Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Division Still a Mess

MMA is a lot different than boxing in many respects, including when it comes to the importance of the heavyweight division.  While boxing’s popularity can vary wildly based on the quality of its heavyweights, the “money” divisions in MMA have traditionally been at lighter weights (most notably, that of light heavyweight).  However, when your fledgling organization signs Fedor Emelianenko, it is obvious that building a respectable heavyweight division is a priority.

Yet, look at what a mess Strikeforce’s heavyweight division has become.

Just today, it was revealed that Alistair Overeem will finally defend his title for the first time, just thirty months after winning it.  Who will be challenging for the title?  Not Emelianenko, the world’s number one heavyweight.  Not Fabricio Werdum, who is 2-0 in the organization and just beat Antonio Silva.  Instead, it will be Brett Rogers.  The same Brett Rogers who was on CBS getting knocked out by Emelianenko not too long ago.

Now, Rogers is a good young fighter, and he put up a very respectable fight against Emelianenko.  However, five million people just watched him get knocked the hell out on CBS, and now he will be fighting for the promotion’s heavyweight title, which is owned by a guy who hasn’t fought in the organization for two and a half years?

This is not just about the title.  As many fans would readily point out, titles are just pretty belts that add a little gravitas to the proceedings.  I would counter that in two ways, however.  For one, the so-called “casual fan” loves belts, as do many hardcore fans.  The second point is that no matter how you feel about titles, you can’t really dispute that promotions are measured in part by how legitimate their titles are.  Ridiculous situations like the one in Strikeforce’s heavyweight decision only contribute to the idea that Strikeforce is “bush league”…which is exactly what they don’t want fans to think.

Many promotions outside of the UFC don’t have the luxury of being able to claim that their champions are truly the “best in the world”.  However, there should never be a situation where your champions aren’t even the best inside the organization that they represent!  That’s precisely why fighters who climb the ladder impressively are given title shots, right?  To ensure that the best fighters are those that represent your promotion by wearing those fancy belts.

I don’t even know what kind of outcome Strikeforce should be hoping for, here.  No matter what happens when Rogers and Overeem meet, there will be nasty results when it comes to the fan base’s feelings toward the title, as well as Strikeforce’s options to legitimize the title by putting the winner against someone who truly deserves the chance to wear it (ie the winner of Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum).

How can this possibly turn out favorably?  I don’t see how it can, at least in the short run.  If Rogers wins, you get the title off of Overeem, who obviously has other interests than defending it, anyway.  However, where can you go from there?  Do you have Fedor challenge a guy he already knocked out for the heavyweight title, which just shines that much more light on an already ridiculous situation?  Worse yet, do you have Fedor continue to fight random heavyweights, pretending as if the heavyweight title exists in a bubble outside of the Russian fighter’s jurisdiction?

If Overeem successfully defends, you avoid the farce that would be a possible Rogers-Emelianenko title fight, but you have a whole new set of problems.  First of all, Emelianenko’s slimy management already called the champion a “steroid bully,” even saying that they would not have Fedor fight him unless he passed additional testing outside of what the athletic commission would already require.  Hilariously enough, they even offered up Josh Barnett, a two-time documented steroid user himself, as a better opponent.

You have to wonder if Strikeforce even wants Fedor to win the title.  The moment that Fedor fought in Strikeforce without a title on the line, the heavyweight title became even more meaningless than it already was, so you can argue that there’s no additional harm that can be done by not having Fedor fight for it at all.  Furthermore, Emelianenko’s management team has already been busting Strikeforce’s balls on contract issues, renegotiating after just one fight of a three-fight deal.  What are the chances that they even resign Emelianenko?  Will they even want to?  If there’s a chance that he will be done in Strikeforce after three fights, there’s no point in making his third fight (he’s already signed to face Werdum in a non-title affair this summer) a title match.

Fedor was brought in to lend credibility to Strikeforce’s heavyweight division, and add legitimacy to Strikeforce as an organization.  Unfortunately, right now he is just one more piece of a horribly disjointed puzzle where nothing adds up very well.  There is a lot of talent in Strikeforce, but issues like letting your heavyweight champion go 30 months without so much as a title defense will hold the promotion back from respectability.  Openly advertising that your title is a farce by having a fighter come off of a devastating loss to challenge for it is even worse.

Worst of all, these problems aren’t confined to the heavyweight division by a long shot.  Jake Shields may be primed to leave for the UFC, and if he defeats Dan Henderson, he will do so with the middleweight title.  Furthermore, current light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi seems likely to be headed for the UFC when his contract is up, too.  As I pointed out in my UFC 111 preview, many promising fighters who come up through Strikeforce’s “Challengers” series end up going to the UFC when they blossom, as well.

If Strikeforce can’t make sense of their title situations or keep their fighters locked up in the long term, they will have a lot more than nasty counter-programming tactics or pissing matches with other promoters to worry about.  The UFC built itself largely by promoting fighters like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and Randy Couture…not just fighters, but champions who have long been considered among the elite of the sport, and who have become synonymous with the UFC brand.  Strikeforce will not be able to stay in business, let alone compete, if it can’t do the same.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Dan Henderson, Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields, Josh Barnett, Strikeforce, Strikeforce Challengers