It’s hard to believe that, after 16 months of waiting, speculating and hand-wringing, the Strikeforce world heavyweight grand prix is actually going to come to an end.
Back when it was announced, MMA nerds—and yes, I include myself in that illustrious group—went bonkers over the possibilities the tournament held. After all, there are three things that every fan adores about the sport, and two of them are heavyweights and tournaments. The other two things? Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer, of course.
There was a chance the tournament would never be completed at all. Back in August, it looked like Strikeforce was all but dead. But here we are. Scott Coker’s last grand experiment is finally coming to an end.
As per usual, we’re going to power rank each of the main-card fighters. Think of this as a pound for pound list, but one that only includes the dudes fighting on the main card.
Oh, and I’m excluding Nah-Shon Burrell and Christopher Spang because, well, they’re Nah-Shon Burrell and Christopher Spang.
Let’s get started.