Strikeforce: 8-Man Heavyweight Tournament

[Triple]

If Strikeforce can actually pull this off, this could be THE event that puts them on the course to direct competition with the UFC. There is so much that could go wrong, however: Werdum's injury, Barnett's suspension, Fedor's fuck-all management, Overeem's participation in other organizations, etc.

If they could pull it all together and air it on CBS or (finally) a PPV, this could be epic:

Emelianenko-Silva, HW Tourney Slated for Feb. 12

With competitive match-making, the winner of this tournament becomes the number one heavyweight in the world as far as I'm concerned. Especially if Emelianenko and Overeem are left as the top two, which I'm sure Coker and Co. would be praying for. As good as the top UFC guys may be, none of them will have run the gamut this tournament will present.

Speaking of which, if there was ever a time for the UFC to consider co-promotion, this is it. Velasquez is out for months for surgery and rehab and Dos Santos doesn't want to wait for his title fight; imagine what a win (or even a competitive showing) would do for him if the tourney aired on CBS. It wouldn't have to affect his contender status within the UFC and it could potentially draw in more casual viewers who previously had no idea who he was. Even with a poor showing, the UFC could drop him back down the ladder and replace him with a money-maker like Mir to fight Velasquez.

On the flip side, Dana could also send a middle-of-the-road heavyweight (Madsen, Russow, etc). If he wins, it smashes the legitimacy of Strikeforce's heavyweight division; if he loses, he was never anything special in the first place. Either way, it pushes the UFC brand on a big-- and FREE-- stage. Win-win.

Co-promotion is a pipe dream, but in this select instance I think it makes sense. With or without it, however, if the event actually takes place, it's going to be badass. Strikeforce has a good roster of very experienced veterans and up-and-coming prospects.