For some Strikeforce fighters, this weekends final card is a goodbye to the organization that was, but a hello to the UFC. For others, they are looking for a big win to secure a spot under the big UFC banner.
For all the Daniel Cormier’s, Nate Marquardt’s and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s who are almost guaranteed a spot inside the Octagon, there are also the Pat Healy’s, KJ Noons’, Ryan Couture’s and Jorge Gurgel’s.
Who is UFC bound?
Not too long ago, UFC President Dana White said that Marquardt would never fight for the UFC again. At the UFC 155 post-fight press conference when asked about Marquardt’s return the Prez said, “I would have to say so. I was never in a bad way with him. I like Nate Marquardt, he’s one of the nicest guys ever. You know how I get; I get bummed out when guys do stuff like that. You’re a professional, show up here and do what you’re supposed to do.”
Cormier has been on a tear, going 10-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career. The former Olympic wrestler was a reserve spot in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, but following his win over Jeff Monson and an injury to Alistair Overeem, Cormier was placed in the semi-finals against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. He shocked the world when he won that fight by KO in the first round. He then went on to defeat Josh Barnett in the finals to be crowned tournament champion.
The UFC President has said that Cormier could come into the UFC and pretty much go where he wants. That being the light-heavyweight division to fight Jon Jones, or the heavyweight division. He mentioned to MMASucka.com that he will more than likely stay at heavyweight and would like to face Frank Mir in April.
The last fighter I believe is guaranteed a spot inside the Octagon is Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. I say believe, because nothing is for certain, but it was announced earlier this week that “Jacare” had signed a new five fight contract that is expected to transfer over to the UFC.
Now on to the fighters that are fighting for a spot inside the prestigious UFC Octagon.
First up is Josh Barnett. The veteran fighter has been in the sport of MMA since 1997 and has fought for all of the big promotions around the world including PRIDE, Pancrase and yes, he even won the UFC Heavyweight championship. However, was later stripped of the title due to testing positive for banned substances. Is a return to the UFC in Barnett’s future? Only time will tell. Dana White said, “I have no clue. I don’t know, we’ll find out soon. We’ll see.” Which I interpret as,“If he wins and wins impressively he will return.”
In 2006 Pat Healy fought his lone UFC battle against Anthony Torres and lost by rear naked choke in the very first round. Since then he has turned his career around and gone 13-4. He is currently riding a five fight winning streak and was expected to fight for the Strikeforce lightweight title against champ Gilbert Melendez. Unfortunately, Melendez was forced to withdraw from their match-up on two different occasions and he is now taking on Kurt Holobaugh. A loss will likely have Healy looking for a cage to fight in and not the octagon.
KJ Noons was sitting on top of the world when he beat Nick Diaz to be crowned EliteXC Lightweight Champion back in 2007. Fast forward almost six years later and the former champ has gone a mediocre 5-3. Those numbers might not look too bad, but in his last four fights he has gone 1-3. A win over Ryan Couture would likely grant Noons at least an appearance inside the octagon, but a loss would send him walking.
Noons’ opponent Couture will also be looking to pick up a win if he wants to fight for the UFC. The son of UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture, is still an infant when it comes to MMA, hold a record of 5-1 since debuting in 2010. However, he has been a spectator of the sport since his youth. He’s on a three fight winning streak, and again like the others is in a must win situation if he wants to grace the octagon.
The final fighter worth discussing is Jorge Gurgel. He was a former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and is the head coach at The JG MMA and Fitness Academy, which is home to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. He is a six-time Brazilian State Jiu-Jitsu Champion and is a NAGA SuperFight Champion, but Gurgel has a tendency to try to keep the fight on the feet when he could very easily win on the ground. Gurgel told MMAJunkie.com, “The winners go back to the UFC, and the losers get released, just like that.” I sure hope he believes that to be true, because maybe he will end up taking this fight to the ground and put a beating on Adriano Martins.
Other notable fighters that need wins to make it to the UFC include Mike Kyle, Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie.
(Photo courtesy of Showtime)
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