- MUST: Pronunciation- [muhst] –auxiliary verb

*to be or feel urged to; ought to: I must watch the first Strikeforce MMA event on Showtime.

A few key reasons why any MMA fan would and should watch Strikeforce on Showtime, April 11th, 2009.

I. Bravado – There is no way either man, Frank ‘The Legend’ Shamrock or Nick Diaz, will pull punches, lay and pray or attempt to win on the scorecards. Official judges at this bout will be like life insurance…there if you absolutely need it, but you really don’t want to have to use it. This facet of the match does lend itself to creating some extremely intense stand up exchanges in the cage. And as most are aware, both Shamrock and Diaz can box and they can box well. So, if it does turn into rock’em-sock’em robots in there, who holds the advantage, even if it is only a minor one?

II. Who Throws The Upper Hands – Now, the only way this should be an itemized reason to watch this fight is if it can almost be guaranteed to take place. Well, guess what – It can be. At the very least, Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz would love to watch the other collapse like wicker chair under Jared “before” he found salvation with Subway sandwiches. The potential to knock each other out is like a perk that comes with the job for these two men. Of course they will look to claim the KO victory if and when they can. And, regardless of who pulls it off, a knock by either man will satisfy the viewers everywhere. One thing that may tell the tale of how a stand up war ‘could’ shape up between these two is the infamous EliteXC Lightweight title match between Nick Diaz and KJ Noons. There was no question that Diaz was the heavy favorite going into the fight. And despite Noons having shown excellent take down defense against Edson Berto he surprised many onlookers as he cranked it up a notch for the more challenging Diaz. The end result was a war of hands, and some kicks, which left Diaz bloodied and seemingly outclassed. If Frank Shamrock can box Nick Diaz’s ears off, showing the precision striking he displayed against the heavy handed New York Bad Ass, Phil Baroni, then he can win this type of war and win it big. The head movement, the jab and combination punching with impressive hand speed will enable Shamrock to negate the height and reach advantage that Nick Diaz has going in. However, should Diaz dominate the stand up battle, Frank Shamrock needs to do what he has said he will do…win and not worry about merely putting on a great show. Frank would need to adapt, use his experience and complete skill set to turn the tables on Diaz, instead of staying in the trenches like he had against Cung Le, just to show he can.

III. Weak Areas – Honestly, I see none. One of the most compelling things about this fight is the fact that you cannot say take so and so to the ground, or make so and so stand and bang, it’s their weak spot. Both Frank and Nick can stand and throw hands; they can both roll on the ground, even if their styles there aren’t quite so similar. This main event fight truly pits one well-rounded fighter against another. One gets the feeling that this type of matchmaking is what will ultimately build Strikeforce as a respected MMA brand with staying power.

IV. Styles: Submission Wrestling vs. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu – Despite the recent fights both Shamrock and Diaz have had in EliteXC, both choosing to box and kickbox their opponents almost entirely, these two MMA bad boys made their names with their ground game. Oftentimes, when two fighters in combat sports who tout similar strengths clash, it becomes an intangible factor or alternate game plan that leads one of them to victory. In this fight a ground battle would be very exciting to see. Nick Diaz’s BJJ is rock solid. And like Jake Shields, it is my belief that if you allow a guy like Nick (or Jake) to continue to work on the ground, they will submit you. You just can’t stay there too long. On the other hand, Frank Shamrock, whose career reaches back to 1994, has 33 total fights with only 9 losses. And, of those 9 losses Shamrock has only been submitted one time (3/10/1995 Loss to Masakatsu Funaki at Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 2; by Submission). So as talented as Diaz is on the ground, he may find himself attempting to do what only one man has ever done to Frank, throughout his entire career, win by making him tap out.

V. Support – The sport of MMA is like one of those weeds or small tress that seem to be defying some law of nature by growing straight out of concrete roads and sidewalks all over New York City. Mixed Martial Arts became the fastest growing sport in the world and now continues to grow in a suppressed economic climate, sprouting new branches, sustaining life on existing ones and replacing others (EliteXC/IFL) that could not endure. And while the UFC remains the premier MMA promotion, it is not a plus for the fighters and the sport’s overall talent pool if they are the ‘only’ MMA promotion. The athletes in MMA make some money to fight. They make more and often the largest chunk of change from sponsors. Now regardless of the economy, which can only enforce this more, the sponsors only pay decent, if at all, when the fighter they sponsor will be on TV. So if you take away the outlets that EliteXC carved out that Strikeforce has inherited, with Showtime and CBS, you leave only Spike TV and PPV. Those alone are not enough and the net result will be more and more fighters being forced to train alongside of a day job versus fighting full-time. This would have a negative effect on the up and coming talent pool, which feeds the UFC as much as any promotion. Of course some other promotions such as King of the Cage and regional one’s do make it onto the airwaves, but the real stardom as a ticket selling fighter and the maximum exposure for income potential is on mainstream TV.

-YACMAN

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