There's lots going here at the site, so I want to make sure you're not missing any of it:
Collin Welsh ponders whether the one-night tournaments still have a place not only in Strikeforce, but in the sport of MMA:
The question that this event raises is whether or not the one night tournament has a place in modern mixed martial arts. The one night finales of the Pride's Grand Prix were either hits (Pride's open weight finals 2006 and middleweight finals 2005 and 2003) or misses (Pride's heavyweight finals 2004 and Pride's Bushido 13 welterweight finals). There is no doubt that the tournaments attracted a great deal of media hype and excitement from fans, but as mixed martial arts moves more and more mainstream, is the one night tournament an acceptable concept?
Michael Rome argues Couture's best case scenario is one where he finishes out his UFC contract:
I mentioned it yesterday, but the best way forward for Couture, if he really wants to leave, is to just to finish out his contract. If he rescinds his resignation and agrees to fight, then he will be out of his contract in nine months. All he has to do is keep up his end of the bargain in good faith, and in the process he can entertain millons of fans while making millions of dollars. Nine months and a few million bucks is better than the possibility of waiting it out a few years in court, even if he ends up winning. Time is not on Randy's side.
Zach Adams explores the heavyweight match-up potentials in the wake of UFC 77:
Now that current champion Randy Couture has seemingly vacated his title and Mirko Crocop has self destructed all over the octagon, it seems like now is a golden opportunity for the giant to reclaim his favorite belt buckle. The discussion now becomes about who Sylvia will face for the championship... Will it be former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or dangerous French striker Cheick Kongo? Before this weekend's event the big rumor was that it would be Nogueira vs. the winner of Sylvia/Vera, but somebody must have forgot to tell Tim that because he issued a challenge to the big Frenchman Kongo in his post-fight interview.
Last, but certainly not least, Kelly Thomas is wondering why Rich Franklin's gameplan coming into UFC 77 was to not change his gameplan:
What I don't get is why. Why did "Ace" come in to this fight with the same exact game-plan? Sure the Brazilian has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from one of the baddest submission men on the planet to go with his phenomenal striking but still I have to think that is the weak link and Rich has a strong ground and pound game. But, no. Did he work on his takedowns in preparation for this strategy? I didn't see a shot so it's impossible to say definitively but I would guess no. Did he work on his movement, using angles to come in differently and move away before getting caught? No, okay then surely he tightened things up a bit. Hands closer together, maybe a little higher, I mean it's not like Spider Silva is going to take him down is it? If not, than that lower handset, frequently used by MMA fighters, just isn't necessary.
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