Now that we have had some time to digest the fights that occurred on Saturday night, it’s time to take a sneak peek into the futures of the ten mixed martial artists who fought on the main card.
Rafael Cavalcante:
By the looks of things it seems as though “Feijao” will get the first shot at Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. Cavalcante is more less put in this position because of the lack of depth in the division. The only other fighter who could be considered is the man Mousasi defeated for the title, Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
As luck would have it Sobral will be fighting next month in a catchweight bout against Robbie Lawler. Mousasi will have to win a bout or two before getting a shot at redemption, leaving Cavalcante as the only real option. The light heavyweight division is relatively weak right now.
Antwain Britt:
No one expected Britt to lose in the manner he did. You leave your hands down while throwing wild punches and you get caught. As I explained with Cavalcante, the light heavyweight division is severely lacking right now in Strikeforce.
I think Britt is the perfect match-up for Mousasi. He has a solid wrestling base that should show whether or not Mousasi has improved his take down defense since his bout with Lawal. If Strikeforce chooses to go in a different direction with Mousasi they could pair Britt up with Roger Gracie. Until Strikeforce begins bringing in some legitimate light heavyweights we will contemplate the same match-ups over and over again.
Roger Gracie:
I could tell you to see above, but that wouldn’t be much fun. We all know what Gracie brings to the cage. He has outstanding jiu-jitsu and a legendary name that could either drive him to succeed or force him to wilt under the pressure. He has a long way to go before we start pronouncing him as the second coming.
He did what he had to do with Kevin Randleman. He stayed on the outside and when an opportunity to go to the ground presented itself he took it. His experience is so limited that you have to be concerned with who he fights at this point. I say give him Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, another fighter with no ground skills, but one who has lethal power in his hands.
Kevin Randleman:
It’s time for Randleman to hang it up. With three losses in a row and 10 losses in his last thirteen bouts he has nothing left to offer. It could be a sad ending to what was once a great career.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza:
I was overly impressed with Souza at times during his bout with Joey Villasenor. And then there were times I was left scratching my head. He was able to take Villasenor down at will and put himself in so many advantageous situations, but couldn’t finish his opponent. His striking continues to improve, but I was concerned with the fact that Villasenor was able to escape from the bottom so many times.
Souza is a beast and hopefully he will continue to improve and learn from his mistakes. The one opponent everyone would like to see him fight is Jason “Mayhem” Miller. They have fought twice under the Dream banner with Souza winning the first by decision and the second ending in a no-contest. They don’t like each other at all, but Strikeforce will have to wait and see if Miller gets suspended because of his role in Nashville.
Thankfully there are a lot of good fighters in the Strikeforce division who can offer Souza a challenge. If Miller is unavailable my next pick would be Dan Henderson. A bout with Henderson would help raise Souza’s value and get more people interested in him. This could wind up being for the vacant middleweight title as well all know Jake Shields is going to the UFC as soon as he possibly can.
Joey Villasenor:
After being out of action for nearly a year, Villasenor looked a lot better than I expected. He obviously needs to work on his takedown defense, but his escapes from the bottom were very impressive. He had a pretty good gas tank and was able to catch “Jacare” on a few occasions. The bout looked to be over early in the first round, but Villasenor showed just how tough he is.
He needs to remain active and there are a few middleweights that make sense as his next opponent. The loser of the Cung Le-Scott Smith rematch would be a good matchup for Villasenor. Let him get in there with another striker and show what he is all about. Strikeforce can’t lose with either opponent for Villasenor. Three rounds of back and forth action is just what the doctor ordered after a tough loss.
Andrei Arlovski:
What is there left to say that hasn’t already been said. Three losses in a row is a tough pill to swallow for anyone. Arlovski switched training camps by going to train with Greg Jackson in New Mexico and with American Kickboxing Academy in California. He looked flat and totally uninterested. Maybe it’s not so much his physical skills that aren’t performing, it seems as though his head is just not into it.
Arlovski said he wants to fight as soon as possible and Strikeforce President Scott Coker agreed, but who does he fight? Some have suggested a rematch with Brett Rogers. That makes no sense at all. There is no way he could survive a fourth loss in a row. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and give him a fight on the undercards. Give him Lavar Johnson as it will show just how interested Arlovski is in still fighting and it would serve as a huge test for Johnson. Arlovski needs a fight with the least amount of pressure as possible.
Antonio Silva:
Silva controlled the fight wherever it went on Saturday night. He used impressive striking to set-up some well timed takedowns. I’m not sure where Silva goes from here. There are three options for him and it depends all on one company, M-1 Global. If Fedor Emelianenko defeats Fabricio Werdum next month he should fight Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, but that is so far from a lock that it only makes sense to view the other options.
Silva could step in and fight Overeem if Fedor doesn’t or Strikeforce could have him fight Fedor and allow Overeem to fight for K-1 with the hopes that at some point an agreement can be reached with M-1 to set up the much anticipated Fedor-Overeem fight. If by some chance Fedor does fight Overeem then a rematch with Werdum could be in the books. If Werdum stuns Fedor and wins then that leaves Silva as Fedor’s next opponent. Any of these scenarios is possible, especially when M-1 Global is involved.
Brett Rogers:
Two straight knockout losses for Rogers after starting his career undefeated in ten bouts. The way he lost his bout with Fedor is understandable; he got caught with a good shot by one of the greatest fighters alive. The way Overeem rag dolled him and then pummeled him on the ground was not something I expected to happen, at least not in the first round. Rogers needs a win to get his confidence back up.
I’m not sure what Strikeforce can do with him. He could always fight the loser of the Fedor-Werdum bout. Maybe Strikeforce holds him out and matches him up with Bobby Lashley if he wins next month against Ron Sparks. It would be a big step up in competition for Lashely, but a necessary one. Maybe Strikeforce can bring in someone from the outside like they have done before. Either way the man needs a win and fast. He never even had a chance to get any offense in against Overeem and that is going to weigh on his mind until he fights again.
Alistair Overeem:
Two words: Fedor Emelianenko. This is a bout that has to happen. If it doesn’t then the executives at Strikeforce and M-1 are clearly not doing their jobs. The fans want it and it’s time for M-1 to put up or shut up. They have made outrageous demands and have gotten what they wanted from Strikeforce. No one believes that Coker really wants to see Fedor vs. Werdum; he wants what we all want.
Unfortunately the chance of that fight happening is probably 50/50. If it doesn’t go down then the next logical opponent is Silva. Not exactly the fight the fans want to see, but if it gets Overeem back in the Strikeforce cage this year then I will watch it. Watching Overeem manhandle Rogers like that was so impressive. Strikeforce needs to get him back in the cage soon.