Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

[Sandman42]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Strikeforce under the unified rules is probably the best news yet out of the merger. Will be interesting to see how that affects the Melendez/Kawajiri fight which will most likely be contested on the ground.

Also I don't want the WEC announcers (mainly Todd Harris) near another MMA event. I still can't get over Harris calling for the Cerrone/Horodecki fight to be stood up while Cerrone had a triangle choke locked in.

[aholbert32]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Oh yeah, that's what I meant, the latest SF event which was Hendo. I didn't remember hearing him, and I actually liked the coverage a lot more. They should just let Gus go all together, he isn't a real MMA guy. Shamrock also seems to be "improving".

I am assuming White will stay with the business as usual line at the conference, but I'm hoping we get hints of what's to come.

Dana wont talk about matchups which is what everyone wants to hear. He doesnt want to risk a interference of contract action from Sho.

We are a year away from the super fights imo. Diaz will have 2 fights left after April so he is a definite for 2012. I could easily see Dana book the winner of the GP against the current UFC HW champion. Hendo could be back by Fall since he has one fight left.

[Phillmattic]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Bleh... Not a fan of elbows on the ground.

I'm pretty disappointed by this entire situation. I really enjoyed having both UFC and SF around.

[bkfount]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

I really hope somehow SF's presentation will be on par with UFC's now and Dana will get rid of the SF commentators.

the strikeforce commentators work for Showtime, so they can't be replaced until the contract is done.

I still can't wrap my head around all of this... I wonder what’s going to happen with the guys in Strikeforce that are allowed to fight in Dream, Sengoku, K1, etc. Are they will allow them to continue to compete in other organizations> I mean, Overeem is the heavyweight champion of both Dream and K1!

The UFC won't let guys fight elsewhere while under their contracts, but they'll have to let guys do whatever their current SF contracts allow. Not like it matters though, as Dream, K1, and Sengoku are virtually dead anyways. Overeem even mentioned not being paid for his K1 GP win, and is more focused on fighting in the US for now.

Some other promotions will probably be able to pick up tons of middle guys that can still put on interesting fights if given the chance. I did like how SF tries to build up new talent through their Challenger cards, something the UFC could keep going if they wanted to put out new talent in other ways than a reality show.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Meh, I still really like the WEC guys, I thought they were excellent and very knowledgable/exciting.

Dana wont talk about matchups which is what everyone wants to hear. He doesnt want to risk a interference of contract action from Sho.

We are a year away from the super fights imo. Diaz will have 2 fights left after April so he is a definite for 2012. I could easily see Dana book the winner of the GP against the current UFC HW champion. Hendo could be back by Fall since he has one fight left.

I agree, and I don't get why Dana was being so pointed about Hendo. Hendo doesn't seem like he's bitter towards Dana or the UFC at all. But Dana was acting like Hendo and his people hated Dana... lol.

Bleh... Not a fan of elbows on the ground.

I'm pretty disappointed by this entire situation. I really enjoyed having both UFC and SF around.

Wow, care to explain?

Well I don't care what Fedor does, but with the other top SF guys, the potential to see them match up against UFC fighters in a few years is too good to pass up.

[p_rushing]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Dana wont talk about matchups which is what everyone wants to hear. He doesnt want to risk a interference of contract action from Sho.

We are a year away from the super fights imo. Diaz will have 2 fights left after April so he is a definite for 2012. I could easily see Dana book the winner of the GP against the current UFC HW champion. Hendo could be back by Fall since he has one fight left.

The super fights could happen now, but the UFC would have to work with Showtime. The UFC could let their fighters fight on Showtime and SF/Showtime would let their fighters fight in the UFC if they got the broadcast or production and rights after PPV, etc.

The contracts don't mean much as long as all the parties were happy, they wouldn't enforce the contracts.

[Phillmattic]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Meh, I still really like the WEC guys, I thought they were excellent and very knowledgable/exciting.

I agree, and I don't get why Dana was being so pointed about Hendo. Hendo doesn't seem like he's bitter towards Dana or the UFC at all. But Dana was acting like Hendo and his people hated Dana... lol.

Wow, care to explain?

Well I don't care what Fedor does, but with the other top SF guys, the potential to see them match up against UFC fighters in a few years is too good to pass up.

I really enjoyed SF, and I'm sad to see it go. It was a breathe of fresh air and a good alternative to the UFC. The events were entertaining and the announcement of the sale seemed to come at a time when SF was starting to really build some momentum.

Also this is bad news for womens mma.

Then there is the limited number of spots in the UFC. With SF around it offered more opportunity for fighters to get big time fights, like Paul Daley and Nick Diaz fight coming up which probably wouldn't headline a UFC event. SF gives the opportunity to see good fighters who aren't necessarily setting the MMA world on fire but are still good fighters, like jz cavalcante, aoki, Le, etc.

I guess this is more bittersweet than totally disappointing. The possibility of big time fights is exciting if they actually happen. I can see the UFC treating most of the fighters like all the others and making them fight their way up the ranks, as I think most of the names won't mean much to casual fans.

[The Chef]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

I dont get why everyone talks about roster size or limited spots as while that was true before, Dana has officially come out and said that he is shooting for a time when he is having say one PPV in Vegas while another one is going on in England at the same time. If hes actually planning on doing that then there will be more then enough spots for the fighters within the UFC.

[Beantown]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Quote from Dana about the potential "super-fights" and "UFC/SF match-ups":

"We literally have not talked about it at all," White said. "Scott is here for this conference call and then he's going back to run his business as usual and so are we.

"Will [UFC and Strikeforce] guys never face each other? No. Our job is to make sure fans get the fights they want to see. It's just a matter of when."

[The Chef]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

I would be extremely surprised if Dana allowed any of the UFC fighters to fight on a Showtime card. The first domino might be Mayhem as his contract is apparently up at the moment so he might be the first to sign with Zuffa and make an appearance in the UFC and then I would expect the next one to be Hendo unless he has a champ clause that keeps him in Strikeforce until he drops the strap, other then those two guys Im clueless on contracts.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

I really enjoyed SF, and I'm sad to see it go. It was a breathe of fresh air and a good alternative to the UFC. The events were entertaining and the announcement of the sale seemed to come at a time when SF was starting to really build some momentum.

Also this is bad news for womens mma.

Then there is the limited number of spots in the UFC. With SF around it offered more opportunity for fighters to get big time fights, like Paul Daley and Nick Diaz fight coming up which probably wouldn't headline a UFC event. SF gives the opportunity to see good fighters who aren't necessarily setting the MMA world on fire but are still good fighters, like jz cavalcante, aoki, Le, etc.

I guess this is more bittersweet than totally disappointing. The possibility of big time fights is exciting if they actually happen. I can see the UFC treating most of the fighters like all the others and making them fight their way up the ranks, as I think most of the names won't mean much to casual fans.

OK, not that it's for sure, but SF isn't necessarily going away. I could see Dana keeping the league around as the lesser brand and also a developmental league.

As far as limited spots, Dana wants to expand not subtract. He wants MMA to take over the world. How is he going to do that with a limited amount of fighters? He's going to need more fighters, not less. He wants to put on more shows, more fights, all over the world. There's no way he can pull that off if he starts sending fighters packing. That's why I think it might actually make sense to still keep the SF brand alive.

As far as your Diaz/Daley example, I see what you're saying, but really just like any of the other major sports, I need to see these guys against the best of the best. I have always wanted the best of the best Euro's to join the NBA, and I don't look at MMA any differently. I kind of see your logic, but then in the end I really don't get it completely. I compare it to you wanting to see borderline 'stars' say in the NBA dominate lesser leagues...

[aholbert32]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

OK, not that it's for sure, but SF isn't necessarily going away. I could see Dana keeping the league around as the lesser brand and also a developmental league.

As far as limited spots, Dana wants to expand not subtract. He wants MMA to take over the world. How is he going to do that with a limited amount of fighters? He's going to need more fighters, not less. He wants to put on more shows, more fights, all over the world. There's no way he can pull that off if he starts sending fighters packing. That's why I think it might actually make sense to still keep the SF brand alive.

As far as your Diaz/Daley example, I see what you're saying, but really just like any of the other major sports, I need to see these guys against the best of the best. I have always wanted the best of the best Euro's to join the NBA, and I don't look at MMA any differently. I kind of see your logic, but then in the end I really don't get it completely. I compare it to you wanting to see borderline 'stars' say in the NBA dominate lesser leagues...

Also, I could see Diaz and Daley headlining a Versus or Spike free card which is the equivalent of a Showtime card. Daley was one fight away from headlining a PPV if he would have beak Koscheck. Diaz has won 9 in a row.

Everybody said the same thing when the WEC merged with the UFC and we havent seen massive cuts. The cuts we've seen have been deserved and actually Dana has been a little less brutal than the past. Guys like Stevenson and Matt Brown would have been cut with 3 losses in a row a yr or two ago but theyve been given another shot.

[Phillmattic]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

OK, not that it's for sure, but SF isn't necessarily going away. I could see Dana keeping the league around as the lesser brand and also a developmental league.

As far as limited spots, Dana wants to expand not subtract. He wants MMA to take over the world. How is he going to do that with a limited amount of fighters? He's going to need more fighters, not less. He wants to put on more shows, more fights, all over the world. There's no way he can pull that off if he starts sending fighters packing. That's why I think it might actually make sense to still keep the SF brand alive.

As far as your Diaz/Daley example, I see what you're saying, but really just like any of the other major sports, I need to see these guys against the best of the best. I have always wanted the best of the best Euro's to join the NBA, and I don't look at MMA any differently. I kind of see your logic, but then in the end I really don't get it completely. I compare it to you wanting to see borderline 'stars' say in the NBA dominate lesser leagues...

It just depends on how you perceive the relationship between the two organizations. I'll try to use your NBA to Euro league example.

The Euro league is a legit professional league, to dominate it would say a lot because to surpass being just a good player to a great one would be extremely difficult. The level of competition of the Euro league isn't so far behind the NBA that you could take a borderline star like a Kevin Love or Russell Westbrook or even a Monte Ellis and have them absolutely take over the league to the point where any team they would join would automatically become a championship team. Would they put up big numbers? Of course but they already put up big numbers.

I believe a lot of guys benefit from the hype of just being in the NBA as they do from just being in the ufc. I don't believe that guys like Iguodola, Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin are going to be leading any Euro teams to championships, like I don't see guys like Dan Hardy, Frank Mir, and Kenny Florian would absolutely walk through upper tier SF fighters.

In both cases once you get to championship level competition its extremely difficult, I guess that's why I am able to enjoy both separately.

[mgoblue]

Re: Zuffa purchases Strikeforce!

Also, I could see Diaz and Daley headlining a Versus or Spike free card which is the equivalent of a Showtime card. Daley was one fight away from headlining a PPV if he would have beak Koscheck. Diaz has won 9 in a row.

Everybody said the same thing when the WEC merged with the UFC and we havent seen massive cuts. The cuts we've seen have been deserved and actually Dana has been a little less brutal than the past. Guys like Stevenson and Matt Brown would have been cut with 3 losses in a row a yr or two ago but theyve been given another shot.

Yeah, the WEC merger worked out pretty well over time. They'll want to keep the depth of rosters, especially with the injury factor, so I could see Strikeforce sticking around as a minor league for a while.

The top guys will end up in the UFC once contracts end (Fedor's a wild card obviously), but I could see them keeping Strikeforce around just to have the belts/title aspect. Everyone loves a title fight, even if it's a minor league type thing.