Strikeforce
Scott Coker says Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner will not be crowned Champion
Aug 30, 2011 - 3:40:36 PM Scott Coker says Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner will not be crowned Champion

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When Alistair Overeem refused the September 10 date for the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Zuffa accelerated the final fight on his deal. Though he was initially reported to have been released and stripped of his Strikeforce Heavyweight Title, that turned out not to be the case, and he's been in negotiations with the UFC with signs pointing to an impending deal between the sides.

However, despite Overeem being out of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and likely out of the organization, the tournament's winner will not be crowned the division's Champion in Strikeforce.

That's the word from Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who told the media on Tuesday that not only will the tournament winner not be crowned a champion, but that no decisions have been made on what to do with the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Titles with Overeem's departure and what is likely to be the loss of Dan Henderson as well.

While no decision have been made, Coker said he'll be keeping an eye on two fights on next month's semifinal event in Cincinnati, Ohio: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. Roger Gracie and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero. Those two aren't the only ones in the mix either, as Coker said he wants to see how Gegard Mousasi does in his next fight as well.

There just isn't anything to tell yet until the fights play out and both Overeem and Henderson leave for good or not. And in what was very much Scott Coker fashion, the Strikeforce CEO stated that they will let everyone know their plans "when the time is right." For now, though, no new titles will be introduced in the near future.

Penick's Analysis: With Overeem essentially out whether he goes to the UFC or not, it would make a lot of sense to book the finals of the tournament as a Championship fight. At the same time, it's not necessary for Strikeforce to need divisional champions at this point in time. The titles have not held serious value for some time, especially Overeem's. The Heavyeight Title for Strikeforce has been defended once since Overeem defeated Paul Buentello in 2007 to take it, and with Henderson taking on Fedor and likely moving on after winning the belt, it doesn't have to be reintroduced. A lot of fans have already seen Strikeforce as a feeder league of sorts, and with Nick Diaz and now likely Overeem and Henderson moving over to the UFC as champions, that point is kind of driven home. Strikeforce as a fight promotion, whether owned by Zuffa or anyone else, really just needs to be focused on providing entertaining matchups and sellable fights for Showtime. Titles don't need to be involved for that to work, especially with the Grand Prix concept. If they can get the finals booked relatively quickly after next weekend's semifinal card, there should still be enough anticipation for it to draw well without having an arbitrary belt to be defended.