Dream/Strikeforce Alliance

My very first post on this blog was a pregame analysis of what in my mind would have been the greatest heavyweight MMA fight of the post Pride FC generation. Sadly, Josh Barnett failed a steroid test for the third time in his career, all of which he disputes. I can’t help but feel that a person is more likely to win the lottery than have three false positives. I hate throwing Josh under the bus, but I feel like I, as a fan, have been.

But this article is not about Barnett, my disappointment, my attempt to hold off declarations of guilt, or even the death of Affliction and their affection with the devil of diverse MMA, the UFC. No, this article is about the new hope that has come from these seemingly dark times; the alliance between Dream and Strikeforce.

According to Yahoo Sports and MMAWeekly.com , the Japanese promotion Dream and the San Diego based Strikeforce have agreed to share fighters creating the potential for many super fights and more work opportunities for fighters. This means there will be less of a reliance on one giant check from a single fight, a cause, in my opinion, of the collapse of Affliction. All of this is on top of the fact that Fedor has signed with Strikeforce and still wishes to fight in Japan on NYE.

I personally can’t wait to see Shinya Aoki and maybe even Hideo Tokoro fight in the US. I also wonder what this could mean for women’s MMA in Japan if there is a partnership with a US promotion that puts both women’s and men’s fights on together. Could Carano fight in Japan? Could Dream add women’s fights with full MMA rules? Could Strikeforce add lighter weight classes for both men and women?

Ok, maybe I’m hoping for too much. But who honestly thought that all of this could have happened so fast. Sure  Dana White can be happy he took down Affliction and got some good fighters, but he just made the competition even stronger both in the US and overseas in the process. So good for the UFC, good for the new alliance, and good for all the MMA fans and fighters.

—- IN OTHER NEWS —-

It would seem that the female world of mixed martial arts are soon going to have two very important fights. Both the Carano vs. Cyborg fight, which is already scheduled, and the Megumi Fujii vs. Miku Matsumoto fight which is still in the works but seems almost a given considering they have both showed up at each others fights for post fight pictures.

These two fights are important for two similar but different reasons. In short, the first is a meeting between the two most famous women in MMA at 145 lbs. Carano especially is transcending the sport itself with even a story in the NY Times. If she can win and continue to take the sport of women’s MMA on her shoulders then we may see an explosion in the sport as a whole and on the women’s side.

The other fight, again in short, is a fight between not only the most famous but the best female fighters under 125. It is also a fight that may see a passing of the torch from the older undefeated Megumi to the amazing yet to peak talent Miku. Most people won’t even know this fight took place if it does, but this fight is just as big in my mind as any MMA fight this year and in the case of women’s mma, ever when it comes to matters of legacy, legend, and the simple question of who’s the best.