Strikeforce strikes back

Jake Shields is one of the best fighters in the world, and one of the few not in the UFC. Strikeforce hopes he can carry the promotion into UFC territory.

The best basketball players have always gone to the NBA, the best football players to the NFL and the best baseball players to the MLB.

In the short history of modern mixed martial arts, the place to be has always been the UFC. Most combat sports such as boxing, kickboxing and grappling have allowed fighters to float from promotion to promotion, but the UFC has visions of becoming more like than NFL.

And in its effort to be the elite fighting organization, it has squashed its competition. It took down the super successful PRIDE, destroyed the flashy Elite XC, absorbed WEC and is on the verge of eliminating the financial juggernaut that is Affliction.

One company though, has flown under the radar. It went silent for the final months of 2008 but is ready to make a big comeback in hopes of creating an alternative to the UFC.

Strikeforce first splashed on to the scene in March of 2006 with a record-setting event that featured Frank Shamrock versus Cesar Gracie. The event also introduced lightweight stars Clay Guida and Josh Thomson to an American audience.

Strikeforce has gone on to have 15 more successful events and it has made some major announcements within the last month. The company has purchased the Elite XC for a very fair price of $3 million. The deal came with 42 fighter contracts and the defunct organization's video library.

On top of adding world-class fighters to its organization, it also announced a TV deal that will land it shows on CBS, Showtime and HDNet.

I have enjoyed Strikeforce in the past and the fighters it has required will make it even better, but there is a reason they are a far second place to the UFC. The new and improved Strikeforce will put on its first show April 11 and the card is already stacked.

Frank Shamrock versus Nick Diaz will headline the card with a Thomson/KJ Noons and Scott Smith/Benji Radach match already confirmed. Others expected to compete include Robbie Lawler, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields and Gina Carano.

If the card lives up to its potential, it could be one of the best shows in 2009. And while I enjoy Strikeforce, it will need to make changes to its presentation and production to really make an impact.

1) I do not want to hear Phil Baroni or Frank Shamrock do color commentary. I am all for fighters doing commentary, but they need someone like WEC's Frank Mir. Mir does a great job explaining the fight in simple terms and giving the viewer an idea of what to expect next in a fight.

2) The presentation also needs to be more professional. I do not need to see cheerleaders dancing around all over the arena. Having a ring girl is fine, it's tradition, but cheerleaders dancing all around the arena comes across very amateurish and adds another stereotype that MMA is a testosterone driven barbaric sport.

3) Your not the UFC, so don't try to copy it. They should feel free to make some visual differences. Put some white trim around the edge of the cage. Let fighters choose what color gloves they wear. It seems simple, but it could go a long way in differentiating its product.

I don't know if any company will be able to really compete with the UFC, but Strikeforce has a great opportunity to make a push. This seems like a great card to start the year, and if it is able to, it should try to run one show a month, even if it is with unknown fighters.

It could build its own stars and running one show a month would keep the organization relevant in the fans' minds.

Mixed martial arts is still growing so the more competition the better. Maybe one day the sport can have a merger like the AFL and NFL and all the best fighters in the world will be in one place. Until then, I wish Strikeforce luck and hope organizations outside the UFC find a way to survive.