Strikeforce Carano VS Cyborg: What Happens Next?

Last night, over 13,000 fans jam-packed the HP Pavillion Center in San Jose, CA. They witnessed a night of quick fights and explosive knockouts. From the speedy dismantling of Renato Sobral, courtesy Gegard Mousasi, to the three round wrestling war between Jay Hieron and Jesse Taylor.

The atmosphere was electric when Gilbert Melendez was able to TKO Mitsuhiro Ishida and Fabricio Werdum was able to submit Mike Pyle. That electricity turned to shock when Cyborg Santos took the women's face of MMA and bashed it repeatedly until a referee stepped in.

The fans were at a loss for words as they had just witnessed Gina Carano lose for the very first time.

Now that all the fights have been decided, you have to wonder what is next for all these fighters.

Will Nick Diaz be able to stop Jay Hieron?

Jay Hieron was all set to fight Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce Welterweight title. Too bad Nick Diaz still doesn't seem to know the rules. Nick decided to pull out right before his drug test opting not to take the test and hopefully skip out on a possible suspension.

Not a bad choice for Diaz, but the fans expected more. Hieron was ready for a fight. Instead what he got was a wrestling match with former Ultimate Fighter competitor Jesse Taylor.

Hieron is ready for Diaz. That's the fight he wants, and according to Scott Coker that is the fight he will get. Diaz will pose a major threat to Hieron who loves to take it to the ground. Diaz is known for his Cesar Gracie trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu but he also has exceptional stand up.

With those combined skills Diaz should pose a challenge to anybody that steps in his path. Nick has to earn back the fans he lost, what better way than to take out Hieron.

How will the Heavyweight Tournament begin?

Fabricio Werdum looked very good and very calm in his fight the with the heavy fisted Mike Kyle. He didn't take too much damage and should be able to fight whenever Scott Coker needs him.

Fedor should make his Strikeforce debut in November but nobody knows who he'll be fighting. Overeem is set to defend his Heavyweight belt on the October card, but who will he fight?

The most sensible option would have Overeem fight Werdum as that is the fight that was supposed to happen on Saturday. Werdums fight was a quick one and he should be ready to fight as quickly as possible.

That would pit Brett Rogers against Fedor Emelienenko. I asked Brett if he feared the best Heavyweight in the world. He just looked at me and said "Why should I be scared?". The man fears absolutely nothing, and why should he? He just KO'd Andrei Arlvoski in 22 seconds. 

Gilbert wants Thomson, does Thomson want Gilbert?

The question has to be asked. Gilbert Melendez looked fantastic in his third round TKO of Mitsuhiro Ishida. He looked on his game and ready for absolutely any lightweight that gets inside the cage with him. Josh Thomson was ringside for the fight, a fight that he was set to be in the cage for.

The last time those two faced off it was for the the Strikeforce lightweight title. A title that at that time belonged solely to Melendez. Thomson took a convincing five round decision. Since that night Thomson has fought only once, a non-title bout against Ashe Bowman.

Gilbert wants nothing more than to unify the lightweight title. He doesn't want the title of interim lightweight champion. But to do that he must avenge his loss to Thomson. If I were Thomson, I might be a bit afraid of the Gilbert that showed up Saturday.

Who can stop Gegard Mousasi?

Renato Sobral certainly couldn't do it. Gegard Mousasi came into this fight on a 12 fight win streak. He had just defeated Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Melvin Manhoef in the same night to be crowned the DREAM Middleweight champion.

Not stopping there, he decided to enter the Superhulk tournament and was able to submit the 280 pound Mark Hunt in just over a minute.

Mousasi has shown the ability to win at any level. He is the DREAM Middleweight Champion, the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion, and at the post-fight press conference he stated that in two or three years he would move up and fight at Heavyweight.

Is Gegard Mousasi the second coming of Anderson Silva? He, like Anderson Silva, suffered losses early in his career, but since then both have been absolutely unstoppable. Both have the capability to win handily at any weight class. Then again, only Mousasi has two belts in two different weight classes.

When asked at the press conference about possible challengers to Gegards belt, Scott Coker seemed at a loss. He didn't seem to be able to name a competent opponent, or any opponent at all for that matter. Strikeforce doesn't have much to offer at Light-Heavyweight, but they need to start stocking up.

Whats next for the Ladies?

With the announcement of women's tournaments under the Strikeforce banner, one has to wonder who stands a chance against the reigning women's champ Cyborg Santos.

At 145 there aren't too many to choose from. Their's Erin Toughill, former professional boxer who once fought Leila Ali. She has put together an impressive 10-2-1 record and is considered one of the best woman fighters out there. She was also on American Gladiators alongside Gina Carano.

Kelly Kobold is a name people may recognize as she fought Gina Carano at Elite XC: Heat. She hasn't fought since then, but now that there is an actual prize to gun for as a woman, she may want to get her name out there.

In all actuality, no woman really stands much of a chance against Cyborg. She proved last night that she was head and shoulders above all the competition. She may even have on argument to be considered for pound for pound lists.

Yes, a woman ranked as a top pound-for-pound fighter. Just more proof of the huge strides MMA has made since it's start.