That’s the way I see it.
Certainly the UFC is the big winner in all of this by moving the best heavyweights from Strikeforce to the Octagon. Many websites have their own articles offering their thoughts on the benefits of the move, but there aren’t any, that I’ve seen, that discuss the trickle down effects for promotions like Bellator and ProElite.
Only a handful of names are left on the Strikeforce heavyweight roster after the recent signings of fighters such as Fabricio Werdum, Chad Griggs, and Lavar Johnson to the UFC. While Heavyweight Grand Prix Finalists, Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, will likely see a UFC contract come their way, it may not be true for the remaining Strikeforce fighters.
And that may not be a bad thing.
Fighters such as Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, or even those fighters who may get pushed out of the UFC by the increase in talent, have other options available to them.
Both Bellator and ProElite offer heavyweights a home in their promotions, offering fighters a chance to be a “Big Fish” in a small pond rather than being a “Big Fish” amongst a pond full of other “Big Fish”.
Bellator recently ran a heavyweight tournament as part of their fifth season, with the final taking place at a later date after finalist Thiago Santos landed an accidental kick to the groin of opponent Eric Prindle. As entertaining as the tournament was, in my eyes only Santos showed real promise of being able to compete with fighters from the UFC or Strikeforce.
To me, if I’m a fighter who thinks he may not get signed by the UFC, or possibly not being able to compete against the best in that division, Bellator looks like a great opportunity to further my career as they offer $100,000 in prize money and a shot at a world title by winning the tournament.
Fans will certainly benefit by the increase in talent in Bellator, which will in turn increase ratings for Bellator’s live television broadcasts.
ProElite, meanwhile, is on the bottom end of the talent pool and any influx of strong talent will help legitimize their heavyweight division. The promotion is currently holding their own heavyweight tournament with the semi-final round taking place next month. Now, in comparison to Bellator’s tournaments, ProElite really failed to generate any excitement after featuring eight relative unknowns in the tournament, who for the most part, put in lackluster performances for the first round.
The addition of some higher skilled fighters, as well as more well known names couldn’t help but not improve ProElite’s heavyweight division. There is just no way that this couldn’t be anything but a positive for them, except to maybe reveal how weak the 265-pound division really is.
So again, everyone wins with the break up of the Strikeforce heavyweight division with more of the higher talent consolidated in one place offering more exciting fights and matchups. The trickle down effect also offers some positives as Bellator and ProElite will see their own heavyweight divisions improve.