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Not one word in this is mine.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem:
t’s no secret that this is the ‘money’ fight in Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. Despite having yet to beat anyone of note at heavyweight, Overeem’s notoriety and success in the K-1 ring has bizarrely placed him at the top of the list of potential opponents for one of the best fighters in the world. Regardless of Fedor’s perceived reluctance to fight top contenders in the UFC, or Overeem’s perceived reluctance to fight top contenders, well, anywhere, the fact remains that people want this fight to happen…even if it’s just to see one of them lose in spectacularly brutal fashion.
It’s easier said than done though. With Fedor’s contract status almost permanently up in the air and Overeem competing in the K-1 Final 16 later this year, the window of opportunity is slim. To make matters worse, the gargantuan purse involved in putting such a fight together may only be attainable in Japan, where getting hold of a few million dollars to put on a fight at short notice has never been a problem, so long as you know the right loan shar…erm, sponsors. With that said, should Strikeforce ever make the jump to PPV (a move that is looking less and less likely with every event), then Fedor vs Overeem is the only fight that could make it work.
Mayhem Miller vs. Nick Diaz:
Lets be honest, despite last Saturday’s post-fight confrontation, a rematch between ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Jake Shields holds about as much appeal as coming home to find Brock Lesnar ‘getting on top of’ your wife. Sure, it’s an interesting idea for the open-mined, but most of you wouldn’t want to sit and watch it for 25 minutes. Still, as big of a black eye as the melee between Miller and Shields’ camp was for Strikeforce, they’d be crazy not to capitalise on what was unfortunately the biggest talking point coming out of the Nashville card.
Strikeforce have, for reasons perhaps best known to themselves, failed to pick up the phone to Jay Heiron for his long overdue welterweight title shot. Assuming that nothing is changing in that department, there isn’t really a whole lot for welterweight champion Nick Diaz to do when he’s through trouncing Japanese veteran Hayato Sakurai next month. A bout with Miller would be perfect; the 170lb champion has no qualms about moving up in weight, their styles would mesh well and the trash talk alone would be worth the price of admission. By pairing these two characters up, Strikeforce might actually be able to turn the Nashville debacle into something positive.
Bobby Lashley vs. Anyone not called Wes Simms:
Back in 2009, Strikeforce announced the signing of former collage wrestling stand out and WWE star Bobby Lashley. Touted as ‘the next Brock Lesnar’ early in his MMA career, Lashley has yet to set the world on fire. In fact, he and Lesnar are polar opposites; aside from the obvious aesthetical difference, Lesnar jumped in with current and former champions from the get go, while Lashley has taken to fighting his way up from the bottom rung. Sensible or lazy, you decide.
As smart as the former wrestler’s choice of opponents has been in terms of building a genuine MMA prospect, the likes of Lesnar, Lashley and King Mo Lawal are decidedly different from your average mixed martial artist. Their sporting background at the pinnacle of amateur wrestling gives them a massive head start on the competition. Lashley doesn’t need to be fighting the Wes Simms’ and Jimmy Ambriz’s of this world; he needs to be fighting the Werdum’s and Overeem’s. As a 33 year old rookie; he doesn’t have the luxury of time. He needs to go big or go home and if he’s going to lose, better he drops a fight to Fedor Emelianenko than Lavar Johnson.
Dan Henderson vs. Gegard Mousasi:
The two men who were supposed to help carry Strikeforce into a new era as champions at 185 and 205lbs are now facing decidedly different futures. Prior to his humbling defeat at the hands of Jake Shields, many had Hendo pegged to take the title in decisive fashion, before moving up in weight to challenge Mousasi, thus repeating his previous feat of holding titles in two weight-classes simultaneously. Now both men are without gold and coming off comprehensive defeats; what a difference a day makes.
At 38, Henderson’s days are numbered. He freely admits that he’s no Randy Couture, nor does is he intent on trying to emulate his former teammate’s early-40’s career resurgence. Hendo needs to stay relevant and the only way to do that is to take the big fights. The former Olympian went full bore for the first five minutes against Jake Shields before fading drastically; a telling sign that the last-minute 15lb weight cut is becoming too much of a chore for a body rapidly approaching the big 4-0. A bout between Mousasi and Henderson in Strikeforce’s shallow 205lb division would see the winner thrown right back into title contention, as well as providing Strikeforce with a marquee bout for their next CBS offering.
Gina Carano vs. Erin Toughill:
I’m all for equality and taking female fighters seriously. I respect them as much as I respect their male counterparts, and would argue that Megumi Fuji and Cris ‘Cyborg’ deserve a place in any unisex P4P rankings. Let’s be honest though; Gina Carano being the face of women’s MMA and the fact that you wouldn’t exactly kick her out of bed is no coincidence. She’ll be a bona-fide movie star next time we see her in the cage, and will no doubt have graced the pages of Maxim, FHM and the like once more, adding to her already considerable throng (I said throng, not thong – get your minds out of the gutter) of male fans.
Strikeforce need Carano more than ever right now as they attempt to convince CBS to continue running with live, primetime MMA. Unfortunately, the unmerciful manner in which the first lady of American martial arts was tooled by ‘Cyborg’ last year means that there is some substantial rebuilding work to do. Unlike Henderson, Carano is not getting old, but nonetheless her days as an active fighter are numbered due to more lucrative career prospects. Like Lashley, she doesn’t have the time to be fighting scrubs; a bout with Toughill (who is more beauty than beast herself) would position the winner for a title shot by the end of the year, and give male fans another reason to tune in to a promotion dangerously lacking in star power.
These bouts alone won’t be enough to put Strikeforce back in the race against the UFC. But staggering way off course with last weekend’s disappointing Nashville card, five small steps in the right direction might just be their saving grace.
By Brad Wharton
_MMA BAY