Strikeforce: Five Fights to Make After Barnett vs. Cormier

The Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix—once considered a novel throwback idea to the PRIDE days of all—is finally and inexplicably over. 

I say inexplicably because there were at least three instances over the course of the past year where it seemed impossible that the tournament, and Strikeforce as a whole, would continue to exist. But it did, and here we are after the culmination of the tournament and the rise of a brand new heavyweight force in mixed martial arts.

No longer a prospect, Daniel Cormier's easy capture of the grand prix title—after not being an official member of the tournament in the first place—vaulted him into the ranks of title contenders. But he can't simply jump to the UFC after his win; a contractual agreement between Zuffa and Showtime will keep him tied to the premium cable network for one more fight.

What's next for Cormier and the rest of the stars from Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier?

Let's take a look in the following pages.

Finding Cormier's next opponent will be a test of Sean Shelby's matchmaking wizardry. Why? Because Cormier is literally the last heavyweight standing in Strikeforce. Everybody else, with the exception of Josh Barnett, has already gone over to the UFC, but Cormier must remain for one more fight on Showtime. I hate contractual clauses. 

Cormier's next opponent is obviously going to have to come from the UFC, because I can't imagine Shelby going out and signing Tim Sylvia or Jeff Monson to face Cormier. Well, Sylvia might not be a terrible idea, but Dana White has already stated that Sylvia will not be returning to Zuffa. 

With that in mind, I'd look to the ranks of other heavyweight prospects in the UFC that haven't quite reached title contention. Travis Browne is a perfect example. He's still three or four wins from a title shot, but a big win over Cormier—especially after Cormier's easy run through the tournament—might vault him up the ladder a little quicker.

Cormier will be favored, and sometimes heavily so, against just about any heavyweight he faces from this point forward—and rightly so. But that doesn't mean someone like Browne shouldn't be afforded the opportunity to cut in line by beating him. 

Browne has a fight against Ben Rothwell in August. If "Big Ben" manages to beat Browne, then send Rothwell over to face Cormier. It's an easy solution.

We don't know that Barnett will move over to the UFC. Not yet, anyway. He's a little more difficult to deal with when it comes to contractual talks because he has the kinds of options that being a famous pro wrestler in Japan affords him. He's not required to go to the UFC to make a living, and that puts him in a different category than most fighters.

But I have to believe that Barnett will want to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon, where he long ago climbed the mountain to become heavyweight champion. And Barnett's gritty and resilient display over five full rounds against Cormier proved he still has the tools and the toughness to give just about any heavyweight in the UFC some real problems. It would be a shame if we didn't see Barnett move over at this point.

If Barnett does sign, who do you pair him with? I'd throw him in the cage with someone just outside of title contention. The winner of the Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva bout at UFC 146 will likely earn a title shot, but the loser? That's a perfect match for Barnett.

You can't tell me you wouldn't mind seeing "The War Machine" step in the cage with someone like Cain Velasquez. You just can't, because it would be awesome—especially with Barnett going for revenge for the loss to Cormier.

As I will note in the following slide, I scored Saturday night's fight for Josh Thomson. It was a close fight, but I thought Thomson did just enough to edge Melendez and take home the Strikeforce title. 

But Melendez remains the Strikeforce champion, and now comes the task of wrangling up a new opponent who's willing to go to Strikeforce and face him for the belt when they could actually be in front of more people in the UFC.

The timing is actually perfect for a long-awaited dream fight between Melendez and Eddie Alvarez. We've been promised this fight for over two years, but it's never come to fruition. With Alvarez widely expected to leave Bellator and sign with the UFC, the timing is right.

As part of his UFC deal, I would ask him to go to Strikeforce and face Melendez in his first Zuffa bout. Win or lose, he can still be brought into the UFC for his second fight. 

Showtime would get a fight that everyone actually wants to see, and Melendez would get the highly rated opponent he so desperately craves.

Yes, it's true that Gilbert Melendez is tied to Strikeforce for the duration of his deal with Showtime. No matter what happens, he's stuck there for three more fights. 

That might not be the case for Josh Thomson. He doesn't have the same kind of deal as Melendez, and we don't know if he was included on that list of stars that is required to stay on Showtime until their deals are up. Thomson, for all intents and purposes, might be able to leave Strikeforce immediately and move to the UFC.

I don't think many people are considering this angle, and I'll tell you why you should. Thomson is not going to get another fight with Melendez. He simply isn't. I thought he beat Gilbert on Saturday night, but Melendez is never going to take another fight with Thomson. He's ready to move on and understandably so. 

And so what's the point of sticking around for Thomson? There is no point. He'll never get another title shot, and I don't think he'll be happy continuing to fight with no way to reach the pinnacle in sight.

It's time to move Thomson over to the UFC. He had a great performance against Melendez and would look good against many UFC lightweights. It's time to see what he can do.

The Strikeforce website is down (again), so I can't go through the list of potential opponents for Cavalcante in a bout for the vacant light heavyweight title. And off the top of my head, I can't really remember any other light heavyweights in Strikeforce, period.

For the longest time, there were pretty much four big names in the division: Dan Henderson, Gegard Mousasi, Rafael Cavalcante and King Mo Lawal. Two of those names are now gone from the company.

There really aren't any other options here. Cavalcante and Mousasi might be stuck in an endless loop of title fights and rematches until Zuffa's deal with Showtime finally expires.