Source: The Bleacher Report
Back when Pride Fighting Championships was around, it was all the rage to debate which promotion was better between them and the UFC. Since the UFC bought Pride FC, however, the UFC been considered by many to have a monopoly over the sport's top talent.
I disagree. Yes, the UFC has a deeper roster of top-talent at their disposal than any of their competitors, but are far from having a monopoly over controlling the most talented fighters in the world.
For one, there's always going to be top-shelf talent that the general public has never heard of. Guys that are known in certain circles and fighting communities, but don't have a desire to make a living in the spotlight.
Then there's all the upcoming fighters like Travis Browne. No one had heard of him until he signed with the UFC, but then you get interested and check out his record and WOW. It reminds me of when I first checked out Shane Carwin's record. There will always be awesome upcoming talent that just hasn't had their break yet.... I'm not focusing on them.
Who I am focusing on are established top fighters who perhaps will fight in the UFC, or did before at some point, but choose to currently fight elsewhere. They do this even though they show up on many peoples' ranking, and for some, would probably be ranked higher if they were in the UFC.
First I will start with StrikeForce, who is essentially becoming the contemporary stateside version of what Pride FC used to be.
STRIKEFORCE
Jake Shields will probably be signing his contract with the UFC any day now, but he still is the perfect representation of top talent outside the UFC. As far as I'm concerned, he's been a top 10 welterweight for years, but had been overlooked because he wasn't in the UFC.
Of course Strikeforce is probably best known for having a strong Heavyweight division that stacks up well against the UFC's. Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Silva, and Fabricio Werdum could all give any UFC Heavyweight a run for their money. And then of course(x3) there's the legendary Fedor Emelianenko and Champ Alistair Overeem.
At Middleweight there is a surprising amount of depth, which includes Dan Henderson, but don't expect Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy, and maybe even Jason Miller, to go away anytime soon.
Muhammad Lawal and Gegard Mousasi are elite warriors of the highest order. The cool thing is that they both probably have many prime years left in them.
Then you have Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, and Renato Sobral who have all been building their names and/or resumes since solid stints in the UFC.
Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez has easily proven to be a top 10, and probably top 5, world-ranked competitor in his division.
All in all Strikeforce not only has a fairly deep roster, second only to the UFC, they also have the world class talent that's on every true MMA fans radar.
JAPAN, FREE AGENTS, AND ELSEWHERE
There's international standouts Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez fighting for the Bellator promotion. Shinya Aoki is a scary scary little Japanese man. Josh Barnett is a hilarious journey man/road warrior who stomps heavyweight competition in between glib media appearances. And Jorge Santiago has elevated his game to considerable prominence since suffering a couple of brutal losses back in the UFC.
So tell me fellow bleacherreporters.... who else am I missing?
Click to expand...