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The most asked question being asked since the announcement of this tournament has been…will this tournament crown the top heavyweight fighter in the world? If one were to listen to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, then they would be lead to believe that this tournament will do just that. However, if a person were to look at the grand scheme of things in MMA, a different opinion may be reached.
One point most people should easily agree on when the tournament concludes is that one of the best heavyweight fighters will be crowned. In order to crown the top heavyweight fighter in MMA, one would also have to look over at the top MMA promotion in the world right now, the UFC. As of this writing, the current UFC Heavyweight Champion is Cain Velasquez, who defeated Brock Lesnar for the gold at UFC 121.
In my humble opinion, in order to crown a top heavyweight fighter in all of MMA, the winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix would have to face the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. The only potential issue blocking that blockbuster fight is that there is very little to no shot at all of the fight taking place.
There is also a plethora of interesting storylines for some of the fighters entering the grand prix, like how will Fedor Emelianenko rebound from his first real MMA loss…how will Fabricio Werdum come back after his 2010 surgery…can Andrei Arlovski end his two fight losing streak…how will the long layoff effect Josh Barnett…how will Brett Rogers handle his return to Strikeforce?
A really interesting scenario being discussed right now relates to the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. The issue being raised is whether or not the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title should be defended in every round Alistair Overeem competes in. I say that the gold should be defended in each round because Strikeforce is attempting to prove who the best heavyweight in all of MMA is and shouldn’t that person be the champion?
Another really interesting detail Strikeforce must deal with before the tournament begins involves their newest heavyweight, Josh Barnett. As of this writing, Josh Barnett has still not gotten his license reinstated by the CSAC following his positive steroid test. In a worst case scenario, Strikeforce will just have to have a potential replacement fighter in mind in case the issue does not get resolved in due time.
Strikeforce has also taken the possibility of fighter injury under consideration as well, because they have already begun to put together alternate fights as well. Upcoming fights featuring Shane Del Rosario, Lavar Johnson, Ray Sefo and Valentjin Overeem have been put together. There are still four alternate slots remaining and it would not be shocking to see Daniel Cormier, Bobby Lashley, Mike Kyle and Chad Griggs get those remaining slots.
One important factor to take away from this grand prix is that the quality of the deepening Strikeforce Heavyweight Division will be shown in the coming year.
You can contact David Tees at bigteesps3@yahoo.com
