MMATORCH
THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR
REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
HOME | CONTACT USABOUT USFACEBOOKTWITTERLIVECASTPODCASTFREE IPHONE APPFREE AMAZON APPRSS
JUMP TO A LIST OF ARTICLES ABOUT ANY CATEGORY -




GET OUR FREE PHONE APPS FOR IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID, AND AMAZON: JUST SEARCH "MMATORCH" IN YOUR PHONE'S APP STORE OR MARKETPLACE


PPV & TV Events : Strikeforce Events
STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Scott Coker says title shots are on the line for both Robbie Lawler and Renato "Babalu" Sobral at Strikeforce: Los Angeles

Email This Article - Click for Printer-Friendly Page
Or Spread the World Below...
__


Jun 9, 2010 - 4:15:35 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce_Logo_152.jpg
Next week's Strikeforce: Los Angeles main event between Robbie Lawler and Renato "Babalu" Sobral may be a catchweight bout, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says there is definitely something on the line for both fighters in this bout.

"If 'Babalu' looks good and wins the fight, I think that he will be first in line for a matchup [with] 'King Mo,'" Coker said during a media call for the event. "Robbie, if he wins the fight, he'll be first in line to have a title shot at 185 pounds against 'Jacare' (Souza)... Normally we don't put those fights out there, but I wanted to let everybody know that this fight will have consequences. It'll be an interesting show, and we're looking forward to putting it on."

While not completely ruling out a re-signing of Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, Coker's comments suggest that plans for a middleweight "tournament" have been scrapped in place of what would be a singular title bout for a vacant belt.

Sobral has not fought since losing to Gegard Mousasi last August, but nevertheless Coker says he's likely the first challenger to "King Mo" Lawal should he get past Lawler. For Sobral, the Lawal fight is not necessarily one he's eager to take, as the two have trained together in the past. He's more interested in fights against Dan Henderson and a rematch with Gegard Mousasi, but he would take the Lawal fight if presented.

Strikeforce: Los Angeles takes place from the Nokia Theater next Wednesday on Showtime.

Link to MMAJunkie.com Report

Penick's Analysis: Strikeforce has a major credibility problem in this situation. It's infuriatingly short sighted to set this fight up in the first place, and to try to rationalize putting this fight together by giving the winner a title opportunity is even more short sighted. How, after defeating a middleweight in a fight at 195 lb., would "Babalu" earn the #1 contender spot? He was beaten by Mousasi in a minute last August. The same Mousasi that just got handled by "King Mo" for five rounds.

And how does Lawler move to the top of the heap with a win out of the division? I'd have no problem with him getting a spot in a tournament, but immediately getting plugged into this title shot against "Jacare" with a win doesn't make a whole lot of sense. None of the setup for this fight makes sense outside of the need for a headliner on this card.

It's hard to take any of their Champions seriously with their Championship fights set up this way. Giving Brett Rogers a title shot was excusable at the time because with Fedor and Werdum wrapped up in a bout there was no one high enough up to be given a title shot at that point, but neither of these options is sensible right now coming out of this fight.

Rich Hansen's Added Analysis: In short, if Lawler wins a fight at 195 lb., Lawler gets a shot at the 185 lb. belt. A belt currently held by someone who choked him out in like 2 minutes at 182 lbs.

And if Babalu wins a fight at 195 against someone who has never fought abouve 185 in his career, Babalu gets a shot at the 205 belt. In essence leapfrogging Mousasi who knocked him out in a minute in Babalu's most recent fight.

Things like this make my brain cry.

Please Recommend This Article at StumbleUpon...



MORE "Strikeforce Events" ARTICLES
STRIKEFORCE: "ROCKHOLD VS. JARDINE" MAIN CARD LIVE RESULTS: Hansen's round by round report of Showtime event
STRIKEFORCE: "ROCKHOLD VS. JARDINE" PRELIMS LIVE RESULTS: Pelkey's round by round coverage of preliminary fights on Sho Extreme
STRIKEFORCE "MELENDEZ VS. MASVIDAL" LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report of final Showtime event of 2011
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 20 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round-by-round report for "Britt vs. Sayers" event
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 19 LIVE RESULTS: Pelkey's round by round report of Larkins vs. Rossborough event on Showtime
STRIKEFORCE "BARNETT VS. KHARITONOV" RESULTS: Penick's live round by round report for Showtime event from Cincinnati


MMATORCH LIVECAST - EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT

ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.


CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING



LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

MMATORCH and USA TODAY
UFC VIDEO PRESENTATION


FEATURED MMATORCH EXCLUSIVES

GREG JACKSON ADDRESSES UFC 143 CRITICS

Greg_Jackson_80_1.jpg
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...

*CLICK TO READ ARTICLE

AMADI: WHY DIAZ FIGHTS LIKE HE DOES

Staff10Amadi_70_40.jpg
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...

*CLICK TO READ ARTICLE

KOSCHECK EXPLAINS SPLIT FROM AKA

JoshKoscheck_150_5.jpg
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...

*CLICK TO READ ARTICLE

MMATORCH POLL

SEE PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS


10 HOTTEST MMATORCH ARTICLES
UFC Undisputed 3 Review (Xbox 360): THQ improves upon past iterations to provide best MMA experience to date
UFC 143 ROUNDTABLE: Should the UFC book a Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz rematch this summer?
ENNIS: Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down for UFC 143 - Carlos Condit, Fools/Crybabies, Bad Judging/Officiating, and more
AMADI: Why Nick Diaz Fights the Way He Does, and Why Carlos Condit Was Right to Avoid It
PENICK: UFC 143's Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit - A Round by Round Breakdown of What Actually Happened
PEREZ: The UFC 143 Highlight Reel - The Top 5 stories out of "Diaz vs. Condit" event in Las Vegas
UFC 143 "DIAZ VS. CONDIT" ROUNDTABLE: MMATorch staff and contributors rate and review Super Bowl weekend event
UFC 143 "DIAZ VS. CONDIT" PREVIEW: Penick's breakdown and fight picks for Super Bowl weekend event
UFC 143 ROUNDTABLE: Nick Diaz or Carlos Condit? Who has the better chance at defeating Georges St-Pierre?
PENICK: Notebook 1/30 - Chicago memories, UFC on Fox 2 BTS thoughts, Jon Jones on Evans-Davis and heavyweight aspirations


ALSO: UFC PPV Reports: Results, analysis, fight ratings of all recent events
LATEST PRO WRESTLING NEWS FROM PWTORCH






HOME | CONTACT USABOUT USFACEBOOKTWITTERLIVECASTPODCASTFREE IPHONE APPFREE AMAZON APPRSS
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP | © 2006-2011 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY