STOCK REPORT: STRIKEFORCE: CARANO VS. SANTOS BY NATE LAWSON

Bleacher Report
August 17, 2009

San Jose, California welcomed Strikeforce to the HP Pavilion this
past Saturday, while 13,000 eager fans continued to stream into the
venue before the fights commenced.

The card featured a mixed martial arts first, with a bout between
two of the best women fighters headlining the card, as Gina Carano
and Cris "Cyborg" Santos battled for the women’s 145 pound belt.

Throughout the fights leading up to the much anticipated main event,
the electricity in the stadium began to grow exponentially. With
fireworks, knockouts, and just all around great fights, the fans of
San Jose cannot complain.

The dust has settled and the results are in. While Gegard Mousasi’s
fighter stock soared this weekend, Renato "Babalu" Sobral cannot
boast the same accomplishment.

However, neither of the two are alone in their respective categories
as another great card has led to recognition and growth in the
sport for some, while others are left with serious repercussions and
plummeting stock.

Rising Stock: Gegard Mousasi: Mousasi has spent his entire career
fighting outside of North America, leaving him unnoticed by many of
the fans in that region of the world. However, those who were aware
of his talent believed his fight with Renato Sobral would be exactly
the fight to put the young Armenian on the map.

With a brutal and swift first round knockout of the Strikeforce light
heavyweight champion, Mousasi has turned heads and opened eyes in the
mixed martial arts community and now looks towards his first title
defense of his new belt.

Unfortunately, Strikeforce will be hard pressed to find anyone who
can remotely compete with Mousasi with their current roster.

At this point, Strikeforce’s best bet would likely be to sign a
fighter currently outside of the organization, seeing that Mousasi
will not gain the competition he is looking for with the current
division roster.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira would be a solid acquisition for Strikeforce,
and it would be difficult to argue that he did not deserve a title
shot, especially considering the level of talent the rest of the
Strikeforce division holds.

However, if a deal cannot be made to bring in Noguiera, Mousasi
will likely fight one of Strikeforce’s own. With Kevin Randleman
and Bobby Southworth coming off of losses, it is hard to argue that
either deserves a shot at the title, leaving a man who has won 15 of
his last 16 fights as arguably the top contender.