Riggs vs. Baroni: Louisville Slugfest

Sometimes it’s easy to anticipate all out brawls, and it seems like Strikeforce is intent on putting them together.

Radach vs. Smith was a war we could all see coming, though perhaps we didn’t realize how great a fight it was going to be. Brett Rogers vs. “Abongo” Humphrey was a slugfest worth taking note of beforehand, and didn’t disappoint (with the exception of the dread grabbing).

Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs is one of those fights, and its incredibly smart that Strikeforce is making a point of putting bouts like that together. While it may seem more important to put together fights that have some weight in the world of MMA, for Strikeforce, broadcasting bouts that are incredibly exciting may be more important.

Two fighters who are famous for throwing bombs, though it’d be ridiculous to claim that they have world class chins. Sometimes, that makes for a more exciting bout. One thing we know for sure, going into this fight, it’s not going to the judges. While that’s not enough to make an entire card worth buying, it makes a good card that much better.

Most fans will tune in to the June 6th card to see Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields or, more probably, Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith (another fight that, in all likelihood, will be a standup war and a crowdpleaser). Perhaps Arlovski vs. Rogers will get some attention, as the former UFC heavyweight champ always puts on a show and Rogers is going to look to use that puncher’s chance we hear about so much.

The return of the Monster and the war between two bombers in Baroni and Riggs will just be icing on the cake for most of us, and the fact that Strikeforce is thinking that demonstrates a certain level of intelligence, because if there are promising wars on the card (and there are three on the main card, in my opinion) then at least one or two, if not all three, will go off.

That’s what keeps the casual fans coming back: the war. Sure the big names get everyone’s attention, they get people talking about the card, but when people tune in and see a fight like a Radach vs. Smith, a total barnburner. If Strikeforce continues to show fights like that, that’s how they’re going to start competing with the UFC, building their own fan base that understands that, even if this isn’t where the top fighters are, this is where the best fights are going down, and Riggs vs. Baroni promises to be one of the most exciting bouts this year, if it gets out of the first round.