Strikeforce

Pioneers such as Debbi Purcell were vital. The marketing of Gina Carano was important. Cyborg Santos showed that women's MMA could be just as exciting and violent as the men. But it is current Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey who is on the path to being the single most important figure in women's mixed martial arts history.

The likes of Purcell and others are important figures in the WMMA lexicon and the early pioneers of the female presence in the cage should not be forgotten, but they never elevated the sport.

Carano blazed a trail of being the first female fighter in a sanctioned bout in the state of Nevada, the first televised female fight on Showtime and on network television. The opportunity to promote the marketable Carano by Strikeforce and EliteXC put women's MMA on the map.

While Carano has fallen out of favor with many MMA fans, her presence and importance has to be noted.

Rousey, however, is leading a new charge that has invigorated the fans to see a bright future for all the women in the sport.

Carano brought style to the casual audience. Cyborg brought substance. Ronda Rousey brings both style and substance with a charismatic personality that shines.

When Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, the fate of women's MMA hung in the balance. While many lamented it was the beginning of the end, they reached out and signed the former Olympian. With quick finishes, and nice post-fight interviews, Strikeforce found themselves with a potential new star.

The months leading up to the Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey fight caught the attention of the MMA world. And the dominant performance by Rousey put her on the map for good. Since that time she has been jet-setting across the nation for appearances that has the casual fan asking when, not if, she will fight inside the Octagon. Pundits have called for her to defend the title on a UFC on FOX card.

And therein lies where Rousey becomes, potentially, the most important figure in WMMA history.

If she continues on her current trajectory, then Zuffa will see the value in her and female division(s). As Strikeforce continues to fade, her star-power and marketability will force Zuffa to create a female championship and promote her as a UFC fighter.

With her presence at the front of women's MMA, it will see the bright lights of a UFC event. It will be broadcast to the legions of UFC fans across the world. It will hit the, dare I say, mainstream.

Rousey's popularity will continue to draw fans to the women who participate in this sport. It will help facilitate the growth of every division and other organizations such as Invicta FC. While many discredited Rousey's title shot in March due to her way with words, they owe Rousey a “thank you,” as her wordsmithery is what started this potential boom.

There is still a lot of work to be done, but Rousey's charisma and athleticism is transcending to the casual fans. She is what the sport always needed. If she can get the women to the inside of the glorified cage of the Octagon, she will be the biggest contributor to WMMA in its history.

Ronda Rousey is the linchpin for the sport. Without her, this now bright future is only a hope. They should begin carving her likeness into the side of the women's MMA Mount Rushmore.

It wasn't pretty, but Gilbert Melendez retained his lightweight crown.

Melendez bested rival Josh Thomson once again in a hard-fought, split-decision victory.  The bout was the champ's most difficult since, well, the last time he faced Josh Thomson.

The win, which did little to settle the score in this 75-minute long trilogy, called into question Melendez's status as a top three lightweight.  But while some pundits might be quick to call El Nino's title reign overrated, last night's bout speaks more to Thomson's grit and his own skills being underrated.

Since the two fighters first squared off in 2008, their back-and-forth battles have yet to yield a definitive winner because they are actually pretty evenly matched.

Thomson has only lost to one other person not named Gilbert Melendez since June of 2006 and has strung together quite a few impressive wins throughout his career.  As a gritty, hard-nosed fighter, it's no wonder El Nino had problems last night.

Analysts shouldn't look down on Melendez for the lackluster win because Thomson is a tough opponent.  A former champ and UFC vet himself, Thomson has flown under the radar over the years and deserves more credit for the performance he put on last night.

Regardless, Melendez deserves his placement near the top of the lightweight rankings.

His unique skill set marked by his power punches and wrestling background are unmatched by any other lightweight outside of the UFC.

Owning wins over the likes of Shinya Aoki and Jorge Masvidal, Melendez is the best fighter outside of the world's largest MMA promotion.  His record number of title defenses and dominance under the Strikeforce banner make him a fighter deserving of the hype.

Despite not being able to take out Thomson, Melendez is far from being overrated.

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Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champ Josh Thomson completed their trilogy of fights, with Melendez earning the win in the rubber match by split decision.

When Thompson secured Melendez's back in the fourth round and threatened with a rear naked choke, many believed that he deserved the victory. After all, the fight was close, and Melendez looked tired in the championship rounds.

This mentality destroys Melendez's stock in people's minds, leading them to believe that if he could not dominate Thomson, then he would falter against the top lightweights in the UFC. However, many still believe that Melendez is arguably the best 155-pound fighter in the world, based on his wins over fighters such as Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki and Jorge Masvidal. 

So, what is fact here? Is Melendez a sham? Is he a good talent but not championship material? Or is he really the best in the world?

People seem to really be underrating Thomson. Even here on this site, he has been talked about as a person that should not even be an obstacle for Melendez at this stage in his career.

Now, Thomson is not a top-tier mixed martial artist. However, he is extremely well rounded and holds some impressive victories, including some solid wins in the UFC. He managed to turn Melendez's eye into a giant mess last night.

It is obvious that Melendez was the better mixed martial artist. However, his cardio suffered, and his accuracy faded when the swelling continued to increase. And yet, he was still able to outpoint Thompson and win the decision.

Even though it was close, and he was in some bad spots, Melendez is still a top lightweight. Maybe he isn't the guy that will come to the UFC and start a reign at the top, but he showed us that he is still a top talent, and that he needs to come to the UFC.

Thomson proved more than anyone that he too belongs in the UFC. His last stint with the company ended when he was on the receiving end of a highlight KO by the former uncrowned king of the division, Yves Edwards. 

Honestly, this was a great fight, with two talented 155ers battling it out for the third and presumably final time. It is no reason to degrade either fighter. They showed heart, talent and versatility, proving that they are worthy of being present on the big stage with Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson.

Maybe they won't win the title, but they will both be competitive and exciting in MMA's most stacked division.

Josh Barnett, Daniel Cormier and Gilbert Melendez served their time in Strikeforce, and now, the time has come for the UFC to give these MMA stars an opportunity to compete on a more fitting stage.

Outside of Barnett, Cormier and Fedor Emelianenko, every relevant heavyweight in the world is already under contract with the UFC.

Considering Emelianenko's track record with UFC negotiations, his name is definitely off the table, but Barnett and Cormier should be shoe-ins.

The UFC has already absorbed all of Strikeforce's significant heavyweight talent. Why not take the final two remaining on the roster?

If anything, Barnett and Cormier's performance on Saturday night should be enough to validate a UFC contract. Regardless of his personal issues with UFC president Dana White, Barnett is a legend of the sport and a future Hall of Famer.

He deserves an opportunity to finish his career out with the same promotion that helped make him a star.

Meanwhile, Cormier could be an intriguing option as a heavyweight title contender. It wouldn't be a shocker if the UFC offered the former Olympian a shot at UFC gold upon entry.

As the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, a title fight would certainly draw a lot of attention from a UFC vs. Strikeforce perspective.

Melendez is long overdue a spot on the UFC roster. For years, fans have debated where he ranks among the very best in the lightweight division. While some are bold enough to give "El Nino" the top spot, others aren't convinced.

Melendez's lackluster performance against a game Josh Thomson certainly didn't help. A champion vs. champion fight between Melendez and the reigning UFC champ is a fight that fans have been salivating over for years.

Unfortunately, there are contract issues keeping the UFC from inking Melendez.

It's certainly not good for business. Melendez was one judge away from losing a split decision to Thomson. A loss would taint any potential blockbuster lightweight bout the UFC hopes to put together in the future.

It's time for the UFC to put pen to paper and bring over the lingering Strikeforce stars fans want to see.

Time could be running out.

It's time for everyone to calm down about Gilbert Melendez.

He may be the last man standing for hipster MMA fans. He may be hyped by Strikeforce's commentators as the best lightweight in the sport. He may be put into many pound-for-pound top-10 lists.

That, though, ignores the fact that there is no foundation to consider Gilbert Melendez one of the top fighters in the sport today. After all these years, the Strikeforce lightweight champion is still an unknown commodity. No matter which way it gets hacked, he is still yet to face serious competition. It is foolhardy to consider him one of the best in the division, never mind in the sport, until that changes.

Josh Thomson, his opponent this past Saturday, was just the latest chapter in the ongoing story of Strikeforce's flimsy matchmaking.

Recently, I talked at length about the UFC featherweight division's shallow talent pool and the trouble this results in for both fighters and UFC VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva. The Strikeforce lightweight division is quite similar, with only a handful of fighters demonstrating any level of skill. This leaves the rankings past its champion in constant flux and results in fighters getting title shots while riding one-fight winning streaks.

Simply put, Gilbert Melendez has not beaten anybody of note. Not only has he not beaten anybody of note, but he has failed to blow away these low-tier fighters as Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo have. He narrowly edged out Josh Thomson, winning a semi-controversial split decision.

Looking deeper, he did not raise many eyebrows with his bout against Jorge Masvidal and has been out-shined by many when it comes to shared opponents, including Bellator's Eddie Alvarez.

Make no mistake, he is a strong fighter. He has solid boxing and his ground game is nothing to shrug at. Unfortunately for Melendez and his fans, that simply is not enough to be a top 10 lightweight anymore. Certainly not enough to be in the top three, as B/R ranks him. Most of all, it is completely out of the question that he is the top lightweight at this time, regardless of Strikeforce's allegations.

Melendez coming to the UFC still feels inevitable. His disrespectful post-fight interview came just short of announcing that he is looking to pull a Nick Diaz, play the politics game and force his way out of Strikeforce.

Should he succeed, it would be very difficult to favor Melendez over many top UFC lightweights. He should be a huge underdog against champion Ben Henderson or the top contender, Frankie Edgar. Though a fight with Nate Diaz is out of the question (Cesar Gracie fighters openly refuse to fight each other), he would certainly be the riskier bet there as well.

Outside the top three, there is also no real reason to give him the edge against guys like Gray Maynard, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis or Clay Guida. On top of that, there are savvy fighters that match up well against Melendez stylistically like Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon.

Before calling foul on this article, just ask if Josh Thomson is better than any of these fighters. If for some inexplicable reason you would say he is, just look at any of those fighters' resumes side-by-side with Thomson.

Until Melendez joins the UFC and puts together wins, there is no logical reason to consider him above the fray. While, again, Melendez is a good fighter, there is no shortage of good fighters right now. If the pundits are going to keep claiming he is great, though, I hope they let me in on the secret reason they think this some time soon.  

The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix has finally come to a close. From a field of eight, only one man remains to take home the belt: Daniel Cormier. The main event lived up to the expectations as Daniel Cormier put on a career-defining performance against perennial top 10 heavyweight, Josh Barnett.

In the co-main event of the night, Gilbert Melendez took a split decision over Josh Thomson. After 15 rounds of fighting, Melendez is able to walk away with not only the lightweight gold but also two wins over his nemesis. 

The rest of the card will have divisional consequences within Strikeforce so let's break down and grade the performances of all the main card fighters. 

A+

Daniel Cormier: Welcome to the elite of the heavyweight division, Daniel. That was a masterful performance and the best of your short MMA career. I could talk about how awesome that high-crotch single was or how crisp your boxing looked. But I won't.

Instead, I just want to say that if Zuffa was smart they wouldn't bother wasting your time with that final Strikeforce fight. It's stupid and I want to see you in the UFC now.

A

Rafael Cavalcante: Things Rafael Cavalcante did today: avenged a loss and got a fast submission from Mike Kyle. There's nothing else to say because that's all that happened, but damn. Have fun in that title fight against someone at a future date. 

B+

Chris Spang: His brother Andreas lost last night at Bellator in the main event against Maiquel Falcao. Chris didn't fight like his brother and instead put Nah-Shon Burrell out with punches and knees.

It almost seemed like the fight could have been stopped a bit sooner, but I'm not one for complaining when a fighter is demonstrating fantastic technique.

I'm actually excited to see this kid fight again in the near future. Judging by how long Jason High has been on the shelf, it could be a year. 

B

Gilbert Melendez: Gilbert was totally correct when he said that he had everything to lose and nothing to gain in his fight with Josh Thomson. The eyes of the MMA world were upon him and he needed to deliver in order to stay in the lightweight conversation.

He fought a good fight but his fading in the third is a concern. Congrats on the win. Hopefully this was just a rare poor showing. 

Josh Thomson: I didn't think Josh Thomson had anything for GIlbert Melendez following the KJ Noons fight. He proved me wrong and looked great in the championship rounds against Melendez. He walks away with a split-decision loss but he definitely raised his stock in the division with this performance.

C

Josh Barnett: I'm kind of disappointed in Barnett's performance tonight. He showed a lot of heart and a great chin but that was such a one-sided fight.

I've never seen anyone body Barnett like that before and his face showed the wounds of a battle. Hopefully he joins the UFC roster, he deserves a shot after tonight. 

D

Nah-Shon Burrell: Man you know you were out. Why complain to the ref? He looked good early on, but once Spang started landing with accuracy, the fight was over. It was only time until Burrell faded and fell to the mat in defeat. 

F

Mike Kyle: What was all that talk about deserving a title shot?