Gegard Mousasi and the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Division

In a marked contrast to the middleweight division, Strikeforce's light-heavyweights seem to be sorting themselves out despite the absence of any consistent championship presence. Let's take a look at how the weight class is shaping up.

The Top Five

Since losing his title to Muhammed Lawal in 2010, Gegard Mousasi has gone 4-0-1, splitting his time between Strikeforce and Dream. The recent fight against Ovince St. Preux, which saw Mousasi dominate en route to a unanimous decision, washed the bad taste left in the mouths of many after that underwhelming effort against Keith Jardine, which ended in a majority draw. After the win over St. Preux, the typically lackadaisical Mousasi admitted that he hadn't been training as diligently as he should've, and he's vowed to approach his career with greater intent. A clear divisional front-runner.

As of April, 2010, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal was poised to become one of the break-out stars of the light-heavyweight class. With an undefeated record, a fresh spot in the division's Top 10, and a championship belt around his waist (the latter two at the expense of a hapless Gegard Mousasi), Lawal seemed to be fulfilling all his great promise. A disappointing follow-up effort against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, however, saw Lawal gas out before being hammered into a technical knockout, slowing his train significantly. Lawal has since rebounded from this first loss with a September knockout of Roger Gracie.

Rafael Feijao completes the championship triangle at the top of Strikeforce's light-heavyweight division. Like Lawal and Mousasi, Feijao dethroned the champion in impressive fashion, but failed to defend the title (Feijao, for his part, lost the belt to current UFC fighter and general paragon of manliness Dan Henderson). He likewise rebounded in September with a KO victory. Knockouts, technical or otherwise, of Atnwain Britt, Aaron Rosa, and Lawal keep him deep in the title hunt.

Lorenz Larkin, undefeated in twelve fights and with three straight victories coming under the Strikeforce banner, is a clear asset to this 205-pound division. His dizzying kick-boxing arsenal and talent for takedown defense has earned him a lot of buzz. He'll be put to a dire test this January when he steps into the cage with Mo Lawal.

Mike Kyle's record is as spotty as his reputation, but in the last four years he's shown a renewed focus at 205 pounds. Kyle's finished nearly every one of his opponents and, aside from an upset submission loss to Wayne Cole, he's faltered only in his efforts against elite heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva. A rematch with Feijao, whom he knocked out in 2009, would make a lot of sense.

After the jump: More!

The Best of the Rest

Ovince St. Preux looked out of his depth in the opening rounds of his fight with Mousasi, but seemed close to staging a comeback in the third. At 5-1-0 in Strikeforce, with strong wrestling skills and decent power in his hands, he remains a serious factor in the division.

Submission artist Trevor Smith spent the last half of 2011 earning a pair of victories in the Strikeforce Challengers series, bringing his record to 9-1-0. Undefeated at light-heavyweight, and with every one of his wins coming by way of submission or, in one rare case, knockout, Smith will be looking to separate himself from the pack with a win over upcoming opponent Gian Villante.

Gian Villante entered Strikeforce as a much-lauded heavyweight prospect, but an abrupt TKO loss to Chad Griggs silenced much of that fanfare. A drop to light-heavyweight yielded only marginally better results, as he lost to Lorenz Larkin (by decision). A decision victory over Keith Berry pulled him out of his two-fight skid, and a win over Smith would put him firmly on the right track.

In Roger Gracie, Rhadi Ferguson, and Renato Sobral, Strikeforce has three grapplers whose place in the organization isn't entirely clear. Gracie tasted defeat for the first time last September courtesy of a rather nasty KO from King Mo, and there are rumblings that Lawal may have more than temporarily knocked the fight out of the jiu-jitsu ace. Rhadi Ferguson maintained his flawless, if slight, record with his submission of the unheralded John Richard early this year. Little mention of Ferguson has been made since, though, and as an undersized, 38-year-old light-heavyweight, it's hard to imagine any lengthy future for him in MMA. Sobral, meanwhile, hasn't fought since his KO loss to Dan Henderson just over a year ago. He's been more or less blacklisted from the UFC, which might make him similarly scarce from the Zuffa-owned Strikeforce.

And so...

Strikeforce's top five light-heavyweights are all around a pretty strong group. What they may lack in experience they more than make up for with crowd-pleasing styles. However, in the middle of the division, where contenders are built, things are looking a little thin. Picking up unknown fighters from the regional circuit might help, but to add a little sizzle to the proceedings, Strikeforce might consider using fighters with big-show experience to thicken their ranks. Mike Ciesnolevicz, Rodney Wallace, and Eliot Marshall would all make fine, relatively affordable additions to the weight class. Emanuel Newton and Jan Blachowicz (who's spent nearly his entire career in Poland's KSW, compiling a record of 14-3-0) would also be worth a look.