Penick's Take
PENICK: Notebook 12/14 - Strikeforce/Showtime announcement expectations, poll results on JDS challengers, flyweights, Forrest Griffin
Dec 14, 2011 - 9:50:53 PM PENICK: Notebook 12/14 - Strikeforce/Showtime announcement expectations, poll results on JDS challengers, flyweights, Forrest Griffin

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

-A new deal between Strikeforce and Showtime is expected to be announced tomorrow afternoon, as a conference call has been scheduled with UFC President Dana White, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, and Showtime Sports Executive Vice President & General Manager Stephen Espinoza. I'm highly intrigued to see just what this continued version of Strikeforce is going to look like, because the belief is this deal is significantly smaller than the previous one between the two sides. Because of that, and the report that Fabricio Werdum is headed back to the UFC in February, I'd have to imagine some others from Strikeforce may still be moved over to the UFC. Some of the higher paid fighters in Strikeforce may be moved simply because it may be cost-prohibitive to have them on smaller Strikeforce shows. With Strikeforce sticking around, we'll probably get something in between Challengers and their major shows for the events moving forward.

-Almost 1,400 readers chimed in on the poll we posted last night, and over 54% of the respondents believe either Alistair Overeem or Brock Lesnar have the best chance of dethroning UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos in 2012. 30% believe Overeem is the man to get the job done, while Lesnar is second with 24% of the vote. Cain Velasquez in a rematch comes up next ahead of Frank Mir, while 12% don't believe any of them will take out the Champ. I think both Overeem and Lesnar present very interesting problems for dos Santos, and whomever comes out of their Dec. 30 bout the victor be a very solid challenge for the Champ in his first title defense. Outside of that first fight, Mir is coming along as a very dangerous challenge, and if he can avoid being knocked out, his ground game is clearly nasty.

A few of our readers on Facebook gave their reasoning for their choice:

John Paulino writes - "I choose none of the above because dos santos is just a beast. I haven't seen him in trouble in a fight. Yeah, now he's getting surgery i believe on his knee and I have said it before when a fighter comes back from surgery they are not the same, so let's see how dos santos comes back. If he comes back the same no one can dethrone him, but if he comes back with weaker knees i see a good wrestler like Brock or Velasquez taking him down and controlling him.

Jason Best writes - "I say whoever can put him on his back and keep him there without getting KO'd while attempting to do it. Brock is my choice IF he can get past Overeem, which is iffy itself. I'd also like to think Mir could do it but who knows."

Candido Carrasquillo writes - "None of the above. Why? Because how can u say any of these people can get past Junior's technical boxing! He is a MONSTER with his hands! If any of these men can take the belt from our new HW Champ than I will have to surgically remove the foot from my mouth but until than I will keep saying he is an unstoppable force."

Finally, Daniel Defore sums it up - "No one. Overeem is overrated. Brock folds like a lawn chair every time he gets hit. And Mir will get slaughtered in the stand up. It'll be awhile before JDS hands over the belt."

-I'm with Dana White on the new flyweight division potentially being just as deep as lightweight and welterweight. There is a ton of untapped talent under 135 lbs., and a lot of fighters that have been competing at a high level at bantamweight when they'd be better suited for 125 lbs. There is going to be a big influx of talent, and a lot of really exciting, really good fighters competing in this new division in 2012. The lighter fighters haven't entirely had a break out in the Octagon just yet, but next year will give them a major chance to do just that.

-I honestly think we're coming close to seeing Forrest Griffin hang up the gloves. He's made a lot of money in his UFC career, and if he wants it he'll have a job with the organization for life due to his time on The Ultimate Fighter and his loyalty to the UFC. He just doesn't sound like he's that interested in continuing to take abuse inside the cage, whether it leads to a win or not, and his comments in the MMAFightCorner interview that were posted this morning make him sound like a man really ready to walk away pretty soon. I don't think a third Tito Ortiz fight is the best next matchup for Griffin, even if it would be the most marquee bout for Ortiz's final fight, but if the money's right for both of them that's the fight we're going to get.