The demise of Strikeforce has been a long time coming, but in just a few days it will finally become a reality.
On Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, the promotion that Scott Coker started in 1986 as a kickboxing venture and that later turned into the No. 2 MMA promotion in the world will finally close down its doors after it holds its last event, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine.
After the event, it is expected that many of Strikeforce’s top fighters will make their way over to the UFC. Many have done so already.
In just the past few weeks, male fighters such as Gilbert Melendez, Roger Bowling, Bobby Voelker, Bobby Green, Caros Fodor, Chris Spang and female fighters like Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche have crossed over, and the majority have had their first UFC fights booked.
After next Saturday, expect that Marquardt, Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Gegard Mousasi, Pat Healy, Tim Kennedy, Josh Thomson and Jorge Masvidal, amongst others, will finally be UFC fighters.
Sure, there will be fighters like Keith Jardine, Jorge Gurgel, and Nandor Guelmino who likely won’t get transferred over to the UFC, but the best fighters in Strikeforce will and that’s a good thing for the UFC, who plan on running over 30 events next year.
In 2012 there were many events held by the UFC that were considered weak and shallow in the eyes of many. Sure, injuries played a huge role in that but the fact of the matter is there were some pay-per-views this year – namely UFC 149 and UFC 150 – that should have never been PPVs in the first place. Now that there are literally 20 or so elite fighters that will cross over and help prop up the cards, expect those complaints to not be heard as loudly in 2013.
Think about all the amazing matchups the Strikeforce fighters are going to provide us with. We already know that Melendez will likely fight UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in his debut in what is a battle between the definitive No. 1 and No. 2 lightweights in the world. Then you have Cormier, who is probably going to fight Frank Mir in his debut. And then you have Rockhold, who you can match up with Hector Lombard, Costa Philippou or Yushin Okami, and Marquardt, who can fight Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit, or Jake Ellenberger.
And those are just the Strikeforce champions coming over.
As far as the non-champions go, wouldn’t Mousasi vs. Glover Teixeira be an amazing fight? What about “Jacare” against Jake Shields? What about Thomson vs. Jim Miller? There are fantastic fights that the UFC can put together with the new influx of fighters coming in, and the fans – and fighters, too – will be better off because of it.
Even fighters like Kennedy and Healy who aren’t stars are going to provide great depth in their respective divisions. The truth of the matter is there are a lot of fighters on the UFC roster right now who honestly do not deserve to be there but who were brought in as injury replacements and kept because of good will. But with all these Strikeforce fighters crossing over, there’s going to be a trickle-down effect and bubble fighters are going to be cut because there won’t be enough space. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
On the other hand, it is a bit sad to see Strikeforce go. For the past six-plus years the promotion has put together some of the most exciting MMA fights in that timespan. Just think about Melendez vs. Thomson, Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko, and Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley. Without Strikeforce, none of us would have ever seen those epic battles, so as far as putting together great fights, Strikeforce did its job.
But it could never compete with the UFC, and even after being bought out, it never made sense for Zuffa to run two separate promotions. The truth is Strikeforce ran its course, and the time is right now to lay it to rest, but not without one last event, and thankfully, the Strikeforce finale is a stacked card to go out with. So enjoy it for what it is, but remember the best fighters are going to be fighting in the big show soon, and just know how great it’s going to be.
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