Let me begin by stating the obvious: Most MMA fans do not acknowledge the Strikeforce championship belt.
What I mean by that is people aren’t sitting at a bar talking about Strikeforce champions. If you went up to your average MMA fan today and asked them their opinions of Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold, their response would most likely be, “Who?”
Just so we’re all on the same page, Cormier and Rockhold are the current Strikeforce heavyweight and middleweight champions respectively.
Gilbert Melendez and Ronda Rousey may be the only current Strikeforce champions that MMA fans are familiar with—even then it may be kind of sketchy.
When I say “MMA fans,” I’m not referring to the people who are constantly checking their iPhones and Androids for MMA news. I’m talking about the fans who watch most of the pay-per-views and have a general idea of who the current UFC champions are.
Generally speaking, those are the kind of fans that make up the majority of the fan landscape. People like you and I who have a consistent stream of MMA news being fed to us throughout the day are not considered the average fan.
Although Strikeforce is considered a lame-duck organization, we need to respect the fighters who make it to the promotion. If you take into consideration how many MMA fighters there are around the world trying to make a living off of their fighting, one begins to understand that these Strikeforce fighters are in fact elite.
Saying Strikeforce is the minor leagues of the UFC is not a knock on Strikeforce at all. At least it’s not in my opinion. Obviously Strikeforce is not in existence to compete with the UFC—ZUFFA owns both companies.
The Strikeforce roster is filled with fighters who are thankful to be with a company who gets as much attention (both positive and negative) as Strikeforce does. The fact alone that they have an opportunity to fight on Showtime is a major accomplishment for many of them.
These fighters also know that the ultimate goal is to be in the UFC. Chances are that Melendez, Rockhold and Cormier will all be in the UFC at some point in the near future. I also believe Rousey will be in there as well.
Since the Strikeforce organization is most likely not going to be around in a few years time, the fighters know they are competing for a UFC contract.
Current titleholders know that each defense of their belt is one step closer to the UFC.
Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can contact him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
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