Why Not Hold a Strikeforce Middleweight Tournament?

Admittedly, I may be an overly enthusiastic fan of the early UFC tournaments and legendary Pride Gran Prix's.  To be brutally honest, MMA tournaments practically suffice as my answer to every problem life can throw at you.

During a rather depressing discussion with colleagues at a corporate gathering about the waning economy and the controversial tactics of president Obama, I was shocked and appalled at their complete lack of reception towards my adamant suggestion that an 8-man tournament be instituted immediately.  As my fiance was furiously rummaging through the house and rifling through drawers on a frantic quest to find her car keys when running late for work one morning, I declined to assist in the search, citing legal reasons, but kindly offered to draw up the brackets for the first round of a Gran Prix that would undoubtedly impart knowledge we could use for much more than locating irrelevant objects.

Perhaps my suggestion for Strikeforce may hold a little more water; or at least it won't result in being banned from company meetings (which is not all bad) or dishware being launched towards my head at high velocity from an irate (but attractive and very well-toned) fiance.  The Strikeforce organization has wisely adopted a few tactics that the UFC has refused to touch with a ten-foot pole, most recently when they announced that they would combine talent with other organizations by co-promoting with M-1 Global and DREAM.

Additionally, Strikeforce made history by orchestrating the biggest female fight in the sport's history, a course of action they most certainly intend to continue.  I believe any untraveled pathways through the MMA jungle or untapped resources that may logically produce interest and excitement are worthy avenues to pursue to gain ground on the UFC and differentiate the Strikeforce product.

The middleweight belt has been in limbo for a year and a half since Cung Le spiritedly dismantled Frank Shamrock to win the championship, only to waltz off to Hollywood indefinitely to pursue a film career.  The current media landscape for Strikeforce is a tumultuous war zone of verbal blitzkrieg between Jake Shields, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, each boasting about their ability to beat the crap out of the other two. When combining the current pool of talent in the Strikeforce 185 pound division, it's pretty damn solid.

With Cung Le being the rightful champ and unable to compete in the near future, why not compile the other exciting and esteemed MW fighters like Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland, Frank Shamrock, and Dream-transfer Kazuo Misaki into an 8-man tournament?  Shamrock says he's ready to return to action, Lindland has an itchy trigger-finger but is unsure of his first opponent, and Nick Diaz would punch somebody in the mouth just for insinuating that he wouldn't throw down at the drop of a hat.

Of course, no fighters could fight twice per night, but this would actually serve as advantageous by stretching the tournament out over 2-3 shows, both from a marketing perspective and to avoid the injuries that inevitably blur the true tournament results when an alternate is introduced.

How about this for a hypothetical first round:  Shields x Jacare, Mayhem x Misaki, Lindland x Shamrock, and Diaz x Lawler?  Now, can you tell me with a straight face that watching this electric line-up unfold would not alleviate the earth's energy crisis or cure swine flu?

The first round could fill the main card leading up to the glorious debut of Fedor Emelianenko when he takes on Brett Rogers.  The marketing angle of the tournament would only increase exposure to their largest and most critical investment in "The Last Emperor", and would in turn familiarize the fans with their growing stable of talented fighters in the MW class. There would be no concern in some of the common complaints with this type of tournament:  the belt is already doomed to be held in limbo for an unknown period of time, and I've never bought into the philosophy that this would be a case of "unloading the entire gun", as many intriguing match-ups and storylines would result.

Therefore, until someone can prove me wrong, I'll sit back with the confident conviction that a tournament is an interesting strategy for Strikeforce to consider in their journey to nip away at the UFC's heels while I deftly dodge flying crockery and explain to the cable company why "Bushido 9" illustrates the perfect outline to rectify our financial dispute.