MMA Roundup: Strikeforce, Penn-Fitch 2, Bellator

The number one story of the last several days (and of the last few years) was definitely Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce. While the purchase will undoubtedly lead to a lot of changes in the future, the mantra so far has been “business as usual”. However, there has already been one big change for Strikeforce so far. Find out what it is, as well as when we can expect to see Penn-Fitch 2 and what Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament matchups will be in this edition of the MMA Roundup.

Strikeforce adopts unified rules in wake of sale

If you haven’t seen any Strikeforce events to date, well, shame on you. If you have, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that Strikeforce has had slightly different rules in their cage than what you see in most MMA events, including the UFC. Most notably, Strikeforce did not allow for elbow strikes to the head while fighters are on the ground.

That’s all changed now, as Strikeforce will now adopt the unified rules that most MMA promotions have come to use, which will allow fighters to finally bust each other wide open with elbow strikes wherever they please while in the Strikeforce cage.

While the widely-accepted unified rules are not perfect (knees to the head on the ground, please!), adding elbow strikes to the head on the ground is a nice step. Some fans are sour on them, thinking that they are just used to create cuts in order to get a “cheap” win by doctor stoppage, I like them a lot. First of all, they add strategic elements to MMA that aren’t there otherwise. Think I’m crazy? Here’s my reasoning:

-First of all, elbows to the head are some of the only meaningful strikes available to a fighter on the bottom when the fight hits the mat. Fighters can indeed open up a nasty cut or at least threaten to do so with elbow strikes while their opponent is in their guard. It’s important to not take away the few non-submission weapons that a fighter on the bottom has in MMA.

-Also, elbows can be landed by either fighter on the mat even when his or her opponent is keeping them close and not allowing them room to throw actual punches. This promotes activity even when the other fighter is stalling or just holding on for dear life. It just doesn’t make sense to disallow one of the only options for striking at close range when the fight hits the mat.

-Finally, like it or not, cuts are a part of combat sports. They add strategy because you can “work” the cut to put your opponent in danger of a stoppage, or use it for misdirection and attack a different area entirely while they are worried about protecting the cut itself. Fights are rarely stopped due to cuts these days, anyway.

Also of note during the conference call that took place on Monday were the specifics on Strikeforce’s existing deal with Showtime. While two years was a popular time frame being thrown about before the call, Lorenzo Fertitta revealed that Strikeforce actually owes Showtime sixteen more events in a deal that apparently extend until sometime in 2014.

Penn-Fitch 2 set for UFC 132

BJ Penn and Jon Fitch will be settling their unfinished business this July, as announced by UFC officials on Thursday. As reported on Sherdog.com and elsewhere, Penn and Fitch are likely to main event the card, which will also feature George Sotiropoulos taking on Evan Dunham and Melvin Guillard facing Shane Roller.

The interesting thing is that the event takes place on July 2nd, while Georges St. Pierre’s title defense against Jake Shields will happen on April 30th. Surely, the UFC will not change it from a non-title fight to a five-round title fight if GSP defends successfully against Shields and vacates his title to pursue Anderson Silva in the middleweight division. Has GSP decided that he’s unlikely to do that after all? Does the UFC just not want to wait to see what St. Pierre will do before scheduling Penn-Fitch 2? Maybe they don’t think it’d be a good fight for the vacated title, anyway. That’s crazy talk, by the way.

I’m still of the opinion that the need for a second Penn-Fitch bout provides an excellent opportunity for a great title fight if St. Pierre retains his belt and vacates it. Of course, if Shields is able to win or if St. Pierre retains and stays at welterweight, the winner will just be a likely number one contender, but I think it would have been worth waiting another month and a half to figure out before scheduling the rematch.

Quick Shots

–In nine days, Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament will kick off, and we now know who will be facing who in the opening round of action. Raphael Davis will fight DJ Linderman, while Nik Fekete will face Richard Hale and Chris Davis will take on Christian M’Pumbu. Meanwhile, in the main event, Daniel Gracie will go toe to toe with Tim Carpenter.

All could make for good fights, and Gracie-Carpenter should be fun if/when it hits the mat. This is a good collection of talent, with a lot of rather gaudy records that will be sufficiently tested throughout the tournament. I like Raphael Davis as a possible winner, and Nik Fekete is a nice dark horse, despite his relative lack of experience. Fekete holds a notable win over Ovince St. Preux in his four fights (all wins).

–Instead of rematching one opponent against whom he won a controversial decision victory in a great fight, Leonard Garcia will rematch another opponent that he had the same experience with. Nam Phan has had to drop out of his UFC Fight Night 24 bout with Garcia due to an undisclosed injury, making an opportunity for Chan Sung Jung, better known as “The Korean Zombie” to step in and take his place.

I know what you’re thinking- “Wait a minute…they’re going to be up to 24 of these Spike TV cards already?” No, that’s not it. You’re probably thinking, “Hey, that’s a good replacement if I’ve ever heard one!” and I won’t argue with that. In my opinion, Garcia has unfinished business (or if you prefer, bid-ness) with both of these men, and both fights were great, to boot. Might as well get underway with the other rematch that makes a lot of sense if Phan is hurt.

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Tags: Bellator, BJ Penn, Chan Sung Jung, Georges St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Leonard Garcia, Nam Phan, Strikeforce, UFC