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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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MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
That's an easy one. Gegard Mousasi, Nick Diaz, and Gilbert Melendez. In fact, other than Fedor, those are the only three Strikeforce fighters who I believe would currently be top-10 fighters in their weight division in the UFC.
Nick Diaz would give GSP a fresh opponent and some new things to think about, and that fight would do BIG business. Same for Melendez and B.J. Penn. There's really nothing else intriguing at 155 for Penn right now, but Melendez would give him a sellable challenge.
The Light-Heavyweight Division doesn't have nearly the problems of 155, 170, and 185 in terms of viable challengers, but Mousasi would add to the depth and there's any number of great match-ups awaiting him in the UFC.
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LANE BRADFORD, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I, like most people here, would like Mousasi to be in the UFC. First off, he is wasting away in Strikeforce due to the fact he has two opponents to face tops. Babalu in a rematch and, I guess, "King Mo." Neither of those opponents are talented enough. The UFC, on the other hand, has such a deep LHW division.
Mousasi is so intriguing for the UFC because of his LHW credentials, his Middleweight credentials, and his own desire to fight HW some day. His potential match-ups in the UFC are endless, but I would like to see his first fight in the UFC against the Rampage Jackson-Rashad Evans winner. After that and another high quality opponent he could challenge the LHW champ. He also at anytime can give the Spider a tough fight for his belt in an ever-thinning Middleweight pool of challengers.
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LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
My first pick would have to be Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi is the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and holds an MMA record of 28-2-1. I would really like to see him move to the UFC soon while he is in his prime, and I am sure that he will be by late 2010 to early 2011. When Mousasi comes over to the UFC, he should be thrown right into the loop with the top light heavyweights of UFC. Even Dana White has said that Mousasi deserves to be in the UFC.
My next guy would have to be Alistair Overeem. Overeem is the heavyweight champion of Strikeforce and has an MMA record of 33-11-1. The man looks like Hulk. In the words of Jason Miller, "He looks like a freaking super hero!" Overeem is completely devastating on his feet and will add a whole new twist to the UFC Heavyweights. I would like to see him fight Junior Dos Santos or Cheick Kongo to test his stand up.
My last guy would be Jake Shields. Shields is the current middleweight champion (that is until April when Hendo takes his belt). He has an MMA record of 24-4-1 and has not lost since 2004. I think he would have to drop back to Welterweight if he came to the UFC, though. I do not see him making a splash in the Middleweight Division, but he would make a difference in Welterweight. I would like to see him fight Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. You might think that is some steep competition, but Shields is ranked in the top ten of the division.
There are plenty more fighters I would like to see come over to the UFC, though. I like the best to fight the best; that just does not happen within Strikeforce.
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ROBERT TEAL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
I would love to see Mousasi come and compete in the UFC's Light Heavyweight Division. He is a very skilled and calculating striker with great ground skills who I think could come right in and compete for the belt. I would love to see him fight Shogun. I think that would be an explosive battle between two awesome and aggressive fighters.
The other fighter I would like to see come over is Jacare. He has improved his striking as you saw with Matt Linland, but moreover he brings submission skills into the Middleweight Division even better than that of Damian Maia. He is bigger than Maia and is coming into his prime. He has lost only twice - once in his debut, which is understandable, and once against my other choice to come over in Mousasi via up kick. Jacare could possess the submission skills to beat Anderson Silva as long as he could survive long enough on the feet. A very stern challenge, but one I would love to see.
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TOBEN SHELBY, MMATORCH AUDIO COHOST
Gegard Mousasi, Muhammed Lawal, and Jake Shields would all be very interesting to see in the UFC. Mousasi could quickly run out of top talent to fight in Strikeforce, and what he's shown so far indicates he'd be very competitive in the UFC. Mousasi versus Brandon Vera, Thiago Silva, or even Rich Franklin could be fun.
Lawal is still developing, but has solid wresting, a lot of potential, and the personality to make him a big star. "King Mo" versus Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, or eventually YouTube nemesis Quinton Jackson would be exciting.
Shields is a top ten welterweight (although he's fighting at middleweight now) and it'd be intriguing to see what he has to offer UFC's welterweight division. He's very good on the ground, but still has shaky standup. Give Shields the Paulo Thiago treatment - Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, or Mike Swick.
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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I'd like to see the UFC pick up Gilbert Melendez to take a shot at B.J. Penn, or Nick Diaz to challenge Georges St. Pierre. Though the Strikeforce champs aren't on the same level, these matchups could prove to be somewhat competitive (which is more than can be said of anyone currently in those divisions). Gegard Mousasi is considered the only Top 10 light-heavyweight that the UFC does NOT have, and it would be spectacular to see him compete against the likes of Machida, Shogun, Rampage, Evans, or even The Spider in the UFC's most stacked weight class.
Also, Alistair Overeem could add some serious depth to the UFC's Heavyweight Division. I personally think he's one of the only fighters in the world with the necessary tools to beat Fedor, and that's a fight with a real possibility of happening once he finishes K-1 obligations. If Zuffa acquired Overeem, then I'd like to see him take on Rodgrigo Nogueira first, and if he wins, then give him a contender bout with Frank Mir, and finally on to the beast Brock Lesnar (or vice-versa if Mir gets the belt back).
Overeem is so talented standing with all his kickboxing experience that most would want to take him down but he's just as dangerous there with some crazy submission skills. Good wrestling and ground 'n' pound is the only way to beat him, and that's something either Fedor or Brock could pull off.
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?
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
