Strikeforce Aggressively Assembling Powerful Roster for Big 2010

From the time it was announced that Strikeforce had a pay cable partner in Showtime and a potential broadcast partner in CBS, it was clear that their roster needed some depth.

Even with some notable talent like Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, and the "on-again, off-again" Cung Le, the organization needed guys that were going to be able to headline events and interest mainstream fans in buying tickets, watching, and engaging in the product.

Gilbert Melendez against Josh Thomson and Bobby Southworth against Renato Sobral were nice and all, but that wasn't going to get CBS excited.

Even with the explosion of Gina Carano and the inking of Fedor Emelianenko, there was still work to be done with filling out the cards between the events featuring their linchpin stars. But with the financial juggernaut of the UFC having locked down nearly every free agent worth signing, while retaining all of their top talents, Strikeforce was in a tough spot with a busy 2010 calendar on the horizon.

Then, they got busy.

Culminating with Monday's inking of UFC/PRIDE veteran Dan Henderson and Thursday night's signing of heavyweight prospect Bobby Lashley, Scott Coker has been delivering a ton of early Christmas presents to Strikeforce fans. For those of you looking to fill out your roster cards, I hope you've been writing in pencil as there have been a lot of additions of late.

Bobby Lashley

News broke late Thursday night that former WWE talent and current TNA star Bobby Lashley had inked a long-discussed deal with Strikeforce. A standout collegiate wrestler, Lashley joined WWE in 2004 and left in 2008. He decided to move into MMA and made his debut in Dec. 2008.

Lashley is 4-0 in his young career with his last victory coming over Bob Sapp this past June. He's got personality, a killer look, and should be groomed as a heavyweight menace in 2010.

Keep in mind that he's still quite inexperienced and expecting Brock Lesnar-esque results is a bit much. But with the wrestling audience now fully transfixed in MMA, this is a smart long-term sign by Strikeforce.

He's expected to debut at the Strikeforce event in Sunrise, Florida, on Jan. 30.

Dan Henderson

A 12-year veteran, Henderson became a free agent after his highlight reel KO of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 this summer. Part of a PR battle with the UFC due to his supposed Tito Ortiz-like pay demands, Henderson apparently grew tired of waiting and inked a four-fight, 16-month contract and, according to him, will debut at an unannounced CBS event scheduled for the spring. I guess the UFC banning Henderson's Clinch Gear brand in the past months didn't help, eh?

Is he a major draw at this point? No, but he's now easily one of the top fighters they have and provides legitimate talent to put in against everyone from Jake Shields at 185 to Gegard Mousasi at 205 and even Fedor at heavyweight.

He's a valuable asset to the promotion but is soft-spoken and unfortunately, Strikeforce can't use any of his UFC/PRIDE footage to help sell him. Regardless, this was a great sign.

KJ Noons

Make no mistake, the signing of Noons is to eventually pair him with rival Nick Diaz, whom he defeated back in Nov. 2007 via first-round TKO to become the first EliteXC lightweight champion. What followed was an altercation involving Noons' father and the Diaz brothers during the post-fight interviews making a rematch a definite.

However, it never came to fruition and Noons decided to focus on boxing for nearly the past 18 months. It's been a long time since he's been in the cage (Jun. '08), but the 27-year-old is looking to add to a 7-2 record with seven T/KOs—well worth the gamble for Coker. The promotion for "Diaz vs. Noons" II should be great.

King Mo

At 28 years old, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal brings persona and flair into the ring—something you usually don't see with former NCAA wrestling champions.

Lawal has a long wrestling history and is 5-0 in his young career with four victories coming via T/KO. He's a versatile fighter for Coker, as he can fight at either light heavyweight or heavyweight and will face Mike Whitehead at the Dec. 19 event as a heavyweight.

He's not ready for Fedor, but if he can beat Whitehead without suffering too many injuries, how about a tilt with Brett Rogers at the next CBS show?

Melvin Manhoef

The 33-year-old Manhoef is a kickboxing veteran (37-8, 27 KOs) and experienced in MMA (23-6-1, 22 T/KOs). He's lost two of his last three but one was to current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. He only fought once in 2009, a first-round submission loss to Paulo Filho in July.

When he debuts, don't expect to see him in there for long. His last eight fights didn't go past the first round and he's never been past the second in his MMA career. Expect a match against Robbie Lawler in '10 as it was originally discussed for the Dec. 19 event.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Matt Lindland

The 30-year-old Souza debuts at the Dec. 19 show against Matt Lindland in the debut for both in Strikeforce. Souza is 10-2-1 and is coming off a no-contest against Jason "Mayhem" Miller in May for Dream—where he's spent his last five fights.

Another quick finisher (just one career fight past the first round), the BJJ black belt Souza is a submission machine.

Enter Lindland, the MMA veteran who is looking for redemption after being violently KO'd by Vitor Belfort at Affliction's last event in January. The 39-year-old doesn't have many fights left, but is still 21-6 and has fought some names (Belfort, Fedor, Rampage Jackson). He's worth a gamble for Strikeforce but could be out after one fight if he loses badly.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller

What list would be complete without the inclusion of "Mayhem"? The MTV crossover star that took Jake Shields to the limit at the CBS November show, can talk a great game and is a colorful character for a promotion that needs it.

While a rematch with Shields could be in the cards based on their recent Twitter war, I'd like to see a three-rounder with another opponent to really gauge where Miller's game is. He's still a valuable hand for Coker and could increase in value in '10.

He can sell fights—go use him!

Roger Bowling

An early November signing, Bowling is a top young welterweight who will debut in February or March at a challengers event. At 6-0, he hasn't even seen the second round and has four wins by T/KO and two by submission. He's a great addition to what's become a staple in the challengers series: A low-pressure, but important set of events in smaller venues that helps establish the next group of young fighters looking to make it to the big card.

This helps push the idea that the main Strikeforce/CBS events are an achievement so when they make it, they have accomplished something.

And then, there's Roger Huerta.

The former Sports Illustrated cover boy became a free agent following a split decision loss to Gray Maynard in September that finished out his UFC contract. Since deciding and then un-deciding to focus on Hollywood, Huerta has lost two in a row but at one point, was a highly regarded 155 after six straight wins in the octagon.

At 20-3-1 and just 26 years old, there is plenty of time in Huerta's future if he's willing to commit full-time to MMA, which sounds like it's in his plan. Because of his inactivity the past two years (just two fights), he doesn't have the same wear and tear and would be a great addition to the Strikeforce roster.

Like Henderson, he's not a guy that will make a huge difference at the box office but with his versatility and the right fights, Huerta could live up to his SI fame with some money matches against Melendez, Thomson and others if he went up in weight.

The key for Strikeforce is to keep going and cut guys that aren't worth the effort in favor of strengthening the roster with shrewd, yet aggressive signings like Henderson.

I also think they should be a bit more upfront in securing former TUF fighters that the UFC doesn't retain. They have instant recognition from 13 weeks on TV so why not give them a one-fight deal on a challengers show and see what they've got?

"UFC vs. Strikeforce" might not be the inter-promotional war that WWE and WCW was back in the late '90s, but Strikeforce can continue to make a nice name for themselves in 2010 if they are smart about tinkering with their roster. There have been plenty of groups before them that have crashed and burned due to bad decisions, but I don't think this is going to be one of them.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio and Mauro Ronallo's The Fight Show . Follow him on Twitter.