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Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California which operated from 1985 to 2013. Live events and competitions debuted on November 7, 2009.
In early 2011, Strikeforce was purchased by American Ultimate Fighting Championship owner Zuffa, which eventually closed the promotion and brought the remaining fighter contracts into the UFC roster.
Former Strikeforce employees are shown below in order by weight class.
Name | Weight class | Strikeforce record | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Daniel Cormier | Heavyweight | 8–0 | [1] | |
Alistair Overeem | Heavyweight | 4–0 | ||
Daniel Puder | Heavyweight | 4–0 | ||
Chad Griggs | Heavyweight | 3–0 | ||
Herschel Walker | Heavyweight | 2–0 | ||
Cain Velasquez | Heavyweight | 1–0 | ||
Fabrício Werdum | Heavyweight | 3–1 | ||
Josh Barnett | Heavyweight | 3–1 | ||
Antônio Silva | Heavyweight | 3–2 | ||
Lavar Johnson | Heavyweight | 3–2 | ||
Brett Rogers | Heavyweight | 2–3 | ||
Fedor Emelianenko | Heavyweight | 1–3 | ||
Bobby Lashley | Heavyweight | 1–1 | ||
Sergei Kharitonov | Heavyweight | 1–1 | ||
Valentijn Overeem | Heavyweight | 1–1 | ||
Ray Sefo | Heavyweight | 1–1 | ||
Andrei Arlovski | Heavyweight | 0–3 | ||
Jeff Monson | Heavyweight | 0–1 | ||
Yoel Romero | Light Heavyweight | 0–1 | ||
Mike Kyle | Heavyweight Light Heavyweight | 3–4–1 (1) | ||
Ovince Saint Preux | Light Heavyweight | 6–1 | ||
Gegard Mousasi | Light Heavyweight | 4–1–1 | ||
Rafael Cavalcante | Light Heavyweight | 4–2 (1) | ||
Bobby Southworth | Light Heavyweight | 3–2 (1) | ||
Muhammed Lawal | Light Heavyweight | 3–1 (1) | ||
Renato Sobral | Light Heavyweight | 2–2 | ||
Scott Lighty | Light Heavyweight | 1–2 | ||
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | Light Heavyweight | 0–1 | ||
James Irvin | Light Heavyweight | 0–0 (1) | ||
Lorenz Larkin | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 4–0 (1) | ||
Roger Gracie | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 4–1 | ||
Dan Henderson | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 3–1 | [2] | |
Antwain Britt | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 1–3 | ||
Keith Jardine | Light Heavyweight Middleweight | 0–2–1 | ||
Luke Rockhold | Middleweight | 9–0 | ||
Jake Shields | Middleweight | 3–0 | ||
Ronaldo Souza | Middleweight | 7–1 | ||
Cung Le | Middleweight | 7–1 | ||
Adlan Amagov | Middleweight | 3–1 | ||
Derek Brunson | Middleweight | 3–1 | ||
Tim Kennedy | Middleweight | 6–2 | ||
Robbie Lawler | Middleweight | 3–5 | ||
Anthony Smith | Middleweight | 2–2 | ||
Frank Shamrock | Middleweight | 2–2 | ||
Lumumba Sayers | Middleweight | 2–2 | ||
Jason Miller | Middleweight | 1–1 | ||
Shamar Bailey | Middleweight | 1–1 | ||
Louis Taylor | Middleweight | 0–2 | ||
Joe Riggs | Middleweight Welterweight | 4–3 | ||
Scott Smith | Middleweight Welterweight | 3–5 | ||
Evangelista Santos | Middleweight Welterweight | 1–3 | ||
Jesse Taylor | Middleweight Welterweight | 0–2 | ||
Phil Baroni | Middleweight Welterweight | 0–2 | ||
Nick Diaz | Welterweight | 6–0 | ||
Jay Hieron | Welterweight | 2–0 | ||
Michael Chandler | Welterweight | 2–0 | ||
Tyron Woodley | Welterweight | 8–1 | ||
Tarec Saffiedine | Welterweight | 6–1 | ||
Nah-Shon Burrell | Welterweight | 3–1 | ||
Jordan Mein | Welterweight | 2–1 | ||
Paul Daley | Welterweight | 2–3 | ||
Nate Marquardt | Welterweight | 1–1 | [3] | |
Marius Žaromskis | Welterweight | 0–2 (1) | ||
Isaac Vallie-Flagg | Welterweight Lightweight | 2–0 | ||
James Terry | Welterweight Lightweight | 6–4 | ||
K. J. Noons | Welterweight Lightweight | 3–4 | ||
Nate Diaz | Lightweight | 1–0 | ||
Gilbert Melendez | Lightweight | 11–1 | ||
Pat Healy | Lightweight | 7–1 | ||
Ryan Couture | Lightweight | 6–1 | ||
Caros Fodor | Lightweight | 5–1 | ||
Jorge Masvidal | Lightweight | 5–1 | ||
Bobby Green | Lightweight | 4–1 | ||
Josh Thomson | Lightweight | 10–3 | ||
Billy Evangelista | Lightweight | 7–2 (1) | ||
Justin Wilcox | Lightweight | 5–3–1 | ||
Jorge Gurgel | Lightweight | 2–4 | ||
Clay Guida | Lightweight | 1–1 | ||
Shinya Aoki | Lightweight | 1–1 | ||
Gesias Cavalcante | Lightweight | 1–2–1 | ||
Conor Heun | Lightweight | 1–3 | ||
Cris Cyborg | Women's Featherweight | 4–0 (1) | ||
Gina Carano | Women's Featherweight | 1–1 | ||
Marloes Coenen | Women's Featherweight Women's Bantamweight | 3–2 | ||
Ronda Rousey | Women's Bantamweight | 4–0 | ||
Miesha Tate | Women's Bantamweight | 6–2 | ||
Sarah Kaufman | Women's Bantamweight | 6–2 |
Cung Le is a Vietnamese-born American actor, retired mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. He competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record of 2–2 with the organization. In kickboxing and sanshou, he is a former International Kickboxing Federation Light Heavyweight World Champion, having a professional kickboxing record of 17–0 before moving to mixed martial arts. He defeated Frank Shamrock to become the second Strikeforce Middleweight Champion before vacating the title to further pursue his acting career. Le is perhaps best known in mixed martial arts for competing in Strikeforce, holding a record of 7–1 with the organization before its demise.
Alistair Cees Overeem is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time.
Daniel Jeffery Henderson is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion of Pride Fighting Championships. Henderson was the Brazil Open '97 Tournament Champion, the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Champion, the Rings: King of Kings 1999 Tournament Champion and the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. Henderson also challenged for the UFC Middleweight Championship (2x), the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Henderson was the first mixed martial artist to hold two titles in two different weight classes concurrently in a major MMA promotion. At the time of his retirement after UFC 204, he was the oldest fighter on the UFC roster.
Renato da Cunha Sobral, also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he posted a 6–4 record and has also competed for Bellator, RINGS, Jungle Fight, Cage Rage, Affliction, and ONE Championship. He is the Head Instructor of Babalu's Iron Gym Cerritos and has a Luta Livre black belt under Marco Ruas and also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr.
Nickolas Robert Diaz is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and IFC welterweight champion and a UFC title challenger. He also notably competed in PRIDE, EliteXC, DREAM, and Shooto. Nick is the older brother of fellow UFC fighter Nate Diaz, with the pair of brothers being one of the biggest influences in the sport of MMA.
Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California which operated from 1985 to 2013. It was headed by CEO Scott Coker.
Zuffa, LLC is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after they purchased it from the Semaphore Entertainment Group. The word "Zuffa" is an Italian word, meaning "fight". On July 11, 2016, Zuffa announced that it would be purchased by a group led by WME-IMG including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital for the price of $4.025 billion.
Joshua Joseph Thomson is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, UFC, the World Fighting Alliance, and appeared at Dynamite!! 2010. Thomson is a former Strikeforce World Lightweight Champion, former Strikeforce U.S. Lightweight Champion, and a former top contender in the UFC.
Keith Jardine is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Jardine was known for upset victories in bouts he took at short notice against highly rated fighters. His best wins were in contests with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions and UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Jardine's unorthodox attacking style wrongfooted opponents, but left him vulnerable in some career-crucial contests, and by his mid-30s he had effectively retired from competing to concentrate on a 'Paleo' business venture. Building on experience as a stuntman and in non-speaking parts, Jardine has established himself as an actor in film and television and goes by the nickname of “the Dean of Mean.”
Gilbert Melendez is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightweight Champion. He also competed in PRIDE FC, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.
James Thomas Hieronymus is an American actor, stuntman and former mixed martial artist. Hieron was the final IFL Welterweight Champion, competing for the Los Angeles Anacondas, and has also competed in the UFC, WEC, Affliction, Strikeforce, and Bellator.
Antônio Carlos "Bigfoot" Silva is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, Cage Rage, Fight Nights Global, World Victory Road, K-1 HERO'S, and Cage Warriors. He is the former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion, and Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Champion.
Jorge Masvidal is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Masvidal has been competing professionally since 2003; he has also competed for Bellator, Strikeforce, Shark Fights, and World Victory Road. He holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history at five seconds, and won the inaugural UFC 'BMF' Championship belt. As of October 3, 2022, he is #11 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Jorge Santiago Rodrigues is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. He was the first Sengoku Middleweight Champion and is the former Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. He has also competed for the UFC, King of the Cage, Titan FC, It's Showtime, and BodogFIGHT.
Daniel Ryan Cormier is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion. Cormier is the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously and is the first fighter to have title defenses in two divisions. As an international wrestler, Cormier was a six-time US World or Olympic Team Member, a World bronze medalist, a World Cup runner-up, a Pan American Games gold medalist and a two-time Pan American champion. In folkstyle wrestling, Cormier was an NCAA Division I national finalist and two-time Big 12 Conference runner-up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was also a two-time NJCAA champion.
Gegard Mousasi, is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of June 28, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings and #1 in the Bellator Middleweight Rankings. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion, former DREAM Middleweight Champion, former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion, and the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, thus making Mousasi an overall six-time MMA world champion. At the moment of his departure from the UFC in July 2017, he was #4 in the official UFC middleweight rankings, and he is currently ranked the #7 Middleweight MMA fighter and the #9 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Fight Matrix.
Cristiane Justino Venâncio, known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg, is a Brazilian–American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, where she is the current Bellator Women's Featherweight Champion, having held the title since January 2020. She is also a former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC World Featherweight Champion. She is the only MMA fighter in history, male or female, to become a Grand Slam Champion, holding world championships across four major mixed martial arts promotions. Cyborg is widely regarded as one of the greatest female mixed martial artists of all time.
Tyron Woodley is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at Strikeforce and was an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestler for the Missouri Tigers, becoming a two-time All-American and Big 12 Conference champion.
Sarah Elizabeth Kaufman is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist (MMA). She competed in the women's bantamweight division where she is a former Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. Kaufman was the inaugural Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion and was also the first and only Hardcore Championship Fighting Women's Bantamweight Champion.
Luke Skyler Rockhold is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. A two-time world champion, Rockhold also won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship, he defended the title twice and was the last man to hold the belt before Strikeforce was officially absorbed by the UFC in 2013. Rockhold is also an avid surfer, skateboarder, and a professional model having modeled at the New York Fashion Week and as the face of Ralph Lauren's "Polo Blue" fragrance.
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