Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier (right) is a key component to what Strikeforce has touted as a "stacked" card for January.

By Joshua Molina

If the so-called “stacked” Strikeforce card happens in January, here are some matches that might be worth considering.

Heavyweight:
Let’s make the Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir fight happen. Everyone’s high on Cormier right now, but it would be great to see him test his skills against the wily veteran Mir. Cormier might be the next big thing in MMA, but he hasn’t really been tested yet.

Mir has slowed in the last year and looked just awful against Junior Dos Santos. But he might have one more big win left in him. If Mir can pull off an upset of Brock Lesnar, he certainly defeat Cormier.

Middleweight:
Luke Rockhold needs better competition. Lorenz Larkin is not a good match for him. In the spirit of sending UFC fighters to Strikeforce, the UFC should book Wanderlei Silva vs. Rockhold. Rockhold is a strong all-around fighter and is one of the best in the world (even if he’s not in the UFC). He needs to beat a mainstream MMA name so people will start paying attention to him. Forget Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones. Silva would have his hands full with Rockhold, who is the future of MMA.

Middleweight:
Tim Kennedy vs. Lorenz Larkin is a perfect matchup. Somebody needs to pop Kennedy in the face and make him fight. It’s hard to tell if Kennedy, in those ridiculous white short-shorts wants to be a champion or an underwear model. In both of his title fights he froze, and seemed to be just happy sweating in the cage, playing it safe for 25 minutes. Larkin might let his hands go and hit Kennedy and force the U.S. Army sniper to actually fight inside the cage.

Lightweight:
Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez
Alvarez said he’s going to the highest bidder (bad choice, btw) so that means he’s going to the UFC. The UFC should send Alvarez to Strikeforce to challenge Melendez. That would be an awesome battle among two men who will fight and now lay on the floor for five rounds. These two have been among the best for a long time. Let’s see who’s better – for the title. As for Pat Healy, he should rematch with Josh Thomson first. Healy vs. Melendez stylistically is a boring fight. That’s likely a five-round decision victory for Melendez. Let Healy beat the guy who beat him, who Melendez beat twice before he gets a shot.

Women’s Bantamweight
Where is Ronda Rousey? She needs to fight on this card. It doesn’t matter who it is against. Should Miesha Tate be able to hang out in the background and not fight Rousey again? Tate has been the most competitive against Rousey. Let’s see these two women fight again. If Tate is afraid, what about the tough Liz Carmouche?

Daniel Cormier (right) will face Frank Mir in Strikeforce action on Nov. 3.

By Joshua Molina

Strikeforce Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier has a date with former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir on Nov. 4 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Although the two knew they were fighting each other, the date was just announced over the long weekend.

Cormier is 10-0 in his MMA career and is regarded as one of the sport’s brightest stars. He is a former Olympic wrestler who in recent fights has displayed knockout power in his hands. His biggest wins have come over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and former UFC champion Josh Barnett.

Cormier is expected to move to the UFC, which also owns Strikeforce, after his fight with Mir, win or lose.

Mir needs a victory to stay in the conversation of top heavyweights in MMA. The man who made Brock Lesnar tap out by ankle lock was destroyed in his light fight against UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.

Mir was a last-minute replacement for Alistair Overeem, who failed a pre-fight drug test.
Mir, 16-6, has a history of pulling off big wins when no one expects him to. He is the only man to submit Lesnar. He also knocked out and submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He broke Nogueira’s arm.

When he steps into the Strikeforce cage he will make history as the first fighter to fight simultaneously for the UFC and Strikeforce. Like Cormier, Mir is expected to return to the Octagon after the fight.

Twice-fired Miguel Torres has pulled out of his fight for Titan Fighting Championships on Nov. 4 to fight for upstart promotion World Series of Fighting on Nov. 3.

World Series of Fighting is expected to broadcast its show live on the NBC sports network and kickboxing legend Ray Sefo is expected to serve as president of the new promotion. Not much else is known about World Series of Fighting, but the company will hold a press conference on Thursday in Las Vegas to reveal more details.

Torres was the WEC Bantamweight champion, but hasn’t been able to repeat his success in the UFC. He was fired by UFC boss Dana White for making a ridiculous and offensive rape joke in a Sports Illustrated interview.

White let Torres come back, but then dropped him after his recent knockout loss to Michael McDonald at UFC 145.

The MMA and pro wrestling world is morning the sudden loss of Michael Clarke Duncan, the star of “The Green Mile.” Clarke also famously hung around MMA athletes and pro wrestlers, frequently appearing at Las Vegas UFC shows and WWE shows at the Staples Center.

Speaking of pro wrestling, Dave Meltzer, pro wrestling’s pioneer of news, has started writing a column for mmafighting.com. Meltzer created his own genre of pro wrestling journalism and covered the sport as journalist, not a fanboy, for long before it was ever popular.

The former Oakland Tribune reporter in the 1980s broke the stories regarding sex and steroid scandals in the WWE. Meltzer previously wrote a column for Yahoo! and he recently came under attack from Dana White who on camera blasted Meltzer for one of his reports on the declining TV ratings of the UFC.

Contact reporter Joshua Molina at jmolina@fcfighter.com. Or follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JoshuaMolinaMMA