With Strikeforce having been gutted for most of its top talent, and its heavyweight division imploded for the UFC proper, the secondary promotion of Zuffa is in a bit of a bind. The one inherent problem evident after “Rockhold vs. Jardine” was that the show felt like an old Saturday morning pro wrestling event, i.e. a bunch of enhancement talent making designated superstars look good in defeat. It was kind of sad in a lot of ways and didn’t really tell us a whole lot about the guys on top. It just showed that the talent gap between Strikeforce prospect and Strikeforce top guy is fairly expansive and as such the discussion this week has been about what (if anything) we learned from the first Strikeforce event of the year.
Instead of looking at what this means in the long scheme of things, let’s take Dana White and Zuffa at their words in that they want to run this promotion like they would the UFC. While we know that’s not the case, this being more of them running a promotion under contractual promises as well as keeping a competitor off of Showtime, for sake of argument let’s holds them to it. And as such they have a nice dilemma: too much talent.
With the UFC roster fairly expansive as is, there are a number of fighters just biding time in the UFC that could be better purposed in Strikeforce. Much like how an underperforming asset can be moved from one part of a company to another to see if it’ll improve, Zuffa has any number of assets under contract that might be best used elsewhere.
From a handful of former contenders having had title shots and lost to aging veterans looking for “interesting” fights, the UFC has an embarrassment of riches. The problem now is trying to find good fights for guys not in the title picture but high profile enough to get fights that would put them near it. You can’t just take a like Gray Maynard, who’s challenged twice for a title, and put him in with prospects and guys on their way out of the sport, nor can you give him another title challenge unless he compiles a Fitch-esque win streak that can’t be ignored. With Strikeforce only comprising four divisions outside both of its women’s titles, the wealth of the UFC can be used for more than just enhancing UFC shows. And if the UFC wants to run Strikeforce as an actual promotion, and not just wind it down for contractual purposes, their roster can be used to make the secondary Zuffa promotion significantly more interesting and potentially more profitable with a few swaps.
And since we’re doing this, let’s call it the Call it the “Saving Strikeforce Draft.” Everything in life is better with a draft. In this scenario Scott Coker and Scott Shelby can raid the UFC roster for some talent with a couple of strings attached from Lorenzo and Dana.
1. No current champions can go to Strikeforce … and conversely no Strikeforce champions can leave
It would be great to bring over Frankie Edgar or Jose Aldo to fight Gilbert Melendez at LW but that’s not happening. Melendez has a contract for any number of fights and probably a champion’s clause, thus for the time being we have to presume he’s going to be under this banner.
2. No top contenders still “in the mix”
Everyone would have had to have their title shots already; a guy like Jim Miller is still tops in the division and hasn’t peaked, career wise, and dropping him down won’t work.
3. Veterans in their “interesting fight phase” of their career
Any fighter who has had their chance on top and now is just looking for good fights that are intriguing, as opposed to pushing them closer to a title shot ought to be eligible.
4. Prospects still 1-2 years away from a contender
Anyone who still needs a lot of grooming ought to be eligible
5. Only five people from the four divisions could be taken
If Strikeforce only has another year or two left before it gets shut down, you could squeeze a new round of fights out with 20 new top level guys.
6. Guys who never crossed the final line between gatekeeper and contender
If you can’t get past a fringe top 10 guy, you should be open to Strikeforce
Lightweight
1. BJ Penn
Penn is a natural lightweight and needs to fight at that weight class. He won’t get a title shot anytime soon, though, because he’s already been beaten by Frankie Edgar twice. The second one extremely soundly, as well, and he also shares the downside of having lost to GSP twice at welterweight. The second to him soundly. So he’s really a man without a weight class now and he’s aiming for interesting fights now, having nixed the comeback talk. He’d be a fun fight for someone like Gil Melendez and the Strikeforce lightweight division is fresh with a variety of different challengers instead of the wrestle-happy UFC lightweights, thus allowing him to regain some footing. One imagines a fight between Penn and Jorge Masvidal would be an absolute war.
2. Takanori Gomi
Gomi’s on the downside of his career and can’t hang with the top guys in a division he once ruled. He still has some value, though, and there are a number of fights in Strikeforce that make sense. He’s a good gatekeeper type now; if you can beat him you’re probably a Top 10 guy or close to it.
3. Gray Maynard
Maynard needs 8-10 wins to get another chance at Frankie Edgar, if he still has the title, and has lost twice to the champ in the same year. He has a long road back up to the top waiting for him, however, and would be nothing more than a top five gatekeeper. He’d a great test for Melendez, of course, and would allow him to rebuild his career a little bit with that roster. The UFC is a shark tank and Maynard would be favored over most of the roster; right now, though, anyone in close proximity to a title fight won’t be placed near him. If he gets 3-4 wins outside the UFC and one over Melendez, for example, you can justify giving him a title shot again.
4. Sean Sherk
Sherk’s nearing the end of his career and had his day in the sun. Melendez makes sense and Sherk gives that division credibility by his sheer presence alone.
5. George Sotiropoulos
G-Sot needs some career rehab, ASAP. A couple of bad losses have put him one win away from a title shot to one win from the door. He’s still a top fighter in the division, though, and you don’t want someone like Bellator scooping him up for one of its tournaments or a fight with Eddie Alvarez. A run through the Strikeforce LW division gives him some momentum.
Welterweight
1. Jon Fitch
Fitch is in the same spot as Gray Maynard. Won’t get a title shot anytime soon, already lost to the champion (but in dominant fashion) and is in a bit of a slump. A Strikeforce title reign and some good stoppage wins on his record rebuilds his momentum quickly and gets him back in the title picture in the UFC.
2. Dan Hardy
How Hardy still is with the UFC remains a bit of a fluke. With a couple of bad losses after being KO’d be Carlos Condit in England, and a dominant loss to GSP for the title, Hardy needs a confidence boost. He’s still better than most of Strikeforce’s WW division, you’d suspect, and his style of brawling would make for some interesting fights.
3. Rory MacDonald
A prospect that has some time to mature, MacDonald needs more fights period. He and Tyron Woodley are at about the same spot, career wise, and would make for an interesting affair. Being able to groom a prospect like MacDonald, away from the shark tank that is the UFC welterweight division, could help him be ready for a run to the top of the division many have predicted for him.
4. Matt Brown
A TUF alumni who has a penitent for fun fights, if not the most successful ones, he brings in name recognition to a division that needs some.
5. Matthew Riddle
Riddle is an up and down prospect that hasn’t quite lived up to the potential he showed immediately after a solid run on TUF. He also has never fought outside the UFC, as well, and the experience could do wonders for him.
Middleweight
1. Rich Franklin
Franklin’s been destroyed by Anderson Silva. Twice. He’s also been a good but not great light heavyweight. Thus he’s stuck either fighting above his natural weight class at middleweight or never challenging for a title again. Moving him down to middleweight gives Luke Rockhold an immediate challenger, obviously, and there are some good matchups in that division for him as well. Him and Jacare would be a fun fight, as well. Franklin is a middleweight and if he isn’t going to be used in the UFC he’d be a great drawing card for a promotion that needs one.
2. CB Dollaway
A TUF runner-up, he’s never really transferred from prospect to contender like he was supposed to. He needs more seasoning, period, and Strikeforce could be good for him.
3. Jorge Rivera
Rivera was dominated by Michael Bisping and isn’t even a fringe top 10 guy. He’s never dull but he’s a gatekeeper to the fringe of the division at best. Why put him on a UFC card when he’d be better served on Strikeforce?
4. Tim Credeur
Another TUF guy, he needs to get some fights under his belt and rebuild after an extensive injury layoff.
5. Dan Miller
He’s in the same sport as Rivera: a fringe guy who’s a gatekeeper at best but never boring.
Light Heavyweight
1. Alexander Gustafsson
If he fought any of the top five in the division, they take his lunch money. Phil Davis dominated him in epic fashion and I don’t see anything different if he fought Rashad Evans, Jon Jones or any other top contenders right now. In a year or two, maybe he fairs differently. There are a handful of fights in Strikeforce he could make more interesting by his presence. A good test for King Mo, as well, in the future and one imagines a tough fight Mousasi would be on the books as well.
2. Thiago Silva
Silva needs a fight or two to get back to where he was after the Vera victory, especially after a year layoff. Why not let him work off the rust in a place like Strikeforce? He’d be a tough fight for Lawal and Mousasi as well as Feijao.
3. Kyle Kingsbury
He was a talented prospect but just had his lunch money stolen from him by Stephan Bonner. He’s still young, though, and needs some seasoning still. He needs time outside the UFC to really develop; at this point he needs more than raw talent to survive. A couple fights in Strikeforce against other guys
4. Vladimir Matyushenko
He just lost to Gustafsson and has credibility to spare. If you’re going to use “the Janitor” as a gatekeeper against top talent, why not see what King Mo could do against him? Beating Matyushenko is usually a sign you’re ready for the top guys and it’d be intriguing to see if he or Mousasi is.
5. Brandon Vera
Vera is like Hardy, et al, in that he needs some serious career rehab. He was once the prospect who couldn’t miss … and flashed out as quickly as he flashed in. His last couple fights have been kind of embarrassing to some degree and he needs a chance to start fresh and rebuild. Strikeforce offers just that. One imagines that with a couple of good victories over guys like Lorenz Larkin, which he’s more than capable of, another run to the top of the UFC could be theoretically possible. He’s always had the physical talent and ability; now he just needs to get back on track and Strikeforce would be a good career refresher for him.
