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The top eight Strikeforce fighters on the UFC's hitlist

Fedor Emelianenko has long been linked to the UFC © Getty Images

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It's always a fun occasion when possibility crosses over into probability - especially when possibility has forever felt more like fool's hope.

With the epic news of UFC's parent company Zuffa purchasing its primary competition Strikeforce, the doors are being slowly opened for fights that would otherwise never happen. Amidst all the monopoly talk and whether or not it's healthy to eliminate promotional competition, to a fan of MMA this is what's known as the upshot. It might take a year or so as contracts play out between Strikeforce and Showtime, but it's only a matter of time before the world's pound-for-pound best fight under one promotion.

Alistair Overeem versus Cain Velasquez is not as far-fetched as it once was. Georges St-Pierre versus Nick Diaz is no longer strictly hypothetical. Fedor Emelianenko versus Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture? Fans want it, fans pay to watch, money makes fights (Fedor's management obliging). Allure is still the main ingredient in matchmaking, and Joe Silva's Rolodex is on its way to becoming whole. Here are eight Strikeforce fighters that will carry the most intrigue into the UFC, and some match-ups that still seem too good to be true.

Fedor Emelianenko
With two losses in a row the "game is catching up to him" chants are loud enough to drown out the small matter of the 27 consecutive wins before that, but the game never catches up to must-see legacy and hype. Nor, it can be said, the fan's appreciation for the way Fedor fights. To see him finally step into the Octagon and face an opponent like Couture or Lesnar - for so long off limits and argued to death through speculation - would be a "big moment." Big if for no other reason than most fans had grown used to the idea that they'd never see it. (And, truthfully, they still might not).

Dan Henderson
Hendo left the UFC on the highest note possible - by earning Knockout of the year honours against Michael Bisping at UFC 100. US fight fans still thank him for it in casual passing. Since then, Dan Henderson has knocked out Renato Sobral, and then Rafael Cavalcante for the light-heavyweight belt. He nearly knocked out Jake Shields as well. That's what he does; he knocks people out, or he goes out trying. For a guy who'll happily fight in three weight classes, he could feasibly fight anybody from Chael Sonnen to Mauricio Shogun Rua to Junior dos Santos, and still have likeable chances.

Gilbert Melendez
Strikeforce's lightweight champ would be jumping into the deepest talent pool in MMA, but it's hard to imagine Gilbert Melendez and current UFC champion Frankie Edgar putting on anything other than an epic fight. And not just Edgar: Melvin Guillard, Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis, Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, et al. The round robin matches at 155, already so competitive that most guys just below the top 10 are looking over the shoulder for fear of a pink slip, gets that much crazier with El Niño.

Dan Henderson is hugely familiar to UFC fans © Getty Images

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Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem hasn't lost since 2007 - in fact, he hasn't seen the second round since then - and he holds both the Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight belts. He won the K-1 Grand Prix in December, which might be his biggest accomplishment since he was operating in a subgenre of combat sports. Against UFC heavies like Velasquez, Dos Santos and Lesnar, Overeem could quickly raise his myth in America, yet if he loses to those guys UFC told-you-so's will have a field day.

Nick Diaz
Nick Diaz carries around asterisks like he does the chips on his shoulder, but Diaz is a vastly improved fighter from the one who beat Gleison Tibau at UFC 65 (his last fight with the UFC), and there are a ton of fighters at welterweight that would help pay those bills he's been harping on. A volume puncher with technical savvy on the ground and unmatched menace would go great against BJ Penn, Jon Fitch or, in many people's minds, Georges St-Pierre. But the wild card would be a fight with his current banner-mate Jason Miller, just because the UFC can have a wicked sense of humour.

Ronaldo Souza
Ronaldo Souza would add another wrinkle in an Anderson Silva and "everybody else" middleweight division, but it'd be interesting to see him fight just about anybody. A few match-ups for the Strikeforce champ that would have immediate appeal would be Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen, those hovering in the Spider's periphery. If Silva were to jump ship for 205, it'd be a free for all. Remember: Save for that Gegard Mousasi upkick in the Dream theatre, Jacaré hasn't lost since his debut in 2003.

Gegard Mousasi
Gegard Mousasi has said in the past he'd fight eight times a year if it could be arranged, and that's music to a matchmaker's ears - especially when there are so many fights for him at 205 in the UFC. He has to get by Mike Kyle next month, and might fight Dan Henderson for the belt after that if he wins, so a lot could change in a hurry. But stick Mousasi in there against a beast like Thiago Silva or a cerebral fighter like Lyoto Machida and he's equally at home, whereas a fight against a wrestler like Ryan Bader might further expose his vulnerability.

Muhammed Lawal
There's a golden fight there against Quinton Jackson, whom he has publicly feuded with in the past. The talk alone leading up to that fight would be five times more personal/mean/absurd than when Jackson fought Rashad Evans. The great thing is, they'd back that talk up come fight night. But really, there are myriad possibilities for King Mo, who is still young and adding elements to that much-coveted wrestling pedigree. A scrap with a guy like Phil Davis is really fun to think about.

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