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But I don't. And I can't. So instead I'm just going to just have to pick at the carcass of the once proud promotion.
Of course, I won't be the first vulture picking away at the carrion. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has beaten me to the roadkill by several months. The vital organs and the flesh are all gone; all that is left is some gristle (unmarketable champions and challengers who lack credibility), some fat (the remnants of the Heavyweight Grand Prix), and bones (female MMA, about which nobody gives a damn). The vital organs (Diaz, Miller, Henderson?) have been eaten, digested, and excreted to the UFC (yes, that reference could have been grosser).
GRISTLE
For those of you who are hoping to see the Strikeforce brand continue in some way, shape, or form - either in its current form as a separate promotion or as a so-called feeder league to the UFC ? allow me to introduce you to Keith Jardine, Luke Rockhold, and Jacare Souza.
Keith Jardine (3-6-1 last 10, 0-0-1 Strikeforce, 0-0-0 career middleweight) has recently been named as the first challenger for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship held by some guy named Luke Rockhold. I asked one of my friends today if he knew who Luke Rockhold was, and he guessed that Rockhold was Fred Flintstone's boss at the quarry. Close, but no cigar.
For those of you who haven't been paying attention, and that would be most of you, some guy named Luke Rockhold is the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. His face, along with the mug of Keith Jardine, will be adorning posters all over the Las Vegas metro area over the next few weeks. Is it any wonder that Zuffa has reserved the 4000 seat Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to host the January 7 event?
Luke Rockhold wasn't supposed to be the Strikeforce Champion. He was scheduled to fight Jacare Souza for Jacare's title because nobody outside of the U.S. Army was interested in seeing Tim Kennedy fight Jacare for a second time. Rockhold was the best of a short list of bad options.
Once Strikeforce's middleweight division lost Dan Henderson, Jake Shields, Jason Miller, and Cung Le to the UFC; once Melvin Manhoef, Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, and Joey Villasenor were revealed to be mere journeymen; once Nick Diaz made it clear his future was not at middleweight, and once Tim Kennedy lost an uninspiring title fight with Jacare, then nothing remained of the once proud middleweight division.
So all that was left was Luke Rockhold, who was set up out of necessity alone to fight Jacare. Rockhold was booked into the title fight coming off an 18 month layoff due to injury. Rockhold's best victories were against Paul Bradley and Jesse Taylor. Strikeforce held Rockhold in such high esteem that he had never fought on a Showtime card outside of the Challengers series. And then Rockhold - a supremely talented fighter, and fun to watch as well - went out and beat Jacare.
Now, it's not like Jacare was a household name either. Despite being the most talented grappler in the middleweight division, despite having loads of charisma and personality, and despite being a fantastic finisher of fights, Jacare has failed to catch on with the Strikeforce audience. Part of that has to be chalked up to his Brazilian nationality, and part of the blame rests on Strikeforce for not pushing him as the star that he could be. Regardless of the reasons, Jacare is not a star.
Jacare's losing the title to Rockhold opened up an opportunity for his former challenger Tim Kennedy. Unfortunately for the war hero Kennedy (don't believe me, just ask him), he was unable to fight on January 7 which opened the door for a new challenger.
Keith Jardine.
I love Keith Jardine. I love everything about Keith Jardine other than his overall talent level. If Strikeforce's future is to be as a standalone promotion, Strikeforce just cannot under any circumstances be giving title shots to Keith Jardine.
They cannot be giving title shots to Jorge Masvidal, either.
They cannot leave their Welterweight Championship vacant.
They cannot let Dan Henderson remain as their Light Heavyweight Champion when he fights for the UFC.
SOME FAT
Less than one year ago, the top ten fighters in the Strikeforce heavyweight division were (in no particular order) titular champion Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, Sergei Kharitonov, Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Shane del Rosario, and Daniel Cormier.
The first eight of those ten fighters were booked into a single elimination tournament. Del Rosario was booked as a tournament alternate, along with Chad Griggs, Ray Sefo, (and we'll just stop right there?). Cormier was not booked as an alternate.
Now, Overeem is one fight away from fighting for the UFC Championship, but is still the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. Fedor Emelianenko is no longer with the promotion. Fabricio Werdum, participant in two of the worst fights of all time (vs. Arlovski and vs. Overeem) is now trying to get under contract with the UFC and is actively campaigning for a fight with Brendan Schaub. Silva is in limbo after being slaughtered by Daniel Cormier. Kharitonov is, like the 2006 Chicago Bears, who we thought he was, a one-dimensional puncher who is unlikely to fight for Zuffa again. Brett Rogers is in prison, because apparently punching people inside a cage just doesn't provide him with enough opportunity to punch people in the face. Andrei Arlovski might as well be in prison, seeing as how he's fighting for ProElite now. And del Rosario's career is on hold, having suffered injuries from a car wreck.
And now we're down to two. Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier are essentially all that remains of the once vaunted Strikeforce Heavyweight division. Barnett's post-Strikeforce MMA future is bleak, as he is no favorite of UFC kingpin Dana White. The thrice-busted roider was signed to Strikeforce before the UFC acquired Strikeforce, and is only with Strikeforce now because he is contracted to the company. Say what you want about Zuffa, but they live up to their contracts (paging Mark Hunt...).
Daniel Cormier is the one shining light. If Strikeforce survives more than a couple of months, Cormier is the man they need to build around. After replacing the departed Alistair Overeem in the semi-final round of the Grand Prix, he announced his presence on the big stage by knocking out world's slowest man Antonio Silva in the very first round of their fight. He knocked him out so well that he broke his hand, putting the finals of the Grand Prix in grave danger (I said grave danger? You said "is there any other kind?"). How's that for timing?
BONES
The most discussed division in Strikeforce is the bantamweight division. Unfortunately for ticket sales and television ratings, I'm referring to the women's bantamweight division. In a fate that could only be described as Strikeforcian in nature, the only hot division and hot issue that involves the company is happening in a division that has proven to draw exactly zilch in terms of money.
Ronda Rousey has quickly made a name for herself in the Strikeforce featherweight division. She has gone 2-0 for Strikeforce, winning fights against Sarah D'Alelio and Julia Budd by armbar, less than one minute into each bout. Rousey won a bronze medal for judo in the 2008 Olympic Games. She is 4-0 as a professional MMA fighter, with her two wins outside Strikeforce also coming by armbar inside the first minute.
Not irrelevantly, Rousey is an extremely talented self-promoter, as well as a phenomenally beautiful woman. And before you start getting all holier-than-thou here, the fact remains that marketability is 100% a factor when Zuffa determines who gets title shots, who gets pushed, and who gets exposure. Don't believe me, see the curious case of Fitch, Jon.
In a perfect world, the Olympic pedigree, beauty, MMA talent, charisma, intelligence, and most importantly the ability to savage her opponents would make Ronda Rousey a star. And not just a regular star, but a star that can sell tickets, bring eyes to the TV screen, and get mainstream buzz.
Miesha Tate is the Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion. She won the title earlier this year with a fantastic fourth round arm triangle choke on the since-released Marloes Coenen. Tate is a fantastic grappler with a developing striking game, and she is more than willing to exploit her good looks and killer body to get her name out there. Don't believe me, check out her Twitter background, or do a google search on ?Miesha Tate Ass? and you'll see how she chooses to market her, um, assets.
Rousey has been campaigning for a title shot at 135, despite only having fought at 145. After all, if an ugly bastard like Keith Jardine can get a middleweight title shot, why can't a brickhouse like Rousey get an immediate title shot at 135? After all, Jardine is winless in Strikeforce, and Rousey is an undefeated killer. Rousey feels she should be in line for a title shot ahead of Sarah Kaufman - a highly skilled but hideously boring fighter who holds a 2009 victory over Tate - because she is hot (career, not appearance) right now, and can generate more money and buzz than Kaufman would draw against Tate. Rosuey's contentions are 100% accurate.
Tate is of the belief that the upstart Rousey hasn't earned a damn thing in MMA, especially not at 135. Rousey should get in line behind Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis, Bob Hope, Danny Glover, and any other name she can come up with. Tate thinks Rousey is using her gift of gab and her physical beauty to take a spot from a more deserving girl. Tate also is 100% correct.
And let's be clear about one more thing here: Nobody cares. The dial doesn't move one fraction of a millimeter for any female fighter short of Gina Carano, and she ceased being an MMA fighter 4:59 into her fight with Cris Cyborg. There is no demand for her conqueror, as Cyborg hasn't been truly in demand since that win, and hasn't fought in almost 18 months.
In short, the only division that's getting any play in the MMA media (snicker) is a division that has never drawn a dime, and is one that is unlikely to do so anytime soon. Despite my appreciation for female MMA (I went from critic to skeptic to convert), I understand that there is no market for it at this time. I also understand that Dana White wants nothing to do with it.
REMAINS
So what is the future of Strikeforce, and what should be the future of Strikeforce? Let's be clear; Strikeforce was diagnosed with cancer the day they signed Fedor Emelianenko. The cancer was deemed terminal the day that they chose not to book Fedor vs. Alistair Overeem. The patient (Strikeforce) was taken off of chemotherapy the day Fedor lost to Werdum. The patient was pronounced dead by Dana White and Ariel Helwani one fateful Saturday afternoon in early 2011.
The Strikeforce that we all knew and loved (or hated, whatever) died when they went under the Zuffa corporate umbrella. The thing that we call Strikeforce is as much Strikeforce as Vince McMahon's ECW product was genuinely ECW. So, once separating what was Strikeforce from what uses that same name, the future is irrelevant. Whether they become a feeder league, try to stand alone, or dissolve into the UFC just doesn't matter. The future of Strikeforce, just like Strikeforce presently, just doesn't matter.
Insert Obligatory Twitter Plug @MMATorchRich Here
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/richhansen/article_11528.shtml
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