Jordan Mein had a breakout performance Saturday in Cincinnati. |
Photo: Sherdog.com
With former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz’s
bout against B.J. Penn at
UFC 137, the promotion’s 170-pound division faces an uncertain
future, particularly if the UFC pursues a scrap-and-abandon
approach, harvesting its best fighters while letting the company
wither and die. Jordan Mein’s
brutal destruction of Evangelista
Santos at
Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Kharitonov” on Saturday in Cincinnati
was a resounding statement for the Canadian welterweight, as rained
home a dozen elbows to finish the job with a blend of tenacity and
brutality.
Further added to the mix is Diaz’s unpredictable behavior last
week, which precipitated one of the strangest card switches in
history, as he was pulled from his title challenge against Georges
St. Pierre at UFC
137 and then reinserted in the lineup against Penn. I am not
sure how it all shakes out -- and anyone who claims they know
should bottle and sell such foresight -- but exciting performances
like Mein’s go a long way with a short list of viable
contenders.
The best of Strikeforce’s
post-Diaz bunch is clearly Tyron
Woodley. However, his back-to-back effective but unexciting
decision wins make him tougher to promote, especially when compared
to Mein’s performance.