Strikeforce Columbus Fight Card: Top 10 Fighters On Strikeforce's Roster

In case you forgot, and you know you didn't, Strikeforce has an event this weekend from Columbus, Ohio. The main event of the evening is a light heavyweight championship fight between the champion, Rafael Cavalacante, and longtime MMA veteran, Dan Henderson.

With this event getting ready to take place, we thought that we would take a look at where things stand in Strikeforce right now.

Last month was the beginning of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, which still has people talking with the beating that Fedor Emelianenko took from Antonio Silva. That event sent shockwaves throughout the entire mixed martial arts world.

But where does Silva rank on the list of top 10 fighters in Strikeforce? Does Fedor even have a spot on the list?

Here are the 10 best fighters currently on the Strikeforce roster.

10. Shinya Aoki

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Dream 155-Pound Champion Shinya 'Tobikan Judan' Aoki attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Career Record: 26-5, 1 KO, 16 Submissions, 7 Decisions

Shinya Aoki is still reeling from that loss at K-1 Dynamite on New Year's Eve in which he lost a fight with special stipulations. He fought Yuichiro Nagashima in a kickboxing/MMA rules event. The first round was fought under kickboxing rules, and Aoki survived by basically running around for three minutes. The second round was under MMA rules, which should have worked in Aoki's favor. He went in for a takedown and got caught with a knee that knocked him silly.

Aoki is expected to make his return to Strikeforce at the April 9 event in San Jose. His opponent is unknown at this time.

9. Fedor Emelianenko

Career Record: 31-3-1, 8 KO's, 16 Submissions, 7 Decisions

Fedor has fallen on some hard times in the last seven months. After going 10 years without a loss, he has lost his last two fights.

The first loss, against Fabricio Werdum, could have been seen as a fluke as he just got caught in a triangle armbar.

The second loss, against Antonio Silva, was just a brutal beating, the likes of which Fedor has never taken in his career.

There are questions about what will happen to Fedor next, but he should really look into moving down to light heavyweight if he wants to keep fighting.

8. Dan Henderson

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Legendary MMA Superstar and two time Olympic Wrestler Dan Henderson attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Career Record: 26-8, 11 KO's, 2 Submissions, 13 Decisions

Dan Henderson gets his first shot at the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship this weekend against Rafael Cavalcante. It will be the second opportunity that Hendo has had in the last 11 months, he fought Jake Shields for the middleweight title last year.

Henderson is 40 years old, but he is showing no signs of slowing down. This could be a hell of a fight between two of the better strikers in Strikeforce.

7. Muhammed Lawal

Career Record: 7-1, 5 KO's, 2 Decisions

Muhammed Lawal made a fast impression in Strikeforce by winning the light heavyweight championship in his second fight with the company, and his first at light heavyweight. He did lose the belt to Rafael Cavalcante last August, but he is still growing as a fighter.

Lawal has a terrific wrestling background and some good boxing, now he just needs to get better in other areas, like submissions, if he wants to get back to the top of the mountain.

6. Rafael Cavalcante: Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

Career Record: 10-2, 9 KO's, 1 Submission

Feijao will defend his light heavyweight championship this Saturday night against Dan Henderson. While Feijao doesn't have the most extensive resume, but he is getting better with each subsequent fight. This will be his toughest test to date against Hendo.

This fight has a chance to be one of the bloodiest, most brutal fights of the year because these two men want to stand up and exchange punches. It should be a great fight.

5. Antonio Silva

Career Record: 16-2, 11 KO's, 3 Submissions, 2 Decisions

Bigfoot Silva should have earned a lot of respect for the way that he completely destroyed Fedor on February 12. Instead, people wanted to talk about the demise of Fedor and what this fight meant to Fedor's legacy.

Why don't we give credit to Silva for completely destroying the man with a ground-and-pound, the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time.

Silva awaits the winner of Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.

4. Nick Diaz: Strikeforce Welterweight Champion

Career Record: 24-7, 12 KO's, 8 Submissions, 4 Decisions

Despite not taking on top challengers in a long time, Nick Diaz is still one of the best fighters that Strikeforce has. He looked very good in his win over Evangelista Cyborg, but again it came against a challenger who is pretty mediocre.

We all would like to see Diaz take on better opponents in order for him to better display his talents. Instead, people just have to take our word for it when we say that he is really quite great.

3. Gilbert Melendez: Strikeforce Lightweight Champion

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Strikeforce World Lightweight Champion Gilbert 'El Nino' Melendez (L) and attend the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Career Record: 18-2, 10 Wins, 1 Submission, 7 Decisions

Gilbert Melendez has been on a roll lately, having won four consecutive fights, and he has another big test coming up in April against Tatsuya Kawijiri for the lightweight championship.

Melendez has a great chance to move to the top of this list with a great performance against Kawijiri, which is no small task.

2. Alistair Overeem: Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion

Career Record: 34-11-1, 14 KO's, 19 Submissions, 1 Decision

Alistair Overeem had a banner year in 2010, with his first defense of the Strikeforce heavyweight title, defeating Todd Duffee for the Dream interim heavyweight title, and winning the K-1 kickboxing grand prix. For those counting, that means Overeem holds three different championships in three different organizations.

Overeem's first test of 2011 will come in June against Fabricio Werdum in the opening round of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, a fight that Overeem personally asked for.

1. Fabricio Werdum

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MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 21: Andrei Arlovski of USA and Fabricio Werdum of Brazil in action during a Heavyweight bout of the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Manchester Evening News Arena on April 21, 2007 in Manchester, England (Photo by G

Career Record: 14-4-1, 4 KO's, 8 Submissions, 2 Decisions

This ranking might be a little bit controversial, but I don't care. Fabricio Werdum is the best fighter in Strikeforce right now. He is not a great power striker, but he is effective with his kicks and punches. His strength lies in his ground game, and particularly in his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Werdum was the first person to legitimately beat Fedor Emelianenko and he handed Antonio Silva his most recent loss in 2009.

Werdum will face a tough test against Alistair Overeem in June in the first round of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament.