Since the closing of Strikeforce was announced there’s been a lot of speculation on which fighters will make the transition over to the UFC. Some of the more obvious inclusions have already been announced like Heavyweight Daniel Cormier who will face Frank Mir at UFC On Fox 7 and Gil Melendez who will fight for the Lightweight title as the headliner of the same event.
On Tuesday, Ariel Helwani announced many more fighters confirmed to make the transition on UFC Tonight:
Light Heavyweight: Gian Villante, Gegard Mousasi
Middleweight: Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, Tim Kennedy, Roger Gracie, Lorenz Larkin
Welterweight: Nate Marquardt, Tarec Saffiedine, Roger Bowling, Jason High, Bobby Voelker
Lightweight: Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson, K.J. Noons, Ryan Couture, Pat Healy, Adriano Martins, Kurt Holobaugh
After the show, Helwani clarified via Twitter that this is not a comprehensive list, just the ones he was able to confirm so far. But even with just the shortlist, many of the names promise to exciting additions to their respective divisions.
Update: Other Strikeforce fighters already signed to the UFC include:
Isaac Vallie-Flagg (UFC 156), Robbie Lawler (UFC 157), Mizuto Hirota (UFC On Fuel TV 8), Jordan Mein (UFC 158), and Derek Brunson (UFC 155)