Michael David Smith at MMA Fanhouse reported some interesting quotes that have a few fans asking questions during a conference call on Wednesday. During the call, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker talked about DREAM and Strikeforce unifying their belts in order to create some "dream" match-ups for the fans along with creating some clear cut divisions with champions. MDS stated that Strikeforce and DREAM should probably make sure they have champions to fight in unification bouts before actually announcing such a plan, but I think the plan will answer some questions that the MMA community has had for quite some time.

While the significant complaint among fans is only the lightweight division has champions in their respective promotions, the division will still draw the eyes of hardcore fans due to the fact that there hasn't been a lot of crossover action among either region's top tier fighters. As everyone knows, the lightweight division rankings on nearly every website and blog on the Internet have a hard time trying to rank anyone in an objective manner because most of the Japanese talent has fought strictly in Japan, and the UFC has a stranglehold on most of the lightweight talent here in the United States.

Shinya Aoki may finally make the trek overseas to the Strikeforce cage against fighters such as Gilbert Melendez or Josh Thomson, but there are a plethora of bouts that I want to see happen besides a title unification bout. DREAM also holds Gesias "JZ" Calvancante, Katsunori Kikuno, Joachim Hansen, and Tatsuya Kawajiri within their ranks, and Strikeforce's top talent could potentially prove North American fighters are superior in this particular division. It also sets up various title fights after the unification that would mix Japanese vs. American fighters, but it could also display some of the epic lightweight fights we've seen in Japan on American television.

Obviously, Strikeforce has yet to delve into the featherweight division, but there may be a chance that DREAM could loan out specific battles to Strikeforce for the excitement factor. DREAM doesn't have a middleweight champion currently, but that doesn't mean there isn't a solid match-up that could act as an unification bout. After all, the only reason DREAM doesn't have a champion in the weight class was due to the no contest between Jason Miller and Ronaldo Souza at DREAM 9. With "Mayhem" Miller taking on Jake Shields for the title in Strikeforce, Ronaldo Souza could be waiting in the wings for a championship bout, and DREAM will likely continue to bring up talent overseas within the weight class along with Strikeforce.

HT: WatchKalibRun

The welterweights are similar story with Strikeforce being the culprit in having no champion. Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron are in the mix along with prospect Tyron Woodley after a few more performances, so they don't have a completely useless ensemble of talent. Mariusz Zaromskis could easily fight in an unification bout once Diaz/Hieron fight each other, or Strikeforce signs some talent and creates a championship bout.

The light heavyweight division in DREAM is nearly non-existent. There isn't any real match-ups that progress toward a title, but Strikeforce's light heavyweight division continues to grow. While we'd love to see some unification bouts in the heavier weight classes, it just isn't going to come to fruition in either the light heavyweight or heavyweight division. As I mentioned yesterday, Lawal, Sobral, and Mousasi are the only top dogs within the organization, and Lawal will need some time to grow in the promotion. I don't forsee it being a huge issue among hardcore fans that there isn't a title to unify.

Strikeforce already has a heavyweight division in place with Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and possibly Sergei Kharitonov as a crossover fighter from DREAM. While there isn't a DREAM heavyweight champion to unify a belt, Strikeforce doesn't necessarily need it in order to create some solid match-ups. Most fans are going to complain that Fedor isn't fighting the best competition, but an Overeem victory at the K-1 World Grand Prix can go a long way toward selling that fight as an even more legitimate threat to the "Last Emperor" than previously thought.

Add in hot prospect Shane Del Rosario, who will make his Strikeforce debut against undefeated Brandon Cash on November 6th, and potentially Roger Gracie, and you have the makings of a fairly legitimate division of heavyweights that can, at the very least, give these fighters some work along with progressing their skills. Most of these guys will eventually move on to the UFC unless Strikeforce sees some major ratings from their CBS shows, but for now -- it isn't a bad division to be involved in even though the names aren't those of UFC fighters. After all, the heavyweight division worldwide remains fairly sparse. I suppose you could call Overeem a product of DREAM as well, so the best fight possible is Overeem vs. Fedor.

Strikeforce obviously has some work to do, but I don't think it's warranted to say that this is a horrible idea on Strikeforce's part. While they don't have every division on lockdown with a clear cut champion, time is on their side. With the Challengers series filling in the gaps and bringing up talent and their regular shows creating some divisional match-ups, divisions lacking champions will probably gain champions within the next year.

Is it a bad idea? I certainly don't think it is. Obviously, an alliance between the two organizations is a great idea for both promotions, and unifying the belts is only another logical step if both promotions intend on helping each other out in the long haul. Right now, all the pieces aren't in place, but they'll create some interesting match-ups when they do.