FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Guest Editorials GUEST EDITORIAL: Strikeforce’s future looks bright, despite some minor flaws

Jun 7, 2009 - 6:57:46 PM
By: Ryan Kane, MMATorch Guest Contributor
This Guest Editorial was sent by MMATorch reader Ryan Kane. Have a response to an editorial or a news story on the site? Feel free to send us your own guest editorials and they may be posted on the main site. Send in responses to mmatorch@gmail.com.

I am writing this article in response to Jamie's last article on Strikeforce focusing on who they are. I definitely agree with many of the points that Jamie made about their product and some of the flaws that are plaguing them right now (too much Affliction promotion, not being able to develop their weight classes, etc.) However, I believe, while there are certainly some downfalls to their current promotion, they should have some opportunities to capitalize on in the future.

The first thing that I immediately took a mental note on was the date for Strikeforce's third "major" Showtime card (since the acquisition of Elite XC’s assets), which will be August 15th from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. When looking at the fact that Strikeforce is, arguably, the world's #2 MMA promotion, it's important for them to stay relevant. This seems to be one of Affliction's many fatal flaws. Affliction's first-ever MMA event, "Banned," took place on July 19, 2008. Their second offering, "Day of Reckoning," took place six months later on January 24th of this year. Now with Affliction: Trilogy, just under two months away, that would leave a ridiculous seven months after their second PPV. While, yes, Affliction is putting together great cards, they are irrelevant in those extended stretches between PPV's.

This is where I feel Strikeforce is doing a good job. We got the Shamrock-Diaz card on April 11th and we got the Lawler-Shields card just under two months later. Now, as announced last night, we get the Carano-Cyborg (I’ll touch on this fight later) card in August. We are getting pretty good cards from Strikeforce now, making the August 15th card the third one in a span of six months. They are doing a good job at keeping themselves fresh in everyone's minds while not necessarily rotating the same fighters over and over again, like Affliction seems to do despite six-seven month layoffs.

While, as a fan of MMA, I am excited to see Carano and "Cyborg" finally throw blows for, potentially, the first ever Strikeforce Women's title, I have some potential problems with this fight. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that I don't really care to see a Women's fight headline a card that includes title fights for the Lightweight Championship and the Heavyweight Championship. While Carano is wildly poplular, her fight cannot take precedent over fights involving Overeem-Rogers(?) or Thomson-Milendez. No disrespect to Gina or Cristiane, I just don't think it's as big a fight as either of the two other title fights.

My other problem with the Carano-Santos fight is, then what? There isn't a doubt it will be a big fight and a monumental moment for women's MMA, but what is on the other side for these two girls after this fight? While the existence of a women's division will help attract up and comers in women's MMA, the division, in its entirety, is pretty thin. Does that mean we're going to see Carano-Santos I, II, III, IV, because it's the only money maker in the women's division? At what point will that stop? I will be excited to see the fight as much as anyone else, but Strikeforce must not have this headline this August 15th card. It hasn't been confirmed that it will headline, but all I'm saying is they'd be better off to not consider it. You think Dana would have a Women's Championship headline one of his cards? We're in the infancy stages of women's MMA, baby steps people!

I think Jamie was dead on with his analyzing of Strikeforce fighters. Yes, they have some very good fighters, like Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, etc. But as my buddy said to me last night after the Shields fight…you think he could hang with St. Pierre? In my opinion, no (although I still would like to see it). Strikeforce seems to have a lot of very good fighters, who are excellent at one particular discipline, but not excellent in every facet of MMA, which is where the UFC really separates itself from the competition. It's not a knock against Strikeforce, I'm a big fan of their potential as an organization, but it speaks to the level of fighters the UFC has, especially at the top of their individual weight classes.

I do believe however, like Jamie says, that Strikeforce can grow their product, and weight classes, by capitalizing on the presumable demise of Affliction MMA after the "Trilogy" card. While I am not aware of contractual status for Affliction fighters, they will have a decision to make if Affliction MMA ultimately goes under: UFC, Strikeforce or Dream. I know the MMA Nation is probably tired of hearing about Fedor this and Fedor that, but he will be a hot commodity when he's on the market, as will Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort, etc. This is where Strikeforce should…strike (I know, I had to say it) while the iron is hot. See how many of these guys you can get to come over to your promotion.

I believe Strikeforce needs more big names that can lend not only depth but quality to their divisions. They are a pretty stable organization, unlike Elite XC, and they have that CBS deal, which is huge! Now all they need to do is to continue to search that free agent pool and see if they can land themselves some big names. They should also keep their eye on those Dream fighters. Gegard Mousasi is making his Affliction debut on August 1st against their (Strikeforce) Light-Heavyweight Champion. How good would Mousasi look in Strikeforce's 205 division? Because, remember, good fighters and dominant champions will only help them draw great fighters looking for the best of the best.

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