In 2009 the UFC has allowed many top fighters and names to fall into the stable of competitor Strikeforce, all while spending time and money in to ,temporarily, marketable faces like Kimbo Slice. Some of these are up and coming fighters, others are ex UFC fighters with a loyal fan base, and some are international stars that could threaten the top fighters of the promotion’s current stable. In the past year Strikeforce has signed Fedor Emelianenko along with Gegard Mousasi and Dan Henderson, who the UFC just listed as one of its Top 10 Fighters of 2009. Below is a short list of 7 fighters I believe would benefit the UFC greatly.
–Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki (that means “Master of Flying Submissions”) 22-4-0
Shinya Aoki is one of the best grapplers in the game. His flexibility rivals that of UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and ,also listed, Masakazu Imanari. Having finished nearly 60% of his fights via submission, his Jiu-Jitsu and Judo skills are top-notch. As WAMAA World Lightweight Champion he had an exhibition match against The Last Emperor in April. Fedore took it light on the little guy and eventually tapped him, but Aoki (153 lbs) was surprisingly capable of executing some beautiful Judo throws and submission attempts and even picking up and slamming the 235 lb. Emelianenko. With his funny, easy-going persona, superior ground game, and speed he would make a great addition to the UFC lightweight division. Unfortunately he is currently fighting under the DREAM promotion which shares fighters with Strikeforce, and M1-Global, and he HATES the UFC and Dana White. The one thing UFC has going for it is he REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to fight BJ Penn and BJ isn’t going anywhere.
–Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (if he can pass a piss test)
A bad ass mofo to say the least, and technically the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Overeem is a huge man and has the ability to strike with the best K1 kickboxers in the world, but I am not so sure he could pass the anti-doping laws in the US. He is indeed a force to be reckoned with and, if he could pass the drug tests, would be a spectacle to watch in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. Just watch as he does the dutch equivalent of pitying fools (might wanna mute the shit music in this video though)…
–Paulo “Ely” Filho 19-1-0
Paulo Filho, once the WEC Welterweight Champion, didn’t make weight in his last fight in the WEC, losing to Chael Sonnen, and was subsequently released from his contract rather than transferred to the UFC. After defeating Melvin Manhoeff in a DREAM10 match-up and being signed by BCN, he has proven he is still a top contender in the class. With only 1 loss on his record and an extremely hateable persona, he would fit right into the UFC fold.
–Masakazu “Ashikan Judan” Imanari 18-7-2
Imanari is known for his ridiculous submissions. He has a knack for literally tying people in knots (and taking weird pictures with Shinya Aoki..damn Japs). One of the meanest submissions I’ve seen all year belongs to Imanari vs Justin Cruz on Dec, 19 (skip to about 5:33). I’m still not sure what exactly to call that other than effective. Imanari is completely capable of holding his own in a striking match as well. He is lightning fast and has good power in his kicks. I would like seeing him fight against the fast wiry talent already in the 145 class in the WEC.
will update after i eat lol
–Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis
will update after i eat lol
will update after i eat lol
American Manliness 
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I’m really starting to hate all sports. It’s no longer becoming a test of a person, but a test of how much shit they can inject into their bodies before going into cardiac arrest. I honestly believe that if you want to compete in a sport you should be subjected to a blood test every 3 months & anyone who fails even ONCE should be banned for life. Blood test take less than 48 hours & that can be cut down to a day with mobile labs. I have some true respect for the people like Fedor & Liddell who are just pure badasses without all the unnecessary bullshit.
Who up there are you talking about? Alistair is obviously on something, but the rest of those guys are all smaller guys. and the reason so many of the guys who fight in Welterweight and Lightweight seem so HUGE is because the huge ones walk around everyday at light heavyweight and middleweight size then cut down for the fight. Also, when you’re mentioning bad ass mother fuckers who are all natural you can’t leave B.J. Penn out. It’s criminal.