Jun 22, 2009 - 1:14:17 PM By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist
It's often tough to look at two different shows side by side on the same weekend and compare them using the same criteria. Too often its a PPV vs. a smaller free show, UFC counter-programming vs. Affliction, ring fighting vs. a cage, etc... Well, this weekend we actually had two shows serving the same purpose on consecutive nights. Both Strikeforce: Challengers and The Ultimate Fighter Finale serve to build up future stars. The UFC has an inherent advantage here with a reality TV show serving as the backbone of the live finale, but the goal remains the same: put the idea in the viewer's head that these are fighters that show the depth of your roster and will one day be top competitors in their respective divisions. In that respect, I'll give the edge to Strikeforce this past weekend.
The UFC crowned two new TUF winner's Saturday night, and they'll be expected to carry a certain torch for the company going forward, but beyond them they (the UFC that is) didn't accomplish much. Diego Sanchez asserted himself as a contender to the lightweight title, but I already considered him that. It was a fun main event, but all it did was reaffirm to me that Sanchez is a step above the Clay Guida's of the world, and also that Guida himself is too one-dimensional to be considered in the elite of the division.
Diaz-Stevenson was a good ground battle, but one I would've preferred saved for the opening fight of a pay-per-view. Both are established B-level lightweights in the UFC, and the win for Stevenson only served to keep him off the chopping block for now. It was a nice notch in the win column for Joe Daddy, but I don't think he'll exactly shoot up the rankings. Both fighters were on the rebound, so the winner wasn't going to be established as contender or an up-and-coming prospect either way, which is what Fight Nights should be saved for.
The same goes for Chris Lytle-Kevin Burns. Sure it was a decent, sloppy slugfest, but what did it prove? We knew going in that's what we'd see, and even if Burns had ended up prevailing its not like he'd see himself vaulted to the top of the welterweight division as a result. Again, I liked both fights, but if the name of the game is establishing contenders and exciting prospects, both came up a little short.
Strikeforce, on the other hand, succeeded all across the board in this regard. They opened with a middleweight bout between decent prospects Luke Ruckhold and Cory Devela. Ruckhold floored Devela with a big right in the opening seconds of the first and proceeded to batter him senseless before slapping on a fight ending choke. The refereeing left something to be desired (a common theme of the night) with Devela taking waaay to much of an unnecessary pounding, but the fight itself served as an announcement of Ruckhold's arrival in the Strikeforce middleweight division. I'm certainly not advocating him getting a title shot any time soon, but he adds some credible depth to a currently thin roster (although middleweight is probably the deepest division in Strikeforce at the moment). The best part is no matter who won, he'd be seen as someone to keep an eye on for Strikeforce.
The woman's fight wasn't the most exciting fifteen minutes, but Sarah Kaufmann did remain unbeaten, and having two wins under the Strikeforce banner, she may be a win away from being a credible opponent for the Carano-Cyborg winner. Mission accomplished there.
Gurgel-Huen was Burns-Lytle, but twice as technical and twice as good. We all complain about Gurgel refusing to use his supposed world-class ground game, but you can't argue with him that Huen, a wrestler by trade, wasn't the man to reintroduce his Jiu-Jitsu to. Gurgel has a relatively recognizable name and an exciting style. Don't be surprised if he gets dibs on the Thomson-Melendez winner.
Tim Kennedy probably won't be competing for a title anytime soon, but he looked outstanding against a very credible opponent (although one who looked to have spent one too many nights at the buffet trying to move up in weight) in Nick Thomson. Kennedy also has an intriguing backstory of being in the military that Strikeforce can promote (see: exploit, but whatever works) in the future.
The main event was a perfect match on paper. Joey Villasenor was one of the top middleweights in the now-defunct EliteXC, and is now on the cusp of the top of the division in Strikeforce. Evangalista "Cyborg" Santos may not be a household name to casual fans, but he has a great look and an exciting style. Had he taken the decision (and for the record I thought he won), he'd be pretty easy to market to the fans. As it is, he'll stick around to add depth while Villasenor moves up to take on the big dogs. I almost feel like it would've been better for Strikeforce if Santos had won. Then Villasenor would've had an excuse to drop down to 170 (he's a SOFT 185) and challenge Jake Shields for the vacant welterweight title. The Strikeforce welterweight division is painfully thin, and Villasenor could've added some much-needed depth, but that's another story.
The second Strikeforce: Challengers wasn't without its flaws though. The refereeing in particular was atrocious. From the unneeded pummeling Luke Ruckhold gave Cory Devela without a stoppage, to Tim Kennedy not receiving a warning for shots to the back of the head (and in my opinion that's all it warranted, but we didn't even get that), to repeated calls for "action!" from multiple refs when a ref should never be making that request, it wasn't a crowning night of achievement for the boys in black.
The woman's fight was also fairly uneventful, and I don't think its a coincidence that this was the first time they've gone fifteen minutes. The point is, though, that Strikeforce succeeded Friday night where it needed to. Depth was added and title contenders made their presence known. Can't ask for much more than that out of your B show.
