The Marketability of Contendership: Getting a Shot at Champ King Mo

There is an unwritten rule we all adhere to in combat sports which reads "as soon as a new champion is crowned, talk of who he will fight next begins."  This rule applies to both MMA and boxing alike.  For promoters, the rule reads slightly differently.  For them it reads "as soon as a new champion is crowned, who can I market to have him fight next?"

When it comes to current Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion Muhammed " King M o" Lawal, there is no exception to this rule.  If anything, we should look at his situation as the standard.

When Dan Henderson signed on with Strikeforce, it was widely believed he would easily defeat Jake Shields to become the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and then move on to just as easily defeat Gerard Mousasi for the Light-Heavyweight title.  On  April 17th, 2010   at Strikeforce: Nashville,   the fight world saw  Henderson   lose to Shields and King   Mo   dethrone Mousasi for the title.  Now we enter the world of "who's next?"

With Dan Henderson knocked down from being a legitimate number one contender for the Light-Heavyweight title (at least for the time being), fans are left to wonder who deserves the next shot at the title, and the promoter (in this case Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker) is left to wonder who can he market well for a title shot.

Fast forward to  May 15th, 2010, and we arrive at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery . With a match between Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Antwain "The Juggernaut" Britt on the main card, Scott Coker had his answer. After all, Feijao was at one time supposed to fight for the vacant Light-Heavyweight title in the now defunct EliteXC and The Juggernaut has the marketability of a champion.

Word was spread to both fighters and Strikeforce insiders that the winner would get the next shot at the title.  The outcome was a first round knockout win for Cavalcante and a loss of marketability for Coker.  Although the fight world may recognize Cavalcante as a legitimate contender, the mass market of casual American fans would not.  Now enters the promoter mindset about what to do next.

With few aware Cavalcante was promised a title shot, and even fewer people asking for him to get one, Strikeforce had an out with their  June 16th, 2010   show Strikeforce: Los Angeles .  Robbie Lawler, the last EliteXC Middleweight champ and Strikeforce go to guy for catchweight fights, was a known face in the MMA world, making him marketable.  Renato "Babalu" Sobral was once the Strikeforce champ, and even at one time a contender for the UFC title.  So with a catchweight of 195 lbs, Coker announced the winner would get a shot at the title in their respective divisions.

History will show that Sobral defeated Lawler by unanimous decision, and instead of taking the fight against his friend King Mo, he decided to call out Dan Henderson to rematch a loss he suffered over ten years ago.  History may forget that thanks to Sobral's loyalty, Cavalcante will get his shot at the title- A shot he was promised before Sobral's name was even mentioned and right after Dan Henderson lost his Strikeforce debut.  

Marketability aside, the Black House team member has never let a fight go to decision and has eight of his nine victories by way of (T)KO.  So, even if people don't know who he is now, a knock out victory on  August 21st, 2010   in  Houston ,  TX  will guarantee no one forgets who he is.