STOP THE CHARADE
The time has come to put an end to the hard sell that Strikeforce and all it’s competitors are among the sport’s elite. No one has believed it to be true for some time, and the more it’s said, the less credible the organization and it’s fighters become.
The effort you put forward and the results you deliver dictates your level of distinction, and nothing about Saturday night’s event said best in the business to me.
Pushing this fallacy made sense for Strikeforce when they were their own organization looking to challenge the UFC for MMA supremacy. Now that they’re under the Zuffa umbrella and the UFC has already began picking stars from their roster, all of that needs to stop. Strikeforce is still home to some intriguing and entertaining match-ups, and that should become the focus; in truth, it should have been their focus all along.
Part of the problem is the unknown future of the organization. It’s hard to know what to say about your brand when you don’t have a clear identity. You’re not going to come out and shout, “We’re #2!” off the top of the broadcast, but selling the four tournament participants as the best heavyweights in the business isn’t a good look either.
I don’t know exactly how you address these issues, but I do know that saying the Honda surrounded by a fleet of high-end cars is the best of the bunch doesn’t make any sense. There is nothing wrong with a Honda, you just can’t try to market and sell it as a Maserati, that’s all.
ON THE TOPIC OF THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE…
Saturday night’s broadcast trio needs to go.
The night started poorly and deteriorated from there, and there is nothing that can be done to right the ship other than replacing Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock with a much more competent and compelling team.
When you’ve got announcers who are more interested in being loud for the sake of being loud than paying attention to the action in the cage, you’ve got problems. Shamrock and Ranallo were too caught up in arguing their views on the stoppage in the Chad Griggs-Valentijn Overeem fight that they both missed Overeem tapping. Those things are kind of important.
Johnson brings nothing to the table as far as I’m concerned. While he’s tremendous during March Madness, it’s not March and his pedestrian questions, repeated verbal stumbles and general lack of comprehension of the sport takes away from the telecast. If you’re the lead man in the booth, you should know why Daniel Cormier isn’t taking Jeff Monson to the ground.
As for Ranallo, what can I say? When he’s not shamelessly self-promoting, he’s using 37 words to convey a five-word message and shouting at the top of his lungs while he’s doing it. He has the knowledge, skill and natural tenor to be a tremendous analyst and broadcaster, but it seems like he’s too busy trying to be the smartest, loudest person in the room to care.
Meanwhile, an insightful and understated analyst like Pat Miletich is criminally under-used.
WERDUM TOO FOCUSED ON OVEREEM TO WIN THE FIGHT HIMSELF
Lately when I’ve been talking to fighters, they’ve spoken more and more about focusing on what they need to do to win their upcoming fight, as opposed to worrying so much about what their opponent brings to the table. While you’ve got to be cognizant of the strengths of your opponent, you also have to be confident that what you can do is enough to win the fight.
Saturday night, Fabricio Werdum spent too much time worried about Alistair Overeem’s striking, and it cost him the fight. Had “Vai Cavalo” not been so caught up in keeping away from Overeem’s power, he’d have noticed that he was holding his own in the stand-up game.
Despite some success there, every time Werdum dropped to his back, begging his opponent to engage him on the ground, it took away from his efforts on the feet. As he tried to pull guard every time Overeem engaged in close, it gave the appearance that he was hurt and knocked to the ground, pushing the results in Overeem’s favor.
While playing jiu-jtsu was the obvious first choice for Werdum, when it became clear that Overeem wanted none of it, he needed to change things up. Instead of going with the flow of the fight, Werdum stuck in his toes and kept trying to execute Plan A.
Unfortunately, he missed a chance at victory by refusing to move to Plan B.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR OVEREEM TOO
A dominant performance from Alistair Overeem on Saturday night would have quieted doubters who believe the destructive Dutchman is a product of hype and hand-picked opposition. In winning a disjointed decision from a mediocre fight, Overeem missed his chance to silence his critics.
All is not lost for Overeem. In a few months, he’ll get another chance to prove himself against a legitimate contender when he faces Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the semifinal round.
The trouble is that his performance Saturday night has probably moved him from favorite to underdog, and a loss to Silva will become an “I told you so” moment for his detractors. Between now and then, the narrative involving Overeem will remain focused on his place in the heavyweight ranks, and his underwhelming showing in Dallas.
He could have changed all that with an emphatic victory, but just like Werdum, Overeem missed his opportunity too.
BARNETT WINS, CUTS PRO WRESTLING PROMO, REMAINS MISGUIDED
Josh Barnett’s fight with Brett Rogers went exactly as everyone expected, Barnett included.
The catch wrestling specialist took the heavy-handed slugger to the ground and kept him there throughout the first round, than did the same to open the second. Instead of riding out the round delivering scattered elbows and punches to the body, Barnett secured an arm triangle choke and got the submission win. It was a win that stuck to the script to a tee.
His post-fight interview, however, did not.
Instead of answering Gus Johnson’s standard questions, Barnett took the mic and cut a pro wrestling style promo. While I was happy to not have to listen to Johnson ask Barnett, “What was the key to your victory here tonight?” listening to a guy with three positive steroid tests in his past ask the fans for their support missed the mark as well.
Barnett is a charismatic guy with a great personality; he’s also a pretty damn good fighter as well. The trouble is he’s never owned up to his past mistakes and that makes it impossible to put your full support behind him. You always run the risk of him popping hot and submarining another show, or at least forcing a delay because the company has to find a state where he can get licensed.
When you’re not willing to be honest with the audience, you’re going to have a hard time persuading them to support you throughout the rest of the tournament. If Barnett really wanted to win the crowd on Saturday night, he should have gone all Jimmy Swaggert, apologizing for his mistakes as he broke down in tears.
People love a good comeback story, but they need the principal to acknowledge they’ve hit rock bottom first. Barnett will never do that, and as a result, the people will never get completely behind him.
Brett Rogers is nowhere near as good as the Strikeforce announce team made him out to be at the outset of Saturday night’s broadcast. He is not among the top heavyweights in the sport, and he doesn’t have outstanding striking either.
That being said, he’s not as bad as some will say in the wake of his second round loss to Barnett and string of three straight losses inside the Strikeforce cage.
The truth, as always, resides somewhere in the middle.
Rogers is the epitome of the kind of fighters would benefit from Strikeforce being shifted to a Triple-A organization beneath the UFC. His knockout power is very real; Andrei Arlovski can attest to that. But he’s still incredibly raw and has no business competing against the trio of proven, veteran heavyweights he’s faced over his last three fights within the organization. He needs time to develop against similarly skilled opposition, not to be forced to fend off the advances of Emelianenko, Overeem and Barnett.
By repositioning Strikeforce as a minor league outfit, a guy like Rogers could face the Lavar Johnsons of the world; tough, but similarly unproven heavyweights who need to show a something more before taking the next step up in competition.
He has been a victim of short rosters and circumstance over the last few years, and a young fighter a couple years removed from changing tires at Sam’s Club isn’t going to say no to any fight he’s offered. But now that there is an outlet where Rogers can develop and face the proper level of competition, here’s hoping he’s afforded that opportunity.
MASVIDAL STEALS THE SHOW WITH WIN OVER NOONS
The best performance of the night came from the most unexpected source. Jorge Masvidal delivered the most impressive victory on the main card, picking apart favorite K.J. Noons to pull off solid upset and insert himself in the title picture.
For the second consecutive fight, Masvidal used a good blend of stick-and-move striking with well-timed takedowns to get the better of a more highly regarded opponent; previous to beating Noons, Masvidal ended Billy Evangelista’s 12-fight unbeaten streak.
Talent had never been a question with Masvidal; the precise hands and varied striking he used to batter Noons has always been present. Until recently, his focused had been what held him back. But it seems like the days of coming into fights overconfident and unprepared are gone, once again giving Masvidal a bright future.
PROVING THE CLICHE
Next time you scoff at an interview where a fighter says they’re not looking past the man their about to face, think of Noons.
In the build-up to Saturday night, Noons admitted he believed he’d already done enough to merit a lightweight title shot and was looking past Masvidal. Kenny Florian told me in advance of his fight with Diego Nunes, “In this game, you look past anyone and you’re asking for a beatdown.”
Noons probably should have read that interview.
Usually the more skilled and dangerous boxer in the cage, Noons was beaten to the punch repeatedly Saturday night, and had no answers. After the opening round, one that saw Masvidal open a gash in the middle of his opponent’s forehead, Noons was left searching for a knockout that never came.
Now, instead of proving he deserved a spot opposite Gilbert Melendez, Noons proved he’s got a lot of room to grow when it comes to his approach to his career and the task at hand.
ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE FROM DANIEL CORMIER
As my editor Jeremy Botter said in his recap of Cormier’s victory over Jeff Monson, “his time as a prospect is through, and his next opponent should be someone significantly higher on the ladder than the stuff Cormier is used to facing in his career thus far.”
It’s an apt and echoed statement through the MMA community in the wake of the two-time Olympian pushing his unbeaten streak to eight with a dominant decision win over the veteran grappler.
Cormier’s striking is coming along nicely and he showcased those skills on Saturday night. He landed at will against Monson and mixed things up as well, working in several kicks, punches to the body, and a couple of Superman punches for good measure. As his stand-up continues to improve, having a world-class wrestling base will make the American Kickboxing Academy product a serious threat in the heavyweight ranks.
His success, both Saturday night and thus far in his career, underscores the lingering question surrounding the organization as a whole. There are few options left for Cormier in Strikeforce, so where does he go from here? He’s not quite ready to challenge Overeem, Werdum or the very best of the division, but he’s far superior to any of the secondary options available.
A move to the UFC would make the most sense and afford Cormier the chance to continue developing against the right level of opposition. Whether that is something that can realistically happen remains to be seen.
GRIGGS CONTINUES TO MAKE THE MOST OF IMPROBABLY OPPORTUNITY
Last August, Strikeforce brought in Chad Griggs to get beaten up by Bobby Lashley. A year later, Griggs and his trademark muttonchops are still riding an unexpected wave of success and popularity.
After outlasting Lashley in Houston last year, Griggs won a sloppy slugfest with prospect Gian Villante in February. Saturday night, he pushed his Strikeforce win streak to three by forcing veteran Valentijn Overeem to submit to strikes just over two minutes into the opening round.
Griggs has now won six straight overall and become a crowd favorite in the process, his massive chops and straight foreword style in the cage making him an everyman that’s easy to cheer for inside the cage.
Not bad for a guy who had given up the sport and was supposed to be a patsy this time last year, huh?
HOW’S THIS FOR A COMPARISON?
Sunday afternoon, Rory McIlroy claimed the U.S. Open with a wire-to-wire victory. It came on the heels of the Northern Ireland native blowing up in the final round of The Masters just two months ago. His three-round performance at Augusta showed promise; his performance at Congressional was promise fulfilled.
Strikeforce is McIlroy at The Masters right now, and they may not get to have their U.S. Open moment.
There is a great deal of potential within the organization. From some of the young talent on the roster to the television and cable deals that are already in place, there are positives that can be identified. The problem is that just when you think they’re taking the next step, they throw an 80 on the board in the final round and leave you wondering if they’re ever going to figure it out.
Saturday night’s event fell flat where it counted most; the biggest stars gave the weakest performances and the production screamed “second-rate” when the announcers we shouting “We’re world class too!”
McIlroy bounced back in a big way this weekend by address the problems he had at Augusta, making the necessary adjustments and playing to his strengths. Here’s hoping Strikeforce does the same.