Though Ambriz was approved by the Florida State Boxing Comission, Strikeforce has nixed the bout for undisclosed reasons, according to MMA Junkie.  The FSBC had previously refused to santion a fight between Lashley and Yohan Banks (2-1).

“I got a call last night that said I’d definitely be fighting, and [Strikeforce officials] said, ‘We want to make sure to have the right opponent for you.  I hope everything works out. I hope they find someone and the fight is good,” Lashley told MMA Junkie.

Fighters.com is disappointed the matchup between two top five super heavyweight fighters has been cancelled.  It seems Strikeforce is intent on matching Lashley in a heavyweight bout.  MMA Gospel Radio host Reverend Turk Vangel wrote on Fighters.com earlier this week that Lashley won’t be competitive at heavyweight.

Lashley is coming off a three-minute beatdown of “Beast” Bob Sapp (10-5-1) at Fight Force International in Biloxi last June and making his Strikeforce debut.

Ambriz TKO’d Chris Clark (7-31) at Midwest Fighting Championships 9 in Iowa August 22 and will replace Yohan Banks (2-1) after the Florida State Boxing Comission deemed Banks unsuitable for Lashley.

The matchup is huge!  Not just in size, but because it means Lashley will remain in the super heavyweight division for at least one more fight.  Fighters.com has been on a campaign to legitimize the over 265-pound division in MMA.  It’s been difficult because super heavyweights rarely square off versus each other.  But, the Lashley-Ambriz matchup is a legitimate fight between top super heavyweights.

Each time top super heavyweights fight it legitimizes the division and creates a market for the fights.  Fighters.com hopes the Lashley-Ambriz fight is exciting and leads to the creation of a super heavyweight division in Strikeforce.  Why not?  The top fighters are usually free agents and Brazil has a yet-to-be tapped stable of highly skilled fighters over 265 pounds.

According to MMA Junkie, Ambriz is awaiting sanctioning by the FSBC to face Lashley, but that seems like a formality considering Ambriz’ size and experience.

Unfortunately, dos Santos’s win doesn’t push him passed “Guigao“, to whom he has a 2008 loss by TKO.

“Giant” Jan Nortje (2-6) remains Fighters.com’s Super Heavyweight Champion.  “Feels good to be number one,” Norje told Fighters.com.

“Dominator” Bobby Lashley (4-0) has signed with Strikeforce and will evidently compete at heavyweight.  Too bad!  Fighters.com would rather see Lashley anchor a Strikeforce play in the super heavyweight division.

Fighters.com’s January Super Heavyweight Rankings

 1. “Giant” Jan Nortje (2-6)

2. “Dominator” Bobby Lashley (4-0)

3. “Guigao” (3-0)

4. “Mondragon” Geronimo dos Santos (4-1)

5. “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (14-8)

Let’s be brutally straight.  The 185-pound Japanese eccentric, “Minowaman” Ikuhisa Minowa (40-28-8), who regularly meets’n'beats super heavyweights, is as worthy of the top slot as Fighters.com’s first Super Heavyweight Champion “Giant” Jan Nortje (2-6), and I’m not sure a “Minowaman” rolling kneebar wouldn’t clear out the entire top five.

But, I attempted to rank the division according to the same guidelines used to rank the mainstream weight classes, taking into account only their records from the previous two years and only in fights versus other super heavyweight fighters.  That excludes “Minowaman” and most of the fights on these behemoths’ records.  Quite simply, the division is a joke because super heavyweights rarely fight other super heavyweights.  They’re often either matched-up versus a heavyweight or relegated to spectacles versus much smaller opponents.

Super heavyweights must start picking on fighters their own size to legitimize this division.

 Fighters.com realizes that’s easier said than done and not entirely these fighters’ faults.  Promoters often choose opponents for super heavyweights, and often times the spectacle of a 185-pound fighter versus a 330-pound fighter puts more asses in seats than what’s sure to be a sluggish contest between two 330-pound fighters.  But, if a promotion wanted to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, establishing a legitimate super heavyweight class and offering a belt to challenge for would create buzz among the core MMA audience.

If you’re like me, for most of our history watching this sport, part of the allure was that it was outside of the mainstream.  You had to work to be an MMA fan until circa 2005.  You had to scour the Internet for fight videos and often only found fellow fans in message boards.  Fighters became legends before you ever saw them fight.  You’d hear whispers on message boards of someone blowing out established fighters in Japan or Iowa and might only actually see them months later when video of the latest UFC event finally made it to your video store.  If you’re nostalgic for those times, the super heavyweight division is the last frontier of MMA.  This is the division for you.

Admittedly, the +265 talent pool is thin.  But,  offering a legitimate super heavyweight belt would attract some of the heavyweight division’s heavier fighters to compete for it, drawing talent up to the division.  The competition would improve everyone in the division, as the same legitimization process has improved the level of talent and athleticism throughout MMA.

 Fighters.com considers these rankings a work in progress and encourages you to post suggestions.  Remember the ranking rules: Only consider a fighter’s record for the previous two years and only versus fellow super heavyweights.

Fighters.com’s November Super Heavyweight Rankings

 1. “Giant” Jan Nortje (2-6)

2. “Dominator” Bobby Lashley (4-0)

3. “Guigao” (3-0)

4. “Mondragon” Geronimo dos Santos (3-1)

5. “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (14-8)

Kharitonov knocked down Ambriz almost immediately, snapping back Armbriz’s Arthur Fonzarelli ’do, and although he got back up, Ambriz was never really in the fight.

Even a yellow card to Kharitonov for holding the ropes didn’t help Ambriz.  Every hit staggered him, and Kharitonov was relentless in his assault, throwing straights, hooks, and knees.

Ambriz finally tapped from his hands and knees at 2:29 of round one as Kharitonov pummelled Armbriz’s ribs.