MMA News: Lottery for Strikeforce Tournament Brackets

A lottery will decide which fighters will face off in the first round of the Strikeforce middleweight tournament. (Strikeforce photo)

On Thursday, Nov 15 in San Jose, Calif., mixed martial arts fighters Trevor Prangley (16-4), Falaniko Vitale (24-7), Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1), and Jorge Santiago (14-7) will finally find out who they're each facing in the first round of the Strikeforce middleweight tournament.

Immediately following the weigh-ins for "Bodog Fight presents Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Leaves," each of them will draw a lottery ball numbered one through four. Then, in that order, they will choose which slot on the tournament draw they wish to occupy.

"It’s great that the Athletic Commission has sanctioned this tournament," Prangley says, "but it sucks they won’t let us draw opponents until the weigh in. I’m not too sure why they won’t. I mean, a random draw is fine, but draw it a month or even two weeks out so you know who you’re facing. That way you can get a game plan together and prepare mentally."

According to Prangley, where a fighter fits into the draw can have a huge outcome on the result of a tournament.

"If you draw a tough fight in the first round and you win you’re confident going into the second round," he explains. "Then again, if you draw a tougher opponent in the second round, you could already be tired or beat up coming in. I’d actually like to see them seeding the fighters in a tournament like this. That way, you’re more likely to see the top two end up in the finals."

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