By Brian Hemminger

When I bring up mixed martial arts with my friends in casual conversation, they always ask about the UFC.  Yeah, the UFC is the dominant MMA promotion, but don’t sleep on Strikeforce or the WEC.  Both promotions are filled with talent and they have competent guys running their organizations.  I’m sure it was never their intention to compete against each other, but due to a freak scheduling conflict, both Strikeforce: Evolution and WEC 45: Cerrone vs Ratcliff will be taking place this Saturday December 19th.

This brings us to a huge dilemma.  Which event to watch?

I suppose the rational thing to do would be to weigh the pros and cons of each event.

Star Power: One of the main reasons people tune in to watch an event is the stars headlining the show.  WEC 44 is headlined by a bout between strikers Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff.  Cerrone and Ratcliff are both very talented veteran WEC lightweights, but Cerrone is more notable for his two failed title shots than anything else.  Strikeforce on the other hand, is headlined by a match between Cung Le and Scott Smith.  Le vacated his middleweight title to become a movie star, but has yet to have a breakout performance.  Smith is a knockout artist who had a fight of the year candidate earlier against Benji Radach.  Both are very popular fighters with household names.

Advantage: Strikeforce

Excitement: The headlining fights of both cards feature very entertaining strikers who will most likely want to keep it standing.  Since that part is a wash, we’ll have to move further down the card to figure this one out.  The lightweight title unification bout for Strikeforce between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson should bring plenty of excitement.  Their last fight was a 5 round war and this rematch has all the makings of another classic brawl.  The other two main card fights feature popular fighters “King Mo” Luwal, “Jacare” Souza and Matt Lindland.  Depending on their gameplans, those two fights have high entertainment potential.  As I’ve said many times before, the WEC is one of the most exciting MMA promotions out there, their fights are practically guaranteed to be exhilarating.  Anthony Njokuani is coming off back to back knockout of the night performances and he will be put to the test against the experienced Chris Horodecki.  Rani Yahya is coming off back to back to back submission of the night awards and he will be tested by Joseph Benavidez, who won fight of the night in his last bout.  Lastly, Takeya Mizugaki looks to get back in title contention after his fight of the year candidate earlier with Miguel Torres.  Despite slightly bigger names, there’s no matching the WEC when you consider excitement.

Advantage: WEC

Undercard: This is another situation where the WEC is heads and shoulders ahead of Strikeforce.  Since they are one of the only organizations with bantamweights and featherweights, the WEC has collected nearly all of the most talented fighters in the world in each class.  Strikeforce may have the bigger “name” fighters, but they rarely, if ever, can compete in the undercard department.  More often than not, Strikeforce uses the undercard to develop younger fighters or showcase local talent.  WEC 45’s undercard is loaded with top prospects.  Anthony Pettis, Brandon Visher and Erik Koch look to remain undefeated and move up the ladder, while Muhsin Corbbrey and Jameel Massouh will likely be fighting to keep their WEC jobs.  Strikeforce’s main card was wounded when Robbie Lawler’s opponent and replacement opponents backed out due to injury.  His fight had to be dropped from the card, and with such a weak undercard, it will be difficult to pick an undercard fight worthy of getting a promotion.

Advantage: WEC

Title Implications: This is where Strikeforce shines.  Their co-main event is a battle between current lightweight champion Josh Thomson and interim lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez.  This is a HUGE fight, and it’s been over a year in the making due to Thomson’s injuries.  Cung Le had to vacate his middleweight title due to his acting career, but now that he has some extra time on his hands, he is looking to get right back in contention.  If he can defeat Scott Smith, expect a middleweight title shot in 2010.  Dream crossover Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is another middleweight title contender and he will be right in the mix if he can get a big win over Matt Lindland.  For the WEC, the only true bout with title implications is Takeya Mizugaki’s.  He put on a great show against Miguel Torres in his last title shot, and he is 1-0 since.  Obviously, Torres is going to be next in line for the bantamweight title if he can keep winning, but Mizugaki will be putting his name right back in the mix if he can get a win Saturday.

Advantage: Strikeforce

Price: Another big factor that affects whether fans watch an event is the price.  If there is a choice between a PPV and a free show on cable or network TV, viewers will most likely choose the free show, even if it’s a weaker event.  That is not the case this time around.  WEC 45 will be aired on the Versus network for free, and Strikeforce: Evolution can be seen on Showtime for free.  Obviously you’ll need to have cable to see these.  Showtime is usually an extended package of cable or satellite, so that might cost extra and if you have DirecTV, you will be out of luck as well. They have yet to come up with a distribution agreement with the Versus network so you can not watch WEC events on DirecTV.  Both channels and promotions have their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage: Stalemate

Well, the pros and cons system didn’t exactly work out according to plan since we ended with a 2-2-1 draw.  The fans would most likely be booing this decision, so I leave it up to you.  If you enjoy fast-paced action, lots of depth, and love watching the little guys rumble, check out WEC 45.  If you are more into star power, title shots, and bigger, stronger fighters, Strikeforce: Evolution is the place to be.  There’s no wrong choice in my opinion.