If Werdum and Fedor dance again, who does Overeem face? I have a suggestion.

Last Saturday’s main event, while exciting and note worthy, has left Strikeforce with a dilemma. The obvious next step appears to be a rematch between Fedor Emilienenko and Frabrico Werdum. Personally, I don’t know that I agree with that since A) A win by Fedor leaves Werdum in a position not much better than he was in prior to beating Fedor. B) Fedor has but one more bout on his Strikeforce deal. If he wins, he could walk away and SF would be left with a weakened heavyweight division.

But Fedor and co want a rematch and Werdum wants a rematch. Since M1 has shown an unwillingness to do anything that does not appeal to them, it seems all be assured that a rematch will take place.

Now the problem with this is that it leaves the heavyweight champ, Alistar Overeem, on the sidelines twiddling his thumbs. As most know, Overeem wont the HW title two years ago and only recently defended it (when he mugged Brett Rogers). To have him sit on his ass for another six to eight months is asinine and would further reduce the credibility of the title, something SF can ill afford.

Looking at the SF HW division, while there are some solid fighters, none really are in position to challenge for the title. Big Foot Silva is one fight past his loss to Werdum and Rogers just lost to Overeem. Sergie Kaeriejre may earn a shot down the line, but he has not yet fought in SF and not only does he not deserve the fight, but he is an unknown to U.S. fans (Ok, an unknown to those that are not MMA geeks).

Fearing for the well being of Strikeforce, I pondered this and have thought of one solution. It has it’s downsides, but would give the division some depth and provide an instant challenge for the title.

Sign Mirko Cro-cop. Mirko just became a free agent, having recently completed his contract with the UFC. He is on a two fight win streak, including one on one of the biggest PPVs in MMA history. He also has some history with Overeem. The two fought in Japan for the Dream organization in a bout that was ruled a no contest after Alistar smooshed Mirko’s family jewels. Both chattered a bit about and certainly could deliver some entertaining pre-fight banter. Would Mirko win? Probably not, \but he still has the tools and name value to make him a worthy addition.

There are a couple of downsides. The first is that it will almost certainly push Dana over the edge and make Strikeforce his mortal enemy. And while that will provide hours of entertainment for MMA fans and media, it also means more road bumps for SF down the line. Dana is not without power and we all know he is more than willing to use (abuse?) it.

The second negative is that Mirko will come with a fairly high price tag. He has also expressed some doubts about his future in MMA and writing big checks to a less than motivated fighter is a dicey proposition. I think that fights with Overeem, Werdum and/or Fedor could be appealing to Mirko.
But Mirko/Overeem is a solid bout and one that would allow the Werdum/Fedor rematch to take place with keeping the title active.