What is Next for the Winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament?

The Strikeforce heavyweight tournament has finally ended and we have got a winner. It is safe to say that the victory in the Grand Prix puts Daniel Cormier in the top five of the heavyweight rankings, which could mean that it is about time for him to fight for the UFC title. However, that will not happen yet as Strikeforce (SF) and its host – Showtime have signed the winner of the tournament to have one last fight in Strikeforce. That means that the number one contender for the UFC heavyweight title could very possibly be determined in the Cormier's last fight in SF. ZUFFA have decided to shut Strikeforce's heavyweight division down and send their best heavyweight talent to the UFC. The main question now is who will be Daniel's opponent as at the moment he is the only heavyweight on the Strikeforce roster. It appears that ZUFFA has only two options – they can either bring one of UFC's elite heavyweights, or get a serious free agent to face Daniel Cormier.

The most obvious choice for ZUFFA is to bring a viable heavyweight from the UFC to face Cormier in one of the Strikeforce's main events. However, a fighter with a UFC contract has never fought in Strikeforce. B.J. Penn has been offered to face Gilbert Melendez for the SF lightweight title but turned the offer down, stating that he considers trying to get a title in another organization after failing to regain his title in UFC to be bad for his reputation. It could be a different story for a UFC fighter who would be sent to Strikeforce to face Daniel Cormier. It is not a mere opportunity to prove that he is still a viable fighter, it is a chance to establish himself as a true contender for the most prestigious MMA title in the world. It is an opportunity to get a chance to prove that he is the best in the world. One does not turn down such an offer.

Shane Carwin – Chances to Face Cormier - Quite Likely

Carwin has lost his last two fights, however those two defeats were very memorable battles and the fans seem to be very excited to see the engineer back in action again. Shane Carwin has undergone a back surgery and is expected to be back in the Summer. It seems as a perfect time to face Cormier in a Strikeforce main event. The reputation of Carwin and the Grand Prix title of Cormier may be good enough reasons to decide the number one contender.

Shane Carwin has only got two losses on his record, both of the losses being very memorable and exciting fights. The American has lost his first fight after dominating Brock Lesnar in the first round and gassing out in the second. His second loss was against JDS where Shane proved that he was able to compete for three rounds. Now, it may seem that we do not want to see Carwin face Dos Santos or Mir again, and that may be true, but if Cormier defeated Carwin, then he could easily be considered a number one contender. In conclusion, Shane Carwin could be an ultimate test for Cormier, therefore ZUFFA's decision to organise this fight would not be a surprise.

Cain Velasquez – Likely

Velasquez has lost his fight against Dos Santos very quickly and many fans of the sport believe that a rematch has potential to be very interesting if Cain finds an opportunity to apply his wrestling once the fight reaches later rounds.However, it is hard to say if UFC is ready to send one of their biggest names down to Strikeforce as they could keep him in UFC and build him from there whilst making more money. Another argument against Velasquez is the fact that the majority of the fans are not very keen on seeing Dos Santos face another high-level wrestler. In his last three fights, the Brazilian has established his take-down defence against such elite grapplers as Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin and the same Velasquez. However, if Frank Mir manages to defeat JDS, we could finally see the fight that many fans have been looking forward to - Mir vs Velasquez. A classic battle between an elite jujitsu practitioner and a celebrated wrestler, a face off between two elite heavyweights, a match where one mistake could make a big difference.


Cain Velasquez seems as the most worthy of a title shot if he wins against Bigfoot Silva. Beating the Brazilian giant does not seem as an easy task and that is the biggest argument against Velasquez's fight with Cormier.

Winner of Stefan Struve – Lavar Johnson – Possible

ZUFFA may decide that Daniel Cormier is not close to facing the UFC heavyweight champion just yet. In that case, a fight against the winner of Struve – Johnson would make a lot of sense. It could be an ultimate test for the winner of the Grand Prix – an exam against a very succesful UFC heavyweight.

Strikeforce may decide to sign a free agent – a fighter without a contract to face Daniel Cormier for his last fight in their organisation. The main issue here is the fact that the vast majority of the elite MMA heavyweights have already signed with UFC, leaving only a few possible options to consider here.

Fedor Emelianenko – Quite Unlikely

If the Last Emperor finally decides to prove that he still can stand with the best in the world – that is his chance. Even though we saw him get submitted by Werdum, falling in the tournament and being crushed by Henderson, the Russian still has a huge fan-base that will be very interested to see him fight the best in the business.

The main issue here is Fedor's or his management's unwillingness to realise that they cannot control the situation any more and that they will have to adapt to the needs of UFC. It is hard to determine whether Emelianenko's statements about retirement are serious, but we have heard fighters say they are done fighting and then fighting again, for many years.

Sergei Kharitonov – Very Unlikely

When Kharitonov lost his last fight in Strikeforce heavyweight tournament many have expected to see him fight in the UFC very soon. However, the dynamic striker did not, instead fighting only one kickboxing match in the last seven moths. The Russian needs to get a fight, perhaps in the UFC, however it seems that he does not deserve to face Daniel Cormier. At least not at this point of his career.

Tim Silvia – Very, Very Unlikely

Lately Silvia has been very active stating that he wants to get back to the UFC. A fight against Daniel Cormier could be a great chance to prove his abilities. The fight would also interest the long time fans of the former UFC champion.

However, it is quite obvious that Tim's time has passed. The training video that he has posted on Youtube was nothing but embarrassing. If Strikeforce signed Silvia to fight Cormier, it could be considered as a sign of organisational weakness, a mark of being inferior to UFC. That is something that Strikeforce will avoid doing, therefore they will probably avoid signing Tim Silvia.

While the fact that the winner of the tournament will need to stay in Strikeforce for one more fight has been critiqued by many, it still has its pros. It will be an important moment for both, UFC and Strikeforce. The day of transition, Daniel Cormier, the fighter who grew up in Strikeforce will leave it to do great things in the world of elites.