After nearly seven years, Strikeforce was forced to throw in the towel Saturday night, after struggling mightily to successfully host events over the past year.

This led to a ton of mismatches for their 63 and final card but the fights were not completely pointless as several fighters staked their claim for a place inside the Octagon.

Check out the biggest winners and losers from Strikeforce’s final event.

BIGGEST WINNER
Tarec Saffiedine: The relatively unknown Tarec Saffiedine was one of the many massive underdogs on the card expected to get crushed by a name fighter.

However, the underrated Belgian striker proved that there’s a reason that match ups are decided in the cage and not on paper.

The Team Quest fighter soundly picked apart Nate Marquardt on the feet, grotesquely bruising his left leg to a level that had not been seen since Urijah Faber vs. Jose Aldo for the WEC featherweight title in April 2010.

Saffiedine also showed off fantastic takedown and striking defense throughout the bout. Prior to the fight, he stated that he would not get a chance in the UFC without a win over Marquardt. After this performance, it’s almost as if the UFC has no choice but to sign him.

WINNER
Daniel Cormier: The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner was expected to do whatever he wanted to Dion Staring and that was exactly what happened.

Cormier, who stopped staring with punches in the second round, really intrigued fans by calling out two UFC staples after his win: former heavyweight champ Frank Mir and UFC light heavyweight title holder Jon Jones.

A bout between “DC” and Mir has been expected for a long time now, but with Cormier confirming he is willing to drop down to 205-pounds, he all but assures himself a shot at UFC gold in 2013.

WINNER
Ronaldo Souza: “Jacare,” again dominated a much lesser foe on paper, easily submitting his overmatched opponent, Ed Herman, in roughly three minutes.

The world class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, catapulted his stock to a fringe top 10 middleweight in the UFC by steamrolling through one of their respected veterans.

In a worst case scenario, Souza needs to face a former UFC middleweight champion in his promotional debut later this year.

WINNER
Josh Barnett: “The Warmaster” made Nandor Guelmino look like a grappling dummy, submitting him in just over two minutes into the first round.

Everyone knows Barnett is a world class grappler with a great chin and underrated striking: he belongs in the UFC.

Barnett should apologize for using steroids when he won the UFC title from Randy Couture all the way back at UFC 36 in March 2002 and the UFC should then offer him a contract. We can only hope it’s that simple.

BIGGEST LOSER
Nate Marquardt: Everyone and their grandma predicted Marquardt was going to tear through Tarec Saffiedine before going on to fight a top five welterweight in the UFC.

“Sponge” made sure that didn’t go down as planned, making the former UFC middleweight title challenger look like an amateur for the better part of five rounds.

Marquardt was incredibly fortunate to be again guaranteed a spot in the UFC win or lose Saturday night, but the disappointing loss certainly puts him on a very short lease.

LOSER
Ed Herman: Since “Short Fuse” stepped up against Ronaldo Souza on short notice, he likely won’t face much backlash from the higher-ups of the UFC.

Nevertheless, this is the second time in a row Herman, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, was thoroughly dominated by a better grappler.

He was fortunate enough to have his decision loss to Jake Shields at UFC 150 in August overturned since Shields failed a drug test. Assuming that doesn’t happen here, Herman has just inherited a low-tier gatekeeper roll for at least a little while.

LOSER
Strikeforce: After their September and November events were cancelled back-to-back, there was little doubt that Strikeforce’s days were numbered.

A razor-thin roster with champions consistently getting injured are a recipe for disaster and the organization just couldn’t find any answers for the situation.

After Zuffa LLC (the parent company of the UFC) purchased Strikeforce in March 2011, fans were practically salivating over the prospect of fun, exciting crossover bouts between Strikeforce and UFC fighters.

That situation never came to fruition (aside from Souza vs. Herman) and led to the slow, painful death of Strikeforce.