Pelkey's Take
PELKEY: Despite upsets and line-up changes, Strikeforce Grand Prix raising the profile of UFC-bound heavyweights
Sep 13, 2011 - 3:40:03 PM PELKEY: Despite upsets and line-up changes, Strikeforce Grand Prix raising the profile of UFC-bound heavyweights

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By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

Way back in the day (which I believe was a Wednesday) when Strikeforce first announced their Heavyweight Grand Prix, the company was still owned and operated by Scott Coker, Showtime, et al, and its primary purpose was to show that Strikeforce, at least in one division, was the UFC's equal. They had all of the non-UFC big names: Fedor, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, "Bigfoot" Silva, Josh Barnett. Scott Coker claimed the winner of the tournament would unquestionably be the #1 heavyweight in the world, considering the three fight path he'd have to navigate to victory. While that might have been a far-fetched thought to many fans, not to mention Cain Velasquez, then and current UFC Heavyweight Champion, #2 in the world certainly seemed reasonable.

Fast forward several months and, while the tournament has slowly but surely been pared down to a final, the landscape has changed quite a bit. First and foremost, after only half of the first round of the tournament had been completed, Strikeforce was purchased by Forza, LLC, a company set up by Zuffa, LLC to complete the sale.

At this point the Grand Prix changed complexions. Gone was pre-tournament favorite and constant thorn in the side of Zuffa Fedor Emelianenko, having been upset in one of the only two tournament fights to take place before the Strikeforce sale by Antonio Silva. Alistair Overeem, reigning Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and other pre-tournament favorite, out-lasted first round opponent Fabricio Werdum, but was quickly pulled from the tournament, reportedly due to an injury that would keep him from competing within the new timeframe set up by the new management (we would later figure out the injury was just an excuse to pull him from the tournament, cut him from the Strikeforce roster, and then sign him to a UFC-exclusive contract without having to fulfill his Strikeforce/Showtime obligations. Shrewd move indeed).

Fans and media wondered aloud if there was even a point in continuing the tournament without Emelianenko and Overeem in the fold, especially considering Strikeforce was now owned by the same company this tournament was designed to compete with. Fedor then lost his next fight to Dan Henderson and was uncerimoniously cut from the roster. Fabricio Werdum, another fighter at odds with the UFC brass considering a contract dispute was the reason he ended up in Strikeforce in the first place, lost to Overeem and hasn't been heard from since. Overeem was a big enough name that he didn't need the tourney. It would only risk him losing and costing the UFC money in potential future match-ups with the big name UFC heavyweights: Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, and, of course, his debut opponent Brock Lesnar.

So, really, with all of the stars out of the Strikeforce Grand Prix, what was the point in its continuation? Saturday night it became a little clearer. While Overeem didn't need the tournament and the UFC didn't need Emelianenko and Werdum, heavyweight remains the thinnest division in MMA, and in the UFC in particular. Add Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to the list of names above and that's the entire top tier of UFC heavyweights. After that it gets dicey. The next level is comprised of guys like Cheick Kongo, Pat Barry, Brendan Schaub, and Matt Mitrione. It's quite a drop-off.

Sure, the UFC could've just hand-picked a few Strikeforce heavyweights, given them the "Overeem treatment" to get them out of their contracts, and debuted them in the Octagon in the coming months. But what momentum would they have had? Why would UFC fans care about their debuts other than Joe Rogan telling us, "he's really good!"? The completion of the tournament allows them to build their own momentum. We're now down to the finals between Daniel Cormier and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. And Cormier wasn't even in the tournament to begin with, as he was inserted into Overeem's spot when he was pulled.

For all of the faults of the Strikeforce GP, and they're too numerous to get into here, the decision to have alternate fights was a fantastic one. That way, in case of an injury (or in this case, an "injury") they had fighters waiting to take their spot who had earned their way into the draw. Cormier won a lopsided decision over longtime veteran Jeff Monson on the Overeem vs. Werdum card to secure his spot as Overeem's eventual replacement. So, after his somewhat shocking knockout of Antonio Silva in the tourny semifinals, fans will now have three recent (and impressive) Cormier performances in their collective minds before his eventual UFC debut.

Barnett is in a similar situation. Thought to be a long-shot and afterthought going into the grand prix, he now enters the finals as the favorite and going through a career renaissance thanks to some lucky breaks and a relatively easy draw. Scott Coker's claim about the tournament winner being the best heavyweight in the world are as far-fetched as ever, but the winner probably has a spot in the top-five waiting for him. Think about it, Cormier would be coming in off of wins over Jeff Monson, Antonio Silva (already a top-10 heavyweight) and Josh Barnett. Barnett's recent ledger would have victories over Brett Rogers, Sergei Kharitonov, and Daniel Cormier. Maybe neither has a victory over a true marquee name, but those resumes would exceed anyone's not named Velasquez, dos Santos, Overeem, or Lesnar.

Maybe the Grand Prix didn't end up being the greatest collection of heavyweight fighters as it was originally billed, but once Strikeforce was purchased by Forza, its purpose changed. Now the winner (and the loser, and Antonio Silva, and Alistair Overeem of course) comes into the UFC as a legitimate contender and with a top-10 ranking. And they do so now with the UFC promotional machine behind every fight. The best part of all this for the UFC? Now they own the footage.