-Shamrock just retired
-Manhoef just got beat by Lawler
-Lawler is coming off of a loss
-Henderson is coming off of a loss to the departing champ
-Lindland isn’t even a year away from getting tooled by Jacare
-Smith just got beat by Cung Le
-Cung Le doesn’t want to commit to a tournament
-Villasenor is coming off of a loss to Jacare
-Nick Diaz is already their welterweight champ
-Cyborg is fighting at welterweight
-Prospects Prangley, Amoussou and Kennedy have never been off of Showtime

I appreciate the intent to run a tournament, but their options just don’t seem great. Jacare/Kennedy is already a bizarre choice for a title fight that can only be chalked up to other people not wanting the fight and Strikeforce wanting to save names for the tournament itself–said tournament’s competitors are kind of a mess, especially considering that odds-on favorites Diaz and Hendo would be taking fights in multiple weight classes anyway.

The only way to make a division compelling is longterm buildup–arguably a big part of the reason Anderson Silva is such a shitty draw for the UFC (aside from his temperamental performances) is the unnotable history of the division, with most fans unable to name a middleweight champion other than Franklin and Silva. Trouble is, Strikeforce just doesn’t give itself time to do this: they’ve set themselves in a position where they need instant gratification for the fans or they’ll go under. This tournament seems like the wrong answer to me: it’s throwing EVERYTHING at the fans in the hopes of drumming up interest in the division, at the risk of leaving nothing left. If the top guys win, they don’t have any feasible contenders; if the contenders win, it’s at the expense of the top guys.

I love the tournament format, it’s a lot of fun, but in the longterm for Strikeforce it feels like bad business to me.