Strikeforce is Saturday. Should We Care?

Main Card:
Dan Henderson v. Renato Sobral
Herschel Walker (Wthdrew From The Fight) v. Scott Carson
Robbie Lawler v. Matt Lindland
Paul Daley v. Scott Smith
Antonio Silva v. Valentijn Overeem (Withdrew From The Fight)

Strikeforce is going head to head with The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale on Saturday Night. Originally, the Strikeforce card was much more compelling than the UFC's offering. Some unfortunate injuries have bit Scott Coker's promotion in the taint and now the card has lost a lot of it's luster.

Herschel Walker was set to have his 2nd MMA fight on this card against Scott Carson (who??? EXACTLY.) Strikeforce was hyping Walker as a "Football legend and unbeaten MMA fighter". This is technically true but somewhat dubious because Walker only has one previous fight, a victory over Greg Nagy (who??? EXACTLY.) at Strikeforce: Miami. This will not be happening because Herschel had to pull out of the fight due to a cut suffered in training. This is a severe blow to the fight card because Walker is a name that everyone who is a fan of sports recognizes. Even if people are not fans of MMA, sports fans in America would definitely tune in to see what the former football star can do. It is clear that this is a bummer deal for the card. I definitely have respect for Herschel Walker because he is training MMA with a lot of dedication. He is, to borrow a phrase from Joe Rogan, a "freak athlete" and I appreciate the fact that he is being such a quality guy and drawing more eyes to the sport.

1 main card fight down.

News recently surfaced that Valentijn Overeem has pulled out of his fight with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva due to an elbow injury. This not only is the 2nd main card heavyweight fight to bite the dust but it is also robbing us of some amazing human comparison visuals. I was so looking forward to seeing Overeem standing across from Bigfoot. It would have been like watching some genetically enhanced, swollen, musclebound cover photo of FLEX Magazine fight a man who is showing all signs of chromosomal dismay and was recently unearthed from the Middle Awash in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. It may have also been a good fight but I was just in it for the freakish visuals.

With that we are left with only 3 fights from the original main card:

Paul "Semtex" Daley will be taking on Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith. With Scott Smith's love of STANDANDBANG and the missile Paul Daley has for a left hand, all I can envision is another double shotgun celebration as "Semtex" puts another unfortunate opponent to sleep without dessert.

Matt "The Law" Lindland will make his return to the cage against "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler. I would like to see Lindland get a victory here. I cannot bring myself to cheer for a fighter with a Tupac tummy tattoo. Hopefully Chael Sonnen will be there in Matt's corner with some wonderful words of wisdom.

The main event of the evening will feature Dan "Hollywood" "Hendo" Henderson fighting Renato "Babalu" Sobral for the second time. Babalu dropped a Unanimous Decision to Henderson all the way back in the Stone Age (February 2000) and now a little more than a decade later he will get a chance to even the score. Dan better show up in better shape than he did in his last fight when Jake Shields rode him all over the mat like a gassed out, aging mechanical bull. I guess I hope Dan wins and gets a crack at the belt.

Even though the card is now bombed out and depleted we should ABSOLUTELY care about the fights on Saturday night! There might even be an added bonus of some unintentionally funny commentary from the announcers. It is a much better way to spend your Saturday night than out at some shit pit bar pouring drinks down some wildebeest's throat in hopes that she might give you a skull ride in the bathroom on a toilet with no seat or stall door.....Trust me.