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Opinion & Analysis
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Roundtables
WEDNESDAY ROUNDTABLE: Which Strikeforce fights would you most like to see jump to UFC, and who should they fight? Perez, DeBar, Walker, Hyden, Rowland, 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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ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I can only think of two really solid fighters that would be interesting being in the UFC, and those two are Jake Shields and Gegard Mousasi.
Shields would be a great top contender for any middleweight and could probably drop down and be as equally tough for welterweights. He has a very good wrestling base, and would do well, similar to how a Chael Sonnen is doing now. He could easily contend for a title and give it a go. Mousasi is the same way.
Either light-heavyweight or middleweight, Mousasi is a dangerous fighter. Even though he had issues putting away Sokoudjou in November, he still is very dangerous and has been doing a lot to improve his game. He trained with GSP for a couple of weeks and, according to him, was able to gain a lot from that experience. Only other fighter would be Nick Diaz, but I think he fits best with Strikeforce for now and, maybe one day, be able to get back up to the UFC, trouble free.
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CORY DEBAR, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
For starters, I think everyone likes to see big athletic heavyweights and I feel that Alistair has avoided fighting the best fighters even in Strikeforce long enough for that matter. So let's see him square off against the UFC's Junior Dos Santos. I believe the two big strikers would be enjoyable to watch. And most importantly this would put the questions of Alistair's ability to rest.
To follow, I would love to see Gegard Mousasi in the UFC. Here is a guy with a great attitude who is extremely talented. What a great fight it would be to see him square off with Anderson Silva in the Light Heavyweight Division. I think I speak for many fans of MMA when I say Nick Diaz would be a great to see in the UFC possibly squaring off against Nate Marquardt or Patrick Cote.
One fighter who should not be forgotten is a man who was already a great UFC fighter - and that is Dan Henderson. I would still like to see him get his rematch against champ Anderson Silva. No fan wanted to see him leave the UFC under those terms. UFC president Dana White prides himself on setting up matches the fans want to see and we never got to see it.
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WESLEY WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'd like to see Alistar Overeem, Cung Lee, and Brett Rodgers. I'd match Overren against Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, and Check Kongo. I'd like to see Cung Lee fight Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, and Jim Miller. And Rodgers should fight Shane Carwin, Roy Nelson, and Junior Dos Santos.
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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
The guy I would most want from Strikeforce (other than Fedor) is Gegard Mousasi. He'd be a fantastic addition to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. He's won his last 15 fights, that's impressive. Mousasi versus anybody in the LHW division would be awesome. Alistair Overeem or Brett Rogers would also be great additions to the UFC. Either one of those guys versus Brock Lesnar would be a great fight. Jake Shields and Nick Diaz are two more fighters from Strikeforce I'd like to see the UFC grab. Mousasi vs. Anderson Silva would be an awesome fight that I'd love to see.
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GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO HOST
I'd love to see Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler back in the UFC. Both men left the UFC with some recent losses, but both seem to have blossomed into better fighters since then, or was it the lack of talent outside? Put Lawler against Chris Leben for a fun slugfest and if he wins, Michael Bisping. Nick Diaz against Mike Swick or Thiago Alves would be fun fights against top competition, but maybe reintroduce him against Marcus Davis or Chris Lytle. Another guy I'd like to see make the UFC return is Jason Mayhem Miller, but I don't know who I'd like to see him fight the most.
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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, 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?
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