Doggy Bag: Searching for Kimbo's Next Slice

Seeing as Gegard Mousasi will kill whomever Strikeforce puts in front of him next, who do you think is the best guy they can get? He's mentioned Whitehead, Randleman, Filho, and Arona. I'm hoping Arona, but would settle for Whitehead, I guess, but please neither of the other two.
-- Seth

Loretta Hunt, news editor: Seth, Strikeforce has a difficult task ahead. In only a few months’ time, it has gone from being a successful, moneymaking regional promotion hosting five shows a year virtually under the radar, to a nationally recognized entity expected to pump out 16-20 shows in 2010.

Part of that metamorphosis will include establishing a stable of fighters to regularly draw upon and setting up a credible pecking order leading all the way up to each division’s champion. This will take time.

Gegard Mousasi made quite an impression with what seemed like an effortless display against Renato "Babalu" Sobral in July. It confirmed what many of us saw during the Armenian-born Dutch fighter’s run in Dream. Mousasi has many of the qualities of a champion: a calm, focused demeanor in the cage, physical strength, and natural instincts to name a few. Fans want to see him tested.

So who does Strikeforce get? Right now, the choices seem limited. A number of the world’s great light heavyweights currently populate the UFC’s 205-pound division, but there are a few scattered possibilities.

Mike Whitehead seems like a logical first choice. He’s contracted to Strikeforce already, and gave his strongest performance yet against power wrestler Kevin Randleman in June. I like this matchup because it will give us an opportunity to see how Mousasi handles a strong wrestler, a prototype he wasn’t really exposed to in his early career. Trevor Prangley would be another sound pick in this vein.

Randleman is another possibility, though it wouldn’t make sense to match him against Mousasi coming off a loss.

Now we have to start looking outside the promotion. Both Paulo Filho and Ricardo Arona would be viable choices. Arona’s explosiveness might be a little more entertaining and Filho has been on the downslide, but both are still experienced big-fight challengers for Mousasi.

What’s great about Mousasi is that the next phase of his career is just beginning and he’s only 24-years-old. He will grow as a fighter right before our eyes and each new opponent will present a fresh set of challenges that will expose the areas he does or doesn’t need to work on. All fighters have weaknesses, Mousasi included. They just need to be exposed.

Luckily, Strikeforce only has to worry about whom they’ll put against their new champion one matchup at a time. When the choices above evaporate, hopefully new ones will present themselves. Fighters will come and go from the UFC. New prospects will emerge.

And eventually Mousasi will make the choice to remain with Strikeforce or head to the UFC, where there is a laundry list of fighters I’d love to see him take on. But we’re not there yet. One fight at a time.