5 Questions for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Is Gina Carano rust-proof?

Thanks to botched promotional care (courtesy of the curdled ProElite) and contract muck, Carano will have enjoyed a 10-month layoff by the time she and Santos square off. Even if that time was spent in the exclusive company of a heavy bag and blended oatmeal -- and it wasn’t -- Carano will have some timing issues to work out in the opening moments of the fight. There is no substitution in prizefighting for someone trying to take your head off. For a prize.

Are looks everything?

Remember how ripped up Linda Hamilton looked in “Terminator 2,” and how all anyone could discuss were her marbleized arms? If this training video is any indication, Santos will make Hamilton look like a plus-size model.

Of course, it’s easy to take a month’s worth of footage and edit it down to three minutes’ worth of kinetic hype. Carano isn’t as vascular; whether that’s evidence of two very disparate worth ethics -- or just genetics -- is open to debate.

Is Nick Diaz setting fire to his own career?

Originally scheduled to face off against Joe Riggs Saturday, Diaz first had his opponent switched to Jay Hieron and then to no one at all: he failed to appear for a scheduled drug test and was bumped from the proceedings. He won’t get his show money, won’t get his win money, and won’t get his sponsorship money. Suddenly, that dime bag is looking more and more expensive.

Both Diaz and trainer Cesar Gracie are fond of waxing on the evils of the anti-marijuana squad, which is their privilege: the problem is that their provided opinion isn’t worth more to the athletic commissions than a provided urine sample. Diaz wasted an entire training camp and put his employer under no small amount of promotional duress.

There’s a time and place for everything: Diaz needs to run his smoke signals far more carefully.

Is Fabricio Werdum as bummed out as we are?

Not long ago, Fabricio Werdum climbed out of bed and into the gym fueled by the prestige that comes with opposition like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Andrei Arlovski, and Alistair Overeem; some bouts took place in cavernous Japanese arenas.

Saturday, he’ll suit up for a prelim fight against Mike Kyle, a journeyman fighter who has posted exactly one impressive win—against Rafael Cavalcante—in nearly four years. If you can figure out what this fight will do for Werdum’s career, you’re in very exclusive company.

Is Strikeforce ready for the scrutiny?

Aligning with Showtime (and potentially CBS) to promote Fedor Emelianenko has brought Strikeforce more mass attention in the past several months than it’s experienced in several years of business tallied together. And with a presence that magnified comes some very audible stumbling.

Saturday’s card has hemorrhaged athletes due to injury; co-attraction Nick Diaz couldn’t be bothered to deliver a clean cup of urine; equal rights for 5-round women’s fights could result in 2.5 rounds of extremely fatigued kickboxing.

Strikeforce has enjoyed status as the regional show that had its act together. Seen -- fairly or not -- as a contender for the UFC’s market share, that may not cut it anymore. Emelianenko makes them a big fish, gives them big boots to fill -- you pick the metaphor. My best one: They’re playing full court now. Don’t know if they have the team for it.