Strikeforce Takes Overeem’s Belt Off The Table And Continues To Muddy The Waters

Added on Jan 15, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

This week the details finally emerged from the brass at Strikeforce about their upcoming Heavyweight Grand Prix that is expected to kick off on February 12. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker held a conference call where he laid out the rules for the tournament, and just further solidifying the idea that they are making a huge mistake.

The big news from the press conference was that Allistair Overeem’s heavyweight belt would be sitting on the shelf for most of 2011, and most likely all. Coker originally got everyone excited about the Heavyweight Grand Prix when he stated that Overeem’s title would be on the line, and that he would be defending it in the tournament. In fact, he used this to justify the lopsided bracket of the tournament. When you look at the bracket, its clear the favorites for the tournament are all on one side.

Coker announced that Overeem’s belt would not be on the line, and the winner of the tournament would get a shot Overeem’s belt. That’s right, if Overeem wins the tournament there would be no title defense, and Coker said “we will deal with it.” In case your wondering, if this tournament goes on as planned, which it won’t, Overeem will have only defended his title once in four years. Against Brett Rogers, a fighter coming off a loss, and many are wondering why he was even included in the Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Why is Overeem’s belt not on the line? According to Coker, its because he couldn’t find a commission willing to do 5 round non-title affairs. I’m assuming he figured we wouldn’t check, but we did. In the commissions we checked with, including New jersey, they all said they had no problem with 5 round fights that aren’t for the title. Also, the New Jersey Athletic Commission told ESPN’s Josh Gross that Strikeforce never inquired about the matter, and they would have gave them the go ahead. Either Strikeforce is making this stuff up as they go along, or they are trying to play us for fools.

In other Heavyweight Grand Prix news, Josh Barnett is still trying to get licensed. Well, sort of. He wants to be licensed, but he has announced that he will not be attending the meeting where the California State Athletic Commission will be deciding his future in California. When large commissions like the CSAC make a ruling that a fighter can’t fight, many other commissions also follow suit and bar the fighter as well. Whats shocking is Barnett won’t even attend the meeting, and you would think thats the least he could do to try to get licensed. He avoided the commission for a year plus, and a few months ago attended a meeting that the CSAC held. However, Josh appeared without a lawyer, and said he didn’t realize the severity of the meeting, and would like counsel present. If i was Scott Coker, and a fighter put me in this position, I would immediately take him out of the tournament.

These actions will force Coker and Strikeforce to find a commission that will let him fight, and we all know what happens when you have to go “commission shopping.” You end up in states like Texas, or Alabama, and you end up with a thrown together event. The last MMA Promoter to commission shop we Shine fights, and they ended up in a Casino on an Indian Reservation having non-sanctioned fights.

I hope the Heavyweight Grand Prix plays out, and we get to see all the fights. As of right now, it seems like Coker is doing everything in his power to muddy the waters, and it will inevitably take away from the prestige of the HWGP.