(Jason "Mayhem" Miller, shown here with two of the countless enemies he’s made over the years.)
Losing your middleweight champ to the UFC after his contract runs out? Disaster. But Strikeforce plans to turn their lemons into lemonade with an upcoming eight-man tournament that will crown a new champion in their deepest division. Here’s what King Coker had to say about the MWGP he’ll put together if Jake Shields splits the scene:
Coker told MMAjunkie.com he is considering eight fighters for a potential tournament to begin at an event planned for Aug. 21: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz [Ed. note: Nick’s already the Strikeforce welterweight champ, so he’d be trying to scoop up his homey’s belt and rule over a second weight class] and "Mayhem" Miller. Additionally, the winner of a June 26 bout between Scott Smith and Cung Le is under consideration for a tourney spot, as is the winner of an upcoming World Victory Road/Sengoku bout between Kazuo Misaki and champ Jorge Santiago. The tournament would take place over two events, the Strikeforce CEO said. Houston is targeted for the first event, though the promotion has not confirmed a city or venue.
A two-event tournament means that the semi-finals and finals could potentially be held on the same night, Japan-style. And looking at that lineup, we see a lot of potential for sick matchups and serious grudge-settling. Think about it…