Tim Kennedy: Dana White needs to do Strikeforce vs. UFC fights
Looking at three recent sets of recognized rankings, Strikeforce middleweights hold only three of the 30 slots. Champion Luke Rockhold…
Looking at three recent sets of recognized rankings, Strikeforce middleweights hold only three of the 30 slots. Champion Luke Rockhold holds two of those spots, but doesn’t even make the third list. UFC middleweights inhabit 24 of the 27 remaining slots.
“Between Jacare, Luke and myself, I think that we could take on seven out of the top 10 guys in the UFC in our respective weight class, but almost all of the media and the fans disagree with us,” said Tim Kennedy, who’s won back-to-back fights in Strikeforce. “I’ve said it my entire career that I just want to fight the best guys. Now I add the caveat that now I want to fight the guys that everyone else thinks are the best fighters.”
“I still feel the Strikeforce tier-one fighters could have put on better performances than every fight on that main card last Saturday,” said Kennedy.
When asked a week ago what he thought of Strikeforce fighters “calling out” their UFC foils, UFC president White didn’t dismiss the idea.
“I want these guys. If there’s a certain fight they want, I want them to call it out. I get it,” White told MMAjunkie.com.
“If they are serious about legitimizing Strikeforce as an equivalent promotion that has the same caliber of athletes, then they have to demonstrate that,” said Kennedy. “Dana said the fighters over at Strikeforce are just as good as the fighters in the UFC, which they are. He needs to demonstrate that.”