Author: Kyle Symes

Strikeforce: Why There Should Be a Grand Prix for the Welterweight Title

When Nick Diaz vacated the Strikeforce Welterweight title and moved over to the UFC, he left the division in shambles as the rankings turned into a big cluster of contenders.Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker, has already came out and said with a win, Tyron …

When Nick Diaz vacated the Strikeforce Welterweight title and moved over to the UFC, he left the division in shambles as the rankings turned into a big cluster of contenders.

Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker, has already came out and said with a win, Tyron Woodley can insert himself into a future title matchup (via Fiveouncesofpain.com).

Of course, Coker is just as confused as the rest of us as to who Woodley would face off against.

I’m going to have to sit back and talk with Sean (Shelby) and find out what they have in store for new guys coming in. It might be one of the old guys, it might be a new guy, Coker said. Sometime I think before summertime in 2012 you’ll see a welterweight title fight. T-Wood if he wins and another opponent.(Fiveouncesofpain.com)

What Strikeforce should do—instead of bringing in new talent or an older veteran—is hold another Grand Prix tournament for the Welterweight title.

The most obvious reason is due to how they ran the Heavyweight Grand Prix. The division was in a state of flux, just like the welterweight division. Champion Alistair Overeem wasn’t nearly as active as Strikeforce would’ve liked.

When Brett Rodgers receives a title shot coming off a win, you know a division is in trouble.

But Strikeforce got innovative and created a tournament to straighten out its heavyweight rankings and generated quite a bit of interest in the division. The same formula could be used again to reinvigorate a depleted welterweight roster.

Taking a look at the top guys in the division, Woodley is of course the main guy. He’s beaten quite a few good guys like Andre Galvao, Tarec Saffiedine and Paul Daley throughout his young career.

Woodley is also the biggest name left in the welterweight division and brings an impressive amateur wrestling background to the cage.

Jordan Mein, Woodley’s next opponent, finds himself thrust into the upper echelon of the division after defeating Evangelista Santos in his Strikeforce debut. A win over Woodley in only his second fight in the promotion would certainly make a case for Mein to challenge for the title.

Bobby Voelker has shown a knack for giving fans the brawls they want, but has relatively few fights in Strikeforce (his record is 4-1 in the promotion), and needs to prove he can handle the big stage.

Jason High sports an impressive 15-3 professional record and has a win over Mein, but only sports two division wins on Strikeforce Challenger cards.

Saffiedine was considered the No. 2 prospect behind Woodley until the two met in January of this year and Woodley emerged victorious. Saffiedine bounced back from the loss by defeating Scott Smith in July, but will be coming off a lengthy layoff.

The rest of the division are all either new to the promotion, or unproven on a big stage.

Strikeforce’s Challenger shows are a nice way to slowly build guys up, but the promotion can’t afford to plod along with building a welterweight champion.

A Grand Prix would allow the fighters to sort out the rankings and who the next champion would be. It wouldn’t need to be as large as the heavyweight tournament: Only two fights are needed to decide who should advance to a title shot.

Coker’s plan to have a title shot by the summer is still possible with a Grand Prix, and it would create interest in a division that surely needs it now more than ever.

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MMA’s 25 Ugliest Happenings of 2011

MMA is home to some of the best moments in all of sports. Unfortunately, in a sport filled with testosterone and where most competitors are too stubborn for their own good, the sport features a lot of bad moments as well.2011 was no different, as there…

MMA is home to some of the best moments in all of sports. Unfortunately, in a sport filled with testosterone and where most competitors are too stubborn for their own good, the sport features a lot of bad moments as well.

2011 was no different, as there were plenty of happenings that gave MMA a black eye and were downright ugly at times.

These happenings occurred both inside the cage and out. MMA came under a bigger microscope as the sport grew and these occurrences, although common to most fans, caused quite a bit of negative backlash from the new wave of fans.

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The 12 Biggest Excuse Makers in MMA

“Everything happens for a reason.”It’s a cliche we’ve all heard before, and for MMA fighters, it often means fans are treated to a laundry list of excuses following an unimpressive performance.Some nights a fighter just simply isn’t the better man. Eve…

“Everything happens for a reason.”

It’s a cliche we’ve all heard before, and for MMA fighters, it often means fans are treated to a laundry list of excuses following an unimpressive performance.

Some nights a fighter just simply isn’t the better man. Everyone loses, we as fans understand that our favorite fighters can’t win every time and even the worst fighter has a puncher’s chance.

What we fans don’t understand is why fighters continuously make excuses following losses in their career or make an outlandish claim after a poor showing. The reasons may even be true like legitimate injuries, but it often times feels like just another excuse for a loss.

Legitimate claims or not, the men on this list are notorious for their excuse making in their careers.

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UFC: Why the Strikeforce Heavyweights Will Take the UFC by Storm

UFC 141 gave us another reminder as to why fans love the heavyweight division. The last few months has seen the division become re-energized with two great main events.As the Strikeforce heavyweights are folded into the UFC, look for them to take the U…

UFC 141 gave us another reminder as to why fans love the heavyweight division. The last few months has seen the division become re-energized with two great main events.

As the Strikeforce heavyweights are folded into the UFC, look for them to take the UFC and fans hearts by storm.

Look for the new contenders to breed new life into a division that looks to explode with potential matchups. Much like the lightweights from the WEC, the new additions will give fans some fresh faces to root for.

The top two fighters moving over, Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, both have a history with the UFC.

Barnett’s previous venture in the UFC is well documented with failed drug testings and personal issues with Dana White. But as you can see from Barnett’s twitter and Mixedmartialarts.com, the two have seemingly buried the hatchet.

Although Cormier hasn’t competed in the UFC, he is the current wrestling coach and training partner of former champion, Cain Velasquez.

The home of teammate vs. teammate controversy for years with Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, the AKA teammates of Cormier and Velasquez seem to be open to fighting one another; under the right circumstances.

Barnett has always had the talent to be great if he can get his legal issues behind him and Cormier could be a dark horse title contender given his wrestling background and ever improving striking game.

Besides the two finalists in the Strikeforce Grand Prix, a bevy of new contenders should be making their UFC debuts soon.

Fabricio Werdum will return to the Octagon against Roy Nelson and if his striking game resembles the one he showed against Alistair Overeem, Nelson could be in for a long night both on the ground and on the feet.

Leading the way for the Strikeforce prospects, Shane del Rosario has already signed with the UFC and brings his undefeated record to the Octagon. He had a lot of promise before his accident, and it will be interesting to see how the time off affects him.

Whether they sink or swim, it makes no difference as the new fighters make their way to the UFC, look for the heavyweight division to make its return to the pinnacle of combat sports. 

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Brock Lesnar and the 5 Best Wrestlers in MMA

Brock Lesnar will undoubtedly look to take the fight to the ground in his UFC 141 matchup against Alistair Overeem.Lesnar is not only one of the most gifted athletes to grace the Octagon, but he’s also one of the best wrestlers to fight in MMA.He’s tra…

Brock Lesnar will undoubtedly look to take the fight to the ground in his UFC 141 matchup against Alistair Overeem.

Lesnar is not only one of the most gifted athletes to grace the Octagon, but he’s also one of the best wrestlers to fight in MMA.

He’s transitioned his amateur wrestling credentials into powerful wrestling and superb top control. The fighters on this list all have the same traits with their wrestling.

Some guys look more for submissions while others look to ground and pound their opponent’s head through the mat, but all use their wrestling to succeed in the Octagon.

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UFC 141: Why Jon Fitch Is Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

One would expect to find the consensus No.2-ranked welterweight in the world near the top of a UFC pay-per-view. But at UFC 141, Jon Fitch finds himself being in the featured fight of the evening.Fitch is set to square off against Johny Hendricks, and …

One would expect to find the consensus No.2-ranked welterweight in the world near the top of a UFC pay-per-view. But at UFC 141, Jon Fitch finds himself being in the featured fight of the evening.

Fitch is set to square off against Johny Hendricks, and it will be Fitch’s first fight back from a shoulder injury.

While Fitch was sitting on the shelf, Hendricks has won his last two bouts with his KO of TJ Waldburger being knockout of the night.

Hendricks sports an impressive 11-1 record and has great amateur wrestling credentials.

Fitch, to his credit, is considered to be the second-best welterweight in the world behind Georges St-Pierre.

The match should be exciting as the two’s wrestling talents could negate each other which could lead to a standup battle between the two foes.

But that’s not the problem for Fitch in this fight.

It’s the fact that Fitch isn’t fighting someone on his same talent level. Like my piece about his teammate Josh Koscheck, Fitch deserves better than Hendricks.

Fans know Fitch is in Dana White‘s doghouse, and that likely has a lot to do with his opponent. The timing of Fitch’s return also presents a problem as many of the top names are either injured or booked.

Besides facing lesser competition, Fitch stands to gain very little should he emerge victorious.

Hendricks doesn’t have a big enough name to help Fitch gain any ground in the title hunt, and when you look at the list of Fitch’s last few opponents, names like BJ Penn and Thiago Alves, Hendricks means very little.

Should Fitch lose, he will almost certainly be buried in the welterweight division. He doesn’t have an exciting fighting style, little fan support or support from his boss.

He’s in a no-win scenario as he should beat Hendricks, but it won’t do anything for his career and if he loses his career goes down the drain quickly.

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