Nick Diaz

Photos Courtesy of Zuffa

Diaz is one of the more complex fighters in MMA today. He always voices his opinion on various topics but the one thing that is guaranteed by Diaz is action. Love him or hate him, Nick Diaz is one of the more exciting fighters in MMA today. Diaz first opened eyes with his dominant knockout victory over Robbie Lawler in his first UFC run, although he eventually found himself out of the UFC, Diaz put himself back into the spotlight with his classic lightweight clash with former Pride Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi in Las Vegas, NV, where the two fighters put on an absolute spectacle with Diaz eventually submitting Gomi with a go-goplata (The fight was eventually overturned to a no contest when Diaz failed a drug test).
Diaz has recently put together an impressive streak of wins in Strikeforce, claiming that organization’s welterweight title. He effectively cleaned out the welterweight division after beating the likes of Marius Zaromskis, K.J. Noons, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Paul Daley. After Zuffa’s acquisition of Strikeforce earlier this year, Diaz was able to move over to the UFC and won his return fight against BJ Penn. He is expected to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title.

Ronaldo Souza

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Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza takes his nickname from a type of alligator. He is known for his submission skills and holds victories over the likes of Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland and Tim Kennedy.

Souza recently lost his Strikeforce Middleweight title to the young Luke Rockhold in a hard fought decision. He will be looking to score a few more wins and get back in title contention. His submission and grappling skills will always make him a dangerous opponent.

Luke Rockhold

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He has been one of the best kept secrets in MMA up until now. Luke Rockhold has steadily risen up the ranks of the Strikeforce middleweight division, and in his most recent, defeated Jacare Souza for the middleweight belt.

Training out of the world famous American Kickboxing Academy, Rockhold trains with some of the best MMA fighters today like UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez, UFC veterans Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick and fellow Strikeforce standouts Daniel Cormier and “King Mo” Lawal. Rockhold has only one blemish on his record, occurring early in his career but has since then finished all of his opponents in the first round. Although known as grappler, Rockhold has recently been honing his striking ability with Javier Mendez and believes that is what will separate him from the rest of the middleweights in MMA. 

Daniel Cormier

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Undefeated Daniel Cormier came into the sport with great wrestling credentials, including being a two time Olympian and captain of the 2008 team. He continues to use his strong wrestling skills in the cage.

With Alistair Overeem needing a replacement in the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix, Cormier stepped in. With an impressive knockout victory of Antonio Silva, Cormier advanced in the tournament and is expected to face off against veteran Josh Barnett.

Josh Barnett

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Veteran UFC, Pride and Strikeforce fighter Josh Barnett has fought many notable MMA heavyweights including Randy Couture, Mirko Cro Cop, Aleks Emelianenko and more. According to his Strikeforce profile he is most proud of his victory over Couture.

Barnett is known for his catch wrestling style of fighting and is currently in the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix. He easily defeated Sergei Kharitonov in the semi-finals and is slated to face off against undefeated Daniel Cormier in the finals.

Source: Strikeforce Official Website

Sergei Kharitonov

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Sergei Karitonov is trained in the Russian Martial Art of Sambo. The fighter out of Tula, Russia has seen action in Pride and Strikeforce, and holds victories over fighters such as Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski.

He continues to fight for a shot at the title, but was knocked off track by Josh Barnett in the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix semi-finals.

Antonio Silva

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The former Super-Heavyweight Antonio Silva holds key victories over notable fighters including MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Known for his strength, striking and ju-jitsu, Silva is always a dangerous opponent in the cage.

On his quest for a title, Silva recently faced off against Daniel Cormier. Cormier was able to knockout "Bigfoot", who will have to wait in line to fight Josh Barnett another day.

Mo Lawal

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Accomplished wrestler "King" Mo Lawal has made a successful transition into mixed martial arts. Obviously known for his wrestling skills, King Mo has sharpened his striking skills at AKA.

In his last bout, Lawal earned a KO victory of Roger Gracie, and hopes to get back his Light-Heavyweight Championship. 

Roger Gracie

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World Champion Ju-Jitsu competitor Roger Gracie is obviously known for his submission skills and victories. Gracie won his first four mixed martial arts bouts.

He is recently coming off his first professional loss against King Mo Lawal. He'll need to fight his way back into title contention in the Strikeforce promotion.

Jake Shields

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Submission specialist and BJJ black-belt Jake Shields held at the time, the longest active win streak in MMA before being defeated in his title fight against Georges St-Pierre.

Shields combines his wrestling and submission skills to control opponents and earn victories. He holds wins over the likes of Paul Daley and Dan Henderson. In his last bout, he headlined a UFC Fight night against Jake Ellenberger, and was finished in the first round by TKO.