The Future of Strikeforce: 10 Emerging Stars to Build Around
When discussions of the Strikeforce roster come about, there is often a pessimistic perspective to the assembled ranks and what that says for the future of the company.
Just about everyone expects Jake Shields to leave.
Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko are no spring chickens, especially when you consider the accumulated effects of more than 30 professional fights for each of them. Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has been averse to competing on North American soil, and is dogged by steroid rumors.
But amongst the UFC castoffs, battle-tested journeyman and absolute unknowns are a number of noteworthy fighters who are capable of carrying the company in the coming years.
Light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal and the man he beat for the belt, Gegard Mousasi, have already established themselves as legitimate stars on the Strikeforce roster, and both are only going to keep getting better.
Here’s a look at ten other talents to keep an eye on in Strikeforce over the coming year.
Brett Rogers
The former Sam’s Club employee certainly isn’t an unknown having headlined the company’s first show on CBS opposite a certain Russian icon, but Rogers is still eleven fights into his professional career and won’t turn 30 until next February. He’ll have another opportunity to prove himself this weekend, as he takes on Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight title in the main event of Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery in St. Louis.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Another somewhat familiar name, “Jacare” is considered one of the very best Brazilian jiu jitsu players in the sport today. With a win over veteran Joey Villasenor this weekend, Souza would become one of the front runners to claim the middleweight championship should Jake Shields vacant the belt via free agency.
KJ Noons
EliteXC fans will remember Karl James Noons for his feud with current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. After a two-year hiatus from the cage, Noons returned earlier in the year to stop Andre “Dida” Amade, and could quickly climb into contender status in the 155-pound division.
Roger Gracie
The 28-year-old with the famous last name has an impressive grappling resume and two mixed martial arts wins to his credit. The 2005 ADCC Absolute champion will make his North American debut this weekend against former UFC champion Kevin Randleman. An impressive showing could put this next generation Gracie on the fast track to stardom.
Andre Galvao
Hardcore fight fans have been wondering when Strikeforce would unleash the Black House team member, and they finally got their wish in March when Galvao earned a split decision win over Luke Stewart. The seven-time Pan-Am Games gold medalist is part of an impressive collection of young talent emerging in the welterweight division and should make his major event debut in the near future.
Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro
The elder statesmen of this group, Ribeiro has fought twice since returning from a year-and-a-half absence from the sport, losing to Shinya Aoki and defeating former Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata. Saturday night, “Shaolin” will get a stiff test from unbeaten Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm, with the winner moving up the 155-pound ranks.
Roger Bowling
The man they call “Relentless” is 7-0 and knocked out current Ultimate Fighter contestant Seth Baczynski in just nine seconds last March. After a lengthy delay, Bowling will finally make his Strikeforce debut later this month on the Portland, Oregon Challengers series event against Bobby Voekler.
Shane Del Rosario
Every list of emerging talents has to have a heavyweight because everyone loves to see the big boys throw down. Enter Shane Del Rosario. The Team Oyama member is unbeaten through nine professional bouts, and has been mentioned on a couple occasions as a possible matchup for former WWE star Bobby Lashley. In a sign of sound decision making, Lashley has continued to avoid climbing into the cage with the powerful former US Muay Thai champion.
Luke Rockhold
Rockhold has been on quite a tear in Strikeforce, collecting six wins in six tries in 27 months, all of which came in the first round. He’s submitted former TUF bad boy Jesse Taylor, and recently earned a TKO win over Paul Bradley on the Challengers series event headlined by Sarah Kaufman’s championship win. An appearance on a major event against a name-brand opponent is next for the 25-year-old American Kickboxing Academy student.
Tyron Woodley
The American Top Team welterweight has the makings of a future champion. A standout wrestler at Mizzou, Woodley has earned wins in all five of his professional bouts, four of which have come by way of submission. We’ll be talking with Woodley later in the month, so be on the lookout for our interview with the rising Strikeforce star.
Honorable Mentions: Daniel Cormier, Karl Amoussou, Tim Kennedy, Tarec Saffiedine, Lyle Beerbohm and Billy Evangelista.