With the recent purchase of Strikeforce by Zuffa LLC, parent company to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, thoughts of potential dream matches started to dance around in fans and media minds alike. While no time-table has been given by Dana White on when or even if, we will see inter-promotion match-ups take place, MMAValor brings to you it’s Five Dream fights between fighters currently under Strikeforce and UFC contracts.
King Mo Lawal vs Quinton Rampage Jackson
Two of the most charismatic fighters in mixed martial arts today, these two have battled back and forth via Twitter and in person. Both fighters are well-known for their mouths as well as their fighting skills and could make the hype between Rashad and Jackson look like a walk in the park. An in-shape Jackson and an improving King Mo could make for a highly anticipated fight featuring a legend in MMA and an outstanding international wrestler. Let the Twitter War begin… again.
Nick Diaz vs George St. Pierre
Widely considered to be the best welterweight not in the UFC, Nick Diaz has been on a tear since leaving the UFC back in 2006, dropping only one fight to KJ Noons in EliteXC and a no contest to Takanori Gomi after failing his post-fight drug test. He currently rides a nine fight win streak and is expected to take on Paul Daley in April. While his level of competition can certainly be questioned, what can’t be questioned is his skill set. Considered to be one of the pound-4-pound best fights in MMA, George St. Pierre burst onto the UFC scene in 2004 and hasn’t looked back. Suffering only two loses his entire career, once to Matt Hughes and to Matt Serra, GSP has defeated every top welterweight in his path and will look to continue to cement his welterweight legacy against Jake Shields in April at UFC 129. While a Superfight with Anderson Silva could be in the works, a fight between these two could bring fireworks.
Gilbert Melendez vs Frankie Edgar
When it comes to the Lightweight division, many consider it to the be the deepest division in mixed martial arts, and often times can lead to debates over who is the best Lightweight fighter out there. Both Gilbert Melendez and Frankie Edgar have answered the critics before and continue to do so now, even while holding the Strikeforce and UFC Lightweight championships respectively. Melendez’s record features a list of impressive fighters when it comes to the top, including Kawajiri, Thomson, Ishida and Aoki. While many said Egdar’s future could be at 145, a weight he himself has said he could make, The Answer has quieted his critics through out his career, defeating former champion Sean Sherk, Hermes Franca, Jim Miller and arguably the greatest Lightweight of all-time, BJ Penn on two different occasions. While both Edgar and Melendez will defend their titles in the upcoming months, Melendez against Kawajiri and Edgar against Maynard for the second time, a match-up between two of the best lightweights in this sport could cement their spot at the top.
Jacare vs Anderson Silva
While the chances of this fight happening are slim to none, nothing would be better than seeing two of the better middleweights in the world dueling it out in the cage. Anderson Silva has run rough shot over the competition in the UFC beating everyone that’s been put in front of him, most recently knocking out Vitor Belfort in the first round. Outside of Yushin Okami, there is noone left in the middleweight division for Silva, aside from some re-matches with Nate Marquardt and possibly Chael Sonnen. While a training partner at Black House with Silva, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is considered to be one of the greatest BJJ grapplers in the world, winning multiple World Championships. His success in grappling has transferred well over to MMA, facing defeat only twice. While his grappling is some of the best, Jacare has shown great improvements in his striking game to go along with the his wizardry on the ground. While both fighters train at Black House, it would be amazing to see two high level fighters duel it out.
Alistair Overeem vs Cain Velasquez
What would be better than seeing two heavy hitters slugging it out. Since the move up to heavyweight Alistair Overeem has proven himself to be one of the more feared heavyweights in the world, winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, the DREAM Heavyweight championships and winning the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix. Overeem’s competition might not be the best in the world, but his improved skill set is a tough match-up for anyone in the world. For Velasquez, everything seems to be going his way. The American Kickboxing Academy standout has run rough shot over everyone he has fought, including knocking out the legend Antonio Nogueira before winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar. Cain Velasquez has proven himself to the doubters, finishing all but one fight in his short career and getting out of the first round only three times. Cain hasn’t stepped into the cage with a striker on the level of Overeem, meanwhile Overeem has never fought a wrestler like Cain. The Heavyweight division almost never disappoints and fans would surely be all over two titans of the sport.
Source: http://mmavalor.com/2011/03/22/5-dream- ... e-and-ufc/
