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Roundtables
TUESDAY ROUNDTABLE: Which Strikeforce fights would you most like to see jump to UFC, and who should they fight? Benjamin, Williams, O'Donnell, Amadi
We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.
TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:
Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
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ALVIN BENJAMIN CARTER III, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
This is an interesting question. It's difficult to think past the initial reaction of "Fedor!" But, I am going to go with Strikeforce's Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi as my number one. He can strike, he can submit, and he can change weight classes with ease. This acquisition might be possible now that he has left M-1 Global. I would love to see him take on Shogun Rua, Rampage, Rashad Evans, and of course Lyoto Machida. Any of those fights would be worth it, and great for the UFC.
Next, I would have to go with Tyron Woodley. This guy is a beast. He is undefeated with all five wins by way of submission. The kicker is all five of these fights were in 2009. (I did say he is a beast.) I would be intersting to see him wrestle with Josh Koscheck.
The third fighter would be Alastair Overeem. This is based on his oversees performances because he has not defend his Strikeforce title since he won it over two years ago. If the contract stipulates that he actually fights, he would be a great matchup against Shane Carwin or Frank Mir.
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ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Three Strikeforce title holders: Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields, and Nick Diaz. I'd like to see Mousasi vs. the winner of Rampage vs. Evans, Shields vs. GSP (I believe Shields is willing to drop back down to 170), and Diaz vs. Paulo Thiago (a fun fight). Of course, I'd also love to see Alistair Overeem pass a PED test and fight in the U.S. again, too.
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ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Strikeforce has a lot of great talent which would help UFC in areas of need, especially challengers for Anderson Silva. The most obvious pick other than Fedor is Gegard Mousasi. He's made fighters look sub-par and is diverse enough to win at any given moment or position of the fight game. He's the number two middleweight, in my opinion, even though he's fighting at 205. Eventually Silva will cross paths with Mousasi.
Second, Alistair Overeem would be an amazing pickup for the UFC and it would force people to take the UFC Heavyweight Division more seriously as mostly all young talent is developing in that division where is experience is very slim in that specific division other than the elites.
Lastly, I'm pretty sure Nick Diaz would maybe be getting some nods after his last win a couple weeks back, but, I think Gilbert Melendez is the best lightweight that's not already in the UFC. Is he at B.J. Penn's level? Probably not but, who is?! The thing about GIlbert is every fight he's in he fights his heart out and his skill set is enough to make an impact in the UFC Lightweight Division. I'd love to see him fight the whole lightweight division the UFC has to offer because most of them are guaranteed to be Fight of the Nights.
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JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Should the UFC make two acquisitions from StrikeForce, I’d be most intrigued in Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez going over.
Melendez is one of the many top lightweights outside of the Zuffa umbrella and could be a top guy in the UFC. I’d like to see him matched up with a top contender like Gray Maynard or Kenny Florian right away to see where he stands among the elite.
Nick Diaz flat out belongs in the UFC. He has steamrolled everyone in StrikeForce and should be tested by a top wrestler like Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck to see if he’s fixed the wrestling hole in his game, which cost him in his first UFC run. Should he get by either of them, it’s straight on to GSP, in my opinion.
Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):
-Predictions for the top fights at UFC 110 this weekend.
-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?
-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?
[Gegard Mousasi photo provided to MMATorch courtesy Strikeforce]
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