The WEC and Strikeforce Title Picture: 2010 Preview

2009 was a phenomenal year for mixed martial arts, and not just for the UFC, but for other promotions as well. The Zuffa-owned WEC organization continued to expand its fan-base, putting on action packed events, filled with explosive, light-weight MMA athletes, on free television.

Also, after buying the assets of Pro Elite, Strikeforce has risen from a small regional fight league, into a legitimate force in the MMA industry with television deals on both Showtime and CBS.

Both of these organizations had an interesting year as far as championships were concerned. We saw the crowning of several new champions and 2010 should be even more exciting for both promotions.

Let’s take a look into the MMA crystal ball, and preview what the title picture will look like for the WEC and Strikeforce in 2010.

WEC Bantamweight Division

The 135-pound division saw a king dethroned in 2009, as Georgia native Brian Bowles upset Miguel “Angel” Torres to claim the Bantamweight crown. The newly crowned champion will make his first title defense on March 6th, against dangerous contender Dominick Cruz.

On that very same card, Torres will look to work his way back into title contention against a to-be-announced opponent.

The best bet would be a bout against Scott Jorgenson since he’s coming off a big win over Takeya Mizugaki and is more than worthy to fight for title contention. Don’t expect to see Torres crumble again anytime soon, the former champ will come out better than ever in 2010 and earn another shot at the title he once held so proudly.

The battle between Bowles and Cruz will turn out to be a one-sided affair, because as talented as Cruz is, he does not match up well against Bowles. The champion is unbeaten and possesses deadly skills in all aspects of the game. Bowles will successfully defend his title and then lose it in a rematch against Torres in the summer of 2010.

WEC Bantamweight champion at the end of 2010: Miguel Torres

WEC Featherweight Division

It’s no secret that the WEC’s most exciting weight class is it's 145-pound division. Not only are the fights action-packed all the way through, but the Featherweight bouts are also the most high profile matchups in the WEC. “The California Kid” Urijah Faber was once the poster boy of the entire organization, but two decisive losses to Mike Brown have dropped Faber further down the food chain.

Brown was the reigning champion of the division for most of 2009, with two impressive title defenses against Leonard Garcia and Faber. Fans began to view the powerful Brown as a 145-pound model of current UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, until Jose Aldo stopped him in his tracks with a vicious TKO victory.

Now Aldo is the seemingly unbeatable champion and he is without a clear cut challenger for his first title defense. Ultimate Fighter Five finalist, Manny Gamburyan, could be an option considering he’s unbeaten since dropping down to featherweight and boasts a recent victory over Leonard Garcia.

However, the most exciting matchup would be a bout against Faber, assuming Faber gets past his next opponent, Raphael Assuncao in March. Faber vs. Aldo would be a very exciting matchup and would also be a huge headliner for the WEC’s first pay-per-view event. Aldo will score another destructive TKO victory and then demolish every other challenger that crosses his path in 2010.

WEC Featherweight champion at the end of 2010: Jose Aldo

WEC Lightweight Division

An exciting battle with Donald Cerrone put lightweight champ Jamie Varner on the shelf for the remainder of the year due to a career-threatening injury. While the champ rehabilitated his injuries, an interim title was decided as Ben Henderson out-worked Cerrone in one of the greatest fights in WEC history.

Now as close to 100 percent as possible, Varner will return to the cage to take on Henderson on January 10th, in a battle to unify the two titles and determine an undisputed champion. It’s difficult to pick a winner in this bout because we won’t know how well Varner will perform in the cage after being sidelined for such a long time.

Both are explosive athletes with sound wrestling bases and powerful striking to boot. They are also very well versed on the ground and are cardio machines. It should be a very intense battle. Look for the younger, hungrier lion in Henderson to out point Varner and claim the 155-pound strap.

From there, Henderson will defend his title against the likes of Anthony Njokuani, Shane Roller and Cerrone—unless “The Cowboy” drops down to 145. Considering he has already beaten all three men before, it shouldn’t be a problem to defeat them again.

WEC Lightweight champion at the end of 2010: Ben Henderson

Strikeforce Heavyweight Division

The Strikeforce Heavyweight title picture was pretty much non-existent in 2009 as reigning champion Alistair Overeem held up the division by competing in Japan for the majority of the year instead of defending his title.

2010 will be different, as either Overeem returns or he will be stripped of his title. If he vacates his belt, then No. 1 ranked heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko will claim it by defeating Fabricio Werdum in the middle of the year. On the contrary, if Overeem opts to return, then he will challenge Emelianenko and lose his championship anyway.

It’s very slim that we’ll witness the demise of “The Last Emperor” under the Strikeforce banner. Emelianenko will hold onto the title until him and his management, M-1 Global, finally come to their senses and make a deal with the UFC.

Strikeforce Heavyweight champion at the end of 2010: Fedor Emelianenko

Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Division

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the best light-heavyweights in the world are competing in the UFC—except for Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi decimated Renato “Babalu” Sobral to earn the title and then beat-down Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in a non-title affair on CBS.

Strikeforce’s 205-pound division is lacking serious contenders, but there are two fighters that could prove to be huge threats to Mousasi’s gold. The first being undefeated the All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

Lawal made his Strikeforce debut in December with an impressive first round stoppage over seasoned veteran Mike Whitehead. With the victory, “King Mo” is now 6-0 with only a year of MMA experience under his belt. A title shot against Mousasi in 2010 is inevitable for Lawal, but unfortunately for him, his inexperience will lead to his defeat at the hands of the “Dreamcatcher."

Another challenger that could challenge Mousasi in 2010 would be the newly acquired veteran, Dan Henderson. Henderson left the UFC, despite reeling off impressive 2009 wins over Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping, due to contract issues.

Henderson has voiced a desire to compete at both 185 and 205 for Strikeforce, so a clash with Mousasi is bound to happen eventually. Henderson’s granite chin, powerful wrestling, and explosive right hand make him a tall order for anyone in both weight classes. However, Mousasi is a constantly evolving fighter and will out-technique “Hendo” to hold onto his title into 2011.

Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion at the end of 2010: Gegard Mousasi

Strikeforce Middleweight Division

2009 saw the demise of Cung Le and the rise of Jake Shields in the Strikeforce middleweight title picture. Le vacated his title and Shields claimed it by out-grappling Jason “Mayhem” Miller on Strikeforce’s debut on CBS. Then almost immediately after Le vacated his title, the talented striker made his return to the organization in a losing effort to Scott Smith in December.

Next in line to challenge Shields for the title will be either Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza or the aforementioned MMA icon, Henderson. With Souza’s recent win over veteran Matt Lindland, he will likely be the one to get the first crack at the newly crowned Shields.

Shields is a world-class grappler, but he’s not on Jacare’s level when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu. Souza is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu practitioners currently competing in MMA and he’s also much bigger than the current champion. Jacare would overpower and dominate Shields on the ground to either earn a decision victory or a very slick submission win to claim the 185-pound gold.

His reign will be short lived, however, as Henderson will be next in line and will claim his first title since winning the PRIDE Middleweight Championship in 2007, by knocking Souza out with his trademark right hand before the end of 2010. 

Strikeforce Middleweight champion at the end of 2010: Dan Henderson

Strikeforce Welterweight Division

Currently, the Strikeforce 170-pound division is without a title holder, but that will soon change as Nick Diaz and DREAM welterweight champion, Marius Zaromskis will clash for the vacated title in January. Stylistically speaking, Diaz vs. Zaromskis has all the makings of an epic bout.

Zaromskis is an extremely dangerous striker that spent most of his career competing in the U.K’s Cage Rage promotion. He made his debut in Japan in 2009, winning the DREAM Welterweight Grand-Prix with devastating finishes over Hayato Sakurai, Jason High, and Ho Bae Myeon.

As good as Zaromskis is, Diaz is better. Look for Diaz to put on an excellent performance that will crown him as the king of the Strikeforce welterweight division. Afterwards, Diaz will fight against other top contenders including Jay Hieron, Joe Riggs, and Kazuo Misaki. He may even potentially have a rematch with Karo Parisyan, if by some chance, Parisyan returns to MMA in 2010 and is signed up by Strikeforce.

Strikeforce Welterweight champion at the end of 2010: Nick Diaz

Strikeforce Lightweight Division

After reclaiming his championship in a five round war with Josh Thomson in December, Melendez reemerges as the top dog in the organizations lightweight division. It’s anyone’s guess as to who will be next to challenge Melendez for the title, but there are a couple of interesting options out there for him.

Undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista could be next in line to challenge “El Nino.” Evangelista is 10-0 with a recent win over UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel. Not only is Evangelista unbeaten, but he’s also a very exciting fighter.  A bout with Melendez would certainly produce fireworks.

Also, if Roger Huerta does not re-sign with the UFC, he could easily headline an event against Melendez for the championship. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has also expressed an interest in setting up a super-fight between Melendez and DREAM lightweight champion, Shinya Aoki.

Not to mention Melendez could also complete the trilogy with Thomson after Thomson works his way back into title contention. There are so many exciting opponents out there for Melendez to fight, but expect to see him come out on top every time in 2010.

Strikeforce Lightweight champion at the end of 2010: Gilbert Melendez