don't know why, I always fight with wrestlers, man," Cavalcante told MMAFighting. "I keep my game plan, I'm training a lot with my conditioning coach, with my training partners. I don't care if it's his first fight in Strikeforce or not. I always train for the worst thing. I train with the best in the world. In MMA it's like *snaps* that, you know? I never underestimate anyone."

That said, Feijao (10-3) can't afford to lose the fight. Feijao dealt with King Mo's wrestler just fine. His heavy hands and massive size should be able to get him by Romero Palacio.

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We know there?s at least one Diaz fan left; White gives him Penn fight at UFC 137

Just when you thought everyone was steaming mad at Nick Diaz, Dana White pulled off a shocker by re-booking the quirky fighter for another fight at UFC 137 against B.J. Penn.

Thursday evening, White announced the move via Twitter. This was less than 24 hours after he dropped Diaz from the main event title fight against Georges St-Pierre.

When it comes down it, White is willing to deal with all of  Diaz's drama to simply satisfy fight fans. Are you any less excited for the Diaz-Penn versus Diaz-GSP? That's been a dream fight for many fans, for years. White could've easily banished Diaz to the MMA minor leagues for life, but the recognizes the guy is a great fighter with some serious psychological issues.

The door opened for Diaz when a Penn-Jon Fitch rematch couldn't be made. Penn ripped Fitch on Twitter and said he had enough of waiting for Fitch to commit. Twitter is hilarious though. Penn went from nasty to nice in 42 minutes when he was offered the Diaz fight.

Why did Diaz get another chance? White spoke to him and got a basic understanding of what was going through his head when he missed two prefight conferences and missed three flights.

"To tell you the truth, the excuses he gave me made no sense," White told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole. "You've interviewed Nick Diaz before. You know what I'm talking about. But I started thinking about this: This kid is a real fighter and I love the B.J. Penn-Nick Diaz fight. He always does show up to fight. We have trouble with him doing p.r. We also sometimes have problems with [his brother] Nate, whom I have a great relationship with, in getting him to do his p.r."

"What basically happened is, Nick freaked out. He disappeared. He told me he couldn't handle the pressure of the main event. It wasn't that he couldn't fight it or wouldn't have fought it, but all the responsibilities that come with fighting in the main event, he said he couldn't deal with that. The fighting part is the easy part to him."

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