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My fellow Featured Columnist Andrew Brining wrote a great piece following Saturday’s Strikeforce: Miami event, stating that the excitement level of the card and the growing number of names on the Strikeforce roster bring them closer to the kings of the mountain, the UFC, at least from an excitement standpoint.

In watching the exact same card, I managed to come away with the complete opposite impression. Strikeforce: Miami confirmed to me that the UFC is so far ahead of the competition that Strikeforce doesn’t even appear in the rear view mirror.

Bobby Lashley kicked off the Strikeforce program with an uninspiring and completely expected victory over last minute opponent Wes Sims. Yes, the same Wes Sims who once competed in the UFC and was most recently a member of the TUF 10 cast.

Considering the UFC usually holds on to anyone who shows even a modicum of talent coming out of The Ultimate Fighter house, the fact that Sims was available on a week’s notice says it all.

Previous to signing with Strikeforce, Lashley was one of the biggest name free agents in the sport. His marketability is undeniable, and we all know Dana White and the UFC love making money. So why not sign the former WWE superstar when they had the chance?

Because they have a much better version in Brock Lesnar.

While the anti-Lesnar set wants to diminish every accomplishment the former Division I National Champion has earned to date, both Lesnar and Lashley are through five fights in the MMA careers. No matter how much you hate him, Heath Herring, Randy Couture, and Frank Mir sure stack up a lot better than Mike Cook, Bob Sapp and Wes Sims.

Robbie Lawler certainly provided some fireworks with his out-of-nowhere right hand to the dome of Melvin Manhoef. It was a great shot and provided a “jump out of your seat” moment early in the evening.

But the current middleweight contender was once a UFC regular, making seven appearances inside the Octagon between 2002 and 2004 before consecutive losses left him on the outside looking in.

Despite being one of the top competitors in the division, it is widely believed that Lawler is very much interested in returning to the organization that made him a well-known warrior in the first place.

Guys wanting to leave is not something I consider a sign of emergence.

Which brings us to Herschel Walker.

What the former Heisman Trophy winner has accomplished athletically in his life is remarkable, and earning a win in his MMA debut last night at age 47 is incredible.

While the marketing and extra attention Walker’s debut certainly brought to the event and the organization as a whole is undeniable, Strikeforce just had a 47-year-old rookie debuting in the middle of their first major event of the year.

He was the unquestioned focus of attention heading into the evening’s festivities, yet three months ago, we had the same amount of experience in MMA.

If there was one fight that gave Strikeforce an edge in their unofficial battle with the UFC, it was the bout between Women’s 145-pound champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos and Marloes Coenen.

Unfortunately, that edge comes because the UFC has no interest in promoting Women’s divisions that are incredibly thin. While Cyborg is certainly entertaining and a dominant force in the cage, she is also already running out of challengers and she’s only one fight into her title reign.

The main event of the Strikeforce: Miami show was as action-packed a first round as I’ve seen in a long time, with Nick Diaz coming away with the win and the welterweight title over a game Marius Zaromskis.

The older half of “The Fighting Diaz Brothers” won me over with his performance, and I believe with all sincerity that he could be a Top Five WW in the UFC, maybe even Top Three. He’s legit and I have nothing negative to say about him. Same with Zaromskis; the kid showed heart and had Diaz in trouble at one point.

If further evidence is needed, look no further than the preliminary portion of the Strikeforce: Miami card.

While the UFC Prelims Live specials on Spike do reasonably good numbers, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who was remotely interested in any of the preliminary bouts, save for the Jay Hieron-Joe Riggs fight that became a total fustercluck thanks to serious streaming issues on EASports.com.

Additionally, the fact that Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs were relegated in favor of not one, but two debuting fighters with limited experience only further exposes the cavernous gap between the top two organizations in the sport.

Those quick to call “Kimbo” on this situation must recall that while the man born Kevin Ferguson was slated after current lightweight title challenger Frankie Edgar, “The Answer” was still on the televised portion of the card. It could be argued that fighting on the same card as Kimbo actually increased Edgar’s exposure, as more eyes were watching because of Kimbo’s presence.

That is vastly different from putting one of your very limited number of title contenders on the undercard for back-to-back fights as Strikeforce has now done with Jay Hieron.

In regards to the list of exciting fighters who will help Strikeforce close the gap, some, like Gegard Mousasi, Brett Rogers, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, and the unmentioned Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza are solid stars-in-the-making. But the rest of the group?

Dan Henderson was allowed to leave the UFC because he (a)wanted more money than they were willing to spend and (b)has never been a North American draw.

Herschel Walker had his moment and while it drew a crowd and was a nice performance for a 47-year-old amateur, are you really interested in seeing the sequel?

It took four tries to find an opponent for Bobby Lashley. He ducked the first one (Shane Del Rosario), had the commission decline the second one (Yohan Banks) on the ground of non-competitiveness (!!!), and the third (Jimmy Ambriz) was questioned enough that the company decided it wasn’t a good idea.

To anyone who cares about MMA, this guy is a joke right now; and Strikeforce doesn’t look so good either for trying to serve up a series of cans to protect a potential marketing star.

Fedor is an absolute steal for Strikeforce, though they might have had to sell their souls for his services, as their Light Heavyweight champion Mousasi is contractually joined at the hip to his M-1/Red Devil teammate, limiting headlining options.

There are a couple of good prospects, a couple of already established stars and some guys in the middle who have shown potential; but each, save for maybe Fedor, has at least one comparable combatant on the UFC roster.

Saturday night, the experienced mixed martial artists on the Strikeforce: Miami card delivered some exciting moments. But having the equivalent of a 15 minute amateur fight and a squash match for a fighter whose opponent was an 11th-hour Plan D mixed in made one thing clear to this writer:

There is a Grand Canyon-sized gap between Strikeforce and the UFC, and it won’t be getting smaller any time soon.

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With UFC 109 right around the corner, I thought I’d take a look into the future.

Win or lose, each of the main card fighters could possibly have a lot in store for them after the event!

As my earlier column suggested, more is at stake at UFC 109 then might be expected.

So in the words of “Goldie”: Here we go!

Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman

In a fight that the majority of people expect him to win, there is no better place to start than with “The Natural.” A win for the former LHW Champion really puts him firmly in the title mix, as he will be 2-0 upon his return to the weight class.

Due to the rest of the top contenders being tied up, I see the UFC granting Couture a title shot. They will strike while the iron is hot, and I think this might be Dana’s one and only chance of giving Couture that final title shot he desires.

A loss for Randy really places him back where he was in the Heavyweight division, in limbo. Rumor’s of a Liddell vs Couture IV are just that, rumors, at this time; however, I wouldn’t rule this out as a likely fight should Randy lose.

Mark Coleman is really fighting for his career in this fight. He has looked old and past his best since his return, going 1-1. In what would be an upset, a win really poses some interesting questions for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

A win doesn’t place Coleman in the title picture, but would keep him on the fringes of the top 10. A fight that makes sense to me would be with the winner of Vera vs Jones.

What happens to Coleman if he loses depends a lot on the nature of the fight. A severe beat down from Randy could lead to the hanging up of the gloves. Hey, there’s no better way to go out, then to a fellow Hall of Famer.

If it’s a close fight, I think we could see Coleman fight fellow veterans Liddell or Ortiz. A left field suggestion would be Kimbo Slice. It makes a lot of sense the more you think about it!

Nate Marquardt vs Chael Sonnen

As I suggested in my last column previewing UFC 109, Nate Marquardt has everything to lose and not much to gain in this fight. A win for Nate and there is simply no way the UFC can deny him a title shot against the Silva vs Belfort winner, a shot he already deserves.

A loss brings up the more interesting scenarios, as it places Marquardt in the unenviable position of becoming Rich Franklin model II. The UFC won’t want him to keep knocking off top contenders, so nothing fights would potentially await him for the foreseeable future.

Is a move to 205lbs out of the question? As I see Anderson moving up permanently, I think the more likely scenario is that he has to wait for a shot at a vacant middleweight title!

Chael Sonnen is in a great position, as he has nothing to lose in this fight. A win would arguably place him as the No. 1 contender. Should he pull the upset, I think the UFC would likely line him up with the Bisping vs Wanderlei winner to officially determine the No. 1 contender in the division. 

A loss won’t hurt Sonnen that much, as most people think Marquardt is the best 185lber not named Anderson. A fight with the loser of the already mentioned Bisping vs Wanderlei fight or other options would include Palhares or Akiyama.

Mike Swick vs Paulo Thiago

You could consider this a cross-roads fight for Mike Swick. Down one path is a road back to title contention, down the other lies the role of “gatekeeper” to the top tier of the Welterweight division. A win would slot him back in line behind his AKA team mates, probably requiring one more big win to earn a title shot!

A fight with Team Rough House’s Daley or Hardy makes sense, depending on which one loses their upcoming fights.

As suggested, a loss would place Swick a long way back from the title and seemingly not on an obvious path. He is in danger of replacing Marcus Davis as the Welterweight gatekeeper. However, a quick return fight against highly regarded Carlos Condit could do a lot to halt what would be a two-fight losing streak.

For Paulo Thiago, this fight represents a great opportunity to go 2-1 against Team AKA and really cement his place as a legitimate contender in the division. A re-match with Josh Koscheck could well await the Brazilian, regardless of the outcome of his fight at UFC 109.

If Thiago wins, I see a fight with the loser of either the Alves vs Fitch or Koscheck vs Daley fights. A loss would likely see him face a lower level competitor such as Johnson or the winner of the Saunders vs Kampmann fight.

Demian Maia vs Dan Miller

In the UFC’s weakest division, the opportunities for fighters who can put a win streak together is bigger then in other divisions. Maia was on one of these streaks and looked destined for a title shot until he ran into Nate Marquardt’s fist.

This bounce-back fight is potentially huge for Maia, as a win would likely see him towards the front of the line—behind Marquardt, if he wins as expected.

Therefore, I would expect one more fight, with options including Bisping, if he wins, Akiyama, or possibly the Belcher vs Cote winner.

A loss would hurt Maia’s credibility and really remove him from the title picture for the time being. It wouldn’t be disastrous in a weak division, but it would hurt any momentum left from his early win streak in the UFC. How about a fight with Kendall Grove, or another fighter of that level.

A win for Miller would be huge, taking him to 4-1 in the UFC and into the upper end of the division. A fight with the Belcher vs Cote winner would make for a good fight and make a lot of sense in sorting out rankings in the division.

A loss, even when you are expected to lose, is still a loss, and will hurt any momentum a fighter has. It would also make Miller 0-2 in his last two fights. It’s difficult to say what would await Miller after this fight, possibilities would include the aforementioned loser of the Cote vs Belcher fight or the loser of Wanderlei vs Bisping.

Matt Serra vs Frank Trigg

In a previous thread on B/R, it was discussed if this was a retirement fight. For Trigg, I think this is a must win fight, but I think Serra will have a position in the UFC come what may. A win for Serra will ensure that he remains on the main card fights and still gets given tough competition.

Will he ever get back to his lofty position of champion? Unlikely, but he can certainly remain competitive in a deep division. I can see Serra being used to test younger competition on the rise so look for fights with, Etim, Sadollah, or Hendricks.

As I said, I think a loss will not put Serra’s position in the UFC in danger; however, it will significantly change the type of competition he will face. Instead of young studs, look for fights with the likes of Baroni and Marcus Davis.

Frank Trigg is fighting to stay in the UFC, in my opinion, and a win will enable him to do that for now at least. Even if he does win, it’s hard to see what the UFC would do with him next. (Hughes trilogy fight anyone?)

I think not, so, again, I would look at the older men in the division, Baroni could be a good fight for Trigg as well. A loss and quite simply I think that Trigg will be dropped by the UFC. Look for a return to a smaller promotion for twinkle toes.

So there you have it, my view into the crystal ball. 

Cheers

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Mike Swick is a stud, plain and simple. As an explosive fighter with a great skill set and world-class training partners, the sky’s the limit for Mike Swick.

Well, at least it was until a couple of untimely events that occurred just a few short months ago.

The first opportunity lost came just weeks before UFC 103 and Swick’s No. 1 contender bout with Martin Kampmann when Swick was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an undisclosed training injury.

Luckily for Swick the injury was not serious and he was able to resume his training quickly. So, when Kim Dong-Hyun was forced to pull out of his of UFC 105 bout with Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, Swick was quick to fill the void.

Since the UFC was still in need of a challenger to George St. Pierre’s title, Swick against Hardy became the UFC’s best option to name that challenger.

Going into UFC 105 many saw Swick as the challenger-in-waiting and that the fight with Hardy was nothing more than a mere formality. Oh how quickly things can change once that cage door closes.

From the onset of the fight it was apparent that Hardy was far more than a formality. Rocking Swick early in the first round, Hardy controlled the action in the fight all the way to the final bell; earning a unanimous decision victory and a guaranteed shot at king St. Pierre’s throne.

After two missed opportunities and a fight with Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 now looming, Mike Swick finds himself at a career crossroads.

A win over Thiago instantly put Swick back into the title picture, and likely only one or two wins away from finally earning a shot. But, winning against Thiago is much easier said than done.

Paulo Thiago is a hard hitting BJJ black belt who trains with some of the best in the business as a member of the famed Black House gym.

Should Swick, who is filling in for fallen teammate Josh Koscheck, not win against Thiago he would find himself in UFC purgatory. A loss would be Swick’s second in a row and it would force him into the role of welterweight gatekeeper.

Once you have been condemned to that role in the UFC there is little hope that you will ever claw back into contention. Just ask Keith Jardine.

With fighters like Paul Daley, Ben Saunders, and Anthony Johnson all chomping at the bit for their opportunity to ascend the rankings, Mike Swick must not squander another golden opportunity. If he does he will forever be left on the outside looking in.

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