Issue 079

September 2011

When UFC president Dana White used to his Twitter account to announce that Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz would relinquish his title in favor of a shot at UFC 170lb kingpin Georges St Pierre, most fans immediately applauded the effort. Of course, as soon as the applause was over, the demand for more such contests began.

And why not? Doesn’t a contest between Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and the winner of this fall’s UFC lightweight title contest between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard sound like a good plan? Of course it does. And when a winner emerges from Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix, wouldn’t a bout with the UFC’s current title-holder make for a blockbuster matchup? No doubt.

But ask White about the likelihood of such a plan, and he’ll admit he’s not quite sure if it’s likely to happen anytime soon. “Part of being a fight fan is getting excited about fights,” White recently told Fighters Only. “The fact that fans get excited about fights and media guys get excited about fights and want to know what’s going to happen next, I love it. It’s good stuff.

“We’re trying to figure this thing out. We have a deal with [Strikeforce TV partner] Showtime, and we’re going to honor that deal with Showtime.”

In essence, White says he doesn’t want to devalue the Strikeforce brand by ripping away all of its top talent. But for fans to really reap the benefit of the merger of the UFC and Strikeforce brands, that’s exactly what needs to happen. And for my money, the sooner, the better.

We’ve seen this movie before. When Zuffa purchased World Extreme Cagefighting in 2006, many pundits’ initial expectations were that the promotion would be treated as a sort of minor league for the UFC. It wasn’t, and the company instead decided to make the WEC the home of “lighter-weight fighters,” which included focus on the featherweight and bantamweight divisions. 

The move ultimately proved fruitful, as the MMA world was introduced to a host of new superstars such as José Aldo, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres, among others (not to mention the demand for a previously unheard of flyweight division, which debuts on the big stage later this year). But despite boasting what most industry insiders considered the most entertaining fight cards in the sport, the WEC was folded into the UFC in 2010. 

And while the loss of the WEC was regrettable to some, it was celebrated by the organization’s fighters, who instantly saw surges in popularity and profitability by their presence in the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization. Fans also reaped the benefits of the move, as casual consumers were exposed to the high-paced little guys of the sport.

Shouldn’t it be the same with Strikeforce?

Is there any reason Alistair Overeem shouldn’t be tangling with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez? Not that I can think of. Ditto for Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who in September fights Luke Rockhold instead of Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen or Brian Stann.

The title of Strikeforce champion is still one that commands respect. But it does not (and never will) come close to matching the prestige of UFC gold. American footballers don’t dream of one day hoisting a Canadian Football League title. British soccer stars don’t hope to be a part of a Football League Championship winning team either, they want to be Premier League champions. So it is in MMA, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. No one will ever make the mistake of calling mixed martial arts “Strikeforcing,” as is so commonly done with the term “Ultimate Fighting.”

Strikeforce needs to be the home of developing talent. Bright prospects like Roger Bowling, Ryan Couture, Lorenz Larkin, Tarec Saffiedine, Ovince St Preux and Tyron Woodley deserve the support that being on the roster of a Zuffa-owned promotion provides. But once established as viable competitors, top fighters should immediately transition to the UFC, where the world’s best mixed martial artists reside.

In its brief history, Bellator Fighting Championships has done an outstanding job of identifying talent that appears just a step below UFC caliber (save for a handful of bona fide superstars) and allowing them to flourish with frequent activity. If Strikeforce was focused solely on finding and developing the next generation of mixed martial arts superstars, surely they would do an equally admirable job.

White and the UFC have both legal and moral obligations to do exactly what’s expected of them in regards to the Strikeforce brand. But as those contracts and agreements expire, here’s hoping company brass has the wisdom and desire to expedite the process of bringing Strikeforce’s top talent to the UFC. There’s room in the market for Strikeforce to exist, but not at the expense of even one of the fantastic matchups that await when the two truly become one.

By John Morgan, former Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Journalist of the Year’.