Awhile ago, I made a fanpost highlighting the new age of MMA that is upon us. Not only the UFC, but soon enough, MMA will get itself out there as a very legitimized sport all around the world. Thats not to say that to us, Maniacs, we don't live, breathe, and survive from the sport. It is just that not many people are aware of any fighters that don't have the strap of their division around their waist. This post isn't really about the mainstream MMA. This post is about rankings and fighter competition. Like most of you out there reading this, I was following the conference today, update by update to hear of any fighters crossing over, any new news, and the fate of Strikeforce. Although I wash't necessarily drawn by the specific Strikeforce updates, I was more in tune as to what would happen to the fate of the top Strikeforce fighters. Then, I realized something.

Basically every UFC event that occurs, the next day there are plenty of Maniacs arguing where a certain Bellator or Strikeforce fighter would fare in the Octagon and whether or not they would be "top ten" material. "Well since Werdum was knocked out by Junior Dos Santos, he would surely lose against him" "But he tapped Fedor. Surely he can do the same to JDS..." and on and on and on.

Now, we will rarely have to worry about that. Sure, you will have your Hector Lombard's and Ben Askren's, who choose to stay in their respective company. More power to them if they want to. Basically, there will always be those guys that throw a wrench in the works. Anyway, now that Strikeforce dispersed its heavyweight division fighters, we will have a more clearer understanding of how Barnett, Werdum, Cormier, etc. would fare against the UFC HW division.

Obviously there aren't too many fighters that are going to make noise in the UFC, but those that are coming are welcome. Many people were up in arms about Gilbert Melendez not coming over to the UFC. While that may be true for awhile, at some point, he will surely come to the octagon. While it is great that many fighters coming over, there are still a few that I personally would love to see. Luke Rockhold, Gegard Mousasi, Tyron Woodley, and plenty of more would certainly help out where fighters actually stand. Dana White did say that Strikeforce fighters are going to stay put, but at some point, there will definitely be crossings.

When it was announced that UFC bought Strikeforce, many called for super fights. Alistair Overeem versus whoever the UFC HW champ was, Gil versus Frankie Edgar, etc. I think its more important to think about the guys that would fill that middle area and give contenders and run for their money. All in all, I think that whether or not the sport gains the world as a fan, us hardcore fans are going to be given a treat in the next couple of years.