Strikeforce

Strikeforce is throwing three title fights and a heavyweight clash into the main card of their first 2013 show, which takes place on January 12 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

MMA Junkie broke the news today, revealing that the event will feature four of the biggest stars in the promotion. Earlier this morning, Nate Marquardt's first middleweight title defense against Tarec Saffiedine was leaked as one part of the main card.

With Strikeforce's announcement, here's how the lineup looks so far:

• Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring (Heavyweight bout)
• Luke Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin (Middleweight Championship)
• Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine (Welterweight Championship)
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy (Lightweight Championship)

Most surprising is the reveal of Cormier's next opponent, Dion Staring—a relatively unknown Dutch heavyweight who trains with UFC title contender and former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.

Staring is currently on a 9-1 run in his last 10 fights, with the majority of them taking place in the Netherlands. His most notable career opponents have been current UFC light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Bellator veteran Damian Grabowski and international kickboxing champion Peter Graham.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker previously teased that women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey would also be featured on the card, but the No. 1 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter was not part of today's announcement.

It's odd to think that just a couple of years ago, regional promotion Strikeforce was considered a distant competitor to the UFC.

Now, it's a shadow of its former self, having been bought by UFC parent company Zuffa in March 2011. Most of Strikeforce's best talent has been swallowed up by its bigger brother and injuries have killed off the remainder of the promotion's 2012 events.

More than anyone else, the fighters in this league suffer the most.

Most of Strikeforce's remaining stars (Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza) fight twice a year, and that's if they're lucky. Heck, the promotion still doesn't have anything lined up for their vacant light heavyweight title.

Even worse, Strikeforce's female fighters are so desperate for events that they're relegated to seeking out "talent sharing" options with Invicta FC and other regional promotions.

So with all that trouble and all that talent suffering in limbo, is there even a point to Strikeforce's continued existence? Does it have anything valuable to offer to the MMA world?

Yes. Strikeforce can be saved.

As pointless, mismanaged and publicly weak as it appears, there is a value in Strikeforce that can be mined for the future. But it'll take some huge steps to get there—steps that may seem crazy.

Step 1: Get Strikeforce Away From Showtime

Although much of the blame sits on the UFC for Strikeforce's woes, an equal amount has to fall on cable network Showtime.

As reported by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer (via Bloody Elbow), some Strikeforce fighters have contract stipulations that prevent them from jumping ship to the UFC. In essence, it's a rumored blacklist that's reserved for Strikeforce's biggest stars.

Showtime Sports president denied to MMA Fighting's MMA Hour that such a list actually exists, but regardless of whether he's telling the truth, the truth is just as problematic as the possible lie. No matter what, Strikeforce will suffer in a petty tug-of-war between Zuffa and Showtime as long as valuable talent remains in the mix.

To begin the healing, Showtime has to pull the plug on Strikeforce, or at least be compensated well enough to let the promotion go. Considering how far the UFC took their grudge with Spike TV, one would hope that cooler heads might prevail in that negotiation.

Step 2: Revive Strikeforce as an All-Women's MMA Promotion

One thing that's always set Strikeforce apart from the rest of the American MMA scene was its dedication to hosting female fighters.

Even when the women's roster was little more than an excuse to serve up overmatched victims to former featherweight title contender Gina Carano, the San Jose-based company put women's MMA in the spotlight in a way that no one else really could.

If Zuffa and the UFC want to wrangle value out of Strikeforce at a minimum risk, they need to eliminate the men's division altogether, absorb the best fighters there, and open up the women's roster to at least three weight classes.

Invicta FC can run a semi-popular calendar of events with little more than good wishes and packing tape. Since that much is possible on such a small budget, it's fair to say Zuffa wouldn't be investing a ton of money on an all-women's league.

Plus, it kills several birds with one stone.

Ronda Rousey gets to stay at the top of a well-known MMA promotion, it gives women's MMA more time to evolve as a marketable product (before eventually getting absorbed into the UFC), and Zuffa can stick Strikeforce events on FX or FUEL TV to fill their lengthy calendar.

Step 3: Actually Start Giving a Damn About Strikeforce

One of the biggest problems facing Strikeforce is that it's vastly under-promoted.

When your own champions lament the amount of empty seats at weigh-ins and press conferences, that's a problem all around. Maybe getting Dana White to hype Strikeforce events is stretching the UFC president a bit too thin, but you need to have someone in the trenches getting things done.

That someone isn't Scott Coker. As a figurehead, he's harmless and dutiful—as a promoter, he's more boring than Ben Askren's fights.

If Strikeforce as an all-women's league would have any chance to succeed, Zuffa would have to actually make a concerned effort to sell the brand to viewers. Invicta FC and their legion of mid-level talent can generate 200,000 viewers an event, so doing at least 500,000 with Rousey, Miesha Tate or Cyborg Santos in title fights on free TV can't be much harder.

Believe it or not, Strikeforce is worth saving. Even on life support, it can hang on as a worthy niche success—it all just depends on Zuffa and the UFC bothering to make the effort.

[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]

Former Strikeforce women's champion Miesha Tate doesn't generally hold back with her opinions. Or I should say, she doesn't hold back her opinions since she learned from Ronda Rousey that being outspoken can be great for your career.

Last week, Tate said it was okay for a man to hit a woman if she hits him first. That one is so dumb that I'm not even going to touch it. Let's move on.

Today, Tate is blasting Bellator for placing female 115-pound champion Zoila Gurgel on the preliminary card of the upcoming Bellator 78 card, which takes place this Friday night.

Seeing a champion appear on a preliminary card is a bit jarring, to say the least. So I understand why Tate's getting all worked up about the concept of putting a female champion on the untelevised prelims. It seems a little bit sexist on the surface, doesn't it? 

But it's not sexism, not in the slightest. It's actually just revenge for comments that Gurgel recently made about Bellator when a 115-pound fight between Megumi Fuji and Jessica Aguilar was promoted as a bout between the two top 115-pounders in the world, essentially relegating Gurgel—again, Bellator's champion—to third or worst.

Gurgel got upset, and understandably so. But blasting your boss like this probably isn't the best idea (via mmamania.com): 

"For my own promotion to kind of diss me like that, it's like, wow. It just puts the icing on the cake. I wasn't very happy about it. I kind of knew that they were going to do or say something, whatever they had to do to promote the fight. But to throw me under the bus like that, the way most people have said, it just wasn't very nice, and it wasn't very professional in my eyes."

So now Gurgel, who has been on the shelf for a year with an ACL injury, returns to the cage, and she's immediately placed on the preliminary card. It's pretty easy to see what's happening here, but Tate apparently doesn't recognize it (via mixedmartialarts.com): 

"I cannot believe [Bellator] would allow [its] champion to be placed on the UN televised undercard in her hometown. A champion is a champion regardless if she is fighting up a weight, you use her image to promote the posters and then put her on the undercard?! Blows my mind. This is the 2nd time too you have done this I tell you what I would rather never fight MMA again then fight for u under @BellatorMMA banner.... The amount of disrespect you have given @ZoilaGurgel is disgusting."

Look, let's be a little bit more conservative with our usage of the term "disgusting." There are plenty of disgusting promotional tactics used in this sport on a weekly basis. Putting Gurgel—who, by the way, cannot remotely be considered a superstar or anything of the sort—on the prelims is not disgusting, especially when you consider the comments she made about Bellator after her feelings were hurt.

I'm all for champions being portrayed in a classy manner and placed in high places on fight cards. And I think Gurgel is deserving of a television spot, even if it's not in the main event. But when you lash out at your employer in public, it's not going to make them go out of their way to help you out. 

After cancelling events recently, including their Nov. 3 card featuring some of its biggest stars, rumors of Strikeforce's future have been running rampant through the MMA community.

The promotion was already on virtual life support under the Zuffa umbrella and after the Nov. 3 event was cancelled, it seemed Strikeforce was ready to close their doors.

But Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is planning to put on a "mega-show" sometime in early 2013. MMA Fighting has the details:

"We're looking at a show in January with Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold and Gilbert Melendez, and don't be surprised to see Ronda Rousey and Nate Marquardt as well," said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker.

Cormier, Rockhold and Melendez were all scheduled to compete this fall but injuries forced Strikeforce's hand. Frank Mir, who was moving over to Strikeforce for a single fight, was injured and Strikeforce was unable to find a suitable replacement for Cormier.

The reasoning behind Strikeforce putting on this quality of a show is likely due in large part to Strikeforce's contract with Zuffa ending early in 2013. Then there's also Showtime as a third player in the negotiations, as it's believed they want to stay in the MMA game.

Strikeforce ratings have remained relatively strong when you consider the cards are on premium channels, and the promotion also features one of the biggest stars in the sport today in Rousey.

Contract negotiations are always a murky situation, especially with how many players are involved in this particular situation.

But MMA fans should be pretty happy with the possibility of all the top stars in Strikeforce fighting on a single card.

If stardom were registered with the click of the mouse or the tapping of keys on a keyboard, Ronda Rousey would be MMA's breakout star of 2012.

The press loves her. Quick with a quote and easy on the eyes, Rousey is a reporter's dream girl.

Here's my colleague Jeremy Botter speaking for many of us, touting Rousey's potential:

What Rousey is chasing now is a level of renown known by only a few of her male counterparts in the UFC. She's on her way to the territory currently occupied by Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. But in truth, she has the potential to be far bigger as a mainstream star than any of them.

Fans, however, have taken to Rousey a little more slowly. Some have even accused Bleacher Report and other outlets of playing her up more than she deserves. The comments from the same article expressed a growing sentiment from some MMA fans:

I like Rousey, but I think she's overrated and one punch away from being worth nothing.

In some ways, both sides of the argument are dead on the money. Rousey probably doesn't deserve the amount of press she's received, if you only consider where she's been. The X-Factor isn't where she's been. It's where she is going.

UFC President Dana White has hinted that a UFC appearance may be in Rousey's future. If that happens, the mainstream press will pounce. Rousey will immediately become a presence in the culture—as big a star, if not bigger, than any male counterpart in the UFC. She has the looks, the charisma and the skill to be an icon. 

What do you think? Do we talk about Rousey too much? Let me know in the comments.

When Frank Mir went down with an injury, there was a scramble to find an opponent for Daniel Cormier. Fans were excited because after this matchup, Cormier would join the UFC's heavyweight division where it's assumed he will make an immediate impact. 

Names that were thrown out include Pat Barry and Matt Mitrione, but neither ended up getting the call for the bout. There was a proposal sent to Showtime last week, but it was rejected for an undisclosed reason. 

Many saw this cancellation as a sign that Strikeforce would be closing its doors, and that Zuffa would place all of its focus on the continued growth of the UFC. Strikeforce has seen declining gate and viewership numbers, and at some point, it is no longer financially viable to continue running a loss leader. 

Well, those rumors are apparently just that—rumors. In an email sent out late Friday morning, it was announced that the next Strikeforce event will be held in January 2013. 

"Due to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked card in January,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said.

Strikeforce's roster still includes such names as Jacare Souza, Luke Rockhold, Gilbert Melendez and Ronda Rousey. A stacked card promises to feature at least a couple of these stars. 

Showtime Sports' Stephen Espinoza weighed in as well.

“While we're disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking forward to an even bigger Strikeforce event on Showtime early next year,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Showtime Sports.

As a fan of the Strikeforce product, I'm happy that we'll at least get one more show. If it is the last one, what better way to go out than with a supercard?

Quotes provided by Zuffa, LLC.

On Nov. 3, Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold had a date with top contender Lorenz Larkin as the co-main event to Daniel Cormier's final heavyweight bout under the Strikeforce banner.

However, Ariel Helwani confirms (via MMAFighting.com) that Rockhold injured his wrist and will not make the third defense of his title against Larkin. Larkin was coming off an upset victory over Robbie Lawler.

In order for Showtime to salvage the night, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza should be given a shot.

Souza earned a first-round knockout victory over Derek Brunson this past August, which helped build on the momentum of a submission win over Bristol Marunde in March.

The win was thought to catapult Souza into a position to at least challenge another elite middleweight, if not Rockhold in a title rematch. However, Souza never got the call, which led to Larkin getting the shot at Rockhold before this injury.

After defeating Brunson, some thought Souza should have been given a rematch with Rockhold, especially since Larkin's win over Lawler was his debut at middleweight after a no-contest against Muhammed Lawal.

Conversely, Larkin seems as close to a shot as anyone, with the win over Lawler on his record. Outside of Tim Kennedy, who beside Souza could stand between Larkin and a shot at Rockhold?

Strikeforce can't afford to lose another card.

They lost one because Showtime made the decision to not go on without Gilbert Melendez on last month's card, even though MMA fans that enjoy their subscriptions to Showtime would have liked to see the rematch between Pat Healy and Josh Thomson.

For Showtime to prove that they truly care about Strikeforce, trying to get Souza on board is the right move.

If not, Strikeforce will prove as good as (officially) dead, if anyone cares to remember it ever existed in the first place.

Any non-grapplers out there ever wonder what it feels like to break an arm? According to Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, "it kind of feels like tearing apart a turkey with a crotch."

Middle Easy asked the "Rowdy" one what it feels like to break an arm in an exclusive interview (quote begins around the nine-minute mark):

I don't think it's satisfying. It kind of grosses me out. I tell everybody, it kind of feels like tearing apart a turkey with a crotch. It really does. It's gross. When you're trying to get a turkey thing off and you feel all the cartilage and the tendons and the bones coming off, when you're pulling it, it really is that exact feeling. It's gross. But that's the way it is. They'd try to do the exact same thing to me. I've felt it being done to my own arms.

The 25-year-old's biggest claim to fame in the cage was gruesomely dislocating Miesha Tate's elbow when she won the 135-pound title from her in March. 

Thus far, Tate is the only opponent that has taken Rousey past the one-minute mark inside the cage.

Rousey went 3-0 as an amateur fighter before going a perfect 6-0 as a professional mixed martial artist. The former Olympic bronze medalist Judoka has won all nine of the aforementioned bouts the same way: armbar.  

To hear Rousey analyze UFC 152's main event between Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, her Strikeforce debut against Sarah D'Alelio and her love for the fans, among other topics, check out the interview in its entirety.

  

An interesting question has arisen today. And as these interesting questions so often do—at least lately, it seems—it revolves around Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Yahoo Sports publishes a monthly pound-for-pound rankings list. These things are subjective of course, but the list is voted on by over 20 of the best MMA journalists in the world, so it's a collective effort. Rather than having one guy publish his own rankings—as we've seen when I publish my own set of rankings...that usually doesn't go too well—all of the journalists with a vote are polled and the results are tabulated.

On this month's rankings, Canadian journalist Dave Deibert inluded Rousey on his list. He placed her ninth overall, in fact. And the question is this: Should Rousey's gender prevent her from being included on a male-dominated list?

Kevin Iole heads up the poll for Yahoo Sports, and here's what he had to say:

Upon receiving Deibert's vote for Rousey, I emailed the panel and asked their views on including Rousey, or any other woman, in what heretofore has been an exclusively male Top 10. The issue is beyond whether or not Rousey deserves to be in the Top 10, but rather whether she should even be eligible for it.

The simple solution would be to create a separate women's poll, as is done in college basketball. The problem that would arise is that the majority of voters don't see enough female fights to make a valid assessment of their relative abilities. The women who fight regularly on television – largely Rousey, Miesha Tate and Sarah Kaufman – would have a massive advantage over the rest of the field.

This is an extremely interesting subject to me.

First of all, I'll point out that Rousey probably doesn't deserve to be on a pound-for-pound list because of her record. All things being equal, there are plenty of male fighters who have more experience, better records and have beaten better opponents. What Rousey has done over the past year or so has been extremely impressive, but I can't imagine ranking her higher than Demetrious Johnson, Renan Barao, Dominick Cruz or anyone else hovering near that bottom end of the top 10.

But what happens if a time comes that Rousey has amassed a stellar record? What happens if she remains undefeated for the next five years, running her tally to 25-0 against the best competition the sport has to offer? What if she eventually goes into the UFC and continues to dominate and becomes the kind of megastar we all know she can be? 

Will she then deserve inclusion on the pound-for-pound list? I'm not sure I could support the idea.

The idea of a pound-for-pound list, at least in my humble opinion, is to compare and contrast the best fighters in the world. It's not a place to debate how Rousey would fare in a fight against Brian Bowles or anyone else in the 135-pound men's division; it's simply a way to recognize the best fighters in the sport and how they perform against their peers.

I couldn't put Rousey on the list because I simply couldn't consider the rest of the guys on the list to be her peers. This is not to say that men are better than women at fighting or anything else remotely sexist, because Rousey is clearly one of the best fighters in the world, regardless of her gender.

And I've long maintained that Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino would have a fighting chance against some of the lower-end 135 and 145-pound fighters in the sport, mostly because I've seen her spar with them and utterly dominate the proceedings.

But if the point of a pound-for-pound list is to compare and contrast the best in the world—and to measure their value against the value of their peers—you simply cannot include her. Female fighting has come a long way, and Rousey may ultimately do more than anyone in the history of the sport to advance the cause of women getting in the cage and trading punches. However, these two separate genders cannot be measured against each other because they don't compete against each other and never will.

In what was a major surprise, Strikeforce cancelled its upcoming event after an injury left Gilbert Melendez unable to compete this past Sunday.

Without a champion on the card, Showtime opted to pull the plug. Strikeforce had no option but to let the show die.

How long will it be before the promotion itself goes belly-up?

As the months have ticked away since the purchase of Strikeforce by UFC parent company Zuffa, the promotion has been dying a slow and almost agonizing death.

Attendance numbers have dwindled to all-time lows, production values have plummeted and the talent has gotten restless of being locked into their contracts.

It's obvious to everyone involved that the promotion is on its lest legs and yet, for some reason, it keeps putting together shows just for the sake of it.

Even the promotions top draw, Ronda Rousey, is fighting in a void.

The biggest start of the promotion, one made by the company and marketed heavily by Zuffa, only managed to pull in 3,502 people to watch her last fight live.

The live gate wasn't even enough to cover the salaries of the fighters in the main and co-main events, let alone the rest of the fighters on the card.

Nobody cares about Strikeforce, and it's painful to watch talented fighters waste their time when nobody is watching.

Strikeforce's contract with Showtime is the only thing holding the promotion in this zombified state. Once that is up, expect the promotion to die an unceremonious death and its fighters to be quickly folded into the UFC.

And what of the women, especially the talented Rousey?

Well, Invicta FC seems to be interested in awarding titles these days. Maybe it's time Zuffa put a little more stock in WMMA?