Fan Bias

Strikeforce delivered a solid product Saturday night with its primetime CBS debut. The promotion gave fans at a reportedly sold out Sears Centre entertaining, fairly evenly-matched fights in a smoothly run event. Viewers at home were treated to an efficient telecast that stayed close to the two hour time frame and focused mainly on the fights.

Here are some of my thoughts about the night of fights and where Strikeforce is headed from here.

Fedor adds to his legend. Regardless of what else might have happened Saturday night, the evening would ultimately be judged by the main event fight between WAMMA heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. The crowd clearly knew who Fedor was and gave him a loud ovation during the pre-fight introductions.

While Rogers was the lesser known of the two men, he proved that he was a worthy competitor, gashing Fedor on the nose very early in the fight with a jab. Even as Fedor’s nose began to bleed heavily and the commentators speculated that it might be broken, Fedor never relented, constantly pushing forward. The two exchanged flurries and the Russian managed to take the fight to the ground in the first round, where conventional wisdom stated that Rogers was at a severe disadvantage.

However, Rogers proved on the ground that he is a true MMA fighter — a multi-dimensional athlete — and swept Fedor, ending up on top while also fending off submission attempts.

But, the inevitable happened midway through the second round as Fedor landed a violent overhand right that knocked Rogers to the ground and precipitated the TKO victory.

Though Fedor won in the record books, Rogers and Strikeforce also came out victorious in the process. Rogers acquitted himself very nicely, going toe to toe with one of the most dominant MMA fighters of the last decade. He may have done more for his career with that defeat than he had done previously ringing up ten straight victories to begin his career. Rogers was more than game — he was a credible opponent who pushed Fedor further than former UFC champs Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovksi had in the past year or so.

Strikeforce benefited too because the man the promotion hyped above all others came through with a decisive, spectacular, highlight reel victory. But, he had to work for that victory, which only adds to the legend of Fedor.

The question going forward is who will Fedor fight next? He could take on Febricio Werdum, who was impressive in a decision victory over Antonio Silva earlier in the evening. Or, he could fight Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem.

With that said, Strikeforce’s heavyweight division certainly has potential. At this point, I would say there are five credible fighters in the division. And, don’t forget Bobby Lashley, a former WWE fighter and recent Strikeforce signee who as a long-term project could be Strikeforce’s answer to the UFC’s Brock Lesnar.

Middleweight division is promotion’s strongest weight class. The Jake Shields-Jason “Mayhem” Miller title bout at 185 pounds was a back and forth affair that Shields rightly won by decision. Shields earned the victory by controlling where the action took place — namely on the ground. Anytime Miller threatened with his stand-up game, Shields used strong takedowns to push the fight to his strong suit. On the ground, the fight was essentially a draw, though, with both men showing good BJJ defense in a bout reminiscent of the Martin Kampmann-Carlos Condit UFC tilt earlier this year.

In fact, Miller himself scored a beautiful slam in one of the early rounds and looked close to finishing the bout towards the end of round three with a rear naked choke. On that occasion, however, Shields was saved by the bell.

Even in defeat, Miller is a great addition to the Strikeforce roster. Not only can he fight, he’s also a personality – as he showed with his entrance complete with dancing girls — who has entertained Japanese crowds for years.

There’s also plenty of other talent in the division, including former champ Cung Le, former UFC champ Frank Shamrock, Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Nick Diaz, and Benji Radach. In addition, Strikeforce announced the forthcoming debut of two more 185 pounders — Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Matt Lindland – who will face each other on December 19.

There are also rumors that former two-time Pride champ Dan Henderson may sign with Strikeforce now that his UFC contract is complete. Although Henderson’s services are badly needed in the thin Strikeforce light heavyweight division, the Team Quest fighter has the versatility to compete at 185 pounds as well.

King “Mo” Lawal is another fighter on the roster who, while he’d be welcome in the light heavyweight division, could potentially venture down to the middleweight division too.

Gegard Mousasi has no peer in Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division. Saturday night marked the second TKO for Mousasi, this time in defense of his title. Although the 205 pound title holder was pushed by a rejuvenated Sokoudjou, I kept waiting for Mousasi to pounce, which he finally did midway through the second round as he ended the fight via ground-and-pound. By then, it appeared Sokoudjou had had enough as he rolled over on his side, forcing the ref to stop the action.

With the victory, Mousasi has now defeated “Babalu” Sobral as well as the “African Assassin” and Strikeforce will have to do its best to find more talent to push the man who trains with Fedor. Lawal would certainly serve as an interesting foe, given his strong wrestling base and ground-and-pound ability. However, if Henderson does sign with the promotion, he would certainly have to merit consideration as the next man up at a shot at Mousasi’s title.

Strikeforce announces next major card. Saturday night’s card was barely over before Strikeforce announced it’s next major card, which will be televised on Showtime on December 19. Emanating from San Jose and dubbed “Evolution”, the card will feature a main event between former champ Cung Le and Scott Smith. In addition to that and the Souza-Lindland bout, Lawal will also make his Strikeforce debut on the card. It will be interesting to see with whom Scott Coker and company pair Lawal up. If Coker can sign Henderson soon, a Lawal-Henderson match-up to decide the next challenger for Mousasi would certainly be tantalizing.

Without a doubt, Strikeforce is proving itself to be a worthy competitor to the UFC. With a growing pool of intriguing up-and-coming as well as accomplished talent, a network deal with CBS, and a premium cable deal with Showtime, the promotion is quickly becoming a destination for fighters and should be attracting the attention of casual fans, many of whom may have previously equated MMA with the UFC. If sponsors and advertisers follow, Strikeforce may ultimately prove to be more than just the appetizer to a UFC main course. In the end, fans (and fighters) win out, as both promotions will be forced to put on consistently top-notch cards at a price the masses can afford.