(Healy Pat: The only title challenger so obscure that Strikeforce couldn’t even remember which of his names came first.)
We’re going to go out on a limb and assume that Pat Healy was either an SS guard or Ed Gein in his past life, because in recent weeks, something we can only chalk up to karma has been ravaging through his opponents like Roy Nelson through a free buffet. After collecting five straight wins under the Strikeforce banner — a feat made all the more impressive when you consider that Strikeforce has approximately 10 fighters left in their roster — Healy was scheduled to face off against lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez on Strikeforce’s September 29th card. However, when Melendez went down with an injury (go figure), Strikeforce quickly realized that the card was so garbage-ass that they should probably just cancel it altogether. And then cancel their next card for good measure.
Cut to mid-November. A still-injured Melendez declares that he is opting out of Strikeforce’s final event and will instead wait until the UFC absorbs the promotion to resuming training. Wanting to fill out their already injury-plagued final card, Strikeforce books Healy against a former challenger to Melendez’s throne in Jorge Masvidal. Shits were not given. But in an even crueler twist of fate, news has just broke that Masvidal has also gone down with an undisclosed injury and may be forced to withdraw from his January 12th showdown with Healy.
Nothing has been set in stone yet, but suffice it to say, Healy should probably start rummaging through the Strikeforce roster — which again, most closely resembles the $5 DVD bin you come across at Walmart — for another beatable opponent. I hear Bobby Green is available, but that’s only because I just found out that Bobby Green is both an MMA fighter and currently a lightweight under the Strikeforce banner. Learning something every day.
Fun Fact: Strikeforce has officially changed the name of their final event from the hilariously-titled “Champions” to simply “Marquardt vs. Saffeidine” in light of recent events. If you ask me, they’re still setting themselves up for disappointment.