15 Cross-Promotion Fights We'd Kill To See

In the world of MMA, there are multiple organizations all around the world.

In the US, the top three promotions are the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator. In Japan, there's DREAM and Shooto.

The biggest problem with the different organizations is that sometimes superfights are not possible, due to contractual obligations.

However, in a perfect world where we could see any cross-promotion fight, here's 15 of them that we'd kill to see.

Gilbert Melendez vs. a Top-Five UFC Lightweight

Whether it be Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Ben Henderson or any other top UFC lightweight, we want to see how good Gilbert Melendez really is.

Melendez along with some fans claims that he is the No. 1 lightweight in the world. However, you can't be the best unless you beat the best, and Melendez hasn't.

Until he does, we'll never know. But if he fought a top UFC lightweight, we could start to get a gauge on how good he really is.

Hector Lombard vs. Anderson Silva

In a middleweight matchup of Bellator champion vs. UFC champion, Hector Lombard would face off against Anderson Silva.

Lately, many have been saying that, outside of Chael Sonnen, Lombard may be the only fighter who can challenge "The Spider," and vice versa. 

With his black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu, and his one-punch knockout power, Lombard is a handful for any man to deal with.

Ronaldo Souza vs. Demian Maia

This is a Strikeforce-UFC matchup that we could hopefully see some day.

These two have met in the past—several times—however, there was no striking involved, as it was a jiu-jitsu competition.

These two are evenly matched in grappling, but throw in punches and kicks, and it becomes a whole new ballgame.

Roger Gracie vs. Forrest Griffin

Roger Gracie likes to submit people, and he's good at it.

Forrest Griffin—as has been abundantly pointed out live by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg—has underrated jiu-jitsu.

If you throw Forrest in there against Gracie, you're sure to get a great grappling match.

Tyron Woodley vs. Josh Koscheck

In a welterweight matchup featuring Strikeforce contender Tyron Woodley and UFC contender Josh Koscheck, this would be a battle of top wrestlers.

These two are some of the most credentialed wrestlers, and the fight would certainly turn into a grappling battle.

However, Koscheck has some serious power in his hands, so maybe he'd be able to end Woodley's night early.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Paul Daley

This is another UFC-Strikeforce welterweight matchup, except this would be a stand-up slugfest.

Jake Ellenberger has 17 of his 26 wins by (T)KO, and Paul Daley has 20 of his 29 wins by (T)KO.

Between them, there's only two TKO losses on their records, and both come from Daley.

Someone would go down in this one. It would be a war until one did.

Josh Barnett vs. Frank Mir

Now we'll move to the heavyweight division and take a look at yet another Strikeforce-UFC matchup that could very well happen in the near future.

This would pit two of the top heavyweight grapplers against each other as Frank Mir would face off against Josh Barnett.

Both of these men are former UFC heavyweight champs, and veterans of MMA.

This fight would be very interesting to see where both stand in modern MMA.

Daniel Cormier vs. Cain Velasquez

Aside from this being a cross-promotion fight, these two are also teammates, so they'd be unlikely to fight each other. However, we'd kill to see it.

Daniel Cormier is a finalist in the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix, and Cain Velasquez is the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Both are outstanding wrestlers with some serious knockout power.

If this ever happened, who would have the edge in those departments?

Antonio Silva vs. Brock Lesnar

If you think Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem is a matchup of big guys, just imagine if this one happened.

Lesnar vs. Antonio Silva would have two giants facing off against each other. Silva is 6'4" and weighs in at 265 pounds. Lesnar is 6'3" and weighs in at 265 pounds.

They weigh more when they walk in the Octagon.

It would be interesting to see whether Silva's striking and slick jits be able to handle the raw power of Lesnar.

Muhammed Lawal vs. Rampage Jackson

This is a matchup that both fighters have already expressed interest in, and would be fantastic to see.

In the light heavyweight division, you'd have former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal against former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson.

Lawal is known for his wrestling, and Rampage is known for his takedown defense and knockout power.

If Rampage could stuff the takedown, this one would be a brawl.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Lyoto Machida

Gegard Mousasi is a very young fighter with a high ceiling in the light heavyweight division. He could have a great fight with any top UFC light heavyweight.

However, a matchup with Lyoto Machida would be especially interesting, as Machida can match—if not surpass—Mousasi everywhere.

In the striking department, Machida is powerful and elusive. On the ground, Machida has been shown to have some solid jits.

This one could go either way.

Renato Sobral vs. Shogun Rua

Staying in the light heavyweight division, we'd have Renato Sobral facing off against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Eight years ago, this fight actually happened, and Sobral took home the victory via third-round guillotine choke.

A lot can change in eight years, and it would be interesting to see how much each fighter has improved—or declined.

Shinya Aoki vs. Joe Lauzon

Next up would be a fight between submission specialists in Shinya Aoki and Joe Lauzon.

This matchup in the lightweight division would answer a lot of questions.

Is Aoki as good as people say?

Where does Lauzon stand in the division?

Is Aoki only submitting scrubs?

Put a guy like Joe Lauzon in there, and you're guaranteed to a grappling match with fireworks and major title implications.

Ben Askren vs. Nick Diaz

Ben Askren is the Bellator welterweight champion, and Nick Diaz is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion.

These fighters are both known for being very vocal, and not being afraid to make enemies in the division or in any other division.

This would also be a clash of styles, as Askren is an incredibly strong wrestler, whereas Diaz is known for his boxing and jiu-jitsu game.

Styles make matchups, and this has the makings of a war.

Tim Kennedy vs. Michael Bisping

This fight has "Fourth of July card" written all over it.

In the middleweight division, matching up the Green Beret, Tim Kennedy, with the brash Brit, Michael Bisping, is an easy fight to market.

Not only that, but these two fighters have similar skill sets; they just rely on different aspects. Both fighters are good strikers, and both have solid ground games.

Kennedy relies more on the ground game, while Bisping relies more on his boxing.

Either way, striker vs. grappler matchups are always fun.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on Twitter @tmt2393.