We are just a little over 24 hours from the end of an era when the Strikeforce promotion will hold its final event and shut off the lights forever. The story of Strikeforce is pretty incredible with its record setting burst on the scene in 2006 to canceling its last two shows of 2012 before bowing out gracefully on Saturday night.
Some of the staff here at ProMMAnow decided to share what we will most remember Strikeforce for during its seven year run as a MMA promotion.
Check out our thoughts below:
Jan Louis Gaetjens
What I’ll remember most about Strikeforce is its immense potential that was left mangled by some of the worst luck in the history of professional sports outside of Washington, DC. At its inception Strikeforce was in a position to give North American fans everything they could only get in Japan: “freak” match ups with guys like Bobby Lashley and Bob Sapp, Grand Prix style tournaments, free exchange of foreign and domestic tallent, The Diaz Brothers. All the ingredients were perfectly in place, yet, time after time, just as everything was about to come together some unfortunate and unexpected set back would pop up.
Nothing embodied that more than the Heavyweight Grand Prix. The prospect of Fedor, Barnett, Overeem, Werdum, Kharitonov, and Arlovski all in one winner take all tournament had most of us borderline salivating with PRIDE-era nostalgia, then, in what came to be Strikeforce par for the course, it fell apart piece by piece. Sure, we got Daniel Cormier out of the whole experience, but between the suspensions, lackluster performances, and cancellations it’s impossible not to look back and think what could have been.
Now here we are, after months of scrapped cards and contract limbo, closing the book on another organization that proved to be little more than roster fodder for the UFC. I was rooting for Strikeforce, I really, really was, but, in the great words of the Urban Philosopher Omar Little, ” it’s all in the game yo, it’s all in the game.”
Kelvin Hunt
Strikeforce reminds me of how crackheads describe the first time they tried the drug. It was the highest they ever got, and they spent their entire lives chasing the high but never got it again. How could we forget the recording setting first MMA event they held in 2006 with over 18,000 fans in attendance? How could we forget that Strikeforce is where the seemingly invincible Fedor Emelianenko suffered his first legitimate defeat against Fabricio Werdum.
How can we forget arguably the greatest one round fight in MMA history between Nick Diaz and Paul Daley?
How could we forget the electricity in the building when “Cyborg” Santos took on Gina Carano? I remember watching that fight on TV and thinking to myself and how great it would be to experience that event LIVE?
I thought Strikeforce could be a solid number two competitor for the UFC, but once it was purchased by Zuffa I knew it was just a matter of time.
Jack Bratcher
The most memorable thing for me about Strikeforce was the atmosphere of their live events. There was something special about their shows as they were growing prior to their sale to Zuffa. Anyone who was covering the events live or attended their live shows, you could feel this was something special, hence the reason Zuffa purchased them… But before they sold to Zuffa, they really had some fun shows and the atmosphere was very personable.
I knew once they sold though that was going to change, and it did. As far as fights go, seeing Fedor Emelianenko fight live before he retired was probably my favorite memory. I saw him nearly get beat by Brett Rogers only to come back with an amazing KO, then seeing the media frenzy and entourage that was around him after the fight was just insane.
Jay Cee
My favorite Strikeforce moment was their first event…Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie….It was the first regulated MMA event in California and featured Cung Le’s MMA debut. The event took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif, back in 2006. The headline bout featuring Cesar Gracie was his only ever MMA bout and he got knocked out in just 20 seconds!!!
There y0u have it. Be sure to make ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) your home for Strikeforce coverage today and tomorrow. You’ll be able to watch the weigh-in’s LIVE right here on ProMMAnow.com and we’ll have the play-by-play Saturday night as the event airs on Showtime. Feel free to drop your favorite memory of Strikeforce in the comments section.