Strikeforce

The current state of affairs in Strikeforce has Tim Kennedy shaking his head in disbelief. As the No.1 contender to the middleweight crown, the biggest fight of his career is just a day away, and he's fairly certain the bout will not register on the mainstream MMA radar.

Kennedy has every right to be upset. He has worked tirelessly to work back to the top of the middleweight division. One of the weight class's scrappiest, Kennedy has made his name in the sport by making good fighters look bad by using his grinding style to break his opposition. It will be a tough task to execute against Rockhold, but Kennedy wouldn't have it any other way.

But when it comes to the topic of who will be watching, Kennedy didn't hesitate to speak his mind on the current situation surrounding the organization.

"We've been overlooked for a long time in Strikeforce and will continue to be overlooked," Kennedy told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "Honestly if I win the championship on Saturday night it is not going to change anything for me. With my career, my family's wealth, or how the media and fans perceive me isn't going to really change. Which is tragic because I'm fighting an amazingly talented, underrated, super-tough guy.This fight is almost inconsequential to most MMA fans.

"There is nothing either Luke and I can do. We go out there and put on the fight of the year, five rounds of up and down action, slams, knockdowns -- Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 2 and nobody will care."

The month of July has been a showcase of the sport's top middleweight fighters. While Rockhold vs. Kennedy is certainly one of the biggest matchups on this month's schedule, it isn't receiving the attention it deserves.

When talking about his fight with Rockhold this Saturday night, Kennedy promised their matchup will deliver where he feels the biggest fight in UFC history came up short.

"UFC 148 just happened with Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen," Kennedy said. "There were five minutes of Chael laying on him and two minutes of Anderson hitting Chael in the second round. It was pretty anti-climactic. The build-up didn't deliver and fans are going to see a fight between Luke and I. We are two men, completely in our athletic prime and we are going to put on a show. We are going to go out there and put on one of the best fights in MMA history.

"This isn't WWE. Luke and I don't have a problem with one another and we aren't bad mouthing each other. But we are going to step into the cage on Saturday night and try to knock each other's heads off. I don't have to have a beef with a guy to hit him hard. I don't need to put on a show to sell tickets. I need to go out and perform.

"Chael and Anderson did a great job of selling their fight but then they got into the cage and left a lot of people disappointed. It will be the opposite with us. We are going in there and we will put on one hell of a fight. I don't care what is said beforehand; once the cage doors closes and the referee says 'let's do this' there is going to be a fight. That's all I care about."

While Kennedy may be at a loss with the circumstances surrounding the bout, the fight itself has him fired up. Both men create interesting problems for one another inside of the cage, and Kennedy's focus isn't on championship gold, but testing himself against one of the best middleweights in the world.

"The belt is kind of irrelevant to me," Kennedy said. "I know that is anti-climactic but what matters to me is fighting the best guys in Strikeforce. Luke is the best guy in Strikeforce and that gets me excited. Even though he is underrated and people don't know how good he is, I know I'm fighting the best.

"Rockhold's range and timing is his best asset. He doesn't hit terribly hard, or at least it doesn't look like it. I've never been hit by him so I can't say for sure. His ability to use his length and height are tools he uses well. I'm not going to want to fight his fight and I'm not going to be within his range for any amount of time.

"He's a brown belt in jiu-jitsu under Dave Camarillo. Dave is someone I have a lot of respect for and he's cornered me in some of my fights. I have a lot of respect for Luke's jiu-jitsu and his takedown defense is one of the best in the sport. He's fantastic up against the cage and he's a great open mat wrestler. He has the ability to put the fight where he wants it. He has no problem with hitting a guy, running in there and then going to the ground with his opponent."

For the time being, Kennedy will drown out the other emotions to make sure his complete focus is fixed on the current middleweight champion. Kennedy understands what needs to be done in order to win and is prepared to give it his all inside of the cage.

"Of course I would love an easy fight where it is a one punch knockout, but it is not going to happen that way," Kennedy said. "I'm not going to let Luke fight the fight he wants to and it will be brutal and hard. It is definitely going to be one for the ages."

Hey there. Did you know that there's a Strikeforce card coming up from Portland this weekend? Tomorrow night?

Yep, it's true. I don't blame you for not remembering. Hell, with all of the furor over UFC 148 last week and then an awesome free Fuel fight card just two days ago, I have trouble remembering about the card myself.

Which is a little bit crazy when you consider that two Strikeforce title fights are on the card.

I couldn't care less about the fight between Nate Marquardt and Tyron Woodley for the vacant welterweight title. I'm sure most of you feel the same way. Woodley has been Mr. Anti-Excitement during his Strikeforce run, and Marquardt has been out of the picture since that whole Testosterone Replacement Therapy thing got him booted from the UFC last year.

(As a side note: Marquardt is no longer on TRT. I thought these guys needed that stuff to live? Hopefully Marquardt isn't putting his life in danger by no longer taking testosterone, because that would be sad.)

I like the middleweight title fight between Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy, though. It's a good fight between two very good middleweights. It's just a shame that nobody will see it, mostly because Rockhold and Kennedy are not Ronda Rousey. The female bantamweight champ, after all, is just about the only thing that drives interest in Strikeforce these days.

Tim Kennedy sure noticed the lack of interest.

"Take a picture," Tim Kennedy said. "There's not a single goddamn reporter here. There's four of you guys. This is two title fights for Strikeforce. It's crystal clear that nobody gives a s---. They don't. I knock Rockhold out on Saturday night? Changes nothing for me. Nothing in, like, what media publications are going to cover me, who talks about me, sponsors I'm going to get. Do you know how much money I didn't make in sponsors for this fight because nobody cares about Strikeforce? It's insane.

"I'm fighting one of the best fighters on the planet. Not top 10 – like top five. I'm very confident that both Luke and I would clean house all the way to the top one or two guys in the UFC that could finally give us a fight, and nobody cares. It doesn't make any sense. Just the ignorance of the sport and the athletes, there's no way we can change that unless you let us fight other guys outside of the organization, and that's just not going to happen."

Kennedy hit the nail on the head here. Not the part about cleaning house all the way up to the top one or two guys in the division, because that part isn't true. Maybe for Rockhold, but not for him. 

But he's right about Strikeforce. Nobody cares.

It's a brand and a company dying on the vine. Zuffa pays it the minimal amount of attention possible so that people can't say they've stopped caring altogether. It's like that guy in your group of friends who nobody really wants to keep around, but you'd feel bad for giving him the boot because he clearly has nothing else going right for him. That's Strikeforce.

In a perfect world, Showtime would pull the plug on this company tomorrow, and we'd get to see Gilbert Melendez, Rockhold, Rousey and Kennedy jump over to the UFC and fight the best guys in the world. But that's not happening, at least not any time soon. These two companies, Zuffa and Showtime, are stuck in a loveless marriage, and Strikeforce is suffering for it. 

Unless you're a hardcore MMA fan who scours the internet for any little bit of fight news you can sink your teeth into, you may not know there's a Strikeforce event on July 14—a pretty good one, too.

Light-heavyweight champion Luke Rockhold is taking on Tim Kennedy, and Tyron Woodley will throw down with former UFC top contender Nate Marquardt for the vacant welterweight title.

Also on the card is a pretty interesting fight between grappling phenom Roger Gracie and the awkwardly entertaining Keith Jardine, and a slugger's delight with Robbie Lawler taking on Lorenz Larkin.

It may seem curious that this event, which features two title fights being contested on the second largest stage in the sport, is getting so little attention. But it's really not. It was to be expected.

It's not your fault if you don't know about it, of course. With two UFC events going down within the past week, there just wasn't enough promotional wiggle-room at Zuffa for them to put much marketing effort behind this event.

And it shows.

Not only is there absolutely zero buzz about this show, but MMAJunkie was on the scene at the pre-fight press conference and described a doomsday scenario.

Heck, Wikipedia didn't even bother making a page for it.

We could point to the usual culprits: Over-saturation, lack of marketing, etc. And those things do matter. But really, this is just a matter of Strikeforce being viewed for exactly what it is—a second-rate promotion.

That's not to disparage the fighters. Not at all. Luke Rockhold is an immense talent who will be an awesome addition to the UFC middleweight division, not if, but when Strikeforce closes up shop. So will Kennedy. But they're fighting in an organization that has lost its luster since being scooped up by Zuffa.

Despite all the "business as usual" rhetoric, the UFC gutted Strikeforce for almost all of its top talent. How could they possibly thrive, let alone survive?

Because of the lack of interest in this event, it will probably do garbage ratings. It's simple: If no one knows it's on, they can't watch it.

Strikeforce has simply run its course. The Showtime deal is good through 2012. After that, Strikeforce is going away.

How many of you really knew Ronda Rousey before ESPN's Body Issue released her tantalizing photographs? You probably knew the name, but that's nothing compared to what her name is now.

Rousey has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity over the last week. She was chosen as a Body Issue cover athlete, and further increased her notoriety with comments she directed at one of America's most famous socialites, Kim Kardashian.

After saying she would "beat the crap out of" Kardashian, Rousey added (per the New York Post):

Why is everyone slipping it under the carpet now? She’s selling Skechers to 13-year-olds. I don’t want a girl whose entire fame is based on a sex video to be selling Skechers to my 13-year-old little sister.

Rousey has a point, but that's not the point. She's become a headline figure almost overnight, and she's done it with things entirely unrelated to her respective sport. 

I'm not saying Rousey is a bad fighter (after those comments, I wouldn't dare), but her popularity isn't widespread because of that. She is currently Strikeforce's Bantamweight champion, but attacking one of America's most famous celebrities does more for her reputation than her fighting ever would. 

People go cuckoo for this stuff. It's plain and simple. Regular people live for sound bytes and controversy, and Rousey provided both in a 30-second span of time.

I don't think she did this deliberately. Rousey is pestered repeatedly by the reporter before she finally reveals her real thoughts on Kardashian, but she put them out there nonetheless.

Those words will do more for her popularity than any fight for Strikeforce would ever do. It doesn't matter how good she becomes. Rousey will always be "that female fighter who wanted to beat up Kim Kardashian." 

Rousey had already got a ton of publicity for her risque cover photos in this year's Body Issue.

These comments make her name even bigger.