Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has purchased top rival Strikeforce, UFC President Dana White announced Saturday in an exclusive interview with MMAFighting.
White said both promotions will continue to run as usual, with Strikeforce remaining a separate promotion and honoring its existing deals, including broadcasts on Showtime.
“I dont wanna disclose any of the details of how the deal was done. We now own Strikeforce”, White said. “Strikeforce is gonna continue to run business as usual. There are contracts in place (with fighters and Showtime). All those contracts are going to be honored. Could guys leave the UFC and end up in Strikeforce? Yes, absolutely. We’ve signed a deal with Scott Coker to stay on.”
That includes the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz, and Paul Daley, who according to White, will remain in Strikeforce.
“We honor contracts. We honor the deal. We will do the same there. M-1 (Global) has a deal with Showtime that is completely separate. Fedor (Emelianenko) will continue to fight in Strikeforce on Showtime.”
White said the deal was primarily to add more fighters as the UFC continues to expand, particularly into international markets.
“We need more fighters. We need more fights,” White said, but dismissed potential superfights between the promotions. “There wont be any superfights…we dont co-promote.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Strikeforce’s upcoming schedule includes “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” on April 9 in San Diego and the continuation of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix on June 18 in Dallas, which will go on as scheduled airing on Showtime.
According to ESPN, the UFC is expected absorb Strikeforce like it recently did with World Extreme Cagefighting once the promotion’s deal with Showtime is complete.
For the latest UFC news and Strikeforce news stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Latest
HOLY SH*T!!
Sounds to me like Strikeforce isn’t / wasn’t backed by Showtime and they were possibly in trouble. Sounds like it was a quick sale which would indicate that type of senario. The truth in this kind of situation is that nothing is set in stone. Today it is Scott Coker’s deal and he is in charge but he easliy could be gone tonight. They could dissolve the whole thing before the next show. Anything is possible. I know alot guys whose companies were sold and the first this they always say is ‘business as usual, my job is safe’. Never is the case. That is what they say because the powers that be are telling them that same thing. What does the UFC want with this stable of fighters? Nothing. The truth is probably that the price was so cheap that the opportunity far outweighed any risk of what they could do with it. And since it was so sudden they don’t know what they are going to do with it.
So, Strikeforce will become the farm league for the UFC? The minor league system basically? Is this what we could be seeing?
As if we haven’t been?
Is this real life
Have 2 say dude, ur comment is the best by far, so funny man, u hit the nail on the head, cracked me up :0)
WOW…WONDER WHAT PAUL DALEY IS THINKING
Silly Corlin….Paul Daley doesn’t think…
haha ya you’re right…now he’s reconsidering his title shot?!?!
what an idiot,suck it up and deal with the fact that MMA is becoming a monopoly unless you want to go to Bellator or leave the US. He’s the one who F’d up anyways and should be apologizing for his child like behavior.No fighter bashing -BSBiz
Wow! I can’t wait to see what will happen in a few years after most of the strikeforce contracts run out, i.e. M1 global n Showtime! I didn’t see this one coming!!!
First thought:
*check calendar, make sure it’s not April 1st*
Second thought:
So SF just became, formally and officially, the UFC minor leagues…
I had to check the calendar myself.
Having a minor leagues is a good thing. i.e. Baseball, hockey, soccer.
Even though Dana White says business as usual, they’ve got to every once in a while slap Strikeforces hand and say, “No, don’t do that, we want that guy.”
I definitely thought, “But it’s not April 1st,” when I first read it.
this is sparta!
Even though Dana White says both organizations will run as per usual, I’ve got to think that Strikeforce will be a dumping ground of second tier talent, or guys that the UFC doesn’t want representing that brand (ie: Daley, Sobral, etc…) UFC will cherry pick the guys that they want, and instead of UFC fighters being cut after 3 or 4 consecutive losses, they’ll be sent down to Strikeforce. Just an idea, but it might shake out that way, right?
OMFG….. lol i just thought of something that i find rather funny and your post inspired it…
Strike Forces new name… SF = Still Fighting, no longer is it Strike Farce… lol
who else is with me on this one? while they can use SF to develop some fighters up, they can also send the downward skill level fighters down… hence Still Fighting
I got pretty excited until I watched the video and realized Strikeforce fighters are not now going to be fighting against UFC fighters, then I was disappointed. Anyone else have a similar reaction?
I’m confused on what’s gonna happen… Is it like the wec thing where there will be no more strikeforce shows??
“Strikeforce’s upcoming schedule includes “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” on April 9 in San Diego and the continuation of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix on June 18 in Dallas, which both will air on Showtime as scheduled.”
Wow. This was big enough to bring me out of retirement and force me to comment on the site again. Holy crap this is huge, and pretty much out of nowhere.
Out of nowhere indeed. No rumors at all, just bombshell.
Wow, I think this great news btw
what what what what what whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat im i seeing things here
Does this mean we’ll be seeing Fedor vs. Lesnar soon?
And, if so, does that fight still have any relevance?
highly doubtful.
Did you watch the video? Your question is answered there.
Where the hell did this come from.
He keeps saying, “At this point in time…” Makes me say a merger is right around the corner. I was surprised how long they kept the WEC. I think the deal breaker for the WEC was when they had their one PPV and it probably didnt do as well as they wanted so they merged. I think all Strikeforce has to do is mess up after certain contracts expire and BAM, merger.
It’s been confirmed that once the current contracts expire that a merger likely will happen.
That has been confirmed by who?
See the article.
Yeah I read it..”ESPN”..was it Josh Gross?
yeah it was.
Ok at least Gross is somewhat reputable..it would be just like ESPN to jump the gun, speculate and report
It says in the article that there’s are expectations the ufc will merge strikeforce into their org once current contracts (tv, m1) are over. Not sure how long those deals may be for.
This is crazy news, last thing I expected to see. I really thought SF would be around for years (on there own), no rumours, nothing, just bang…we now own SF.
My body was not ready for this news..
this seems less like a move “for the sport” and more a move for the pocketbook.
Everything is the same the profits just go in a different direction
Yes until the Showtime/Strikeforce contract expires it will seem that way
Basically the only thing that is different immediately is that the UFC & Strikeforce are not at each others throats anymore
I dont think this is bad for mma at all look at all the other professional sports. u don’t have 2 NFLs or 2 MLBs or 2 NBAs. I think this is awesome
Its all about the benjamins!
I saw this on a pro wrestling news site, I thought it was a joke
This is huge.
Chrisl,
If it is confirmed that after the contracts are done that a merger will happen, i assume there actually Will be “super fights” in all weight classes which will be huge paydays for fighters and Dana so I don’t see why not.
Damn dude crazy news for sure
The “superfights” won’t happen until the expiration of the current SF deals and even then, there is no guarentee that all fighters with SF will resign with the UFC or be offered contracts. SF is still just SF until their deal with showtime ends essentially. Same applies to SF’s deal with M-1.
The renegotations with Fedor and some of the others will definitely be interesting, especially considering Sengoku is now officially done, DREAM is seemingly done, though not officially so, and there is pretty much no where else to go.
@Justin I’m more curious what this means for the recently announced M-1 Challenge- Showtime deal. The M-1 Challenge has been reasonably successful overseas and the Zuffa-SF deal could create a conflict of interest for Showtime.
Good point, but we already know that White doesn’t like Showtime and would likely not stay with them after the contract ended anyways. The only question mark is between Showtime and M-1, and I doubt Showtime will change anything on their part on account of the UFC. Though I do hope they can get some better announcers out of this deal…
@Justin Yeah that’s more what I’m getting at. White says in the interview that Coker will deal with the SF/Showtime business for now. Just curious about the Showtime/M-1 side.
That seems mostly irrelevant because Zuffa doesn’t have their fingers in either of those pies (for now?).
@bsbiz when I talked to Tim Kennedy awhile back he alluded to Showtime having a lot of pull in setting up the Strikeforce fights. That’s why I’m a little curious since Dana says the Showtime-SF deal is still for two more years. I can see a conflict of interest for Showtime and their partners.
What, as far as the M-1 challenge? I don’t know. If it means that they get more and better dates, I don’t see that as a bad thing. It might mean that the talent on the shows turns over a little quicker than it might otherwise. It might mean that fighters can’t shuttle between Strikeforce (and/or Challengers series) and the challenge, but I don’t see there being a conflict of interest.
Showtime controls or has influence multiple aspects of Strikeforce’s production, including setting fights. Showtime’s head’s and M-1 Global’s heads both have issues with Dana White. Zuffa’s purchase of SF keeps the Showtime deals in place, whose to say Showtime will not create issues for Zuffa here with another promotion not associated with Dana White that they can focus on.
Not saying it’d be smart of Showtime to do so, but I’ll be curious to see how that relationship unfolds between Showtime-Zuffa.
I don’t really see how Showtime can screw with Zuffa, though. Especially because Coker will be the one they’re dealing with. And I suspect they wouldn’t actually deal with Dana, but more likely one of the Fertittas.
im a big dana fan but get over the daley thing, daley knows he did wrong kos doesnt care get him back in the ufc, will be intresting if he knocks diaz out to see where he stands then
Good for Ariel in this interview, just kept going after those questions no matter how resistant.
I honestly think this is bad for the UFC. It is really critical to have competition to force the UFC to continue to create a better product. You can say what you want about SF, but it WAS a different company which put pressure on the UFC to sign and compensate the right fighters, enhance their offering and compete with SF’s “show”. With the whole enchillada under Dana’s purview, I think there will less attention to detail and the product will suffer.
this means nothing short term wise. long term wise we might see some SF vs UFC fights but highly unlikely since all the big SF names will be too old. just a minor league for ufc.
I am stunned..have not read through the thread yet..
I just had to check todays date to make sure it was not April fools..wow
UFC/Strikeforce Merger in 2011 = WWE/WCW Merger in 2001
Ok we just had the Brian Bowles 3:30 thing… that’s freaky too…
WOW thats a big wow.
But the people who hate UFC and supports strikeforce what they gonna do? From their POV ain’t Scott cooker broke the good faith violation?
I’m not sure as to what super fights people are mentioning? Imo
Fedor was their only real marketable fighter and he’s lost two
In a row so… Oh yeah and I guess Overeem
I believe all of their champions would be legit threats to their UFC counterparts. Gilbert Melendez matches up well with Edgar, Maynard, Pettis or Henderson. Nate Diaz has run through everyone since leaving the UFC, he avenged his only loss to KJ Noons and would probably be just as successful against GSP as anyone else has. I believe Jacare hasn’t been tested yet but with Silva’s dominance over the rest of the division, I think any new contender is welcome. Hendo and Shogun have both never been knocked out, they’d both have to change their game up a little bit. And although Overeem faces weak competition, he dominates them completely, I have yet to see an off night in his current run, I would love to see him against anyone of the top UFC HWs. There are plenty of superfights in addition to Fedor if UFC ever chose to absorb Strikeforce like they did WEC. Time will tell how it unfolds, I’m just saying there are a lot of exciting fights if it does happen.
Diaz would be hard pressed to last 3 rounds with koscheck let alone GSP.
No MMA fan with half of a brain hates the UFC and supports Strikeforce
Now will we get see Fedor fights on the best of pride series?
NO FUCKING WAY
My emotions are going both ways on this..
My first reaction is this is great..Zuffa is building an empire and growing the sport of MMA astronomically
Part of me also feels strange or a little uneasy about this..I liked that the UFC had to compete with Strikeforce in some ways and that the UFC had a rival competitor
So is a complete takeover of MMA by Zuffa a good or bad thing??..Right now it feels surreal but in the long run I believe this is going to be very good
Oh and also..I am glad that Coker did not have to resign or anything like that..I think Scott Coker is a great promoter and should be a big part of w/e plans that Zuffa/UFC/Strikeforce have going forward
Remember when Zuffa bought the WEC, they kept Reed Harris around and in charge until the merger, then they still found room for him in the front office. That merger will be very much like this one, most likely.
Thus will turn out like the Vince McMahon buying wcw & ecw. It’s not going to work when it becomes a monopoly, sad to say.
Dana is the puppet master now
Bank on it
It didn’t work for Vince because the generation of fake wrestling fans all grew up..well not all but most
Mixed Martial Arts is very different than WWE so don’t “bank on it”
Is the NFL a monopoly, is MLB, NBA, or NHL? They are merely the premiere companies in their given sports. Its what the UFC is looking to become, except on a global scale. They want to be synonymous with the sport of MMA the same way those companies are with those sports. UFC has always done their best to give us the best fights, sometimes up to 4 or 5 times a month (even more during a TUF season). The best they can do is sign who they can, match up exciting fights and hope the fans enjoy, unfortunately sometimes fights don’t live up to the hype, but is that really the UFC’s fault? With more fighters, and an extra company, they will continue to do the same to entertain us fans. I am actually glad that this will all mean no more same night cards cause I never know which one to watch or DVR.
your timing is bad with the NFL (they’re being sued under anti-trust laws now) but you point is valid
The NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL all have anti-trust exemptions from Congress based on the Unions that the players have. Now that the NFLPA is no longer a union (officially), anti-trust legislation becomes an option. This is slightly different, I think, but still an interesting question.
Does this also mean that Fedor STILL doesn’t own any of his fight footage?
Dan your trippin without competition the fighters wont be able to negotiate good deals for themselves. Look what happened with Pride, Sengoku was next & Dream will follow…..
Sengoku and Dream are having issues that have nothing to do with Zuffa.
Yeah Im “trippin” homie..I actually suggest that you boycott the UFC..send them a message
this came out of left field. they did a good job of keepin this quiet. come to think of it, its been a lil while since ive herd dana bad mouth or even comment on strikeforce happenings
First they bought the UFC from the gracies’ then they bought WEC, and now SF… No more competition, that’s kinda suck. Zuffa wants to dominate well, be careful cause the anti trust is just around the corner.
There are plenty of other organizations out there currently so anti-trust laws would be difficult to enact here for quite awhile.
I got it, thanks ;-)
i would love to see overeem vs brock…
Watch the interview.
not gonna happen no time soon
i realize that, hence the … i was just putting it out there
SF= the new WEC, period.
This is insane.. This means UFC will have full control over just about every major fighter in the MMA game. Zuffa is now on its way to holding a complete monopoly on the sport..
The biggest concern now for fighters like FEDOR and Daley is that they will be held to Danas mentality. Yes thier contracts will be honored.. BUT once those contracts expire every1 who was on danas bad side (daley and fedor)will be on thin ice..
No, once their contract expires, they’ll have a couple options:
1) Sign with the Zuffa juggernaut.
2) Sign somewhere else.
It’s that simple.
and by signing somewhere else means not makin enough money to pay the bills which means ya pretty much gotta sign with zuffa.
You nailed it. Don’t be so certain that other promos won’t pay well. There are plenty of rich folks that would love to start up something. Hell go ask Mark Cuban.
Yes but do you think Dana is gonna give Fedor or daley the contracts that Zuffa gave out in the first place???? ESPECIALY FEDOR!. He will never get those INSANE contracts anymore. Dana always thought he was overpriced.. now he can control Fedors paycheck.. Sucks for them.
Once the contracts expire the ball is in Dana Whites hands and he will not give in to M1′s over the top requests…
Opps.. Mistype.. I didnt mean ZUFFA.. I meant STRIKEFORCE.
@thatguy – Then they can go get jobs to pay the bills.
This includeds hendo as well…….
yep.. Im betting if hendo was offered 250k (per fight) to stay in the UFC he would have taken it.. He wont be seeing that contract again after this one is up
@Phil – Henderson earned a reported 400K for his last UFC fight (UFC 100) with 250K guarenteed and a 150K win bonus… on top of that a 100K KO of the night bonus.
The issues with Hendo came down to a few things: the title shot that was given to him and then taken away by White and he wanted to be paid more and given a longer contract.
The only reason he wouldn’t see a similar contract when this one is up would be due to a major fall off in skill. The better news for Hendo is that the ban on “Clinch Gear” will likely be lifted in the UFC.
Publicly, Henderson has seemed happy with the move so far.
I think what everyone is missing is that a bunch of these fighters didn’t go with UFC for a reason. I think this is a terrible move for UFC. A complete waste of money. Think about it, once all the Strikeforce contracts are up do you honestly think these guys are going to want to stay with UFC or Strikeforce? Most of these guys were probably not wanted by the UFC or they didn’t want to be part of the UFC. That won’t change! It just means they’re going to move onto another promotion. I’m not sure which one but if someone wants to start something up I’m sure there will be plenty of MMA fighters that don’t want to deal with Dana, UFC/Strikeforce and will look elsewhere. Hence the waste of money on UFC’s part.
Good point. Have to agree with you. In other words you kill 1 today, there will be 10 more tomorrow.
OMG! One more thing>>>>> WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN TO THE WOMEN??????? Will Dana continue the Womens division after all their contracts are gone?
from what i understand from the vid is scott coker is still handling the strike forces contracts..i think. did i understand that right? kinda like chevy and pontiac are under the GM name, but there own company
pontiac is dead though…
lol..my bad. buick,olds and caddie then :)
If you watched the video, Dana specifically commented on it.
I bet that Zuffa turns Strikeforce into the has-beens and women’s league… no offence to women, just the has-beens!
Crazee news. Doesnt Daley have to be concerned about his future once his current deal is up? I think Dana said that he would never fight in the ufc and he didn’t care if he became p4p best fighter, etc.
As far as these “super fights” that are not supposed to happen, Im not sure I see any of the sf champs being close to the top 3 or 4 ufc guys in each division so I really can’t see them happening.
Overeem and hendo both can hamg with the top compation
Hendo can’t hang at 205 in the UFC.
@dbiz
Yes he can why cant he?? He didnt leave because he was getting beat up. Whats the purpose of u and bsbiz?? Are u guys the smart assss of the site??
I agree with them, I think Hendo would be a gatekeeper…
u really think hendo cant hang at 205? cuz he lost to shields at 185? thats why huh? bet u think couture is the mix at 205 also lol
I wasn’t trying to say that these guys(sf) can’t compete in ufc but i just dont see any of their champs getting a title shot/superfight. And i see them all having to work really hard to get a W over a top 3 or 4 ufc guy.
I do like Dan henderson and maybe it was a crappy weight cut but he does seem to gas. If his fight against franklin had of gone another 2 minutes he would have been done. So at 40 it will be tough for him against guys like Bader, jones, etc. I would like to see him fight rampage. But since they won’t be merging any time soon it is not gonna happen.
To cut to a key reason for this deal is to keep fighter contracts in-line. This deal really hurts the bargaining power of the fighters. As long as Strikeforce was a separate entity it had potential to attract disgruntled UFC stars like Anderson Silva perhaps. It is a good deal for Strikeforce because it had trouble putting on shows and was just hanging on. Winners are Zuffa and Scott Coker – Strikeforce gets to live. Fighters get screwed in the long run.
i guess 3 losses in 5 years means u cant hang no more
Hendo can hang, the H-Bomb is fa real!!
I’m not basing this on the Shields fight although you have to consider that.
Coutoure is good for interesting fights but he will never make a run at the title, even if he beats Machida.
I think Hendo has a few problems. He’s getting older and apparently he has some back problems. That’s not a good thing at any age, let alone 40. I also think the top fighters in the UFC’s stacked LHW division will avoid doing what Bisping did and circle to their right. Avoid the heavy hand and you still have to deal with a great wrestler that can GNP but I think someone with a good game plan can push the pace against him, don’t allow him to play to his strengths and wear him down.
i agree with what ur sayin, but i also look at it like this
-never been (t)ko’d
-lost to shidls at 185(due to weight cut issues at 40yrs young)
-since 2002 only been finished twice..via sub (silva n lil’ Nog)
-has the 1 punch knock out power
-jst ko’d a very game oppnt (Cavalcante).. Sobral befor that
jst sayin.
I also see what you’re saying. You can make a case for him no problem. I would just say that in my opinion it comes down to the UFC being a few steps above Hendo and I think he only has a few weapons which a good game plan can avoid. Obviously it’s MMA. Anyone can win and a big H-bomb can certainly get him some W’s wherever he goes. I just wouldn’t put my money on him in fights with top guys.
This is always terrible for an industry. Just like when WWE bought WCW the prowrestling industry went to shit. There will be little leverage for fighters to negotiate and less jobs to be had.
The difference with this is that MMA hasn’t reached its peak yet. MMA isn’t on cable TV. Although it is huge, it’s not “mainstream” per se. The UFC is the leader in expanding the sport. Without this expansion, it’s exposure will be limited to North America and a few other markets. As big of a ruthless competitor DW can be, I highly doubt he is the guy who will ruin MMA. There will be less leverage for fighters in a way but at the same time, with business expanding there will be more money in it anyways. The little guys might not be making millions but it’s better than the $3-5k a fight that guys are making in the prelims on cards now. Even if the base goes up to $10k, a fighter can fight 3 times a year and with his salary, bonuses and sponsorships he should be okay.
Less jobs to be had? In the long run this will help create talent which will help sustain the sport so at least some guys can make a living, even mid-lower level guys (on the big stage). Eventually there will be more cards which will create openings and a need for more fighters.
Just my opinion.
I though he was gonna merge the two companies together but now i realize what he is doing, He is making it like wrestling and how they have Raw and they have Smackdown. Instead of taking away all of the talent from one company and bringing it to the next he wants both strikeforce and Ufc to have their star fighters and upcoming talent so they can still be eye pleasing to the fans. Put it this way, If UFC would of taken fighter like Fedor and brought him to the UFC and make him fight a super fight, only the UFC fans will watch it and some strikeforce fans but at the same time if Fedor was to lose he wouldn’t be valuable to UFC anymore and both set of fans would realize that. This isn’t about making one company greater, its about keeping both companies separate and allowing them to obtain and market all their fighters and please the fans that they made.
Its pretty Brilliant and Zuffa the actual company that owns both of them are many way more. Another example, look at pride and how their fighters went to ufc after they bought it but it doesn’t mean the pride fans became ufc fans because it doesn’t appeal to them. But if they kept pride and ufc separate then Zuffa would be making tons of money from Pride as well.
That is not a bad analogy, but someone earlier had a better one: When WWE (then WWF) merged with WCW. Both companies existed separately, then the WCW talent that Vince wanted came over, and everyone else went to local circuits. If you watched the video, Dana White specifically said there would be no cross-promotion and no superfights.
One hundred eleventy plus posts.
I guess this captured the weekend MMA news cycle.
;-)
What more can be said on this?
Dana White laid it all down for Helwani, and we’ll have to wait for the rest.
Outside of that, this shouldn’t really be THAT surprising.
Zuffa buys MMA orgs.
Aside from parenting the UFC, thats whay they do.
Some would say thats ALL Zuffa does, which is why it makes them so sharp.
They promote MMA thru their premium brand the UFC, and grow that brand in a number of ways, including comsuming their smaller “competition”.
The timing might be odd, but the action itself?
I remember forums threads about this going back a year, maybe more.
A lot of us saw it coming.
Eventually, just not today.
When you factor in the collapse of Japanese MMA, the still-dragging stateside economy, and the prospect of an outfit like Showtime possibly becoming a direct UFC competitor withthe whole “M-1 Challange” thing, Dana White and the Fertitas probably decided, “why put off until tomorrow what we can do today?”
Namely, buy Strikeforce and monopolize North American MMA.
I have to think at this point that Bjorn Rebney is thinking, “so much for co-promotion”…
Yeah most posts I’ve ever seen
One article said ProElite was looking to buy and zuffa jumped right in. It also said ProElite was ready to purchase a couple of weeks ago. So zuffa came in quick and hard.
Dont know why that influenced them to buy, but thats what happened.
Did this happen because of financial problems ? The whole delaying of the heavyweight tourney ? Just speculating … Anyway, I think that it’ll be goo for the fans xD !!
I say they need to use Strikeforce as a minor league company and UFC should just harvest from them every so often. Right now, pick Gilbert Melendez, Jacare, Hendo, Werdum, Bigfoot, Sergei Kharintov and Overeem out of the Strikeforce banner and into UFC. I know Fedor signed a tv deal with Showtime and not Strikeforcce so he won’t be coming into UFC anytime soon. There is no way Nick Diaz will be coming back to UFC and might as well leave him there till he can prove he can stay away from pot for at least 3 fights. It would be great to see the heavyweight tournament finish now that Strikeforce can’t ruin it anymore. I know Coeker is still gonna run it but I’m sure Dana will really be in charge.
I’d love to see Overeem face off against Lesnar. His striking is brutal. If Lesnar couldn’t keep him on the ground, we would see him get beat down faster and harder than when Velasquez beat him. Could even put him against Carwin. Overeem’s striking is faster and probably more accurate but Carwin has more power and we’ve seen the ‘Reem get knocked out a few times whether it be in Pride or K-1. It would be pretty evenly matched. Jacare would be great coming into the middlweight mix. Put him against Okami and winner gets title shot (since GSP is one win away from that super fight). I think Hendo is good, but he wouldn’t be in title contention. UFC’s light heavy division is their most stacked division and his only win in that division while in UFC was against Franklin. It would be good to see him in the mix though. Melendez get the loser of Pettis/Guida or Maynard/Edgar and winner of that fights for the title. This is a good thing. UFC has needed a minor league company and I hope that is exactly what they do with it.
Watch the video and everything will be explained to you.
what a shock.i couldnt believe it til i saw the interview with dana white.feel bad for paul daley,dan henderson,fedor there all going to get cut after their deals are done with showtime/strikeforce
Hendo says he’s fine with Dana. He’ll just have to accept a pay cut. But as of now, SF can still re-sign him after his contract is up but in the future, if the UFC and SF merge, he says he doesn’t mind fighting for the UFC.
I think overall the merger is bad from the fighter’s perspective. Becuase there are too many fighters now(UFC + WEC) but the fighting cards as well as number of fights in one card didn’t increase as significantly. As a results fighters will not get as many fights they used to get before merger in a year. And no fight = no money. Look how many WEC fighter were there when the WEC was seperate. Every month they used to have 1 card and the card filled with say 14-20 fighters. Now after the merger there should be 30-40 fighter but in reality it is still about 20 fighters in one card.
Give it some time.
and once all the UFC fighter get’s old? :P
My friend there is a phrase “Time and tide wait for none”. Dana can put 3 cards once in a month but by this time these fighters might past their prime time and almost on their way to exist with less money in the pocket.
After UFC 200, they shouldn’t use numbers anymore. I really believe that in actuality Zuffa could put on no less than 3 shows a month every month.
MMA is exploding right now, so the Fertittas decided to Strike with iron is blazing hot. The speed in which this took place is almost unreal.
To hear Dana White talk, the true treasure is the library they just acquired (not unlike the deal with Pride). Once the commitment with Showtime/M1 expires, things will get very interesting….
what the big deal with the library? why is that such a gem to dana? jst so they can copywrite it?
Because , like the WWE with Wrestling , if you own all the true major footage of MMA over the years then you can stake claim to being the Big Cheese . But the draw back is the fact that someone can have a stellar career yet even tho they fought the fights they cannot profit from their hard efforts , only a small possible percentage at best ….. some guys get their glory and others can be faded out completely because they made a bald guy mad
Fair point.
I guess the key here if you are a pro MMA fighter and you want to make sure you have a lasting and visible video MMA legacy would be to not make “a bald guy mad”…
hehe
Exactly Jchol,
However , the next question is who is next in line …… BELLATOR is cool but doesnt have the format to compete with ZUFFA , which is a good thing as I see it . Sengoku has pretty much closed up shop …. which leaves DREAM … and that could be a possibility . with what has happened in Japan , that market is basically done for a while (thats a horrible thing and I hope all gets better soon )… so what would happen if DREAM was to come to N.America ….. and I point the finger north to Canada when I say that where there is a large asian population % .
Picture this Jchol …..for build up have a TV reality show that gives amateur local fighters a shot at fighting against DREAM fighters on a professional card . Then hold events throught Canada once the show is over ….. Plus throw in a few K-1 fights like they do for dynamite cards and it would sell huge . They could do shows in Nanaimo , Victoria , Vancouver and Seattle alone not to mention Prince George Kamloops Kelowna ….. all places dying for some professional sporting entertainment . Roger’s/ Shaw cable could do $40 PPV’s and has access to over 4 million people in BC alone .
Big MMA fan here, but this is sad & bad news for the “future” of MMA growing to a new broad audience. I see this going the way of the WWE. Remember bigger is not always better! Look what Don King, a onetime boxing promoter GIANT did to the sport.
And by the way, Dana is a great business man but also greedy, so for the casual MMA fan that does not buy PPV, they just lost their chance to see MMA on Showtime or CBS.
Not necessarily.
I’m sure CBS and/or Showtime will have options when their Strikeforce deal runs out.
HDNet airs fights from several different North American MMA orgs, and I would think that an outfit like Bellator might do nicely with their tournament format on network television, providing all the paperwork can be sorted…
I think this could be good for all involved.More exposure creates a bigger fan base which in turn creates more revenue and larger events.It could lead to playoff style tourneys.I mean what are we gonna have UFC 10000?
How about a South american Tourney,A North american tourney and a European tourney to culminate in a world final!
Man, I just moved into this spacious 2-bedroom apartment under a rock, where I’ve been living for the past couple of days… THIS is what the @$%! I miss???